Ok, I'm better now. As is true with many days, we find as much fun and positivity as possible with Gwendolyn…no matter how we are feeling. Today was no exception. We really did have a fun day taking Gwendolyn to the Monterey Aquarium and it was nice to be out as a family experiencing so many “firsts” together. It is a really beautiful setting and was a gorgeous day.
Our very first destination was the otter exhibit, which seemed to be the very favorite spot of most people. When we took Gwendolyn out of her stroller and held her up to see the otters, she seemed really nervous. I think she was scared by the many people, the many noises they made, and the dark setting. We quickly found several less populated areas and she did much better. She especially liked the colorful and serene jellyfish exhibit — and so did we. She intently watched the neon jellyfish move around and kept looking back at us, as if to say, “Are you seeing this? Can you believe it?” (Don't tell Gwendolyn, but we bought her a jellyfish stuffed animal with long tentacles that will be perfect to hang over her for her to play with. We'll give it to her tomorrow when she wakes up and we think she'll love it). She also loved being outside overlooking the ocean and feeling the wind in her hair. She watched every person who walked by, especially the children…she is always really fascinated with children. We thought she was so tired, but she fussed in her stroller until we held her up again and she looked and looked around. We held her up looking around for a long period of time through the aquarium and out through most of Cannery Row. When we headed home she began chatting away, recounting the exciting things she had seen. She really loved just looking around and taking it all in. It's always great to see her enjoy just being part of whatever is in front of her and loving just being with us — that's really special!
Tomorrow it's off to the big Redwoods and a town in Humboldt County.