A Trip to Manila Zoo and Luneta Park

Because my husband and I are committed to being pro-active parents who provide healthy, educational and fun experiences for Aliya, we brought her to see the animals at the Manila Zoo yesterday. She had fun watching the animals, observing their behavior, especially how they play. She particularly liked to linger at the monkeys' area to watch the playful creatures tinker with a pvc pipe, and waddle at their (dirty) pool. How the tigers fought over a piece of bone amazed her, as well.

She used to be afraid of riding the swing. But yesterday, she rode it and didnt want to leave unless we told her we'll go boat riding. She's been insisting on riding the boat even before we had lunch, and kept on nagging us about it until after we ate. This, in itself is proof that she's overcome her fears, as she used to be wary of moving things like the swing and the boat. Taking charge of the paddling gave her a sense of fulfillment and pride, even if it was actually the bankero who kept our boat mobile.

We had our pictures taken with birds all over us, three of them perched on our shoulders, and three of them on our fingers, and even if I know Aliya was a bit wary, she overcome her fear and posed for the photos just the same. Same thing with the giant snake. If this was three months ago, she'd probably not want to even look at the snake, but yesterday, she was so game about the pictorial as long as daddy takes charge of the head's neck and head. The snake rested on Aliya's lap, and its tail was on my lap.

After 3 and a half hours in Manila Zoo, we went impromptu to Luneta Park. She's been familiar with Jose Rizal as early as last year. We had a book on Rizal lying in the house, and both Romy and I have Rizal shirts. We thought it would interest her to see the diorama of the national hero, and she indeed was. She had fun looking, touching, learning about Rizal's life and death, as we taught her what the diorama was depicting. It makes us feel fulfilled to be able to expose her to these things as early as now. I know we are investing in her development, character building and intellect. Going to the mall every week is fun, but it gets routinary, boring and predictable after some time. Places such as the zoo and Rizal park are places where learning can be fun for her.

I am thankful for giving me a husband who shares my desire to be proactive in rearing Aliya. And I'm grateful for having a child who's curious, interested and healthy like her. But most of all, we praise God for giving us the health, the ability and the resources to be able to provide these things to our daughter.