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Gymbo's, Centennial Park and the zoo, oh, my!

Friends, days just don't get any bigger than this for Miss Willow!
She's taking a nap now (or is SUPPOSED to be taking a nap ... quiet down in there, kiddo!), but when she wakes, we'll be heading to Gymboree Play & Music class in Green Hills.
Willow loves this class, and Cherish and I find the cost is more than worth it. Willow gets to romp around an ever-changing gym with other tots her size. When we first started going, Willow was a bit of a bully, pushing around the smaller kids in the 6-10 month class (Willow is a giant among peers), but once we bumped her into the 10-16 month class, she's fit in well; she likes mimicking what the bigger kids do.
Willow's favorite activities at Gymbo's (the classes are led by an instructor named Rachel and her puppet sidekick Gymbo, a clown who runs the place and, I think, has all the instructors brainwashed) are rolling the air log, going through tunnels, being showered in balloons and dancing with Gymbo.
Willow loves Gymbo (hmm, maybe he'd make a good birthday present; she has her first birthday on May 13, after all).
We go to Gymbo's place every Wednesday. Usually, we go to Centennial Park afterward. I like to walk the One-Mile Loop, and Willow likes watching all the people and animals (and the people who are like animals). Willow also likes the playground there because there tend to be more kids there than at the playgrounds in Springfield (and the moms there usually aren't afraid of me like the ones in Springfield). Also, more dads take their kids to Centennial Park than to the parks in Springfield (I think one dad I spoke to one day was a Titans player because that dude was HUGE; I don't know who he was, though).
Willow and I also picnic at the tulip garden at Centennial Park. She likes it there because I let her room in the nicely manicured grass (and there aren't too many wood chips lying around for her to stick into her mouth).
But today we're not going to Centennial Park.
We haven't been to the Nashville Zoo for a few weeks, so I think it's time for our triumphant return. We can't let our membership go to waste.
Willow's favorite thing at the zoo is the gargantuan playground, which alone is worth the price of admission. Now we just play around on the tot mat and swing and slide, but I don't think it will be too long before Willow is climbing all over that place (she Zombie Walked a lot on Tuesday).
Willow's favorite animals at the zoo are the flamingos and the monkeys, probably because they make the most racket. We try to see the flamingos around 2 when it seems they're always awake and roaming around. On our last trip, Willow witnessed two of the flamingos fighting! The monkeys are always yapping, and you can hear them from anywhere at the zoo.
We're taking a picnic today too, so we'll be snacking before we hit any of the attractions.
But, boy, on such a beautiful day, won't it be fun!!!
I'll try to remember to tweet some pictures to Facebook.

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