Florida Aquarium

Alex's parents came to town this weekend to see Matthew, to celebrate Adina's birthday, and to take Maggie back to south Florida until our late July travels are over. On Saturday right after they arrived and following Matthew's morning nap we went to downtown to show Alex's parents the Channelside district and the port. We had a quick lunch at a frozen drink slurpee bar (by night). Alex's dad was very disappointed that there was no high chair for Matthew, but we were happy to get a quick bite and head to the aquarium. I've been to the aquarium a number of times, most recently on school field trips, but this was everyone else's first trip there.

We started with the wetlands habitat, which was great because it was a mixture of shallow pools and trees right next to the sidewalk. Matthew has been very curious and excited about birds lately, even learning the sign for bird. He laughed as the fish swim by and splashed us, pointed to turtles and ducks, and motioned at the birds in the trees. He even sat and looked at a barn owl for a bit. This picture makes it look like he was studious than he actually was with the owl.

Then it was on to the beaches and bays exhibit, which had some really nice fish including large sharks and rays. Matthew was really excited to stand on the ledge of the aquariums and point and squawk at them. We got to the touch tank and felt the sea anemones and star fish. Well I touched them. Alex and Adina were mostly too chicken, and Matthew's arms were not long enough to get to the bottom of the 5 inch ledge they sat on.

After finishing up in the coral reefs exhibit we made our way to the lobby where we lost Neno. After looking around and Alex suggesting he was in the bathroom, I asked if they thought he was in the gift shop. Alex and Adina said they looked but when we went again there he was! We got Matthew a bunch of sea creature figurines to play with. He even tried to do the sign for "Fish" so these will be fun things for him to carry around. He got a shark, whale, seal, octopus, orca, walrus, and a few others. He loves them. Then it was on to the splash pad. The first time we tried a splash pad was at the zoo, and Matthew hated it. But I was excited to try this day because we made progress at our pool party playdate just the day before. Matthew was happy to splash in the fountains, climb on some sea creatures, and even tried walking a bit more. We sent him down a water slide. I knew it would be fast, and we wanted him to lay down so he wouldn't fall back and hit his head. Good thing because he zipped down there... quickly! He did that twice, and it was adorable.

The aquarium is really great because you can actually see pretty much everything in a couple hours. We were out of there by 3:00. I can get in to the aquarium for free with a teaching certificate, and after Alex saying how much fun he had at the aquarium I asked if he wanted a pass. So we decided to apply today's admission to a pass, and they even gave us some discounts, so we left there with a year pass for Alex for $26! I think it will be a fun place to go as a family and with friends, especially in the summer when it is hot. Now we have aquarium and zoo passes! Fun is ahead for Matthew!