First Conversations

Grace has a great memory when it comes to faces, names, things we do, things we tell her, things she eats, etc. Recently we've been going to the Central Park Zoo. A lot. The woman who works the gate, Luz, knows us and doesn't even ask for our pass, and w/o fail, Grace says, "Hola, Luz" every time we enter. In terms of coordinating our visit, we go either on the hour or half hour because there is a "very, very special clock," as Grace would tell you. It actually is very special - monkey statues chime a huge bell, the clock goes off, and then a group of animals dances around in a circle to a popular kid song. The entertainment lasts about 3-4 minutes, and tons of babies, kids and parents line up for it. So we see the clock, watch the sea lions eat and perform around 4pm, visit the monkeys, polar bears, snow leopards and penguins and puffins and fit in a couple more clock shows. Although Grace is glad to see the animals, she asks to "see the clock...please" or to "see the monkeys." She knows what she likes.

What's really cool about this experience is that she always finds a way to bring it up afterwards, citing the clock, of course, first. "Saw a clock," she'll say. "Very, very special." To which we say, "Wow. You saw a clock? What else did you see?" "Saw monkeys." And then she launches on to list everything else. It's really nice to be having our first conversation/s. Clearly, the Zoo is "very, very special" to her. These are some shots from our visit with Charlie Winter today.