Panda-Monium

As I've mentioned before, Peeper's nursery will be decorated in a panda bear ("black and white and red all over") theme, because Shrike thinks they are the cutest things in the world.

(And I find it hard to disagree.)

Today, while we were in DC, we made a pilgrimage to the National Zoo to see the actual pandas, and to check out their gift shop.

After wandering through their exhibit twice (thought we were headed for the exit, ended up back the building) we found that the whole little panda family had moved in the indoor area (air conditioned! close-up views!).

We weren't really planning on the zoo, so didn't take either the regular camera or the video camera. We did go nuts with our cellphones, though. Please excuse the crappy image quality.

Also, we aren't 100% sure who's who, but we think we figured it out.

Tien Tien (Daddy Panda)

Mei Xiang (Mommy Panda)
That's a "treat ball" she's playing with, shaking it to make biscuits fall out.

Tai Shan (Baby Panda)
He's almost three years old now!

Then, needless to say, we hit the gift shop. Peeper got a poster for her room (no photo of that - it's still rolled up) and some panda-prizes for her little feetsies.

Panda Booties


Bigger Panda Booties


Bigger Panda Booties, Again
Note the footprints on the bottoms!


On the way home, I got a hankering for ice cream (as we pregnant women do, you know) so Shrike decided to stop at Baskin Robbins in HerWorkTown.

Wouldn't you know, it's right next door to a little baby boutique that we'd tried to visit once before, when it was closed.

This time it was open, and we knew what flavor baby we were shopping for, and everything was twenty percent off!

One of the first things we spotted was a tiny pink "kimono" type outfit (wrap-around top, not actually looking like a real kimono) with a panda embroidered on it.

We did manage to resist that - then we saw the giant stuffed panda.

(Not the bigger-than-me variety that we saw at the zoo that one time, but still pretty big.)

We've actually been planning to get one, ever since we heard a suggestion to take photos of baby each month (then of kid, each year) in the same location, or with the same object, to better show their growth.

We've seen others this size, and expected it to be $100 or more, but it turned out to only be $90 - and after the discount, just a bit over $70.

We were both a bit hesitant, and neither of us wanted to try to talk the other into it.

Finally, I said, "Ok, if I weren't here, what would you do?"

Shrike said, "I would buy it and surprise you, and hope I wasn't in trouble for it."

Decision made.

Peeper's Panda Pal