Anna vs the Bug House ... Part II

I am reposting this blog from July 2008 because of an interesting conversation I had with Anna a month ago. We were at the zoo and heading for the Bug House when I told her that she used to be scared to go in there. She thought about that for a minute and said, "Yes, I remember. I was scared because I thought all the bugs were crawling around all over the place inside," meaning that they were not contained in any way.

Yikes.

Now I don't wonder why she didn't go in. I wonder why she ever DID. She must trust us a lot.

Here is the original post:

We got a membership to the Oakland Zoo a few months ago. The first time we went, Anna asked the whole time if we could see a caterpillar. None of the large mammals that you would associate with a zoo (elephants, tigers, chimpanzees) could interest her as much as the prospect of seeing a small insect that she could find in our backyard. Obligingly, we tromped over to the Bug House and Anna refused to go in. The Bug House has a set of double doors, and something about that setup really scared Anna. After trying for several minutes to change her mind, we gave up and moved onto other things. As soon as we were in the car going home, Anna started talking about how she would go in the Bug House the next time we went to the zoo.

A few weeks later we went back. Anna was very excited to go in the Bug House until we got there, and once again would not go in. The third time, she finally went in and was (understandably) very proud of herself. The funny thing was that I went in with her and I was the one that got scared. Those millipedes are freaky!

We went to the zoo today again and Anna went in with no problem.

Anna is requesting to tell the story in her own words (Anna loves little else in the world more than typing on the computer):

HWEEEY3YE4332WQWSGWRFIRFXDCEDERGR55U6DDGRR5TRYRHERYRRJTIGIRTORTFOTGT[Y[TY

Addendum: The other funny thing about the zoo is that Anna always thinks it's necessary to bring the zoo a present. Today she brought a birthday candle carefully wrapped in wrapping paper. Luckily there are many large green bins around the zoo where people can deposit such presents. We worry that one of these days Anna will figure out that the green bins are trash cans.

TRFYT5TTJREURFTRETERTURTIYTITREETTGJYHTYHHUIIRY;TGTRFJRUTRTYGYHUUYUHUUHYYUH