Gilroy Gardens: Part 2 - The Petting Zoo

We had to bribe convince Gabriela to go to the petting zoo.  But after hanging out for a while, we couldn't get her to leave.  She loved it!  After seeing some kids holding chickens, she decided that she needed to do this as well.  It was a little awkward for her at first, but she managed to pick one up.

 Gabriela was so proud of herself.

 She and Grandma fed the goats.

 Grandma helped Gabriela feed her chicken. 

 And by this time, this girl was a natural. She picked up another chicken all on her own, making sure she got just the right hold. 

 Look how gentle she was with the little chicken.

 And then, Gabriela found her favorite one. She held it in the crook of her arm, cuddled the chicken, fed it, and walked around with it for at least 30 minutes.  She even named her chicken Marina. In fact, Gabriela was heartbroken when the chicken finally hid underneath a tractor to escape the heat (and maybe a certain 4 year old too).

 We also watched a turtle get his lunch.

 Gabriela and Marina got an up and close viewing of lunchtime.

 And then we saw about the cutest thing ever in any petting zoo I've ever visited. Baby miniature goats.  But this was even more special - this little guy had been born that same morning. The mama was still licking the afterbirth off of him - that's how new he was!

 Gabriela got to hold a different baby goat that was one or two weeks old. 

 I couldn't believe how brave my big girl was, and it made me want to go live on a farm right then and there, seeing how much love she had for those animals.