"I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"

Have you seen the commercials for Telus with a baby hippopotamus on them? Today I can verify that the little hippo on the commercials is as cute in person as he is on the small screen.

Our family has season's passes to the Calgary Zoo. This is something I would highly recommend for any family with small children. The zoo is a terrific place to let kids run off energy, and it is interesting for the adults too! When the weather is cooperative we can go to the zoo for an hour or two in the morning. We bring a bag lunch, and have the boys back home in time for a long afternoon nap.

This morning Mommy really wanted to see Splash the baby hippo. He is on loan to the Calgary Zoo from Quebec and will only be in the city for a couple more weeks. Oh my, he truly is an adorable little guy (for a humongous, smelly, river-dwelling mammal).

When we spotted him, he was sleeping cuddled up to his grandma. They were both lying in the water, and Splash had his little snout propped up on Grandma's back. His eyes were closed, and the baby had an expression of pure contentment on his face.

Now my three-year-old, on the other hand, was surprisingly unimpressed with the adorable scene in front of him. No, he only wanted to see one thing --- the poo fish.

For the uninformed, the hippo tank at the Calgary Zoo is filled with a large school of rather ugly, gray fish. Their primary purpose is to, well ... clean up after the hippos' messes. The poo fish are the absolute highlight of any zoo excursion for our young preschooler. Go figure.

Anyway, Mommy enjoyed Splash the hippo. Daddy and The Toddler enjoyed Splash the hippo. The Preschooler gazed in wonder at the poo fish.