After our first trip to Gilroy Gardens as a family of five, I realized that some days with a newborn are just easier spent out of our home. So, while my husband was at work, the kids and I decided to head up to the San Francisco Zoo.

I packed a change of clothes for each kid, snacks, and diapers for the baby. Spending the day at the zoo meant little clean up at the end of the day. Our newborn likes to be in a baby carrier, so, except for the car ride, she was quite content.

And, unlike our trip to Gilroy Gardens, I didn't have to watch from the sidelines. We all rode on the train together and had fun finding the monkeys, lions, tigers, bears, etc. I think it was actually less tiring going to the zoo with a newborn compared to when I was pregnant and took our two oldest kids.

I expected my toddler to have a tantrum by the bears and refuse to walk or go in the stroller. And I expected my two oldest kids to run off in different directions while I was feeding baby. But, somehow we saw all of the animals on our list, hung out at the playground for much longer than I had anticipated, and just enjoyed each other's company. Seeing how thrilled my preschooler and toddler were to be running around at the zoo, I realized just how excited they were to get back into our regular activities again.

Although our youngest will probably sleep through most of it, we are looking forward to venturing all over the Bay Area this summer.