Bao Bao, the National Zoo panda cub that has brought D.C. so much joy and so much pain, will have the option to go outside for the first time this week. “Hey, I go outside every DAY,” you may be thinking. To which I reply, do you look like this? Then shut it down.

Seven-month-old Bao Bao will have access to her mother Mei Xiang’s (may-SHONG) larger yard this week beginning each day around 8 a.m., weather depending. Bao Bao will be given the option to explore outside with her mother if the temperature is at least 35 degrees Fahrenheit with no precipitation. Although Bao Bao will have the option to go outside, she may decide to stay inside the panda house. It may take several weeks before Bao Bao is venturing outside with Mei Xiang regularly.

The giant panda yards have been “cub-proofed,” the Zoo says, and trees have been “collared” and branches trimmed: “Keepers have placed bales of hay around the grotto and yard to cushion any potential falls.”