Every Day with Eli: May 22

Today was the first official day of summer break, and I have to tell you:

I nailed it.

Chris made the kids pancakes for breakfast before he headed off to work, and then we bummed around for a little bit. Once the big kids started bickering and Eli woke up (they happened at the same time. Coincidence? I think not.), it was time to get dressed and head out.

My plan was for Fridays to be adventure days, but today ended up being the once-a-month gymnastics class that Daisy attends. Since Caleb is home, he got to go, too! But the class is at 11:30, and trying to cram an adventure in before that would have been too much for me. So instead, we tackled another summer goal: one new park each week. I may have to change that goal to be as many new parks as possible, though, because we had so much fun that we could easily visit a new park several times a week.

I found a park near the gym, and the kids spent a solid hour playing.

Before I had even finished getting Eli out of the van, Caleb was making his way across these "spaceship pole swings". Do you remember how cautious and timid my boy used to be? Kindergarten has really given him a refreshing boldness and confidence in what his body can do. I'm so proud of him!

The playground was a tiny little thing, surrounded by a dog park. We were the only people there, and all three kids played happily. I sat in the shade with Eli in the ring sling and nursed him to sleep, and smiled as I watched the big three romp and play and imagine. It was absolutely perfect.

Then on to gymnastics, and I even remembered to bring a snack for the kids to eat in the van on the way. I don't have any gymnastics pictures because I was busy talking to my friend Jen and to my friend Amber's parents, who usually reside on their sailboat in the Atlantic, but are briefly on dry land. But Caleb and Daisy had so much fun, and Lily was remarkably well behaved while we waited. Of course, Eli and Lily both decided to poop while we were in the gymnastics observation area, so I had to handle that. Thankfully, the gymnastics class is made of of a bunch of Catholic homeschooling families (we only participate in the classes because I know Amber) and those women have all done poopy diapers a million times and weren't even phased.

We zipped home from gymnastics, ate lunch, and I actually managed to put all four children down for naps. I seriously deserve an award for that. While they napped, I prepped dinner, then crawled back into bed with Eli for a little bit. Then Caleb woke up, and I snuck away from Eli to sit on the front porch and snuggle with my big boy. We pulled out a notebook and began a playground journal, in which he will rate and describe all of the playgrounds we visit this summer. (I know, right? Awesome idea. Let's see if we keep it up.)

Then my parents, who are celebrating their 39th wedding anniversary today, stopped by for a quick hello, and then it was dinnertime.

After dinner, we had a quick family snuggle before much-needed baths.

These are my five little monkeys, rolling around in bed.

Today is day three of pigtails for Lily. When she woke up this morning, the first thing she did was put her hand to her hair and ask, "Tail?"

She wanted pigtails.

I put in a quick ponytail instead, and the girl was mad. The only way I got her to stop screaming about tails was to promise to fix it after breakfast. She really likes her pigtails, and I don't blame her. She is adorable!

Putting her feet on her baby.

And then holding her baby.

(Today is day 12 of dairy-free, and he spit up all over me in gushing torrents. I had to change the sheets and my clothes and give myself a sink bath, yet somehow the boy ended up with just a few drops of spitup on himself. Go figure.)

Eli is reaching the age where my other babies have gotten bald spots on the back of their heads from turning side-to-side to look at things while they're lying down or in an infant seat. Eli doesn't have that yet; instead, he has a bald spot on the side of his head, above and behind his ear. It's the side he lays on at night when I nurse him. I guess we've been doing a lot of side-lying night nursing lately. That bald spot is a sign of how he earned all of the chunk you see above!

I'm so glad to have Caleb home for the summer, but it will be an adjustment for both of us.

Also, I feel awful about that scar under his eye. Maybe three months ago, Daisy scratched him there. Apparently it was a deep scratch, because the poor boy still has a scar from it. I'm hoping it heals eventually, because that is an awful scar to have!

Then baths.