July 26

Today was supposed to be less sweltering than normal, so we joined Jill and her girls at the zoo. We got there bright and early, and had such a good time!

Lily's favorite friend, Naomi, had a specific list of animals she wanted to see. Among them was the hippo, and today we lucked out: the kids got uncrowded, super close-up views of hippos!

Sweet Eli didn't know what to think. He loved it all!

Look how close it is! The kids were delighted!

And look at Eli's sweet little face. I love that boy.

The hippo swam laps past us, again and again.

So much fun!

That's Naomi in the pink hat, and Lily in the cute little dress. 

And a hippo in the water.

Jill has a zoo membership, and she graciously shared her train passes with us. Half of my children have never ridden the zoo train because it costs a lot of money to buy train tickets for a family of 6! 

Eli loved  the train, and was devastated when we had to get off.

Caleb and Daisy rode in the seat in front of me. It is life-altering to have children old/responsible enough that I don't have to worry about them sitting in their own seat. We are entering a new stage of parenting, people.

(Also, I have no explanation for Daisy's face.)

I asked Lily and Naomi to scoot together and snuggle for a picture, and they did this. These girls are the cutest together!

This was how I wore Eli on the train. It was my first time using my Shades of Blue wrap in a Traditional Sling Carry, and though it may not be pretty, I rocked that slip knot! I think it's largely due to some coaching I got from Amber...

Also, I love that Eli is playing with my mama metal necklace. I love it so much, and wear it almost every day. I'm so glad I had it made!

Time to see the monkeys! The kids got an up-close view of chimpanzees eating their own poop, which was really exciting.

This sweet baby was unhappy about a lot of things today. Mostly, he wanted to be down and exploring on his own two feet, at his own pace. Anytime I tried to wrap him or put him in the stroller, he flipped out. Toddlerhood is coming! Now that he is mobile and independent, I am starting to experience how hard it is to keep track of four children in one place. The Children's Zoo was pretty stressful. Normally I have Eli on me all the time, so I only have to look out for three. Four is a whole new ballgame.

We ended our visit with a trip to the carousel, courtesy of Jill's zoo membership. The kids were thrilled! 

At naptime, Lily told me that riding on the carousel with Naomi was the best part of her day.

Daisy's hair is wet from a cooling mist fan, not from sweat. Really.

And my only explanation for Eli's rosy cheeks is that it ended being just as hot as any other July day today. Don't worry, Mom, it's not sunburn, and I gave him plenty of water to drink. He's fine now. 

But look! Eli is riding his own carousel animal for the very first time! What a big boy! And you can't see it behind him, but brave Caleb chose to ride an animal that moved up and down, instead of on the bench or a stationary animal, like he used to.

And then it was time to go. I had pushed our BOB full of children up a steep ramp to get to the exit when Caleb reminded me that I told him we would stop and see the elephant statue before we left. I really didn't want to do the ramp again, and Daisy was done, and it was HOT, but I remembered that yesterday I didn't keep my word to Caleb. So instead, I chose to keep my word today. We said goodbye to Jill and her girls, and went back to the  elephant.

There! My four grouchy duckies. 

Do you remember what they looked like here almost exactly a year ago?

And here's today!

(DSLR photo above, iPhone photo below.)

Isn't it amazing how much they've changed in a year? OK, mostly it's Eli that has changed. But whatever.

Completely unrelated: a video of Eli from a few days ago, right after he woke up from his nap. Normally when I ask him how old he is, he holds up a hand and says, "FWEE!" Yes, he thinks he's three. This day I tried to video it, but instead he tricked me and said "One." That child is a stinker!