October 5

Today was the first day of International Babywearing Week, which is just a fun time to encourage and promote babywearing. Since I'm now a volunteer with the local babywearing group, I participated in a lot of the events this week. First up was a zoo trip!

(All of my photos are crummy cell phone photos because big camera + 4 kids + zoo by myself is just too much. Also, the purple bandana is to indicate to members of the babywearing group that I'm a volunteer. )

Aren't we cute?

Isn't it funny that we took a giant stroller to a babywearing meet up? That's how we roll.

Caleb and Daisy were totally into posing for pictures in all of the cut-out scenes.

We got to ride the carousel twice in a row!

And we got front-row seats to watch Kali the polar bear splash and play and swim. Eli loved it. 

We do this picture almost every time we go to the zoo, and it is one of my very favorite things.

More cut-outs

All four kids are poking their faces through the holes! They just aren't all looking. Whatever. I can only expect so much.

We got to try out an incredibly stretchy, smooshy, fabulous handwoven wrap at the meetup, too. Eli has been fighting being worn lately, but the moment I got him up in that thing he settled right down. It's like he knew how nice it was. Maybe it really was more comfortable for him! I'm really hoping I will be able to get one more wrap before our wearing days are over, and I want it to be a handwoven. I'm just waiting for the right one. Hopefully I find it before Eli is done being worn forever!

We met up with all of the babywearers for a group picture, and Eli chose that moment to have a meltdown of epic proportions. It was so embarrassing. Sadly, his tantrums are coming more and more frequently, and I think he is officially entering the "Terrible Twos". None of my other kids were terrible at two; they were worse at three. But Eli likes to be different, and he was definitley different today. Can you tell in the picture above that I am mid-way through wrapping him, simply to restrain him? That I am clenching my teeth and holding him tight and daring him to move? Or can you see that Lily is hiding behind me, and Caleb and Daisy are ducking down so that they wouldn't be in the picture. Yeah. It was not the best morning for me. 

But then we went and saw the monkeys and amphibians, and all was better.

Eli was totally into the turtles. I thought of Auntie Grace when I snapped this picture. She would have been proud!

He kept saying "Tur-tuh! Tur-tuh!"

Then we ate lunch, went home, and recovered. Zoo trips are intense.