Off to the zoo!

The Franklin Park Zoo, that is. Ok, Mommy might have the Stone Zoo down, but the Franklin Park Zoo is HUGE compared to Stone! I don't think we saw 1/4 of it, but we only had about 2 hours...

Eli's cousins were with us for the weekend, so off we went to the Franklin Park Zoo! First, we saw the zebras and some wildebeests. The zebra on the left is a baby...awww!



Next, it was lions and tigers (no bears, oh my!).





So, the lion didn't have us shaking in our boots, but the tiger was pacing back and forth and looking us up and down. It was like he was trying to figure out who would make the best meal...

Next, we figured out that Dave and Jillian together are about the height of a bongo, Jacob is about the height of a gorilla, and Eli plus his stroller are roughly the size of a pygmy hippo. Momma decided she did not want to be compared to any animals, fearing the inevitable "Those jeans makes you look like a (insert animal here)" comments from Daddy.



Next were the gorillas. We found one that seemed to be comfortable with having its picture taken. There were some less than appetizing remnants on some of the windows, if you catch my drift...



Eli couldn't believe how much bigger the zoo was and how many different animals we saw!



That boy does love his cousins...I think they had a good time.



We ended the day with a group shot.



The sweetest story of the day came when we saw our last animal, the leopard. It was a beautiful animal, but like the tiger, it looked hungry. It was pacing and I swear, it was sizing up Eli as the weak one in the herd. When I said that out loud, Jillian instantly stepped in front of Eli. She said something quietly about not letting it get Eli, but she didn't make a big deal of it. It was the sweetest thing! Jacob, ever the practical one, couldn't understand why she would do that because the leopard would bite her instead.

Thank you, Britax!

Moms know that when daycare calls and tells you to come get your child because he is crying and cannot be consoled, your heart drops and "Get me to my baby!" mode kicks in. Luckily, Dave is near me at work and he comes to grab me on Beacon Hill. I make a 4:15 appointment at the doctor because we think it might be an ear infection.

Traffic is terrible and Dave will definitely never make it back to work. We get Eli at close to 4:00 and get on 128. We make it to Burlington and the traffic gets worse. The car in front of us comes to a stop. We come to a stop. The gentleman behind us looks down at his cell phone and doesn't even hit the brakes. The front of his car ends up under the back of our car and we are pushed into the car in front of us...

...and the worst is over. So, thank you, Britax.



P.S. Thank you Nissan Pathfinder. For all your faults, you did well today and here's hoping you pull through (don't listen to the rumors that I hope you are totaled so I can get a minivan). ***Update*** Check you out, NP! The damage came in at just over $8000 and you still pulled through - you are worth more than Momma thought! And we should add a thank you to Anchor Auto Body for getting you all fixed up in record time.

Thank you Shipyard Pumpkinhead for allowing Mommy to relax a little bit when we got home.

A future thank you to Advil may be forthcoming, but we will see how Mommy and Daddy feel tomorrow.

Oh, and Mom, you will be happy to know that I had nothing nice to say to the man who hit us because his cell phone call was more important than our safety, so I said absolutely nothing to him at all (the State Police presence may have also helped).

Burlington Truck Day

We thought with Eli's obsession with trucks, he would be ecstatic about Truck Day...not so much...

We started out on a bus. When we first put him in the seat (that he tried to climb into!), he cried. Then I sat with him and he was okay.



Next came the diggers, but he would walk around them and not really be too interested.



He never seemed very into whatever we were in...I think this was a crane. I don't remember him even touching a lever!



Well, at least we figured he would be tired. Look how tired he looks on the car ride home!



He gobbled up lunch, even telling me his milk was delicious! However, I am currently listening to him NOT napping. It started about an hour ago, when we could hear him babbling and jumping up and down in the crib. It has turned to whining now and I am wondering when I will have to go just give up on the nap!

Cape 2010

We headed down to the Cape house for a week and less than 24 hours after we arrived, our clumsy toddler already had his first injury. He fell on the pool deck, tripping over his own feet and landing right on his forehead. Daddy heard his head hit the ground from inside the house!



Luckily, no serious damage done, just a few scrapes on his forehead and nose. He injures himself easily, but heals quickly.

The Binettes came down with us for most of the week. They had caterpillars with them that were in their chrysalis stage. Of course, one hatched overnight, then another hatched while we were on the deck for 10 minutes. When we came home from the beach, the rest had emerged...we missed them all! Eli was obsessed with them, pointing at them every morning. I think we will be hatching some butterflies here at home soon!

Corinne and Andy came down for the night and we headed to South Beach in the morning to see if we could spot some sharks! No sharks, but Coe got a great picture of us:



However, there was a rare sighting on the Cape...Mommy in the pool! Not only was I in the water, I was in the deep end! Mommy and Eli splashed around as we worked on not letting my fear of the water rub off on Eli!



Next stop was Red River Beach. Eli had a blast in the sand and water. Mommy's water excursions did not extend to the ocean - calf deep is my limit and even that is pushing it!





Eli loved his red wagon (not as much as the digger). He loved to be raced around the beach in it. There were horseshoe crabs at the house when we got there and they were all over the beach. He was obsessed with them ("crabbie") but, when Jeff caught a real crab, Eli couldn't have been less interested.

Eli also had his first popsicle and LOVED it! I had to give him two!



We were sad to see Jeff, Joanna, Emily, Joel, Gracie, and the butterflies leave, but Grampy came down on Thursday and we got to spend some time with him. Eli and Daddy went swimming with Eli's new floaties, which he seems to love.



He saw me give Reggie a piece of ice from the cooler and he wanted one. It kept him busy for a while...I will have to remember this trick!



Of course, the highlight of Eli's week was when Heather, Jacob, and Jillian arrived. Our hesitant little waterbug couldn't get enough of swimming with his cousins and auntie!





We had a great time at the cape this year! Eli's biggest obsessions there this year were his digger and dump truck, the butterflies, and Emily and Gracie. I can't wait until next year!

20 Months

He is getting so old...is he really almost two??? Okay, maybe he does need a haircut, but I can't let go yet.



My little angel is even sweet to the dog. He gives Reggie kisses! He also kicks him in the head, but Reggie seems to be okay with it. Don't worry - I stop it if I see it happen! Eli even shares with Reggie:



However, this was just paying it forward. This weekend, our benevolent beast taught our impressionable toddler how to drink from puddles. I had thought I was keeping my germophobic tendencies in check until this moment.

If I hadn't given birth to Eli, I wouldn't think he was my baby, although I have been told he has my eyes (and pout and whining qualities, but that's not very nice to tell someone, is it??). There is very little Mommy in this boy.

For example, how is this my kid? He has his fingers in his ears while Bon Jovi is playing (he later did this to Pat Benatar, too) ! Daddy has spoiled him with all his relaxing music (Dare I call it easy listening? I'm just saying, if they play it on Magic 106.7...).

Melting Mama

Say cheese!



That was the start of our photo shoot tonight (I needed a picture for this post, of course)...when he was still happy to be in front of the camera. Don't get antsy. You'll see how we ended it.

This cute little ham knows how to work his mama. I pass him to Dave in the mornings and as they are leaving, I usually ask Eli for a kiss on their way out the door. I typically get one kiss and then a gentle, yet firm push away (he has places to go and people to see, you know.).

Yesterday morning, I got a bunch of kisses. Then, as they were leaving, I said, "I love you, Eli." He said it back! Well, he said, "I wub ooo," but you get the point. I know he was just repeating it, but it still melted me!

His next new communication didn't quite melt me, but I was excited about it! It is something that only a mother could love. Eli was running in the hallway and stopped to look at me. He had a look on his face that said it all - I knew what was happening. But, he said it anyway: "Poop!" And he meant it! He told me he did it! I have never been so excited to check a diaper for poop.

So, now to the end of that photo shoot. Our little model was no longer happy in front of the camera. He wanted the camera. Here is how we ended the shoot:



Luckily, we avoided a temper tantrum this time. We are having more and more of those lately when we don't get our way!

Pool time at the Rossi's!

On Sunday, Mommy, Daddy, and Eli headed over to see Scott, Rhiannon, and Marisa, poolside! Eli LOVES the water now...he had a blast floating around!



Yeah, I have a thing about sun protection...what?

When Marisa went in for a nap, he wandered around the yard looking for "Risa." So cute! That boy is going to get around, though...on the way to Marisa's, he was yelling for "FIA!" (Sophia) in the car. He is lining the ladies up already!