Family Dates

I couldn't have asked for a better start to labor day weekend.
Busy, busy, busy.

We started a new tradition: Family Lunch Date! Once a week I want to meet Rico and spend his lunch hour together. This week it was BEAUTIFUL weather so we had a picnic at the base of the Keeper of the Plains statue. 

I did NOT take this photo…but this is where we were. If it were night. and I were an amazing photographer

We Came

We Played

 We ate our picnic

 And we played some more

 It was SO amazingly refreshing.

That night, we went on family date NIGHT. We went to dinner in Old Town and ate at a brewery. 

There was live music (and it was good!), so we were loving it. 

We were loving it so much that we stayed for dessert too.

Rico's tiny flight beers looked perfectly sized for Eli…don't worry, he didn't try any

Eli made some bitter beer faces- he seems to be over discovering his feet, but now he has discovered is own lips

Afterwards we went to Old Town. We went in some little boutiques, watched some street performers, 

and showed Eli where our wedding reception was. 

 Ahhh memory lane.

It was beautiful weather and Eli was asleep in the Tula, so we kept doing things just because we could and we were having so much fun.

That's when we took it too far.

You know when you are painting something and you look at it and think,
"Wow, that looks pretty good! It may just need a little something more"
and then you ruin it.

I do that a lot.

This time is was frozen yogurt.
(of note: we also saw real life Dwight Shrute. He looked, dressed, and acted the same as Dwight: if Dwight had ridden a bike- it was A-MAZ-ING)

It was there, it looked yummy, and it meant that we got to spend more time in Old Town.

"Wait, I thought you got dessert with dinner"

Yes, yes we did.

We both ended up eating too much and feeling sick the rest of the night.

BUT- the date night itself was pretty amazing!

We went home to pack for our 24 hour Kansas City Adventure the next day...

Mamma Needs a Break

I've been a bit emotional this week (thanks hormones) and I had my first "Mommy needs a break" moment. Last weekend, Rico had lots of plans. That meant I was watching Eli, like a lot. 

During an alumni game.

After the game while Rico went for drinks.

The next day when he went to work on the house.

During the couple hours he was getting ready for/ doing the draft.

Before I knew it, the weekend was over and I felt like it never started.

Don't get me wrong, I love my little baby and spending time with him, but I look forward to weekends just like working people do so I can get a little relief by having a partner to help me out. Even if it is just being able to have someone to hold Eli so I don't have to plan 5 hours in advance how I am going to squeeze a shower in- that kind of freedom on the weekend is VERY freeing.

I also know that Rico needs downtime too, and to be honest a lot of what was letting me get so down about it all was that I didn't have something planned. I had some fun-times jealousy going on.

I know every stay at home mom goes through this at one point or another.

That moment where your husband comes home and you've reached the breaking point and he had no idea it was coming. 

So, poor Rico got the, "I need to go somewhere tonight" talk, with the look that said I meant business.

"Where?" 

"Anywhere that is alone"

It sounds so harsh…not as harsh as "anywhere but with the baby", but yes, that IS what I was saying. It sounds horrible, it really does, but I NEEDED it. 

I feel silly complaining. I have an AMAZING network of people that help me LITERALLY every day. 

I walk to my parents' house everyday and we spend the morning with them so I can get breakfast…

I have amazing in-laws that watch Eli so I can make dinner.

I have it pretty dang easy. 

But here's the thing, I am still in mom mode. 

I still have to think about when he last napped and how many hours he has been awake so I know when he needs to go back down.

I still have to think about when he last ate, and how long, so I know when to expect crankiness or naps for the day so I can try to plan my day around that (for example, I can't feed him at 10:30 and expect to then go home from my parents' house because he'll be sleepy and if I put him in the car seat he'll wake up. Yes he'll go back to sleep in the car, but he'll be up again when I have to get him out. If that happens then there goes one nap for the day, and he'll be really grumpy for the next few hours and I can kiss the rest of the afternoon goodbye). 

Every action has a counter action.

It is a domino effect and my mind is constantly busy thinking about those things, EVEN IF someone else is holding him.

When to change his clothes.

When to change a diaper.

When to run an errand.

When I can get a shower.

Whether he goes to sleep in our room or his crib.

Whether or not to swaddle.

How much time he spends laying down.

If he's had enough calm play time.

If he's had enough sleep.

If he's had the right number of diapers.

All of these seem like simple decisions or easy tings to note, but when you think about them ALL the time, and the repercussion for not thinking 12 steps ahead on any one of these decisions is a screaming baby who is sad or scared or overly tired or overstimulated- you get drained. 

You want a moment to think about nothing.

So, I escaped to Target. I wandered the aisles. 

Yes, I ended up only buying things for Eli.

Yes, I still had to plan out feedings and dinner and naps in order to do it. 

But I did it.

and it was good.

Why share this:

1- I want to look back and read these and remember these feelings. (I am sure I will look back and laugh at how small my problems were)

2- I think almost everyone goes through this

3- It explains why my next post seems so super awesome. We do a lot of fun things. BUT, this weekend we really did a LOT. One of the reasons this weekend was SO very awesome was that Rico knew how I was feeling- and he also knew that he was going to be abandoning me all Saturday to do his big fantasy draft in KC (and to have some guy time that he had planned months ago that involved NOT having a baby nearby). 

He knew I was going to need all the Rico time I could get outside of that Saturday. And boy oh boy did he deliver. I had a blast.

THANK GOODNESS I have such a thoughtful, helpful, and considerate husband.

This Sunday is Bananas

B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

Recently Eli has been showing some cues that he is ready to start weaning soon- he's started the creepy "I'm going to watch you as you put every piece of food in your mouth and look pathetic and sad" phase.

So, (as long as I am eating something that is REAL food) I have been rubbing some food on his lips so he can taste it.

Just this afternoon he tried raspberries, strawberries, peaches, ice, blueberries, 

aaaand bananas.

 He really liked the bananas. 

 And I got THIS look when I tried to take it away…

 and when I finally DID take it away, there was some whining involved. Speaking of whining, a TRAVESTY occurred today.

Yes, I am being dramatic.

I was nominated for the ALS Ice bucket challenge by Rico's aunt. 

Alright. 

I love a theme.

I love events.

I love documenting themed events.

That wasn't the travesty.

I got everything together and started assigning rolls. 

My mother in law was in charge of dumping the ice water. 

My father in law was in charge of watching Eli.

and Rico, Rico was in charge of the camera. 

I gave him directorial notes- to start by letting his mom talk, then pan out to show me standing in the duck pool and give his mom the sign to dump when he was ready. I ended by saying, "Don't worry about stopping and starting, I can always edit things out"

She said her line, Rico backed up, gave the sign, the FREEZING water came down, I ran around the yard screaming a little bit and then it happened.

Rico: "oh no"

Me: "What do you mean oh no?" 

Rico: "I didn't get it"

Sounds like a cruel joke, right? No. Really. 

He got his mom talking for 2 seconds before it started. 

He got the grass with my voice as I ran arond the yard after it was over.

What he DIDN'T get was any part of the actual moment itself.

Fail.

He suggested that I at least take a picture to prove I did it. 

"Be sure to get the duck pool in it and the ice in the grass so everyone knows I really did it"

and this, THIS folks is the unedited photo. 

Double fail.

Can a girl catch a break?!

I hadn't planned to nominate anyone to complete the challenge until I was standing in a far, soaking from freezing water, with no video and only a crappy picture to prove it.

Rico, you're up.

Yes, yes I am somehow managing to make a charitable act about me and being grumpy about it. 

It isn't my finest moment. 

Clearly.

Zoo's, Drive-in's, Giggling, and Other Events in the life of a 4 month old

SO much random stuff in our lives. Eli is finally to an age where he cares about the world around him, so that means introducing him to new things is actually fun for him.

Like when we introduce him to himself-

in the mirror. Earlier this month he started recognizing himself and not just me. (forgive our working out outfits- we had just ended a walk/run)

We went to the zoo with Rico's cousin and aunt- 

and he ACTUALLY stayed awake.

He also giggled (without prompting) when we went to the gorillas…so obviously I am now declaring that his favorite animal.

Tigers

Feeding giraffes

She also got to see BOTH the little ones (Eli AND his cousin Grace) at the same time!

We took our first family date to the movies.

Adapted for family friendliness: the drive in.

We saw Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hercules, and Transformers.

Man, I really went full force into this boy-mom thing huh?

It was AWESOME.

Eli had his usual 9pm goodnight feeding and was OUT like a light even before trailers (we brought his changing pad for him to sleep on). He would wake up from time to time, but it was fine because I could feed him without worrying.

It also didn't hurt that the movie passes were free from my sister, so if it had been a miserable failure, we could have left.

I also ate 3 boxes of candy.

Yep.

Eli has found a new passion for giggling:

He did it before, but now it is more common.

Mainly because he finally gets the idea of toys

Like Mr. Owl, the puppet my sister bought for my baby shower

Or when he thinks that my hiccups are just the funniest

 We tried a little outdoor splash time.

 I'm not going to lie, it didn't go well.

 Ok, it wasn't THAT bed, that was just his initial reaction. He just didn't seem to care.

 We made our first trip to the library

 where Nana kept Eli busy (by reading books about how much grandmas love their grand kids on the tiniest cutest little blue couch) 

while me and a little british 4 year old picked out some books for Eli's bedtimes.

I hope I keep up weekly trips to the library. I LOVE picking out books for him and then getting to read new and different things each night. Plus, I love the idea that I'll have a record of all the books he's read.

And obviously the cheapskate part of me loves it too.

I have already been back to get children's music CD's. 

I'm obsessed.

Also: of note. Sandra Boynton is my current author of choice. The books are just long enough and the pages are perfect for little hands to "help" turn

Rico took a break from working on the house to go swimming with Eli

Don't miss the last 3 seconds of this video…it turns out that board short swimsuits with netting may STILL require a diaper.

Lesson learned.

BUT, I am SO proud of my husband for using correct terminology.

This former sex-ed teaching mom is proud.

 And then just some random pictures because I am obsessed with my child:

Playing apples to apples with some of the grandparents for an impromptu Friday night game night

Summerfest: we were part of some magic tricks,  visited some emergency vehicles, got free ice cream sandwiches, AND SAW A FREAKING NINJA TURTLE. Too bad Eli slept through it all. Except the magic- it is hard to sleep through your mind being blown.

First family dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant (since I was a little girl)

Daddy's Alumni Game

All the sudden, after years of playing, Rico and his brother were the oldest people playing at our High School soccer alumni game. 

Our friend (and Rico's old teammate) is the head coach now, and he holds this event each year where the varsity team scrimmages alumni.

I can honestly say I don't think I watched more than 10 seconds in a row of the game

 (I brought Eli- 'nuff said), 

but based on Rico's sweat and comments after the game, I may be glad I didn't see the torture that was him trying to re-live his glory days.

Obviously, Eli wasn't impressed. He slept on my lap through the last 15 minutes.

Afterwards, we visited the new panther head outside the locker rooms. Just a couple of weeks ago Rico's uncle was in at enrollment (I helped work it) showing us a mock-up for this "good luck" head he was helping to create for the football team to rub before coming out on the field- and here it was. 

Very cool.

I made us document Eli's first time rubbing the head. It could make a cute parallel if it becomes (and stays) a tradition when he is in high school.

I also took one of my very very favorite pictures of Rico and Eli. Our little one was sweetly sleeping on his sweaty daddy looking over the football/soccer field that we had so many memories of growing up/dating- and that hopefully he will too.

Melt. My. Heart.

Daredevil 4 Month Pictures

Everyone does it now, a picture each month next to the same object to document how thier baby is growing. 

I bet everyone else is about a week late each time too…right?!

Well, I fianlly remembered to shoot some of Eli's 4 month pictures

He was so sweet and it was hitting me that he is sitting up so well now.

What DIDN'T hit me was that Eli likes to play this game where he jumps off of whoever is holding him. 

and that his chair is a rocking chair.

and that those two things could be dangerous.

"Look mom! Here I come!" (yes, I talk for my child)

Thank goodness for Rico's quick hands.

It was like watching slow-mo. 

And Eli didn't realize anything was wrong. 

Gravity? Pshhhh. 

4 month checkup

4 months-

Thank goodness, Eli's stats are MUCH more in proportion this time (no 98th percentile head and 54th percentile body)

Could have fooled me with this picture angle

for the record:

Weight: 16 pounds 12oz (74th percentile)

Height: 25 1/2 in (72nd percentile)

Head Circumference: 43.4 cm (78th percentile)

So, basically, our dude is averagely big. Works for me.

Fun in my ever-saucer

The pediatrician ran through all the milestones he should be reaching and it was like hearing a checklist of my daily life (imagine all of his parts with a middle eastern accent)

Fine Motor Skills:

"He should be grabbing for toys and hair…" (as Eli has a fist full that he just plucked from my head-not hard to do thanks to those hormonal shifts)

Socially: 

"And smiiiiling and making noises with eye contact, and flirrrrrting- like he is with me right now"

"And mimicking"

"He may be starting to teethe in the next month or two…or now based on that trail of slobber"

His reward for being so awesome? Shots. 

Lots and lots of shots.

As I write this he is "talking" to his dad…he has been "talking" for the last 20 minutes- straight. It sounds a lot like whining, but it isn't technically whining. He is also slobbering. Everywhere. And pooping. He (happily) held it in for almost a week and then after being grumpy for a few hours out of nowhere- BOOM, "poop storms" that have taken out onsies, his exer-saucer seat, blankets (yes, multiple blankets), and the bumbo: multiple times.

…and then some pictures just for fun

Batman

Playing with Daddy

Family pic after Church

Overalls…grandmas freaking LOVE overalls. It is a universal truth

Nana with her grandbabies

Eli's new toy! I bought it for the future, but he actually had lots of fun on it already