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)