Zoo day

Today my friend Loren and I took our little animals to the zoo. She has season passes and one of them is for a guest, add to that the kiddos were free and I didn't have to spend any money getting in. Thank you Loren!

The zoo was an excuse to get together, enjoy the gorgeous weather and have a change of scenery. I was incredibly surprised at how much Elyse and I enjoyed the day. You wouldn't think a 6 month old would be so interested in everything that was going on. It took her a little while because at first she was just enjoying riding in the stroller and looking around but once things got interactive she was squealing to her hearts content. She liked looking through the underground glass at the manatees, fish, turtles, otters, etc. because they would swim up so close to her. She would try to grab the fish with her hands and I was amazed at how fast she could keep up with them. She also LOVES kids and she really enjoyed all the other "little people" crowding around to see. She even got to pet a stingray and I was once again amazed that after careful observation of what was going on around her, she just reached her little hand in and touched one. Situations like that are really making me realize what a quiet observer she is. She may not be doing or saying much but she is definitely taking it all in. I'm in awe of it.

I think I liked this day so much because I really feel like Elyse and I both got a lot of enjoyment out of it. After Elyse's first nap on Monday I went to lunch and walked around in Hyde Park Village for a little while with some friends. When we got back I put her down for her long nap and when she awoke I strapped her in the car seat and ran some errands. I told Matt that night that it was so nice to get out and see my friends and even though I had been with Elyse all day I didn't feel like I really spent any time with her. Today was the best of all of those worlds. Matt's busy schedule and even busy days with Elyse remind me that even if I'm with the ones I love all day long I still need to try and be intentional with that time.

It took us some work getting there but I can proudly say Elyse is a champion sleeper and has been for awhile. Most nights we put her to bed between 6:30 and 7pm and don't have to go back in until after 7am. She takes 2 good naps a day and is a delightful, rested child....unless you're on the go. She doesn't usually sleep well on the move but the excitement of the day finally got to her and I was delighted to be able to snap a shot of her snoozing away in the stroller. She already has chosen her little security "snuggie" and I'm thankful I remembered to bring it along. I've read and friends have told me that babies don't get attached to a security object until they're around a year old but she has definitely bonded with this one. I was washing him (I'm not sure why I call him "him", it is a pink bear after all but saying "her" seems confusing so "him" it is) the other day and he wasn't quite dry when she was ready to nap so I put her down with a substitute snuggie. She went down rougher and awoke 20 minutes into her nap, both are unusual. By that point snuggie was dry so I walked into her room with him, leaned over and peered into her crib. She immediately snatched the little bear up and tucked him right up to her chest, rolled to her side and fell fast asleep. Yes, she loves him and I love how she loves him.

Now this should be a Pepsi ad! I washed out the cup for her and she really enjoyed chewing on it. It's so hard to believe they sell sodas that are half of the size of my daughter but they do, I bought one and it was good.

This is a picture I took before Matt left for work this morning. I love capturing moments like this and in my own little way freezing them in time. It's such a simple picture and what they're doing is nothing spectacular. No one is posing or dressed up. He's in his work clothes, she's in her pajamas. It's a dirty window opening to a boring porch and a backyard of dying grass. Somehow it's still just so sweet to me. As I quietly watched them from a distance, before I grabbed my camera, a thousand words were spoken but no one said a thing. I love the way he loves her. We are very blessed girls!