Fun at the Zoo

Levi is three weeks old. I can't remember what it was ever like without him! He is the greatest gift and we are all quite smitten.

I'm feeling pretty good, although I'm still completely swollen from the extra IV fluids they gave me for the antibiotic drip (it was burning so badly, so they diluted it more, which ended up filling my body with twice as much fluid.) My abdomen and my feet/ankles are the most swollen- obviously, ha!- and I'm anticipating another few weeks before I see much progress, so I'm trying to give myself grace and focus on what matters more: loving this sweet, soft little baby.

 21 days old

Since our school system has vacation weeks in late February and again in late April, we decided we'd take Levi to the zoo on a bright, sunny day during April vacation. We brought Mimi along for reinforcement. :) 

I have to say, I was a complete basket case at even the thought of driving anywhere with Levi for the first couple weeks after his birth- I was totally intimidated! I don't even know why, it's not like this is my first rodeo. So funny how things affect us sometimes. I finally worked up the nerve to go to Toys 'R'Us to look for a baby wrap/carrier with him, but I dragged Isabelle with me for moral support. She was a big help! After that first voyage out, I've never looked back. So funny!

So here we are at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA. It's very small and quaint, but I've always thought the people who work there take such good care of the animals, and that makes a world of difference to me.

We had explored about half the zoo when little Levi started to come unglued. I had him in the jogger, where he slept peacefully for about an hour, and then I knew I'd have to find a spot to feed him. I am not ashamed or embarrassed to nurse in public, howeverrrrr, I still feel that it's a private thing between me and my child, and I don't feel the need to share that with the world staring at me. We found this little bench near the monkey exhibit and I thought it looked quiet enough to relax a bit and feed him. It was chilly so I covered us both up pretty well, and it's a good thing I wore a long scarf because I leaked all over one side of my top and had to cover that up after. Ugh. Hormones.

 22 days old

Maybe someone is not such a big fan of the zoo?

Uh-oh, that's cue for Mommy to take over ;)

Later in the day...

look at that perfect little pout!

Ack, just want to eat him up!!!

I had to maneuver a diaper change on the passenger seat of the van, and Levi was not happy about it. And feed him again before we left. The boys are pretty good about it, as it can be a tad awkward. Then we set out for ice cream cones!

 I had a few licks and they were so yummy! And huge!

All tuckered out - sometimes he sleeps with his mouth wide open and it cracks us up to no end :)

I had just buckled Levi back into his seat and placed him in the van, and he stayed asleep! Jonah wanted to take a selfie with me. :) 

Such a nice day!

I realized that I didn't take even one picture of an actual animal at the zoo, ha ha ha! I think our favorite thing was watching the monkeys- there was a brand new baby, and it was so mischievous and funny. I watched for a long while while I nursed Levi. They are quite entertaining! I was hoping that the river otters would come out and play, because they're one of my favorites, but they were lazy bums and just slept the whole time, ha.

We've visited the Stone Zoo several times throughout the years, and I have actual animal pics from our other trips, like this one.

After today, I think I'm getting the hang of this five kids out-and-about thing... although Ethan stayed home to work on a big project, so then again, who knows?

A Trip to the Stone Zoo

I can't believe we're at Week Two already! Isabelle adores her teacher, and there are so many interesting things I'm doing with the boys right now, I truly do wake up excited about what each day has in store for us.

A few weeks ago, when Ethan was playing soccer with the Big Boys at a local college, we revisited the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA. It's really small, but the people there are extremely knowledgeable and you can tell how much they love all of "their" animals. That makes such a difference to me. It was threatening rain, which made me a little nervous- just because it makes walking around outside with a camera not so much fun- but we risked it and it worked out just fine. Whew! It was also special to me because I remember the first time we went there about five years ago- one of our very first outings as a family of six! Seems like it was just last week and a whole lifetime ago all at the same time.

Look how tiny they are!!

I remember it all like it was just yesterday!

It's so funny those things we remember, but I specifically remember that these were the very last set of matching outfits that my boys wore. I had purchased a nice trio of polo shirts from Gymboree for them for that fall, but they went and grew, and then the sizes weren't right. And by that point, they weren't really interested in matching anymore. Well, they may not have matched, but they stayed coordinated, let me tell you.  ;)

They were so sweet to do this for me...

5 years later

Okay, so Jonah and Caleb are on opposite sides. No worries!

This photo is probably more telling of how they really felt about this. ha ha

They had a hard time dragging me away from the big cats.

I love me some big cats.

This little cutie kept coming over to my little cutie, trying to get her attention. It was so funny!

We liked the bird show...my husband was asked to be a volunteer, and one of the birds retrieved a soda can from him to go toss in the recycle box. HA

These guys are so majestic and powerful looking as they soar overhead. Up close, I think they're just kind of creepy.

Like a mad scientist or something. Well, I wouldn't want to get in his way.

You gotta have the ol' flamingo pic. Apparently my children know how this works, and I do not. You really have to stick your face in there!

More kitties.

Oh, this cat kept ogling me. She liked me. A lot.  =)

This handsome fella was completely bored with his admirers. Or simply making fun of them by sticking out his tongue every few minutes.

 This guy came over to say hello.

Look how much bigger they all are! Not fair! Where did my babies go?!?!?

Aaaaaaand, back to the big cats. There were two in here, and they kept pouncing on each other, and then one would rub all over this log. And of course the other would have to come and rub all over it to replace the scent. Back and forth they went- it was so cute! They are absolutely gorgeous in person! Breaks my heart to think of all these beautiful animals being killed for their coats. Just say no to fur!!!

Okay, the morning is marching on and I've got a healthy breakfast to make...I've also got my hands on a new health/nutrition book which has been making me feel great, so I'll share about that soon. Have a great day!!

If you want to see what I'm up to on a more regular basis, you can find me on instagram HERE.  =)

My Special Day of Fun with Caleb and Isabelle

Hey hey, how are you? I am thrilled to have my boys home from camp! Aaaannnnddd, I am behind yet again, even though I promised myself not to let weeks (months, years) lapse before posting about particular happenings in our life. About two weeks ago I grabbed my youngest two for a day full of animals and adventure at York's Wild Animal Kingdom and Amusement Park. I'd been on the fence about bringing Ethan and Jonah, but it worked out perfectly. This place really is suited to a younger crowd, in my opinion. As much as I still don't like doing things/going places without everyone, those older fellas were having a blast with their grandparents. Win win!

Okay, so here come about 100 photos of our fun day. You've been warned.  ;)

First things first, we wanted to see the butterfly habitat. Since they're usually muggy, we kind of wanted to get it out of the way before we got really hot, but it felt pretty cool and comfortable. And it is so, so pretty!

I love butterflies (posas, around our house). I could have stayed there longer, just looking and watching, but these two wanted to move.  =)

Okay, so by the time we got to the lions, we were A. sweating profusely; B. thirsty; C. a nameless person was getting a tad whiny/restless. This is the best photo I got. They were incredible- that big pussy cat of a lion was having a dream, SNORING, and twitching his ginormous paw. Priceless.

Mom fail. Totally forgot to bring some quarters. Thankfully, lots of food gets dropped on the ground so they scrounged up a few pellets to feed the deer.

I also love monkeys and lemurs. They are so fascinating to watch! Every kid (and grown-up too) kept calling these guys King Julian, ha. I may or may not have performed the famous professional whistler scene right there on the spot.

And here's Marty. =)

We had a cooler filled with lunch and drinks in the car, and thankfully the parking lot isn't far, so we recharged and then hit the amusement park. On a side note, if you're a NH resident, I highly recommend the Breathe Fun Pass if you enjoy things like this because Isabelle got in totally free.

Okay, so here is a lovely shot overlooking Short Sands in York, Maine. And then I nearly had a panic attack. Seriously.

Isabelle looks perfectly happy...

...and here I am, trying in vain to take a fun-loving selfie to send to my mister. If you want to torture me, put me on a ferris wheel. I'm not afraid of heights until I look down. And move up backwards. Yikes!

I snapped this one really quickly while we were near the ground. Caleb wanted to go on alone, so he is up in front of us.

My daredevil. He rode this thing at least five times.

I just have to add this so I will always remember: Caleb brought his own money just for the purpose of getting us a special treat while we were there. So thoughtful and kind! We had chocolate eclair bars and Isabelle chose a Hello Kitty popsicle thing. Which melted off the stick and plopped on the ground within minutes because she was too busy looking at everything instead of eating. ha ha

I don't know why this happened, but I'll cherish it forever. He looked over at her and smiled, and asked if she wanted him to hold her hand. Melt my heart.

Big Brother also came to the rescue on this little roller coaster. They were each sitting in their own car, but at the last minute- as in, having to get the guy's attention to stop it right after it began- she pleaded for Caleb to sit with her. I can see the nerves in her expression here.

But she got over it rather quickly. She rode solo on this about 100 times afterwards!

We had such a great day! We walked through some of the zoo again before heading out, and Caleb really, really wanted to ride on the paddle boats. But we couldn't. I was wearing a knee-length skirt because I don't own any shorts, and it was just not the kind of ride a grown woman should be on in a skirt. He didn't understand, and I felt so badly because he got terribly upset about it, and unfortunately we left in kind of a funk at that point. He has such a sweet soul- he apologized several times on the ride home because he didn't want that to ruin the fun we'd had. I was really proud of him. I guess I was mostly disappointed in myself because the reason I didn't have shorts is because I feel self-conscious in them. Boy, that probably sounds so dumb, but it's the truth. My self-consciousness cost me a precious time of fun with my little boy. And I regret that.

So I made myself a pair of shorts, and I've worn them a LOT.  =)