Summer

We're in full force summer mode, even though the thermometer hasn't touched the mid-80's more than once or twice. We're getting into somewhat of a routine and figuring out what summer looks like for our family. The hard part is that with this many young children, especially with the baby and toddler, it's really difficult to go places. I cannot/will not take them to the pool, the zoo, the museum, etc, by myself. It's plain ol' not safe at this point. So we are planning a few things for evenings and weekends when Daddy's here to help. And the big kids have a few drop-off programs that they will be doing (like VBS and Girl Scout camp). But we're spending a lot of time at home, and inviting a lot of friends over to play at our house, where the baby can nap and I have all the supplies that I need for endless snacks and potty accidents and the like.

Both of the boys are making new strides on their bikes, as seen in videos above. Luke just took off on David's old bike and I can't believe it! He just needs a little help turning around but he's doing great. And David's cautiously working on learning to ride without training wheels. It's a process. By next summer, if David and Katy are both on 2 wheels, I could put Luke and Anna in the trailer and we'd be more mobile to parks that are close by, etc.

Brian went on a four day trip to help his good friend Joey move from Texas to Florida. I know I am totally spoiled that he doesn't travel much, and I even had my mom and sister close by to help with a few things. But it was still hard! As cliche as it sounds, I don't know how single parents or parents with spouses who travel do it. Really tough.

Melanie is moving out on Friday. I am really going to miss having her around, both for her company and for her assistance with the littles. But she's moving in with friends and is ready to have a little of her own life again. And we will be able to move our 5 month old out of the pack n' play in our room and into a crib! In her own room! And stop waking her up by accident when we need to take a shower or change clothes or get something out of the closet, etc.

This week and last, Katy and David have had some morning programs to keep them busy. David is doing Safety City, which is a fabulous program put on by our local police department. I am amazed at how well it is run. And they learn SO much. David absolutely loves it. He was so proud of himself for earning his junior officer badge for reciting his address and phone number. And he loves riding the bikes around the pretend city, following traffic signals.

Katy did a geocaching class that she loved. I still don't completely understand it, but it was an outdoor treasure hunt and they even learned historic facts and landmarks around our town, so it was perfectly up her alley. She enjoyed it so much that she had no hesitation about going each day, which was great.

We're supposed to start evening swim lessons next week but we haven't set foot in the pool because it's been so chilly! I'm hoping for a heatwave over the weekend? Not looking likely...

Anna's rolling over consistently. We call her Sneakypants, because the first several times, we just laid her down on her back, turned around and she was on her tummy - no one saw her do it. But now we have eye-witness proof that she's got it down. She's still a great sleeper, knock on wood, waking up once most nights and sometimes even sleeping through. I know this could change, but I'll take it for now!

My dad crashed at our house one night between a graduation party and a meeting for drill (he serves in the Ohio National Guard). He was here in the morning long enough to see the kids show them their new foot racing skills on the front sidewalk, motivated by the new sneakers they all got over the weekend.  This is what we look like at 9 in the morning:

They had the Spiderman costumes on so early that Dad asked if they slept in them (they didn't).