Updates/Stats/Anna at 6 months

Summer! Oh, summer, how you escape me! I literally canNOT believe that school starts next week. NEXT WEEK!! I keep reminding myself, though, especially when I look at my summer bucket list with several fun things that we never got around to, that there are still a good 8 weeks or more of warm weather, even if school is in session. So we can still be doing fun things for awhile, I hope.

Lots of updates. The biggest (most time consuming) update is that the patio is D.O.N.E. (Well, we are currently trying to grow grass around the outside, but that takes time. And lots of watering. But other than that.)

Brian worked his God-fearing tail off building this patio. I am forever amazed at his work ethic. And he's been so tired because he's really busy at work and we're trying to do summer fun, and you know...also the four children. But a couple of pictures... (incomplete because I can't get to my real-camera files right now - just Brian's phone photos)

Once the stones arrived, I couldn't believe how quickly it came together. It was like a big puzzle.

Two days to lay all the leveling sand, stones, makes cuts for the corners and steps, and fill in with the anti-weed sand. Shew!

I quickly did my part and filled it with stuff. (I'm most excited that we moved the sandbox so I can see if from the kitchen window. Game changer.)

First meal on the new patio!

So we love it!! Thank you to my wonderful husband for doing all that labor so that we could afford such a beautiful patio. 

Random photo of Luke - I love that we have room on the basement floor for set-ups like this now that we've purged so much stuff.

Katy ended up loving Girl Scout camp. It was actually the best experience she has had in a long time. No hesitation going each morning, talking excitedly about what she's going to do, what she did yesterday, making sure we packed the proper supplies for each day. God bless those leaders - camp is not easy to run! And they are all volunteers!

Rotate, darn it! Oh, well, you get the idea. It's quite the process to get ready for camp each morning - sunscreened and hair covered and body bug sprayed, ankles covered, water bottle frozen, lunch packed, mess kit clean, extra clothes, and on and on. And it all comes home soggy and smelly. 

This weekend Katy and David had a super fun weekend away at Grandpa and Grandma Sue's house. We were trying to remember the last time they stayed overnight without us - it's been a few years. Dad and Sue planned lots of fun activities for them and they had an absolute blast. They went to the county fair, dug for fossils at a local reserve, saw a movie, ate picnics, and had a good ol' time. I also appreciated the chance for Katy and David to do big kid stuff without the Littles holding them back.

The rest of us visited great-grandparents on both ends of the trip and stayed a night with Dad and Sue as well. I will share more pictures later, but for now I love this one of two mini-golfers who are disappointed with their performance on the green. 

School update: We did find out that David is in PM kindergarten with a teacher who is new to the district (but not a brand new teacher). Here's hoping for a good kindergarten experience. Unfortunately, the 3 families that I know with kindergarteners were all assigned to AM. But oh, well, we'll meet new people, I'm sure.

Stats and Anna update:  Three of the kids had well visits in the last week.  Here are some peanut stats:

Katy at 7 years:
43 pounds (10 %'ile)
44.5 inches (5 %'ile) - (but tall enough to ride a new set of rides of Jungle Jacks!)

Luke at 3 years:
29 pounds (25 %'ile)
36.5 inches (25 %'ile)

Anna at 6 months:
14 pounds, 12 ounces (20 %'ile)
26 inches (45 %'ile)

Before she turns 7 months, let's talk about Anna at 6 months old! She rolls around in both directions and has been sleeping through the night (shhh!! may not stick!) for several weeks. She doesn't support herself in sitting, I think she just prefers to stand up. She really does not care to eat cereal or solid food. She's still nursing pretty often throughout the day (every 2-3 hours) but considering she doesn't eat and sleeps so long at night, I'm fine with it. She got her first TWO teeth on the same day just a week ago. She's been a little more fussy and clingy lately, preferring for mom to hold her most of the time that she's awake. Her siblings are the best at making her laugh. I wish I could get it on video! She's at that perfectly precious baby stage - so chubby and smiley and cute. Love my baby girl!