I've done very little posting since my "month" of posts in May, which I didn't meet my goal and post nightly, but I felt like I made some good progress at keeping up with happenings around here! Mainly, school is out and we're off and running! This is our first summer break, and though I originally thought it would change very little from previous summers, I've found my first summer "break" to be be quite overwhelming to say the least. Trying to find a good balance between giving the kids a break and keeping up with some semblance of a routine has proven difficult to say the least, especially when my level of energy seems to be bottoming out most days. I was getting a little concerned about my level of get up and go, until we had a cool day last week and I was up at dawn and working until dark. And I thought to myself, "I'm big and pregnant and it's hot and sticky, of course I don't feel like doing anything!" But it's still a little disconcerting to feel so lifeless! It was good to get that break in the weather to ease my mind into knowing that was for sure what was happening.
Anyway, our first event was the day after school got out. We left on a 20 hour road trip to see Philip's side of the family at their annual reunion on the lake and then followed his parents back to Lubbock, TX for some grandparent time. We even fit in visiting a couple of friends on the way down and back. I was a little apprehensive about making this trip again, Philip may even say I went overboard with my "boy scout preparedness" initiative, but it was worth it. I spent the weeks before the trip assembling a car sick kit, a first aid kit, a hotel kit, general health kit (bug spray, hair ties, sunscreen, etc), and an extra outfit for each child marked with name, season and size. -- Fortunately, we didn't have to pull out too many of our tricks along the way, but Gabe did get car sick once in the last 2 hour leg of our journey . . . so close! -- I did feel a calm about the trip despite our previous experience after I felt like I was ready for anything!
So, let's give a quick update of the kids lives in June:
Callie is ready for summer to end and school to be back. (Not even kidding) She is even requesting school work to do. Yes people, she wants some worksheets. In the meantime, she's reading full books on her own and to her brothers (pictured below). I'm so proud of her progress. When she started with her word lists this past school year, she had very little confidence and therefore very little desire to even attempt reading, making it very challenging for us as parents. -- Seriously, knowing your child can do something but won't has to be one of the worst parts of parenting!! -- Now she's reading Green Eggs and Ham to Nolan and Gabriel! She's having fun with her swimming lessons with Daddy this year and getting really close to being a confident swimmer all on her own! We've also found out that she is going to need some pre-orthodontic work done, so we've been to the dentist several times this summer dealing with that. She's been practicing her piano a lot and can now play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" from memory. Callie's a big help around the house most days and is making it hard to want to send her back to school! ;-)
Gabriel turned 4 on June 9th and we had a big party for him that down at Gramma and Pappaw's house. He got a little overwhelmed in all the festivities, but enjoyed it immensely overall! (He had a small celebration with his IL family at home before our trip as well.) His aunt and grandparents in Texas really went all out to help us pull off a great celebration for our little man. The decorations, game, food and cake were all so much fun! He had fun for days with the bean bag toss that his Pappaw made for him! Soon, he'll be transitioning into his big boy bed as we get ready to move the boys into a room together to make room for our newest little. I'm sure he'll be really proud that he's ready to be all "grown up"! Other than that, he's been having a blast playing with Callie all day, an activity which he truly missed while she was away during the day.
Nolan is also excited that Callie is home all day, too. You can tell he really thinks she's the cat's meow . . . Speaking of that, he loves crawling around on the floor and panting, pretending he's a dog. Although, we've figured out that what the dog says is what all animals say right now, so he could think he's pretending to be all sorts of animals!! (haha) Nolan is a child that can (and will) talk sometimes, but most of the time chooses not to. I don't know that it necessarily means he's going to be quiet like his daddy, or if it's just a stage that we'll long for in years to come. His personality, as I've said before, is extremely different from Callie and Gabriel.
Case in point: The other day, I told Gabe to walk slowly and carefully around the pool. I looked over again and he was tip-toeing with the speed of a turtle to go get his toy. Contrast that with Nolan, who basically throws his body in a direction and hopes his feet catch up. There's a small step down between the living room and playroom which makes that very apparent. 9 times out of 10 Nolan hits that step as fast as he can, flying off of it hoping he can stop his feet and body before hitting the opposite wall. The other times, he'll carefully step down while holding onto the door frame. (Why the difference you may ask?? I can find no discernible pattern!)
Nolan definitely keeps us on our toes, even more than Gabriel (which is saying a lot). Last week, I felt like he looked like Rocky after a fight he had taken so many tumbles and bumps. I think he may be our football linebacker! But then, he turns around and is so very sweet. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he often makes me feel like a first time parent because I just never know with him!
Philip is in his busy season at work. Who knew that when the campus was mainly empty, it would be the best time to work over all the computer systems?!? He's been working long and hard on projects, but we're hoping he'll get a little break before his work trip this month so he can work on another presentation for the conference. So proud of all the work he's doing, and especially that he's getting some recognition for it. :-) He works hard for our family -- we've always known that -- and we're thrilled that others are noticing that too!
I've said where I'm at. Spending time walking in the pool has been nice. Getting a little exercise and getting some pressure off my joints has been just what the doctor ordered! I'm also waist deep in projects I'd like to get finished before little Skylar makes her appearance. :-0 Never ending, am I right??
Well, I guess that covers most of our month of June! God bless you and yours!
Anyway, our first event was the day after school got out. We left on a 20 hour road trip to see Philip's side of the family at their annual reunion on the lake and then followed his parents back to Lubbock, TX for some grandparent time. We even fit in visiting a couple of friends on the way down and back. I was a little apprehensive about making this trip again, Philip may even say I went overboard with my "boy scout preparedness" initiative, but it was worth it. I spent the weeks before the trip assembling a car sick kit, a first aid kit, a hotel kit, general health kit (bug spray, hair ties, sunscreen, etc), and an extra outfit for each child marked with name, season and size. -- Fortunately, we didn't have to pull out too many of our tricks along the way, but Gabe did get car sick once in the last 2 hour leg of our journey . . . so close! -- I did feel a calm about the trip despite our previous experience after I felt like I was ready for anything!
So, let's give a quick update of the kids lives in June:
Callie is ready for summer to end and school to be back. (Not even kidding) She is even requesting school work to do. Yes people, she wants some worksheets. In the meantime, she's reading full books on her own and to her brothers (pictured below). I'm so proud of her progress. When she started with her word lists this past school year, she had very little confidence and therefore very little desire to even attempt reading, making it very challenging for us as parents. -- Seriously, knowing your child can do something but won't has to be one of the worst parts of parenting!! -- Now she's reading Green Eggs and Ham to Nolan and Gabriel! She's having fun with her swimming lessons with Daddy this year and getting really close to being a confident swimmer all on her own! We've also found out that she is going to need some pre-orthodontic work done, so we've been to the dentist several times this summer dealing with that. She's been practicing her piano a lot and can now play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" from memory. Callie's a big help around the house most days and is making it hard to want to send her back to school! ;-)
Gabriel turned 4 on June 9th and we had a big party for him that down at Gramma and Pappaw's house. He got a little overwhelmed in all the festivities, but enjoyed it immensely overall! (He had a small celebration with his IL family at home before our trip as well.) His aunt and grandparents in Texas really went all out to help us pull off a great celebration for our little man. The decorations, game, food and cake were all so much fun! He had fun for days with the bean bag toss that his Pappaw made for him! Soon, he'll be transitioning into his big boy bed as we get ready to move the boys into a room together to make room for our newest little. I'm sure he'll be really proud that he's ready to be all "grown up"! Other than that, he's been having a blast playing with Callie all day, an activity which he truly missed while she was away during the day.
Nolan is also excited that Callie is home all day, too. You can tell he really thinks she's the cat's meow . . . Speaking of that, he loves crawling around on the floor and panting, pretending he's a dog. Although, we've figured out that what the dog says is what all animals say right now, so he could think he's pretending to be all sorts of animals!! (haha) Nolan is a child that can (and will) talk sometimes, but most of the time chooses not to. I don't know that it necessarily means he's going to be quiet like his daddy, or if it's just a stage that we'll long for in years to come. His personality, as I've said before, is extremely different from Callie and Gabriel.
Case in point: The other day, I told Gabe to walk slowly and carefully around the pool. I looked over again and he was tip-toeing with the speed of a turtle to go get his toy. Contrast that with Nolan, who basically throws his body in a direction and hopes his feet catch up. There's a small step down between the living room and playroom which makes that very apparent. 9 times out of 10 Nolan hits that step as fast as he can, flying off of it hoping he can stop his feet and body before hitting the opposite wall. The other times, he'll carefully step down while holding onto the door frame. (Why the difference you may ask?? I can find no discernible pattern!)
Nolan definitely keeps us on our toes, even more than Gabriel (which is saying a lot). Last week, I felt like he looked like Rocky after a fight he had taken so many tumbles and bumps. I think he may be our football linebacker! But then, he turns around and is so very sweet. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he often makes me feel like a first time parent because I just never know with him!
Philip is in his busy season at work. Who knew that when the campus was mainly empty, it would be the best time to work over all the computer systems?!? He's been working long and hard on projects, but we're hoping he'll get a little break before his work trip this month so he can work on another presentation for the conference. So proud of all the work he's doing, and especially that he's getting some recognition for it. :-) He works hard for our family -- we've always known that -- and we're thrilled that others are noticing that too!
I've said where I'm at. Spending time walking in the pool has been nice. Getting a little exercise and getting some pressure off my joints has been just what the doctor ordered! I'm also waist deep in projects I'd like to get finished before little Skylar makes her appearance. :-0 Never ending, am I right??
Well, I guess that covers most of our month of June! God bless you and yours!
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