Week 26: More of the same

More crabby baby, more pool, more fun thrown in here and there. And a whole lot of origami. We came across origami yoda and the boys are hooked on creating paper Star Wars characters. Charlotte enjoyed her first dip in the pool, as long as you didn't dip her in too deep and gave her Cheerios after. The huge bubbles were at Frank's work picnic.

Weeks 24 & 25: Sleep, eat, cry, repeat

I don't even know what to say. The last few weeks have been rough. I tried to prepare myself for summer the best I could, but entertaining (or just surviving) three kids all day every day is just hard. Zach with his never-ending questions...it is so ridiculous I've considered trying to get him on video. With Gabe I never know if he will be happy or grumpy, and he's become extremely picky with his eating. And Charlotte is teething. Well, one tooth has come through so far, which coincidentally I noticed the day after she slept through the night for the first time (June 10th). Either she's got more coming or has become the clingiest baby I've ever met for some other reason. We've experienced entire days where she is crying unless I am holding her or she's stuffing her face with Cheerios. If you've wondered lately "Hmm, I haven't heard anything from Beth in a while..." I've either been trying to feed someone or hiding from the crying in my bathroom. Just kidding (sort of). It's been that crazy around here.

But there have been highlights. Of course the sleeping through the night is a big one. She's totally slept through, no crying or anything, only twice. But in general it hasn't been bad, and she sleeps from 5:30/6 pm to 6/7 am. I weaned her, which I don't think she was entirely on board for, but she wasn't doing gradual very well so I ended it. Now she just wakes up a time or two for a diaper change, her pacifier to be put back in, or for us to move her out of the corner she's stuck in.

Larry and Mary came to visit us, and it was a wonderful weekend. We had fondue, which Zach was most excited to try, Larry helped the boys build some projects and helped Frank fix the lawn mower, Frank and I went out to dinner, and we all went to Muriale's for lunch. It was just a nice break in our routine, if a bit busy but was enjoyed by everyone.

The boys are taking swim lessons that are 45 minutes M-F mornings for two weeks. They may only be a highlight for Zach, as Gabe has taken to sitting on the side and watching. We aren't sure why he was fine for most of the first class but then decided it wasn't for him. I've managed to get him to sit with his legs in the water. It doesn't really matter, it just means next time he'd have to be in the tadpole class again. At least it's been something to get us out of the house. They have a few more sessions this summer, and when a mom sitting by me asked if the boys were signed up for the next one all I could do was laugh. No, maybe we'll try again next summer.

I keep telling myself, "The days are long, but the years are short." Over and over again. And I keep taking pictures.

I think this was a happy yell, but looking at it now I think it could be either. No picture of that tooth yet.

Helping clean before Grandpa and Mary's visit.

Grandpa had given them little wood projects from Lowe's. We got them kid-sized hammers.

Lunch outside at Muriale's.

My favorite picture from that weekend.

Week 23: Myrtle Beach, the second half

We packed a lot into the trip, at least as much as we could handle with all the kids. Here's some more stuff we did:

half the group went deep sea fishing, and everyone caught something!

the rest of us stayed at the house, some took the kids to the park
Lisa taught Zach to play dominos
the kids ate ice cream cones (a first for Charlotte), and Gabe was annoyed he had to be photographed holding the cone he didn't want to eat!
we went down to the beach again; we found that afternoon and evening was a very comfortable time to go, and Charlotte helped me look for shells
we made s'mores!

some of us got massages; it was my first time and it was awesome

some took a dip in the pool
family photo
we went to an amusement park but had to leave early because of a storm

the boys and others played mini golf (I use the term "played" loosely)

we squeezed in a little more beach time before vacation ended
the couples went to the boardwalk for dinner and fun while Grandma and Lisa babysat

Yay for family! So when's the next vacation?!?