A Little of This and That in June

Summer is at its height, and we've been living it up (and by "living it up," I mean, "slightly changing our normal routine"). So far, we've been . . . 

Walking . . . to the library. We live relatively close to our library, but because of the way the streets in our neighborhood are arranged, there isn't a direct route there. On top of that, one of those streets is quite busy and has been under construction for a year, so we've opted to drive. But Bradley is always begging to walk and decided to make that one of his summer goals. So at the beginning of June, we did just that, and I'm so glad we did. It wasn't suffocatingly hot yet, and with all of the road construction finally done, it was actually quite pleasant. We'll have to do it more often (after it cools down again).

Eating . . . doughnuts. The first Friday of June is National Doughnut Day, and it's one of those random, ridiculous holidays that we happen to take quite seriously. We mark it on the calendar, and we splurge on our favorite doughnuts (Banbury Cross). Yum.

Acquiring . . . some new swimming skills. I signed up the boys for one session of swimming lessons at the beginning of the summer, and they all improved immensely. There was only one day when Clark refused to get in (ironically, on the second to last day), and other than that, he did everything the teacher asked. Aaron and Max learned the butterfly, and Bradley can swim the length of the pool using side breaths.

Drinking . . . hot chocolate. Early in the month, we had a couple of days where the temperature dropped, and it was windy and rainy. Of course, those two days happened to be right in the middle of swimming lessons, but they just cranked up the heat in the pool, and the kids actually loved it. However, getting out of the water was less pleasant, and the only way I convinced them to do it was by promising them hot chocolate when we got home. 

Hanging . . . out poolside. We go to the pool several times a week, and Ian and I spend most of it like this. Luckily, he's a pretty chill baby, and I don't mind an excuse to hold him (except when it's 101-degrees).

Listening . . . to this episode on the Sorta Awesome podcast. With Aaron going into fourth grade this year, I know the time is fast approaching when we'll need to be having these real conversations with him. But in the meantime, I'm gearing up and preparing. 

Gaining . . . weight. Ian has been packing on the pounds like it's his job (which, I guess, it is). At his two month appointment, he was 14 lbs. 5 oz., which put him right in the 97th percentile. I can't say I was surprised since I do have eyes, but I was disappointed nonetheless. I was so hoping he'd let me enjoy his babyhood a bit longer.

Rushing . . . to finish knitting a blanket for Ian's blessing at the beginning of July. I did it, with just a couple days to spare, and I love the way it turned out (pictured above). It was super fun to knit, too.

Celebrating . . . Father's Day. Because this guy is worth celebrating, and not just on Father's Day either. (And sadly, both of our dads weren't here for the day, so we had to celebrate them with a phone call instead of in person.)

Painting . . . the kitchen. When we moved into our house, the kitchen was a bright, vibrant green. It was kind of a perky color, so we kept it. But recently, it was looking more putrid than cheerful, so we decided to change it. I'm in love with the cool light blue we chose, and it matches the silver light fixture and hardware so much better than the green ever did. It's amazing what a simple change in paint color can do to breathe new life into a room.

Seeing . . . old friends. When we were first married, Curtis and Alicia were among our very best friends. We spent many a weekend with them, playing games late into the night. Now they live in Arizona, but it's amazing how anytime we get together, it is seriously like no time has passed (except, of course, for the fact that we now have TEN kids between the two families). We're so glad they made time for a quick visit with us. It was much too short.

Training . . . Clark to use the toilet. When I took Clark to his three-year checkup, our pediatrician encouraged us to get serious about toilet training. It's not that I hadn't thought about it or attempted to do it. It's just that Clark wasn't responding to training like my older boys had, so I was at a bit of a loss. So imagine my delight when our pediatrician said, "You know, if there's any way your husband could do the training, that would be best." I listened intently to his cold-turkey, fool-proof, one-day method, and then went home and gleefully said to Mike, "Guess what you get to do this weekend?" With my other boys, we've done a gradual transition to underwear, but Dr. V. recommended making a total commitment to underwear from the start. So it's a good thing Mike was in charge because cleaning up a bunch of accidents (and at first, there were quite a few) usually makes my head feel like it's going to explode. On the second day, Clark seemed to be testing his boundaries, and Mike was getting a little fed up with it, and we had a serious chat about whether or not we were in this for the long haul or if we were going to let it rest for another couple of weeks. We decided we were all in, and I think Clark sensed it, too, because that was a turning point for him and within the week, he was trained. (And that's probably more than you wanted to know about the process, but it was one of the best things about June so I had to share!)

Launching . . . rockets. I remind my kids quite often that they have a pretty awesome dad. Case in point: he made them a rocket launcher out of PVC pipe that shoots paper rockets hundreds of feet into the sky. I love it because it keeps them busy for hours, first making the rockets, and then, shooting them off. It's also nice that, because the rockets are made out of paper, they can literally launch them anywhere without the fear of damaging anything. It has gone with us to all of our family reunions and been tested out by all the neighbor kids (and parents), and it is a real crowd pleaser.

 
Working . . . on summer goals. I wrote about them in detail here, but, as always, they've been one of the highlights of the summer.

Seeing . . . more and more smiles from the youngest member of the family. He has even granted us a few laughs, which makes us just want more. Basically, he's everyone's favorite.

Reading . . . and reading and reading. We brought back our summer reading program from last year, and my kids have been reading a ton. Mostly graphic novels and comics, but I've bribed them to squeeze in some other types of books as well.

Playing . . . at the pool with my mom and sisters. They came up for a sleepover and then we went to the pool in the morning. My mom even let Clark squirt her in the face because she's a super nice grandma.

What have been the highlights of your summer so far?