Summer is Here

I know it's been awhile since my last update and I'm sorry. I've got no other excuse then to blame it on summer. This summer our family schedule is completely gone. The boys are up past their bed time and sleeping late in the mornings. Our family routine has completely gone out the window. Part of me is annoyed by this lack of structure but part of me knows that the kids need to experience some freedom during this season.

Ed and the boys are spending their days at the pool. We're eating lots of watermelon and other yummy summer produce. We're also working on a few small projects around the house.

 Owen is starting to act much older than the 7 year old that he is, & he's starting to dress the part also.

The boys have so much fun playing together at the park.

And the boys are super excited about their new bunk beds.

We're doing well and enjoying the lazy summer. Owen spent two weeks in June at a day camp specializing in Chinese language and culture. He loved it. We don't have him signed up for anymore camps but hope to keep him busy with a trip to Columbus, Ohio and lots of time at the lake with his grandparents. Happy Summer Everyone!

Moments

The transition from the school year to summer has been a little hard on my little boy Ellis. Up until 2 weeks ago his days were pretty easy hanging out with Dad at home and taking a good 2 hour nap. Now with his brother home from school and the summer beginning Ellis' nap and daily routine are both gone.

The boys are spending most mornings at the pool, swimming for a few hours and then coming home famished and warn out.

It's been an okay transition but Ellis is exhausted. They took a break from the pool today but by 7PM he had reached his limit. After a quick shower we put on his PJs and then cleaned up his scraped knee. He was not happy about me cleaning up his boo-boo and he started crying. He cried and whined and cried for a good while which is very unusual for him. I decided that he just needed to go to sleep but couldn't get him to calm down.

I managed to get him to calm down by promising to lie down with him. I never lay down with him or let him sleep with me so he was pretty happy. We laid down together and I started rubbing his back. After about 5 minutes his eyes suddenly closed, his breathing changed and I knew he was fast asleep. The stress of an over tired 3 year old melted away when I realized he had fallen asleep so easily next to me.

It's moments like these that I want to remember for ever. These simple moments make the pain and stress of motherhood (and parenthood) more than worth it. It's the little, simple, unexpected joys that remind me that being a mom is the best thing that has happened to me in my short life!

My precious little boy