5, 3 and 1

Wow, so we are in reality mode here. Most of the newness and excitement has worn off, and it feels like Allie has been here for much longer than about 6 weeks. Jeremy is working long, hard hours in the heat. The kids and I are trying to fill our summer days with a balance of fun and continued bonding. Having kids ages 5, 3 and 1 can get a big crazy!!

We continue to venture out more and more. Allie seems to do really well getting out and about for short periods of time. She loves going to the pool at Normandy, doesn't even flinch at going under! She had a playdate yesterday with a little girl her age and they were adorable together. She had her first visit to Grandpa Toodie's house and her first library storytime. She LOVED the storytime, we will be returning. I couldn't believe how social she was while we were there!

She still gets overwhelmed pretty quickly and continues to be extremely clingy to me. Extremely! Nearly every time I put her down she has a stretching fit on the floor. Sometimes we're able to distract her long enough for me to get something done, sometimes not! She definitely requires a lot of patience at this point! I continue to remind myself of all she's been through in a short period of time. However, I'm very thankful for her great sleep habits, she sleeps 8:30pm-8:30am pretty regularly. Refusing morning naps now, but usually takes about a 90 minute afternoon nap. She's also a fantastic eater!

Ben is doing GREAT with Allie. He's extremely patient with her and is a true help to me. He'll jump in to "distract" her when she's fighting a diaper change or when I need to go to the bathroom. He sings to her and keeps saying, "I just can't believe she's here Mom!". I'm so proud of him, he's truly growing up. He's riding his bike without the training wheels, it's so fun for the two of us to take long bike rides all over the neighborhood. I'm still shocked that Kindergarten starts in 5 weeks, but he's so ready.

Sam is, well, he's 3. He's struggling with not being the baby anymore. He is definitely jealous of the attention she gets, and retaliates by pushing her, taking away toys, etc. But he loves her and kisses her feet and can't wait to see her every morning. He's really growing up too, and does more and more things on his own. He's hilarious in the things he says and does!

Feels like summer is going way too fast! First week in August the boys both have a camp they get to go to each morning. The second week in August we're going on vacation to Lakeside on Lake Erie as we did last year. We're so looking forward to it! When we get back, we'll have one more week of summer before Ben gets on the big yellow bus for the first time! He'll go every afternoon to Loveland. Mid-September Sam will start back to preschool, he'll go 3 afternoons.

My time alone is over for now...