The Last 2 Weeks of Summer

It's almost come to an end. Another summer in the books. I decided to spend the last 2 1/2 weeks of summer distraction free and unplugged. So I deleted all social media from my phone. I did this for a few reasons, 1. because I just felt like I was addicted to it, 2. I felt like it was sucking away all my joy and leaving me feeling unhappy and 3. It was shifting my focus away from my kids/family. It's only been 2 days, but I already feel better and I've noticed I've been using my extra time now actually living in the moment. So it's been great so far and I'm excited to see how I feel at the end of summer.

I've been able to notice all the little things my kids do that I'd been missing and I've been able to stay more patient and loving with them as well.

We've been able to do some fun things the last couple of days and I never take any pictures, but Emma snapped this cute one of the girls while playing at the ball fields. They loved playing in the sand and got very dusty.

Then today we got to babysit our niece Calli and the girls loved playing with her. Jaelyn was so cute with her and is such a loving and patient girl. She's got some great maternal instincts. Here they are in the playroom having a tea party. 

Then later after Calli left, Kevin and the girls gave Kai his first bath ever outside. He's spoiled and usually gets his baths in our tub, but Kevin came up with a fun idea to wash him in the kiddie pool. The girls loved it and thought it was so fun to help bathe him. 

Calvin and I watched from the sidelines until he got tired. I put him in the ergo carrier and he fell asleep. He still doesn't nap well and sometimes carrying him is the only way I can get him to nap. I was fortunate enough to get to borrow this carrier from Emma. They are very pricey, but are so much better for your back. As soon as the one on amazon drops in price again, I think I'll buy it so we have our own! I can see it coming in very handy next summer while camping and being out and about. 

This was from a few days prior when Calvin and I watched from the sidelines yet again while Kevin and the girls went for a bike ride up at the church parking lot. Jaelyn is getting really confident riding her bike with training wheels and we're hoping she's going to be ready to attempt riding without the training wheels soon. Evelyn hasn't shown much interest in Jaelyn's old balance bike, but she happily rides in the bike trailer being pulled behind Kevin's bike. It puts her to sleep almost every time too. And who could complain about that. 

Calvin had his 2 month appt last Monday and had to get 3 shots and an oral immunization. Needless to say he was not a happy camper! But lucky for me, it made him super snuggly. So of course I had to take a picture. Calvin weighed in at 12 lbs 7oz and 23 3/4 inches tall. Growing healthy boy. Evelyn had her 3 year old appt on the same day and she weights 30 lbs. She is healthy and happy and was glad she didn't need any shots at this visit. 

And here's just a little Calvin cuteness from earlier today. He and I were having a fun cooing conversation and I just looked at him and couldn't believe how much he'd grown in the last 11 weeks. Time sure is flying! We're only 2 weeks shy from him turning 3 months old already.

Another fun moment I had to capture recently, Kevin and Evelyn were having a little conversation and I just thought they looked so cute there on the couch. 

Jaelyn's surprised me a few times this summer with helping to clean the house. One time she and Evie spent over 2 hours cleaning the playroom (and playing too) and she was so proud to show me her work. Another day she insisted on helping for fold the towels. Which was so sweet of her, but also made me cringe because I am a total perfectionist. But I was so proud of her effort and waited until she went to bed to "fix" them. 

Jaelyn and Evelyn also set up these chairs with their dolls and were performing "I am a Child of God." It was the cutest and sweetest thing ever! Look how cute they are!

And then the other day when Calvin finally decided to take a nap and actually one in his crib, I needed to wake him up because we had to go somewhere. He was not waking up and was completely out. And look at those cute legs rolls forming! 

Well that's all the fun summer updates for now. I'm excited to have some more fun to finish off the season. Having a newborn has made it challenging to actually get out much, so we've been trying to enjoy all we have at our house, in the backyard and around our neighborhood. So more bike rides and hopefully some blackberry picking up at the neighborhood park to come. And then on to my all time favorite season: FALL!! : )