11 Months Old!

 ALREADY?!?!

I have to tell you, she is every bit the delight she appears to be in these pictures, and we are the luckiest people in the world.

August is coming

Dorothy decided she didn't want to be on the dive team, so she's not. But that means she is at loose ends during dive meets which is sometimes, as you might imagine, A LOT. We have had 2 meets at public pools **gasp** and she has loved them because the pools were open for swimming during the meet. I have hated them because NO CHAIRS ON THE POOL DECK. Oh the humanity!

Jack and Coop had 2 meets last week, and they both won both, Jack has won 6 in a row and is having the most fun summer he can imagine.

THIS HANDSOME BABY IS THE SWEETEST.

Dorothy and Cooper are both loving swim team so much they might do winter swim team. I just love how cute Dorothy looks with a bun under a cap like a little Conehead.

The jazz hand! The clenched toes! I think she wanted my phone.

Santa baby:

All-City swim and dive is in 2 weeks, and then our summer opens up considerably which is to say we will have nothing to do the entire month of August. I am actually not looking forward to it because we have lovely quiet mornings with the kids at the pool until lunch time. This is the first summer ever, in fact, that the kids are at the pool more than I am.

I had big plans for Harry Potter summer school, but all we have done is plant a Venus flytrap and let Cooper try to germinate it in the Barbie pool (LOLz for days).

I manage one solid work day and then little frantic bursts and starts. Jack and I are both listening to audiobooks all day long. Ben is SO SO SO busy and I think looking forward to quiet days at home with the kids in school and even quieter days in his office. I am, toom.

But between that and now THERE IS AUGUST. **gulp**

 

Time flies

 You guys! I do not even know what the heck happened to my whole week. Um. I mean, I am teaching 2 summer school sections, and they are A LOT especially with a baby. I forgot how hard it is to work with a baby who is almost a toddler.

Another thing: Minnie had an ear infection-- did I tell you about that? Right before my brother came to town, we took her to the doctor just to check because she was teething and fussy and sleeping badly and bam! Ear infection. Luckily, she thought amoxicillin was delicious, and I used Gretchen Rubin's strategy of pairing to not miss any doses! For the first time in my entire motherhood career! I gave one with breakfast and one in the tub every single day for 10 days. And now she is also fussy again and her tooth is coming in, like horizontally sticking out of her top gum. Gah.

And then also, Big Brother started, so my evenings are suddenly much busier (LIVING THE DREAM).

Apropos of nothing: Minnie so looks like Baby Ben:

And speaking of Big Brother, Jack made ice cream pie for the premier:

Staycation Part 2

 I KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING ALL NIGHT FOR THIS. Well, refresh no more.

One thing I forgot to mention: Minnie hates fireworks, even just teeny ones like tanks and pop its.

Also BOATS. After one cute picture, she cried and cried until Ben drove us both back to the dock and we got off, leaving the others to cruise the lake for 2 hours in the Buick Enclave of boats.

The rest of the people loved the boat.

Minnie DID enjoy ORDERING FOOD FROM A RESTAURANT and ate her whole order of scrambled eggs.

While Minnie napped, Dorothy played in this blow up pool

While everyone else went to the actual pool

Ben brought the girls when Minnie woke up.

And that was it-- 5 days in a flash!

STAYCATION! Part 1

 My brother came to visit for an extra long weekend, and we had so much fun! A staycation in our hometown, which is something we have never actually done before.

Here are the highlights.

Dinner on the Terrace and Minnie's first eating out experience

Followed by ice cream on the Terrace

We hiked to a gorgeous waterfall and spent a chilly evening at the pool

Next my mom joined us for a day, and we made candles and drank palomas before retiring to a brewery for pizza and yard games.

We had a quiet Fourth of July with a messy breakfast, a goodbye to Grandma, a neighborhood bike parade, and a trip to Sassy cow for grilled and frozen dairy products and a trip to Little Amerricka for the middle kids, Ben, and the uncles. Harry had to work, and Minnie had to nap. We capped the day with burgers on the grill and a backyard movie.

Nap time is over, my friends, so I will come back with the exciting conclusion tomorrow. Or the next day. IF YOU CAN WAIT THAT LONG.