summer update

It's September!
It's September? Not really sure how that happened!
However, I really like September.....birthdays, football games, fall weather, pulling out those long sleeves....all things I love!

We had a fun and busy Summer at our house. We took a couple short camping trips, spent many afternoons at the pool, finished some projects around the house, and spent lotsa time getting ready for Aunt Emily's wedding!

Daddy
Summer is a good time for Tim. His schedule becomes much more flexible and his hours are shorter--however I do find it funny that we think his hours are so much shorter when he still works 8-4:) One of the great things about his job is that he accumulates a lot of vacation time....so he can basically take off as many days as he wants. He was able to take days to just be home with us! Ellie was happy to take him to the pool with us a few times, but not so happy when he got to go down the water slide during break time...something about that not being fair:) He planned a perfect camping trip for us...but a thuderstorm kinda got in the way! He made a breakfast at home instead and our house smelled like bacon for weeks! His lawn made a lot of progress...thanks to a wet summer! He also spent the summer coaching Ellie's church league soccer team. It was such a wonderful experience...he enjoyed himself and Ellie had a great time and really improved. He was blessed with a team of older girls (he had three 6 year old girls (it was a coed age 4-6 league)) that were pretty darn good. One night driving home his competitive spirit showed through he said "if all three of the girls are here we can take any of those teams of older boys!"  Another memorable moment was the night he sweated a perfect cross on this back! We gave him a lot of heck for that! Tim's parents moved across the state in June and are now much closer to us....which is so nice!!! Tim was a big help setting up for Emily's wedding. I think he said something like "I am pretty sure I didn't do this much for my own wedding!" I guess it just prepares him for the future:) Of course August came way to soon and he is back in the thick of in season sports.

Mommy
I love summer! I love teaching but I also love being home with my girls...I really do get the best of both worlds. I was able to spend a lot of time relaxing at the pool with the girls...something I love to do. I also organized Ellie's Birthday party, Emily's Wedding Shower, the Bachelorette Party, and a Tie Dye Party with my high school friends and their kiddos...whoa just thinking about it makes me tired.....lots of work but all worth it! Of course Emily's wedding was one of the most memorable days of my life....ranks up their with my own wedding. We all had so much fun! So much fun that we didn't even get a family picture taken...being the maid er matron of honor and having 2 kiddos is a lot of work! I love pictures so much so this was a huge bummer for me! There were plenty of great snapshots taken. This summer, I was able to finish a few projects around the house this summer....mainly getting my kitchen painted and adding some color to our house!! I did some pretty fabulous junk hunting and came up with some great finds.....now I just need to get alll those projects completed. Tim worries I make too much work for myself....but it really is a stress relief for me. In June I ran a 5k and now I am stepping it up! In October I plan to run a half marathon. I haven't ran this much in so long and I am loving it! I do feel older...I am having to consult my trainer about a few aches and pains:)

Ellie
In June Ellie finished kindegarten and celebrated her 6th birthday! I cannot believe she is that old...but honestly I am lovin it! So much more independent and able to control her emotions. She is turning into a pretty stand up little girl. I have been able to give her a little more freedom and she doesn't let me down! One day at the pool, I told her she could swim in the 2 foot area with her friends but if she wanted to go down the water slide she would need to tell me (I was in another area with Cece). Later her friends were talking about how they went down the slide and all the stuff kids say. I asked Ellie "did you go down the slide?" She answered, "No you said I couldn't, so I just watched. it was fine mom." I was so proud of her!! She enjoys cleaning and decorating her room...however, her idea of decorating is a bit off....cute nonetheless. She played tball, soccer, and took swim lessons (which she passed!) She was a flower girl in Emily's wedding and loved being involved in all the decisions and preparations. She loves her Auntie Em!! Ellie (and Tim) convinced me that a Wii was necessary for our survival and it has provided much family fun. Ellie is quite the gamer! Often scoring a much lower wii age than me! Recently she became a big fan of Hannah Montana...I will catch her humming her songs and I have to admit it's not all bad to watch. Ellie especially likes it when Daddy watches with her! In August Ellie lost her first tooth..actually Aunt Shanna pulled it..again crazy I remember those teeth coming in just like it was yesterday! Ellie ate a lot of ice cream, mr freezes, and popsicles this summer...and enjoyed just being in her swim suit all day. However with the bad weather, she worried a lot about a tornado coming and hitting our house. She was able to spend 2 days at the State Fair with Nana and Emily....she got to do just about anything she wanted to which include 3 trips down the big slide! She had a smooth transition to First grade and is had a great start to the school year!

Cecilia
Oh Cecilia...where do I start! Cece had an eventful summer...she moved from her crib to a big girl bed with very little problems....until we took her pacy away. It took us most of the summer to adapt to that change. So unfortunately we still haven't potty trained yet. Working on that now! Her vocabulary blossumed this summer...she went from saying a few phrases to full and complete sentences and questions. Here is a typical convo with Cece "Mommy you like cheetos??" "yes I love them!" "You DO???"  OR "mommy I need my shoes tied." "I can help you with that." "You CAN??"  We got a lot of laughs out of her constant "You DO???" Cecilia has developed an absolute love for dollys and babies! She could play for hours. She is so kind and caring...she'll be a great mommy some day! Cece loves to be a helper! She will help me with almost everything from folding clothes to cooking dinner. I call her my Helper Bug! She was also a flower girl at Emily's wedding. She made it up the aisle (with her hand in her mouth!!) I had a hard time holding it together watching my two babes come up the aisle. Cece loved the pool...especially the splash park and water slide. She was fast at getting her swimmy on so we could go to the pool and loved to buy cheetos (seriously we don't eat them that much at our house...however they are a favorite!). Cece was a little crazy at the pool she would run from the water to our towels lay down for a second and jump up and run back to the water. I learned to just stay put...she would soon be back! Cece loves bike rides with mommy, especially after a rain when we could go through puddles! She also took swim lessons, but didn't always want to do the things we were supposed to...but would easily do them a hour later at the pool with mom. You cannot force her to do things! Her favortie cartoon...Wonder Pets and Olivia. Favorite books....Backyardigans Jungle Adventure and 1, 2, 3.  (One is good for a quiet walk, 2 is good for a quiet talk, 3 is great for having tea or counting 1, 2, 3....you can tell which one is the favorite because you can recite it in your sleep!) She also had a smooth transition back to daycare...she loves to play with the boys and even tells Jenny when she is tired and wants to take a nap! I can't believe she is 2 and a half...but we are definitely loving her fun and spunk!

So that was our summer in a nutshell.....summer picture update to follow:)