Tuesday, July 31, 2012

July....in review

Okay.

So I just realized that today is July 31st, and I have only posted ONE time all month.  And that post was - shall we say... a downer?

Just to give a quick update?  I think things are looking up.  I decided that I needed to nip this whole "waking-up-multiple-times-per-night" thing in the bud with Chloe.  So this past week we have set some firm boundaries.  It did involve losing some sleep initially.  And she is still not making it completely through the night.  BUT, she is improving.  And I have gotten much more sleep lately and my anxiety level is back down to normal.  (Seriously, I was waking up at night even when Chloe was fast asleep and having anxiety attacks about her waking up at any moment...good times.)  So I am feeling positive about that development.

And of course, somehow, when you have some sleep in you, everything else seems a little better!

Anyhow -  meanwhile, as July has been motoring along, we have had a lot of great times and milestones, despite my overwhelmedness. :)  Sorry, this is a picture-heavy post!

A few days before the 4th of July, we had some friends over for pizza and smores, as well as some sparklers and fireworks!
 (Free hint of the day:  if you want even BETTER smores, add some peanut butter or nutella!)
 The gang waiting for Chad to get the fireworks started!  
 On the 4th, we went over to my parents' house.  We brought a cake to share that the kids decorated all by themselves....complete with sugar sprinkle stars.  They were very proud. :)
 3 kids on the 4th.
 Later that week we had our annual neighborhood fireworks show.  
I guess we can't get enough of fireworks!
This is Chloe & her friend Rebecca.  Rebecca got out her music and played Katy Perry's "Firework" while the show was going on. :)
 This summer Chad played softball on a church league team.
He was in heaven because he hasn't had the chance to play softball since Carter came along!
We finally got to see him play at his last game.
Note to self:  See a game EARLIER in the season next year.  Sitting out in the 95 degree & humid weather ....not so refreshing.  :)
 Chad also had a birthday this month.
He took part of the day off and we all went mini-golfing!
A few days later, this cute little guy - my nephew Nate - turned one.
We went to Long Island for the weekend to celebrate!
 The kids got to see all their cousins and they all spent a lot of time SWIMMING!
(And look at my brave boy jumping off the diving board!  He almost gave me a heart attack that first day.  I had no idea how good a swimmer he actually was.)
 Not to be outdone, Chloe did her fair share of jumping off the side of the pool.  :)
 Uncle Matt spent a lot of time throwing kids in the water.
 All that swimming left everyone pretty wiped out.
(See?  She does OCCASIONALLY sleep.)  :P
 The next day was Chloe's birthday!
My big 3 year old had lunch at Chick-fil-a to celebrate.
 The kids were excited to give their presents to Chloe.
It was so sweet.
 We had some ice cream sundaes to celebrate on her actual birthday.

A couple days later we had a party with Chad's parents (who were here visiting for the week) and my parents.
 Isn't this cake BEE-UTIFUL???
Carla, a friend from way back in high school (!), made this for Chloe.
You know how sometimes a cake looks so beautiful and then you bite into it and are kinda disappointed with how it tastes?  
Well this cake is NOT like that.  It was as yummy as it looked!
Chad said it was the best cake he ever had!
(HEY!  What about all those cakes I've made him....hmmm.....)  :)
Carla & her daughter Sydney make cakes as a fundraiser....they are adopting a little girl from Haiti!
If you are interested in one (and live nearby!) here is their blog.
 Chloe loved it too!
 But no rest for us....the next morning we were off to Hershey Park!!!
Audrey got to ride with Grandma & Grandpa in the back of the van.
 Outside of Chocolate World
 Riding the carousel
 I can't believe my teeny little girl rode the scrambler!  And loved it!  She is definitely a rollercoaster kind of girl.  :)
 The thing that cracks me up about this picture is that even from this distance, you can see Audrey's blue mouth from that Icee drink she had!
 It was a fun, fun day.
But tiring.  Even the kids all slept til 9 am the next morning!
AMAZING!

And since the birthday celebrations have not been abundant enough, Chloe had a party with a few of her  friends last week.  
It was a mermaid party.  The kids swam and played water-type games.
 Of course there was more cake.
At the end of the party, the girls did a treasure hunt to find their goody bags!
They loved it!

So if you have made it through this entire post?  Well, congratulations.
That is probably more about us than you probably ever wanted to know. :)
I just had to balance out my last post with a bunch of the highlights of the month!

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