Summertime

Although summer hasn't officially started - we've been celebrating like it has and enjoying the beautiful June weather.  The school the kids go to has a school garden and families were asked to volunteer to weed and water for a week over the summer.  I'll admit, part of the reason I volunteered for last week was that it rained on Monday - ahem, but weeding doesn't take care of itself!  The kids and I made a mid-week trip to weed and water and all of us went on the weekend to tend to the garden.  It's really a beautiful place - they have planted a lot of veggies, sunflowers, and even have fruit trees!  They seem to be having better luck keeping animals away and allowing fruit to grow - I wish we could learn their secret.

The girl's pottery was ready this week - glazed, orange, and perfectly handmade. 

They are proudly displayed in various locations throughout our home - depending on the mood of the children and where they feel it looks the best on any particular day.

Father's Day Weekend was a lot of fun and we had a great time hanging out together and taking it easy.  We visited the pool - and found the kids are very adventurous when it comes to the water...good and bad I would say.  Norah and Bella both went under water and can walk to the "deep end" of the kiddie pool at the park and William loves to crawl around the shallow end - it doesn't bother him to get his face wet or get splashed  - water babies for sure! 

The kids are doing really well.  Norah is extremely excited to start kindergarten and is having a lot of fun learning how to read this summer.  She can read a few words by herself which is great to see.  I love the excitement she has for reading and seeing the look of understanding when she reads a word by herself!  She continues to amaze me with her nurturing personality and how she loves to help take care of her little sister and brother.

Bella waivers on being excited for school in the fall.  Some days she is very excited and other days she...well, to quote..."I'm going to be naughty for Ms. Reid (new teacher)."  hmm...I suspect she will do great because she loved being able to go to school for a day last year!  Bella has a new favorite saying as well - "that's what toddlers do"  she says this when she is explaining something she knows she and Norah should not be doing - jumping on the furniture, playing ball in the house...etc.!   Bella has some of the best rhythm and loves to break out in a dance regardless of the location.  She broke it down in H&M last week - good moves in a good store.

William is doing really well crawling and is cruising around like crazy.  He is starting to do the "crab crawl" which we think is the pre-cursor to walking...I know we should be rooting for this, but I have to admit it scares me a little to think of him walking and running around the house!  We met with his PT and she let us know she thinks he needs to wear orthodics to help strenghten his ankles.  We're glad we were able to meet with Angela (his PT) early enough so he shouldn't have problems with walking later.

Yes...all photos were of the kids playing "airplane"...

To part, I'll leave you with some images of dancing - which we love to do in this house...and playing the flute, a necessary addition sometimes