Time seems to fly even faster now that we have three kids. We've started getting rid of baby gear now that Simon is mobile. I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand, the older he gets, the more freedom and sleep I'll have. On the other hand, I won't ever have another baby to myself.
Mina used to sleep in this bouncer every night. We crammed it into a suitcase when we went on a trip to San Diego. She only stopped using it when she rolled over in it and got stuck on her belly. Charlotte used this bouncer until she got her first earache. After that, she wanted to sleep in our arms or on her belly. Simon slept in this bouncer very little, but we used to use it on the family supper table so he could see all of our faces while we ate. He'd long outgrown it when I decided to throw it away. We had to take a picture of Mina in it to remember it by.
Leif turned five in June and my sister Claudia and her family moved away. The girls have really been enjoying playing with Leif. Anya has started babysitting here and there. Macy and Hailey used to babysit the girls pretty regularly. Jon and I went on many Sunday runs leaving Macy in charge. We miss them.
The girls are just crazy about Simon. Mina takes care of him for brief periods of time while I work in the kitchen or throw some laundry in the wash. She watches out for him by taking things away before he can put them in his mouth. She also keeps him away from stairs and loves to walk around holding him. Charlotte can really get him to laugh. She likes to blow on his belly.
Jon and I have been lucky enough to have quite a few date nights recently. We celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary last month.
We've been so busy that the kids fall asleep in weird places. Simon loves his exersaucer and jumpers. I left him jumping to fold laundry (probably, since that's my never ending task) and when I returned, he had jumped himself to sleep.
Just in the last week, Simon has gotten very good at pulling himself up to standing. He goes down with a crash, but usually doesn't mind it. I don't rush in to catch him when he's on the carpet.
It's hard to believe that Mina will be starting kindergarten in a little bit more than a month. I can't wait to buy school supplies. Yay! Charlotte will be starting preschool also. Her school will just be on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I'll probably spend that time getting groceries with only one kid and going to the gym. It will definitely be a switch.
Charlotte is always making weird faces or refusing to look at the camera so I was really happy to catch this beautiful picture of her. This is why she gets away with murder. She's got the best smile.
We put away the activity gym also so I had to take a picture of Simon "playing" with it. This one was used a ton by all three kids. We loved the music the star made.
Simon currently has three teeth - two on bottom and one on top. There's a fourth on top that should be out soon. Thankfully his sleep has improved immensely. The other night he slept almost 11 hours before getting up. He had been getting up 1-3 times every single night of his life leading up to that. He hasn't done it since, but he's been getting up just once. That makes for a happier mommy.
Charlotte hates to fall sleep. She leaves her room and causes lots of grief during both nap time and bedtime. The kid can't seem to figure out that we don't care if she sleeps right away as long as she stays in her room. The other day I came out of Simon's room and found Charlotte like this. She feel asleep with one leg hanging out of her door. Silly girl!
On July 17 I'll be doing my annual "A Day in the Life of Mina, Charlotte, and Simon". It will be Simon's debut. Mina is excited. Charlotte will probably refuse to look at the camera. Simon will probably steal the show.
