Thursday, June 13, 2013

hello summer

Well summer is here! {thank goodness} I think I was more excited than ever for summer to arrive.  During each of my pregnancies the month of May is a little dreadful.... it begins the waking up in the night multiple times, heart burn so bad you can't lay down, swelling of feet and hands due to the heat, and the instinct to nest- majorly.  And May just marks the beginning of the 3rd trimester when you have babies ranging July 31st-September 1st.  But then summer arrives and poof my energy level goes up, my swelling goes down, and I am in relaxation mode and am ready for this last leg of pregnancy to SLOW down!  So the slow down time is here and my family is enjoying the summer and hoping it lasts forever!


Summer is usually a time of pajamas until 10, napping until dinner, staying up way late, and very little structure.  In the past, this has worked just fine!  It is the one time of year I can jump off the OCD train and hitch a ride with my take it one minute at a time, go with the flow husband.  But this year I had to stay on a schedule.... not for Ivy, who loves lists and schedules and creates her own when no one else does.  But for Tula- a fly by the seat of your pants, busy bee, toddler that was one ugly mood after another over Christmas break- the culprit..... lack of routine.  


So a very loose summer "schedule" and memory verse list has been created for the Smorstad household and we are off to a super great start with only one sour mood day.... which I can totally handle!! Ivy loves our posted schedule and Tula is telling us "what's next" so I would say she is getting the hang of things too.  We are still relaxing and we are still napping when it works but at least we have a predictable routine and that is keeping our little fire cracker right on track.  It is a bonus that we are committing to learning 9 Bible verses as a family this summer.
 

So what have we done so far...... well June has been more like spring than summer but we are soaking up the cooler than normal temperatures with lots of time outside.  We have definitely taken advantage of the 5 HOT, sunny days and spent them at the pool- even if it means a picnic dinner and going to the pool until bedtime- we are spontaneously making the most of this summer weather.  Just because the 70's don't lend to good swimming weather doesn't mean we are moping around waiting for a heat wave.


We are taking walks, picking strawberries, going to the park, playing in the backyard, and enjoying many lunches with Nana.  We are enjoying the moments of riding our bikes, swinging really high, and finding pictures in the clouds.  We are eating picnics, taking care of baby dolls, and playing dress up.  We are reading lots of new library books, creating artwork, and playing games.  We are talking about our family changing in the next few months- preparing our hearts for Baby Joss.  Ivy and Tula are planning their roles for the new baby girl!  Tula's latest suggestion....

"Hey Ivy, how 'bout I'll be your baby and Joss will be my baby!"

Ivy didn't buy this deal since she thinks she is old enough to be Joss' mama but she's playing along for the time being.  


We are fully in SLOW summer mode.... even with a little schedule in place.... we are relaxing and soaking up these moments as a family!