....savoring one more month.....

.....before I get started this evening, I just need to take a moment to recognize the fact that we have had the best 16 weeks we could have ever thought possible.....

.....Brody was loving all of the attention I was giving him tonight after he took his bath, got a rub down with lotion and cozily nestled in the nook of the couch with me smiling and clicking right next to him.....my little man loves the night time ritual and then add a camera and some extra wooing and he's all mine....

.....and then his sisters creep in.....

.....and he's not so sure anymore.....

....but he is the highlight for all of us, as we continue to enjoy him even more so; now that he recognizes his family and gives us his big, gummy grins....we can't get enough of him.....

                                                                                            brother loves Elsie's toddler bed.....his safe haven while I finish bathing the girls.....

....I must admit that despite the Brody joy in our home, this summer hasn't been as lazy as I would have hoped.....upon Brody's arrival in April, I started to fear a full summer with three small children in our sweet space and me having a hard time getting everyone up and moving to partake in fun adventures.....it was an intimidating thought and I wasn't sure that by June I would be able to handle a day at the zoo or a picnic in Central Park......so when word of half day camps started in the Mommy circles, I was intrigued.....two days per week for 4 hours each day was enough to entertain Elsie, but not too much where I felt like we would be missing her for quality summer time....so we gave it a go.....

....well needless to say, my Tuesday and Thursday mornings have been a little stressful.....it's a race to get the three kids out the door by 8:35am, loading up the stroller and strapping them in without a fight is rare, Callie cries because she doesn't understand why she can't go to camp too and trying to explain that she isn't 3.5 yet gets me nowhere.....Brody is disrupted from taking his morning nap, sunblock smears everywhere as I try and lube up exposed body parts and Elsie has started the practice of slamming doors and stomping around the house because she doesn't want to wear shorts to camp......my girl loves her some dresses....

....don't get me wrong, once drop off is done and I am resting on our beloved quilt under the oak tree in Central Park with Callie and Brody for music class, it's all worth it......but this is just a precursor to what the fall holds in store for us.....Elsie will have nursery school every day at 8:45am, so this has been good practice......and a reminder that we should really be acknowledging that summer is something special..... 

.....we've been trying to take the off days extra slow, especially now that we are in mid-August and I can officially say that I will have two girls in nursery school in a month.....I feel like I just did this with Elsie, so we have been talking it up to Callie.....she's thrilled with the idea of wearing a new back pack and that she gets to meet so many new friends......she's absolutely ecstatic about the whole concept......

                                                           play date with brothers, Johnny and Tommy.....

.....especially after watching Elsie attend camp with all of her best friends.....

.....so I try and make it up to my youngest girl by squeezing in some special dates when it's just the two of us.....so we bolted out of the house 30 minutes before her gymnastics class yesterday so she could slurp down some chocolate gelato from one of the best kept secrets in the upper east side.....

....and not only does she look priceless in her gymnastics leotard, but she was the only one in class.....and she certainly burned off all the gelato because she hit every circuit in the gym and if I must say so myself, she is amazing on the balance beam.....

.....it was fun to watch her relish in so much attention....she deserves it and we are trying extra hard to make sure that she gets it.....

.....and this has been just a glimpse of a few days this past week....we are still recovering from our big trip to Pennsylvania last weekend to explore Dutch Wonderland.....

....more on that later....

....so for now, here's to celebrating that we still have one month left of summer.....

                                                   loving the Texas care package, Papa T....thank you.....

....and here's to making a vow that we are going to keep it as laid back and lazy as possible....

.....except on Tuesdays and Thursdays, of course....

....and I couldn't sign off without a praise of thanksgiving for the precious niece of mine who was born yesterday.....

.....Ava Leanne Blomgren, you have already stolen my heart....

.....and you are already so deeply loved....

......Congratulations, little brother.....your family is so sweet and I am grateful for the blessings God has given you.....