July Flew By!

It is hard to believe that I last posted a MONTH ago, when the summer was just kicking in! But alas, as summers tend to do, this one has flown by. This past month was filled with plenty of sun and play.

At the beginning of the month, I took the week off from work to give my nanny a well-deserved vacation. It afforded me the opportunity to see what the “other” half is like by being with my kids full-time during the week. And what an eye-opening experience it was! In just the two days before July 4th, we had one PT session, three camp drop-offs and pick-ups, one 5-year doctor’s checkup, a playdate, a trip to the vet and of course, the “regular” chores that somehow get done during the week.


Having the opportunity to spend time with my kids doing what they normally do during the week was wonderful; I got to meet their camp counselors and see where they are enjoying their summer, I took the kids to the pool, I actually hung out with Zach (who I rarely get one-on-one time with) and I even had a few minutes of quiet time when he was napping and Abby wasn’t home from camp yet. Of course, that quiet time was punctuated with loads of laundry, loading/unloading the dishwasher, making lunch and dinner and paying bills, but it was still uninterrupted nonetheless.

After those few days, we packed up the car and headed to the Jersey shore, where we met up with Jason's sister, parents and grandmothers for a long weekend in the beach house they rented last year. While it was a quick trip, the kids had a great time and it was fun to get away (though a bit tiring, as expected).

The rest of the month was filled up with birthday parties, a trip to Dutch Wonderland with our friends and plenty of pool time. The best news of the summer so far is that Abby is really and truly learning how to swim!! In just a few days time, she learned to swim the width of our pool, even with her head under and eyes open, unassisted! She also loves to jump off the side of the pool now, which she never did before. It's really fun watching her newfound confidence and I am beginning to relax, just a bit, when she is alone in the pool.

Abby's 5-year checkup was good - she is still quite small for her age - 33 lbs (7%) and 40.5" (12%) - but she got two shots and did great - and was rewarded with an ice cream sundae after! I also took Zach to an endocrinologist in the city to see if there is anything we can do about his (lack of) height and weight, and while the exam was normal, she'd like to run some bloodwork to just be sure there aren't any deficiencies. So that will be a lot of fun when I have to take him back for that!

All in all, it's been a fun summer, with both kids loving camp and having a great time. Seeing their tired, happy faces at the end of the day is a wonderful, and I just can't believe we are 5 weeks out from Abby starting kindergarten and 6 weeks from Zach starting preschool! In the meantime, we'll all try to enjoy the last few weeks of the summer, with mini-camp, classes and visits from friends & family on the agenda.