Happy Back to School Eve!

The end of summer?!

I can't even believe it!

The kids go to school tomorrow-- Jack is a kindergartener, and Harry starts second grade, which means they are both gone ALL DAY.  I am going to miss them killing each other in the basement and screaming at me from the sand box to bring them some water. And the snack requests that start whining in about 46 minutes after a meal has ended-- I am going to miss those, too. 

I know that sounds snarky, but I am for serious.

I began this summer with total dread because everyone! would! be! home! all! day!  No camps or anything.  But after the bike riding, the yard playing, the pool swimming, the zoo going, the road tripping-- this summer has been magical. 

Yes, we had to cancel our pimped out Palm Beach getaway (The Breakers!  We were going to The Breakers! and stay in town because of Harry's frequent cardiology follow-ups, but we haven't set any alarms or kept any kind of schedule beyond Cooper's 12-2 naps (oh!  Dorothy's naps!  that's another post for another day).

Each lazy day has blended into the next, and all of the sudden it's September.

My tiny old lady baby started the summer like this:

And now she looks like this:

Harry has grown up, too if you compare him in May and August:

Cooper is still our food faced baby man, but he's three months closer to turning 2 in the bottom picture than he was in the top:

But Jack!  Except for Dorothy who is bigger every time I enter a room than she was when I left, Jack has changed the most in the past 12 weeks.  Here he is going to a birthday party at the beginning of break:

And here he is going out to dinner with Ben and me on a date to celebrate kindergarten:

Isn't his stance HILARIOUS?  He canNOT stand up and smile-- it cracks me up.

I haven't been blogging lately because of all of the doing nothing (No, that's not true-- I have had meetings at work, and Ben and I have been doing a ton of PTO stuff because our term as co-presidents has begun.  Also, since I started this damn diet, I have been working out everyday for twice as long as I used to, and that takes some serious time.  Plus we got Netflix finally, and I have been watching a tremendous amount of TV. 

What I am trying to say is I have pictures!

Like this one:

 Jack was taste-testing cookies for me and got a little chocolatey.  (Harry screamed at Ben and had to go to timeout, and as he was going, he was saying sadly, "I just wanted a cookie fresh out of the oven, and I totally felt bad for him because who doesn't)

 I have been trying to get Dorothy out of my bed, so I have been feeding her in her room at night.  Sitting on the floor.  Until now!  When we finally put a chair in her room.  Our big old giant leather recliner from downstairs, which is the ugliest chair in the world until you sit in it and immediately forgive it for looking like shit.  I wanted this pretty, overstuffed cream rocker at Costco, but Ben was like hey man, we have an overstuffed rocker in our basement and no one ever sits in it.  And I was all oh shit that chair is fugly, and Dorothy's room is so pretty.  But then he brought it upstairs, and I sat in it and what can I say?  Beats the hell out of the floor.

 But then we had to put her nightstand in the front closet and cram all of the other furniture into the same exact corner of the room.

 My hair!  Is out of control!

 She can sit up in a cart!  (And I have more flattering shots, but the skeptical look SLAYS me)

 Ah, Jack.

 Not only does Harry build all sorts of hybrid Lego machines, but he poses awkwardly with them and directs me to send his pictures to Lego Club magazine.  AND I DO.

 Dorothy went to her first Badger game!

 And she clearly loved it!

 Pretty girl: