10 months

Lake, or Lakester Lu as his family affectionately calls him, turned ten months old. I am probably biased, but he is the best baby in the world. He is all smiles and giggles. Recently he has been pulling up on everything and has several bruises to show for it. He is all over the place and constantly on the go. He has decided that he loves the stairs. With the girls we didn't have to worry much about them putting things in their mouth, but Lake always has something in his mouth. Grass, leaves, dog food and Barbie toys are just a few things I have removed recently. He has pretty much given up his pacifier and quit nursing. He still drinks from a bottle, but also uses a sippy cup for juice. Lake eats table food now and has no interest in being spoon fed anything. He can often be caught clapping as this is his favorite thing to do. We think it is because he lives at the ball fields. Lake enjoys the pool. His sisters continue to love on him and are finding that he can hold his own with them. Lake consistently has a handful of his sisters' hair. Today we decided to take his saucer to a friend since he has decided to make a game out of crawling out of it. Lake's hair has a reddish tint to it as of now and his curls are becoming more evident everyday. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

First Day of Summer

Today is the first day of summer and we are slowly making progress on our list of things to do. We are trying to keep busy and have fun at the same time. A pool pass has been a blessing since we can just go for an hour and not worry about wasting money by not staying. Recently I recovered my kitchen chairs and made new curtains (pictures soon) and took down some outdated blinds. I have been meaning to do this for over a year, so it felt good to get it done. I am lucky to have a mother-in-law who can and is willing to talk me through all of the steps. I love sewing, but just lack confidence. We have lots of trips planned for July and August, so it is time to buckle down and get the house cleaned up. The girls both have swim lessons starting next week and Hannah has tennis and dance. Amazing how fast the summer can fly by. We haven't even been out on the boat or camping yet because it won't quit raining. Hopefully after today we will see more sunshine. The kids got Josh a double gazebo for Father's Day and are excited to get to use it when we go camping. Lake turned 10 months on Friday. He is such an easy going child. It is hard to imagine that he is going to be a year old soon. He is quite busy compared to girls. I will do an update post on him tomorrow with pictures. Here are some pictures of the summer to date.

The grandkids are helping Grandma Lysle turn an old shed into a playhouse.

Lake checking out the grass. There is little point in using a blanket.

Meredith likes painting rocks and it keeps her busy.

Hannah is actually really good about helping out when I need her to.

Sometimes you do what you have to do. I don't think this area has been cleaned since we moved here four years ago.

Beginning of Summer Break

I decided not to work summer school this year so that I could get some things done arond the house and spend some time with the kids doing activities that we normally don't get to do. It's already week two and I have to admit there have been a few wrenches thrown in to my great plan. We did manage to get the yard cleaned up and planted the herbs and tomatoes. Monday night we had an unusual amount of rain which caused the sewers on our block to become overwhelmed. The water backed up into our basement and created quite a mess. Fortunately for us, we had already removed the furniture from the basement. We still had to have a company come in and suck out the water, disinfect everything and remove the carpet and drywall. Hannah and I have spent the last three days sorting though boxes of clothes and pictures that got wet. She is also becomming quite the dry wall remover. We helped a friend remove her drywall and insulation last week, so she had plenty of experience. I might start hiring her out :) I'l try to post some of our fun activities planned for the summer.

Lake has become quite the active little boy. He is all over the place and can't seem to be happy unless he is moving.
Here is our street after Monday night's rain.

Hannah has a cupcake maker and Meredith has a snow cone maker. Miracle of all miracles, they each made the other a treat to share for dessert.

Is this considered child labor?