The Traditional First Day of School Shot

We are T-minus one week and one day from the first day of school. I can't believe it. Oh, how the summer has flown.

As good as it sound to me to have a little more time to get things done when the kids are in school, I am not quite the mom that is ready to push the kids out the door back to school. (OK, maybe I have been a few times this past couple of weeks...) Mainly though, I find it a bittersweet time. There's the excitement over the new teachers, the new classes, the new supplies...I tend to feel a lot of the same feelings my children are feeling. But there's also the feeling that I'm not quite ready to let go of this time, these long days of summer where we spend so much time together.

I look back at these pictures that I traditionally take on the first day of school, and I marvel at how much each of the kids have changed, and I think about how much they will change this year. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around. In many ways, I'd like to hold on to this summer for a little while longer than the week we have left.

2005--Henry (Kindergarten), Seth (Preschool), Caroline (almost 2)

2006--Henry (1st Grade), Seth (Preschool), Caroline (almost three), Evan (in utero!)

2007--Henry (2nd Grade), Seth (Kindergarten), Caroline (1st year preschool), Evan (not pictured, 9 months)

2008--Henry (Third Grade), Seth (First Grade), Caroline (2nd year preschool), Evan (1 3/4 years)

Fun in the Sun

My Girl

Anna Chlumsky, from the movie My Girl, is Dave's 2nd cousin. She's in a new movie called In the Loop with James Gandolfini...thought you might want to check it out...
Anna Chlumsky on 'My Girl' Memories, James Gandolfini Stories & 'In the Loop' - Inside Movies

Shared via AddThis

Friday Family Fun at the Field Museum

Evan's laugh

As they say, laughing can add 8 years to your life. Just trying to do our part to help add 8 more to yours...

Rocket Park Celebration

About a year ago, we confirmed with an allergist that Henry is very allergic to dogs (amongst other things). His doctor told us that in order to have a pet dog someday, Henry would have to get allergy shots. In an effort to clarify in his mind what the doctor had said, Henry exclaimed, "You mean I have to get 3 shots every week for a year if I want to get a dog?!!!!!" I confirmed that what he said was true, and told him that the shots were not just so that we could get a dog, but so that his other allergies wouldn't affect him so much as well. He wasn't completely convinced, but he reluctantly agreed to do it.

He's been a trooper! We've gone about every week, and now he has only two shots left in this round! (He'll only have to get booster shots after this.) He's soooo excited! For these final shots, we've been heading over to their favorite park afterwards to celebrate. (It has a tall rocket ship that the kids love to climb.)

Now, you may ask, when are you going to get that dog? We're not sure. It's rather hard because our son just went through many shots to get a pet. Thankfully he understands that Evan needs to be a little bit older so that our family is ready to take on another responsibility. We also want it to be a complete surprise to the kiddos, as getting a pet has been something we've been planning for and talking about for quite some time now. In the meantime, he's been practicing with his "Nintendogs" on his DS. He's definitely not allergic to them!

Hennnnnnnyyyyyyy!

Evan has a "thing" for his big brother, Henry. Today, especially. He was constantly wanting to play with him, to know where he was, to sit by him...you name it. Henry loved it, for the most part, but occasionally stole away to play with his other brother and his sister. Evan sometimes gave him a little space, but would soon come looking for him, yelling "Henny! Hennnnnnyyyy!" It was loud, but very sweet!

Another beautiful day at the Lake!