Since Luke was born...

So this is a true blog - no pictures. There has just been so much happening in our lives but I have no time to update the blog with my pictures - because I'm a freak about renaming and organizing them before I use them. So I'm just going to write.

Mom came and stayed with us for about a week in the beginning of July. She had discovered that she hadn't bonded yet with Luke and was very anxious to do so - with both girls she was there for their delivery and then stayed for a week after. Luke was so quick, she wouldn't have made it even if we had called her after we got to the hospital. It was fun and nice. She slept with Audrey - with the adventure being that Audrey woke up the first few nights, tapped Mom on the face and said, "Stop that RahRah. Stop that. Stop that noise RahRah. Stop it now." (It's funnier when you can hear Audrey's little voice saying it.) But Audrey didn't want RahRah to sleep anywhere else than next to her. It was a lot of fun. We had a good Fourth of July with her too, including her in our BBQ with friends and watching the CF Fireworks. Lucas slept through his first fireworks show while his big sisters finally enjoyed it.

July continued in a blur but with little touches of sanity here and there. We reinstated our Thursday days at JuJu's. The kids and I spend most Thursdays out at the house, playing with Addy, Annie, JuJu & Poppa Royal. So if you are ever trying to get a hold of us, call us out there. Luke has fit right in - taking naps and just hanging out with the rest of us. It's so nice to have a little break to our week - as well as an additional help during the day - I help Julie and she helps me. Makes our day go quicker.

We took our first "vacation" at the beginning of August. My brother Tony was getting married August 9th, so we took the week before to go south. The first half of the week was spent in Kirksville with RahRah & Poppa Hollywood. The girls picked cherry tomatoes, swam in the hot tub and colored. On Tuesday we visited Heartland Dairy Farm in nowhere MO. We got to see how they milked the cows - which really was pretty neat. 60 cows in 8 minutes on their carousel of milking. Just ask Audrey how they milk cows. ("They go round and round and round...")

Wednesday, August 6th was spent at the Lake with Grandma & Grandpa Great, Great-Uncle Dan, cousins Katie & Lexi and RahRah. Michael and the men took the cousins and Grace out in the ski boat for some tubing while Audrey chilled with us women and Luke bonded with Grandma Great. It was a really nice visit - something I look forward to each year. I can't remember an August where I haven't gone to Grandma's for sometime to play in the water and in the boat.

The rest of that week was spent in Centerville. The girls practiced their walk down the aisle as flower girls a few times before the big day. My brother Tony married Julie on Saturday, August 9th. The wedding went really well, I think. Jack & Justin, Julie's nephews and our girls were ring bearers & flower girls. The kids are all about the same age. Audrey was the only one who didn't make it down the aisle the first time. Grace even came back to get her, but in the end, she clung to my hand as we walked down the aisle. She let go once, to grab a huge handful of flower petals and threw them on the ground and then quickly reattached herself to me. It was a really nice day. I hope that they enjoyed it.

This last week has been back to life as we know it. Michael returned to work and the kids and I returned to our schedule, kind of. The sisters and I went out for a night out to the Olive Garden, where we ate lots and they made fun of my Moby Wrap (www.mobywrap.com). Although Luke didn't demonstrate his love it that night, he did yesterday at church during which he slept through almost all 3 hours.

Our week continued with my youngest brother's dad, Poppa Michael, coming and staying with us Thursday through Saturday. It was a lot of fun. The girls quickly overcame their shyness and didn't stop talking. There was a lot of "Poppa, watch this!" Michael, Luke and I went to our first movie since he was born (The Dark Knight) on Friday and all of us went to the local aquatic center in CF on Saturday. That was definitely a lot of fun. Thanks VCU for the free tickets! :) We took the girls down the lazy river and played in the kiddo pool while Poppa and Luke chilled under an big umbrella on the side lines.

Today has been a day of firsts for me. Royal has a huge garden this year. Julie showed me how to freeze green beans and make tomato salsa. It has been a lot of fun. I have been feeling like a want to learn how to can, freeze and use up the fresh things, so save for this winter. My goal is to also go to the Farmer's Markets and buy things to freeze. I don't think we'll can really for the time being - mainly because we don't have a lot of storage space. But we can store freezer things at Julie & Royal's. I'm really excited to gain this knowledge. Thanks Julie!!

Well, that's the highlights of the last 6 weeks. Luke is 2 months old now, Grace starts Preschool a week from today and Audrey will become the big sister at home for half of the day. Our life is changing... Keep looking for our updates!