Finishing Out the Summer

I had high hopes to finish our summer recaps before Fiona's birthday. So close ... But here you go - the last post about Summer 2018.

This summer was a good one! With a team of 7, 5, and 4 year olds, we were able to pack in the adventures and fun. The kids occasionally ask for a baby sibling and we keep telling them that a) no and b) a baby would cramp our style. While Dec will still take a nap, he doesn't need to every day (and we are trying to get him used to not taking one before kindergarten starts). So for the first time in eight years, we were not bound by a nap schedule. And we were not sad about it! In fact, we might say that we made the most of it!

We always have a bit of doctor appointment roulette at the end of summer with Q's well check, three specialty eye doctor appoinments, and an endocrinology appointment for Fiona. I got them all scheduled for the last week of August - and then found out I needed to go to Texas for work that week. I was able to arrange my flights so that I could do Dec's eye appointment and F's endo appointment and still make the late flight. Then Mike just had to do the girls' eye appointments on his own.

The great news was that all appointments went incredibly well. Fiona's endocrinology appointment went so well that we got kicked out of endo! We love getting kicked out a specialty appointments. She is still under 1% for height - but her growth velocity is right in the middle of the chart. She is averaging just over 2 inches a year, which is a perfectly acceptable growth rate. As long as her velocity stays at a good rate, we're good. [Sidenote: Q informed F that she is taller than her now. As expected, it has not gone over particularly well ... sigh ...]

My Texas trip was hot. Like so incredibly hot. I was a little afraid I would melt. The work part was fine. But the best part was getting to have dinner with three of my favorite ladies. One is a current co-worker and two are former co-workers. We had the best time catching up over Mexican food and margaritas. And while I was down south, my parents came south too - to hang with the girls for a day while Nanny J danced in a parade at the State Fair.

I got home from Texas in time to go with my parents and sister to Fort Snelling to do the inurnment for my grandma. It's been almost a year since she passed. And I'm not going to lie, we liked having her and her pretty pink urn in my mom's kitchen. The kids loved saying hello to her and the rest of us enjoyed having her around. We briefly considered bringing a fake urn - but figured, ultimately, she'd want to be with Grandpa. All my mom's siblings and several of my cousins made it for the inurnment. We had a late lunch together after the service and had fun catching up as we are spread all over the country!

Our Labor Day weekend was really low key. We got lots done around the house, readied the final things for school, and just hung out with each other. We did decide to go to ValleyFair, but severely underestimated the heat. We were there less than an hour and the kids all asked to go home because they were so hot. However, as we were walking out, they asked to stand in the the path of The Wave ride. We typically don't let them because then they will be soaked for the rest of our time there. But since we were all hot and leaving anyway, we said "why not." And let me tell you - that was a highlight of the summer. They loved it and stood there for several rounds of the ride. Once they were sufficiently soaked, we headed home for dry clothes and air conditioning.

We ended the holiday weekend with a visit to the original Ms. A and her family. And had our annual "back to school" dinner with the neighbors (even though school didn't start until Thursday, I can pull off a dinner better on Monday than Wednesday). In the midst of that, we sold our double stroller. We are officially stroller-less!!! It seemed fitting that one more vestige of babydom rolled out of here at the end a summer where we ditched training wheels, life jackets, and naps.