Summer 2012

Hello and Happy July!

So yesterday my sister e-mailed me that she had started a blog all about her adventures in Australia, which is where she and her husband moved in February. She wrote that she was inspired to record their time there, and since I've had a blog for so long, maybe she could ask me for help on things...that is, if I remember how to blog considering my 3 posts this year.

Ok.

I get it. I am a lousy blogger this year. And not much better than that last year. But the reality is having a 2 and 3 year old as well as running a house is pretty overwhelming on the whole, and things tend to slide a little. Last year I worked in exercise to my schedule. That's three times a week for about 90 minutes. This year I've worked in taking over all the household stuff and letting my nanny/housekeeper go. So there's that. And with all my other free time? Well, there are tons and tons of tiny little things that I work on when I get a chance. But reality is that there's not much time for anything.

Alia is turning 4 years old this month. I cannot believe how fast that went. She is a full blown little girl now with friends and play dates and swim lessons and gymnastics. She is ruled by emotion and thrives on positive reinforcement. She remains a strong-willed child which keeps me challenged every day, but I'm so proud of her. She is a lovely girl.

Amelie is just over two-and-a-half. She is the sweetest child. Gentle, articulate, hilariously witty for her age. She is kind, cuddly, and truly the baby of this family. She is also challenging her sister constantly, pushing Alia's very obvious emotional buttons whenever possible, and defying us with her need to be independent. She was nearly potty trained last month...we're talking panties all day, pull ups at nap time and bed time, and then it happened. One painful poop in the potty ruined our progress and she is squarely back in diapers with absolutely no tolerance for the potty at the moment. And of course the time next month we will be in Positano, Italy, and I really really wanted to travel with a potty-trained toddler. But her ideas are different than mine on that subject. Who knows. Maybe we'll figure it out by then. Oh, and another thing? Amelie, the world's worst sleeper? Has finally been sleeping through the night consistently for about a month. That's right...closer to three than two years old and just figured out the sleep thing. Needless to say we are very very happy about that.

So that's it for today. In a nutshell we are all good, very busy, enjoying our lives together, cherishing our time together as a family, and let's not forget finally able to eat out a restaurants that have more than burgers and fries on the menu, which is also priceless!