I'm also a little daunted about what to do to keep my toddler entertained each day. She only went to school two days a week, and only for half days, but somehow that was enough to break up the week and make it feel more structured. Now I have five full days that stretch out in front of me and a girl who is becoming more independent and needing more stimulation. We're getting creative over here, for sure.
Soon enough she will have a sibling to play with who will entertain her. :) (Speaking of which, I should probably get on with prepping for baby... I've done zero and she's set to arrive in the next twelve weeks!)
So here's what we've been up to so far this summer:
Harper had her last day of school. It's hard to believe that when she first started going, she couldn't stand on her own (or crawl even). This time I couldn't get her to stay in one place long enough to get a decent picture!
We had a garage sale! This was our first one and I have to brag that we made well over $800! We were lucky that Tony's parents brought over lots of stuff and refused to take any money (we donated to their church in their name instead), so that certainly helped. We also had big pieces of furniture that we would have craigslisted anyway, but little stuff really added up.
I was so excited it was a success! I was afraid we would haul all this junk out and no one would buy it. But we literally had one lady come buy almost all the furniture before 7 am on Friday (definitely have yours on a Friday, it was far busier than Saturday!) and a steady stream of people after that. We had only minimal stuff left over and it went straight to the local thrift store. Money and purging! Success!
They recently redid a local playground and I love the new "grass." I don't have to worry as much about my accident-prone child. She loves to slide and jump and I just can't believe how "two" she's acting lately. This kid thrives on being "owsiiiiide."
Kacy and Mikey's little one Finn had his first birthday! He was just born! (apparently my summer has consisted exclusively of me lamenting how fast children grow!)
He had a blow up slide that Harper was really good at.
My newest trick is to find a box of something and let Harper go all through it. She is GREAT at making messes. Luckily, she is sorta learning how to clean them back up (sorta being the key word). Books are her absolute favorite thing in the world (maybe next to raisins). I am so proud because that was my goal, but man sometimes I get tired of reading them (over. and over.). She is better about not ripping pages, so bins of real books are a hit now.
Also, crazy hair. The end.
*By now it's no secret that I take an annual Digital Detox week that corresponds with our family vacation (don't rob us, Tony's parents are housesitting - we don't have anything good anyway). I don't look at computers or ipads and I only use my phone for phoning, so I'll be checking out for a while.
I absolutely LOVE doing this, and I highly recommend it, especially while on vacation. Life needs a reset sometimes, you know?
Sometimes I get a little sad for people when I see them checking in to every restaurant and attraction on their trips in real time - how do you even enjoy it that way? I'm all about taking some pics and bombarding people with them, but there's time for that later. So, I'll be soaking in some quality family time and breathing laboriously while chasing a toddler through the sand while 7 months pregnant and sweating - no one needs a real time image of that one, I promise. See ya later!
Oh my gosh, the pictures of her in the backpack? Killing. Me.
ReplyDeleteI've been debating having a yard sale lately. Ugh. So much work. But I need rid of everything.