a beach party, a circus, and a power napper

Hooray!! No more school, and that means today is my first official summer day at home with all the kids...I was longing for these days during my LONG sickly winter pregnancy...we have grand plans for learning music, kid cooking & crafts, maybe some experiments, Calvin learning to read, piano lessons for Cami, outside playdates, trips to the library, etc. Here's are my catch-up snapshots from the last week or two: Sparks awards night for Cami...here they are multi-tasking posing for a picture while wrestling over a toy. I was feeling proud of myself for smartly feeding the kids their yogurt snack outside on the deck before bathtime: It backfired on me when they went rogue with a finger-painting session-turned-food-fight. And here's the little miss on our first walk in the stroller...she wasn't loving it at the moment. Did you know we now have an ocean-front property? We're hoping to sell & retire soon, although the ocean might be a little small and dry for prospective buyers... Jude has been enjoying coloring lately, and especially enjoys it when I draw pictures of animals & monsters for him...he still enjoys making a good mess (or 20) throughout the day:

Cami & Calvin had a belated birthday pirate party with their little friends & church class mates...this was the one and only snap I got of the day:

...here they are working on their circus act

And the highlight of the last week has been our 3-week-old sleepy sweet pea sleeping through the night already. (Please don't hate me...) The last 2 nights she's slept 9-10 hours. I guess I can move her into her crib in Cami's room for overnights now.

I think I'm a good candidate for postpartum euphoria. She does eat quite a lot during the day and will have a huge feast at bedtime...I'm feeling majorly spoiled...and very very thankful for the 'easiest baby ever'. Praise the Lord!

...although it is just a tiny bit sad that she's already outgrown the littlest-of-little stage. *sigh* Do they have to grow up?