So far this summer

It has been an eventful summer for our family so far. We went camping for the first time with Claire at the end of June. That went much better than expected! (Kevin already posted the pictures from that weekend!) Then we spent a week in Northern California with my parents. There we had our first scary late-night rush to the ER... turns out Claire had croup. She had to be on an oxygen mist for 3 hours and was pumped full of antibiotics and steroids. It was not a good time! But she (and we) recovered eventually.

A big milestone for us: Claire is potty trained! It was a long few days of constant vigilance, but she has caught on super quickly! We're about 4 weeks "dry" now... of course there are accidents, but they result mainly from not making it to the toilet fast enough. We're to the point where she is even dry during nap time (but not at night, of course!)

Jude is growing fast and strong! My belly is huge already (compared to where I was with Claire) and I still have three more months to go! We've started rearranging the furniture to prepare for his arrival- decisions like whether to convert the guest room into his nursery or put his crib in Claire's room. For now we've decided to try and retain our guest room and have the kids share a room once Jude is sleeping more regularly. We'll see if that plan becomes permanent or not. I've picked out fabric for Jude's crib bedding and Claire's new toddler bedding and Kevin's super-talented mom is going to make it!

July has flown by, and August is already all booked up so I know it will disappear before we know it. Right before Claire's 2nd birthday, Kevin and I will be taking our FIRST-EVER night away! Our fabulous friend Tammi is going to stay at our place and Kevin's sister Mikkele may also be here (she's moving back from Amsterdam next week and staying with us until she has secured an apartment/roommates/job, etc.) So Claire will be very well taken care of and we'll be able to enjoy a full 24 hours in San Diego with no worries! Kevin planned the whole trip complete with a fancy room at the top of the Hyatt (the kind where they give you robes!) and a nice breakfast/late check-out package in the morning. Needless to say, I'm excited.

There's more to say about our cheeky little daughter and all her adventures- and misadventures- because I waited so long to post this, so I'll save it for another time.