My little Ladybug turned one month this week. I can't believe it's already been a month and yet it feels like she's always been here!

I can't decide which picture is cuter, but why choose one when you can have both? (this theory also applies to cookies)

Like mother, like daughter.

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hello, summer!

In celebration of the Summer Solstice last week we had a sun theme. We read stories about the sun: the Return of the Sun King and How Maui Tamed the Sun then watched A Midsummer Night's Dream. We also made sun tea, did sun crafts, and listened to Vivaldi's the Four Seasons: Summer.

Grandma's visit

Grandma Ally came to help with the boys after the baby's birth. They all had a lot of fun in the three weeks that she was here.

Cousin Brittaney is also something of a photographer so we left me with some great pictures along with a jonesing for a better camera.

A trip to the beach:

And an afternoon at the playground:

 ...which not everybody enjoyed :(

Cousin Brittaney's visit

Before the baby arrived we had another special delivery in the form of Cousin Brittaney from California. The boys (and my mom and I) just adored her.

Large's 8th grade graduation

Large is heading to high school next year. Time really flies. I feel like I was just a teenager yesterday but here he is graduating from middle school! Ladybug and I didn't make it to the ceremony since she was only two days old but luckily everybody else took plenty of pictures for me.

this kid is so photogenic!

Small in the audience

Now that three weeks have passed since the birth of the new babe things are getting back to normal around here. 

Her arrival was pretty rough, preceded by nine long months of hyperemesis gravidarum, a third degree ankle sprain requiring splints and crutches and most egregiously, my reluctant exchange of beer for Oreos. It culminated in lots of yelling, swearing, and my cursing of a certain anesthesiologist whose timing was less than stellar. But our little Ladybug is here now and things (aside from my sleeping patterns) are smoothing out. 

9lbs 7oz, hence my hatred of the slow-moving anesthesiologist

Large has been largely unaffected as far as we can tell, and managed to graduate from middle school despite the interruption. Medium is back on track with his homeschooling after my hiatus and on his way to learning to read. He is madly in love with the newest member of our clan, constantly asking to hold her and insisting that he can't stop looking at her because she is so cute. At this stage Small just wants to do whatever his big brothers are doing so he is also quite interested in the baby and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he taught himself to read right along with his brother, toddlerhood aside.

Newborns come with an abundance of adorable which we are immortalizing with our cameras. I've even linked my Instagram account up to my Blogger account so that my photos will automatically upload here for your viewing pleasure. In the meantime I'm rounding up all the awesome pictures from the past few weeks to share.

Snack(nap)time

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