Endless Summer...

Or not :(

This is, in fact, the last week of summer and life as we know it before we have a school-aged child. How did this happen?!

Hank starts preschool next week and we will all need to adjust to our new schedule. Most importantly, he seems very excited to start his academic career, making requests to read his books about preschool on a regular basis. His teachers are coming tomorrow to introduce themselves so we'll see how that goes.

In preparation for the first day of school, Hank had his first hair cut yesterday. Yes, he is 2.5 and has not yet had his hair trimmed. He frankly didn't have much hair until this Spring and we decided to let it grow wild for the summer. The child has the most beautiful strawberry blonde ringlets on the planet. Or at least he did before they were hacked off yesterday. I have them in an envelope for safe keeping and can't wait for them the grow back. It was a necessary evil as his bangs were driving him crazy and he was beginning to look like an orthodox Jew. As you can see, Hank is not a fan of the salon.

The panic sets in...

Mommy and Vasti pretending that this was fun! 

Gust tries on a curl for fun.  

In the meantime, I am torn between wanting to soak up as much Hank as I can before he leaves me for school and being terrified at the prospect of taking care of both kids by myself. Gus is easy as pie at the moment but he still needs to be fed every 2hrs or so and Hank has quickly figured out that when I'm nursing I can't do much to stop his mischief making. We are compromising by having Heidi take Hank to some playdates a few days this week - I'm in the process of trying to figure out a couple of fun but manageable activities to do with the kiddos on my alone days. To all you moms who manage multiple children all by yourselves on a daily basis, I salute you!

We had our second shift of family helpers in town last week in the form of Nana and Papa Mailloux and Auntie Chanel. It was great to see them and we were grateful for their assistance with our little monkeys. Some pics below of some of our adventures with them...

Zoo time! 

Nana and Papa looking like a security detail. 

Not sure why the screaming is happening here,
but there were two cool lions just behind us when this was taken.

Hank enjoying a scalp massage from Auntie Chanel. 

The fountain at the Hirschorn Museum...Hank couldn't take his eyes off it. 

A monumental smooch! 

We have one last summer hurrah planned for Labour Day weekend - we have front row tickets to the Nats/Cardinals game on Friday night so tune-in to see us on the Tee-Vee! And Saturday we head out to St. Michaels, MD for a short family vacation on the Eastern Shore. Pool side lounging, movies, family dinners and trips to the ice cream shoppe are in store. Can't wait!

I leave you with a few cutie shots of the Kelly boys until next time.

Try to look like you like each other! Yeesh. 

An alien-looking Gus. 

Working hard on that pacifier. 

Gus 99% of the time.  Hope it lasts! 

Ten days in...

And we have survived!

It's been 10 days of adjustments, balancing, diaper changes and late night feedings, but I think we've done quite well! I was frankly terrified of what our reality would be once we were dealing with two kids under 3 but I am pleased to report that so far so good.

This is in no small part due to the efforts of our nanny Heidi who came to our house at 1am Monday morning (with her 10 month old son in tow, no less) so that we could go to the hospital knowing that Hank was in good hands. She stayed at our house with Hank until we came home on Wednesday and I think he had a great time while we were gone. We are forever indebted to her for being there for us when we needed her. I've included a photo of Heidi and her new husband, Carlos, below. We attended their wedding the day before Angus sent us to the hospital!

Not to mention Aunt Whitney! She arrived on Friday just in time to help us adjust to being at home with both kids over the weekend. She has been unbelievably helpful when it comes to caring for Hank and giving him lots of one on one attention. And she happily takes Gus when Hank needs some time with his parents. I'm already up to my ears in debt to Whitney for multiple weekends spent babysitting Hank and our cats and now I really owe her. Whitney - name your reward!

Angus is doing great at home, eating very well and sleeping pretty well too! Hank is very interested in his little brother and takes every opportunity to check him out. He likes to rock the baby in his bouncy chair or car seat and only does so in an alarmingly violent way about a third of the time. Overall he's handling the arrival of another kid on the scene like a champ.

Some great shots of this past week...

Gussy Goose

Sister Hank

Wild man Kelly!

Stretching out...

Our Angus

Angus Wayne Kelly born August 6th, 2012. We are absolutely in love with our Gus.

Cruise Directing

For 6 weeks this summer Hank was enrolled in summer camp programs of one kind or another that conveniently took care of his morning activities. All I had to worry about was lunch, nap and dinner.
Those ended in mid-July and we have spent the past two weeks on our own with LOTS of free time. This is a terrifying prospect for the pregnant mother of a 2.5 year old boy. Our house and neighborhood are not that child friendly (no big basement for a playroom, not a blade of grass in the backyard, lots of traffic in the street). And oh, it's like 100 degrees here everyday and I am about to give birth.

Alas, activities are key because they lead to bigger appetites and longer naps.

So Hank and I have been exploring our local parks, having play dates with friends, checking out museums and the zoo, hanging at the pool and going to the dentist (does that count as a fun activity you ask? It does when all you have to do is open your mouth once and you walk out with 3 stickers and a new race car!!)

Highlights below...

Fun on a swing!

More interested in the sculptures of animals than the live ones at the zoo.

Nice, nice panda.

Other non-live animals at the Museum of Natural History...

Ah, fish.  Finally something that moves that also moves Hank.

Summer in the city means hanging at the splash park.

Our first visit to the dentist was a surprising success - next challenge: a haircut! 

Hankomania!

Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Let's hear it for The Hankomaniac!

He's a pint-sized powerhouse weighing in at 29 pounds of pure muscle and he will stop at nothing to get your attention!

 Can you smell what The Hank is cooking?!

The Cape...

I know, I know.  It's been a while.  Turns out our internet connection in Cape Cod was shoddy at best and who wants to sit a computer when they are on vacation anyway?

We returned from our week's escape on Sunday, and when I say escape I'm not exaggerating.  We left DC on Friday morning and just missed the crazy storm that hit that night.  Lucky for us, our house was spared any major damage and we did not lose power.  We also happily missed a week of temperatures that topped out at 105 degrees.  A heat wave has been my worst summer-pregnancy fear so I am very grateful to have been in the north when it hit.  Fingers crossed that it was the ONLY one in store for the summer!

So, rather than power outages, broken trees and sweaty humidity, we enjoyed a lovely 7 days in one of the most picturesque spots in the country.  Mid-70's, sunshine, a beautiful house and lots of lobster made for a great vacation.  Nana and Papa joined us for the first half of the week and our friends John & Libby and their cutie daughter Wynne came for the back half.

Road trip! 

Slip 'n' slide time!

Me using Hank as a human shield against the dreaded pregnant-bathing-suit photo

What a view! 

Me and Hank on Skaket Beach at low tide

We were sad to leave for many reasons, not the least of which was that it feels a bit like our carefree summer is already over.  Time to buckle down and prep for the new baby - one month to go!

PS - if you have a lot of time on your hands and want to peruse our entire album from Cape Cod, please click here: http://lafamillekelly.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

Summer Fun at Camp and in Cape Cod

Hank and I are wrapping up our third week at Little Graces Camp.  Everyday we go from 9-12 and play with splash pools, moon bounces , do arts and crafts, and of course, see lots of other kids.

Covered in paint...

Playing with his bestie Connor in the sandbox

Farmer Hank

It takes place at a church where Hank has been going to playgroup for the past school year so he is comfortable with the teachers and knows a lot of the other kids.  He has a great time while we're there and it tires him out so I get a nice 3 hour stretch of nap time in the afternoon to do house stuff/nap myself.  I LOVE the hours of 1:30-4:30 around here, let me tell ya.

At the moment, I am going through a major nest-fest.  I'm trying to take advantage of my current motivation/newly found freedom to go room by room through the house and finally deal with THE PILES.  You know, the things you stick in a corner with every intention to deal with at some point and before you know it they've been there for a year?  They've met their worst enemy in me.

It has finally hit me that I'm running out of time and am about to enter a 6 month period of pure survival-mode so I'm kicking' ass and taking names around here.  The goal is to have all in order by mid-July so I can spend the last few weeks of pregnancy prepping for baby.  Whatever that means...ha!

We are heading to Cape Cod on Friday for a week's vacation - just in time to miss the next heat wave here in DC.  Nana and Papa are joining us, as are our friends John and Libby Wilkinson and their daughter Wynne.  It will be our last hurrah as our little family unit of 3...sigh. I'll post from there assuming that we have some kind of internet connection.  Hope you all have a great Canada Day and 4th of July!

Matt and Hank on Skaket Beach, Cape Cod, Summer 2011