Learnin' Stuff: May 2009

Yes, I know this post is LONG overdue...three months I think? Well I have no excuse other than that life has been busy as usual and I have not felt inclined to be on the computer much. As you can read in my last post, we had a very crazy weekly schedule in the Spring. Thankfully, many of those activities have wrapped up for the summer, and so has our school year. (I'll write more about school in an upcoming post.) So, we are looking forward to a couple of months of blissfully "UNscheduled" free time, except for one week of swim lessons and our usual Friday music lessons. We are not even planning to do VBS this year! I am loving it already...

In April, we took a family cruise out of Galveston in honor of my parents' 40th anniversary (it was in February but had to wait until Eliza was at least 6 months old before they would allow her on board). Our Royal Caribbean cruise went to Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Montego Bay. We had a fantastic time, although I wouldn't recommend doing it with an infant if you can avoid it. Really, Eliza did great all things considered, and the fact that my parents were there to help with her and with the older kids was a BIG plus. But I can say that if Dave and I had tried to do that trip alone with all three of our kids, it would not have been very relaxing. With the big kids, no problem -- but travelling with an infant has its own logistical issues anyway, and being on a cruise just adds another layer of complexity. So, if you have been thinking of taking a cruise with your kids, my advice is to wait until all of them are over three years old, no longer napping and totally potty trained. That way you can take advantage of the kids' program and possibly get some couple time! Plus, the bigger kids will really be able to participate in a lot more activities with you, and you won't be stuck in your stateroom trying to get them to take a decent nap.

In other news, my brother Scott, and his wife Melecia are expecting their first child in October! I am SOOOOO excited to be an aunt! We don't know if baby is a boy or girl yet but hopefully they will find out in another week or so.

Hannah, Jack and Eliza are all doing fine. Eliza is growing fast -- she is 8 months old now and a month ago she weighed in at around 15 lbs. She has cut her two bottom front teeth and is working on the top ones, I think. She is rolling over alot and trying to scoot along on her belly. She likes to try to pull up to stand with help. She is eating all kinds of solid foods and can practically eat her weight in Cheerios.

Here are a few more pics from the cruise...