First Week Of Summer

I really want to remember this summer.

So here are some highlights without

pictures.

1. Creative writing camp for Sydney and Bella (They are loving it and I'm so surprised. I've never seen Bella reading so much.)
2. Family only day. (No friends over. We did what we wanted all day. At the end of the day Preston said, "I love hanging out with my family.)
3. Little league baseball camp for Preston. (I loved seeing him playing ball like a big boy. I got to see him hit a double and steal home.)
4. Bella's soccer friends over for homemade pizza. (They even made a desert pizza, marshmallows and chocolate! )
5. Impromptu date with Todd and Preston. (The girls were invited to go out to dinner with our neighbors girls and we had a sitter for Davis so we took Preston with us to Thai food. He was a great date! )
6. Late evening scooter rides around the neighborhood.
7. Wonderful friends who took the older three one afternoon so I could have a rest.
8. Starting to decorate Preston's new room

Next week will include pictures!

My Baby is 1

I have really been reflecting on the past 18 months. I has not been the easiest year and a half but one thing I can say is that is has brought our family closer together. We have found more love and joy than we knew before.

Each child brings with them their own temperament to a family group. We are so lucky that we have been able to have 4 children all of whom are sweet, loving, polite, smart and strong willed. They are all very different except in one thing, they all love each other and us their parents unconditionally. I'm lucky because I have made a lot of mistakes and they always forgive me and love me still.

I'm sad and also rejuvenated that I'm done with the "THE YEAR OF THE BABY". I'm off and literally running into the year of the toddler. Shari and Ann, I think this year might just be harder.

Davis turned 1 on June 9th. He has been walking for about a month but not independently. This week for my parents visit and his birthday party he decided to be done with crawling completely. And from the bumps, cuts and bruises on his face he should have maybe practice a little more. He is my earliest walker and a dare devil on top of it. He loves to be in the water, dirt and sand. He could spend hours in our backyard and stands at the door asking to be let out. The kids have left the back door open and I have found him out there cruising around all alone. Not a worry in the world.

So what better way to celebrate then a water,

bubble

party in the backyard. When I found out my parents could come for the week I threw it in to high gear and put a party together with the kids and the neighborhood gang. Everyone from 1 to the 9 had a

blast. Davis loved all the activities and joined in on everything. He also seemed to love all the attention and did not cry once.

He really got into his "Smash Cake", and I let him go at it.

I think some made it into his mouth!

We all love this little guy so much. I could go on and on about how all the kids and their friends adore him. He is happy 90 percent of the time. The other 10 percent is when he is hungry, sick or tired. He has brought so much love and closeness to our family. He adores his sisters and thinks Preston is the best thing in the world. He loves to cuddle with me and has started coming to me with toys or books to look at with him.

Before Davis was born I was so worried about how I would handle a new baby and the other children. Once we saw each other I knew everything would be just fine. He has put up with shortened naps, long car rides, fast feeding and many, many school runs. He takes most of it in stride and repays me with smiles and laughter. His big brown eyes melt my heart and his smile soothes my worries.

I'm so lucky to have Davis Todd Wilson in my family. We would not be complete without him in our lives.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVIS!

Sydney The Fish!

I tired to download the before and after video of Sydney's progress in swimming. I was incredible but I couldn't get it to work. So I had to post without it because we are just so excited.

But first you should know that Sydney started swimming lessons with THE BEST TEACHER, Carol, only in March! We have tried so many swim schools and other private swim lessons without any results. Carol is a Master Swim Instructor so she knows the mechanics of swimming. More importantly she is nice and fun but knows when to be hard on the kids. Sydney's main problem with swimming has been that she is just scared. When she started she was scared to let go of the side of the pool or get to far away from it. Carol was able to not only get her swimming but swimming like a pro! She would listen to Sydney and hear what she was worried about then teach her what to do to get over her fear. It was so good to see Sydney listening to Carol, implementing the instructions and seeing a great result.

This all started with a goal, to pass the Del Mar Jr Life Guards test so she can do Jr Guards this summer. The kids her age have to swim 100 yards in 2minutes 30 seconds, tread water for 5 minutes, swim under water for 5 yards and hold their breath under water for 20 seconds. We really didn't think Sydney could do it by June but she did! She passed her 100 yard sim in 2 minutes 15 seconds! She had time to spare.

No matter what I'm so proud of her. She is swimming like a fish and all her fears of the water are gone. She told Todd while swimming laps with him that she felt so calm swimming. That pretty much sums it up.

As Much Relaxing As We Can Hope For.

We had a really great weekend. Nothing special but that's what made it great!

We didn't have to be anywhere, no visitors (not that we don't really love visitors, it's just rare that we don't have someone in town during a holiday) and we didn't have any plans.

We were able to do what we wanted, when we wanted to. Which helped Todd and I chilled a little more than we normally do. Which is not much considering the life we lead!

There was a little rain, good food and for me some great runs.

The weekend ended on a high note

with sunshine and a beach day.

I believe Saturday morning started the weekend off right.

I wanted to go for a run but didn't feel good about leaving Todd with all the kids when he had a lesson to prepare for all the teens 12 years old to 17 on Sunday. (This is one of his fun new responsibilities in the bishopric. On a 5th Sunday he will teach a lesson to all the youth! I hear he did great! I knew he would though.)

So I thought I would just take Davis with me in the jogger. Then I had a great idea (thanks to Deanne and her influence on me) to take the girls with me. They rode their scooters and were able to keep up. I was worried they would start complaining but they never tired. We were able to go for almost 5 miles. I was so impressed with them. And they LOVED IT!

The weekend ended with a sunny warm day. So after a Memorial Day "Fun Run", followed by a pancake breakfast and flag ceremony put on by the Boy Scouts from church,

we cruised down to the beach.

We were worried about crowds and taking Davis but both ended up not being a problem.

Davis LOVED every minute of the beach. We stayed for 4 hours and left when we felt like it.

I just love my little beach bums.

Sydney even got out and did some boarding.

Burrrr!

Things Have Changed Around Here...

Gone from the bathtub are the mermaids and pony's.

They have now been replaced with army men and trucks.

The Sisters are also gone from the bath.

Preferring to shower in my giant shower.

They are so grownup

(9 years old and 7.5)

so bath time is not as exciting as it once was.

We don't have as many free days or afternoons we once had. Gone are pajama Fridays (we used to stay home in our pj's till we just had to get out of the house or not). The dress-up baskets have been given away and replaced with chapter books, remote control helicopters, professional art supplies and soccer cleats. There is not a real nap schedule, Davis is the only one who takes a nap anyway and I have to squeeze it in whenever I can as each day has a different schedule.

But with all these changes come new experiences, challenges and fun!

Some of the fun that EVERYONE was up for

was SPRING BREAK 2011 in Palm Springs!

We loved the heat, pool and friends.

Even a trip to the ER one late night was

an adventure (not to be repeated).

I'm so ready to travel with these kids. They are so fun and love trying new things. They are always up for hiking, swimming, playing games and we had a whole week to do just that.

And lastly, we are almost done with the "Year of the Baby". With it brings relief, like Davis is sleeping from 7pm till 7am. He is eating well and enjoying all the fun and excitement of a house full of siblings. Davis is a mellow, active, happy, spirited, funny and loving boy. He has brought so much love into this family. We have been so lucky that all the kids adore him and still fight over who gets to see him first thing in the morning, hold him and help with any of his care and cleaning. As this year ends I'm also sad that I wont ever have a newborn snuggled on my shoulder again. It's weird to think that this chapter of my life is closed.

I'm so glad we went for a fourth child, though I can say with all certainty that we are done!!! So don't bother asking, ha ha!

In all the ways I listed above and more I know I'm lucky but I'm also soooo incredibly busy. I really did not know I could be so busy! But I'm learning that it is the best kind of busy. Though I would love some extra time to shed this last 10 pounds of baby weight!

I will start posting regularly again and sharing some of the more "light" moments in raising 4 Wilson children. We are looking forward to the summer full of surfing, soccer, seeing friends, a road trip (maybe) and lots of relaxing (well as much as I can get with the group).

After the summer the new school year will bring with it PTA,

3 elementary school classes, a toddler, 3 soccer teams, dance classes, gymnastics class, piano lessons for 3, and Todd in the bishopric.

So my life should be full of laughs!