Big changes of pace around here since my last blog post!  We have welcomed the beginning of the school year!  Both kids like the structure of their days and are ready for the weekends when they arrive, and I can say the same.  I love that I can get stuff done while they are gone so I am ready to be an engaged parent when they're home.  Anthony has been traveling back and forth from Jackson, Michigan to consult with a client.  He's been going for one week, then home for two.

I saw this little ditty at the end of last school year, and it cracked me up.  We are definitely still in the best part of the year - warm and sunny morning walks to the bus stop, homework hasn't begun in earnest yet, and the kids are still excited to go.  I'm sure by May we'll be ready for summer all over again!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/parents-at-the-beginning-of-the-school-year-vs-the-end#3k32xn8

Here are the kids on the first day of school!  I may or may not have been exasperatedly saying, "Can you two please just act like you like each other?!"  They did a pretty good job faking it, if I do say so myself!


Second grade!


First grade!


No tears at the bus stop!  The kids couldn't wait to see their friends!


At least I still get a little wave!  I wonder how many more years I have before I'm just an embarrassment! :P


Meanwhile at home, this little stink is into everything.  It's a challenge to keep up with him and get anything else done throughout the day, but that little head popping up all over the place is totally worth it!


He loves to play the piano.




We went to Tour De Fat again this year.  The kids decorated their bikes and rode for a bit with Papa, while Anthony entertained the riders and made lots of children cry as Darth Vader.














For years, Lucas (Luke for short) was at the top of our baby name list.  Of course, this was before I knew how Star Wars-centered our lives would be, so when pregnant with Harrison, I shot it down.  Anthony still occasionally calls Harrison his baby Luke.  I can just hear him saying, "Luke, I am your father" here.


The two older kids in school means that your friend can bring you creme brulee for breakfast and you can eat it slowly and enjoy every bite, like it should be eaten!  Don't have a friend that brings you creme brulee at 9 AM?  Find one at any cost.  It's a gamechanger.


Granted, the previous statement doesn't apply unless the baby is napping.  If you put him down for a minute to, say, make your bed or floss your teeth, this is the aftermath.  He's a quick little bugger.




I've said it before that the only thing I don't like about this house is that the open space behind us gives us lots of creatures to make friends with, like this giant orb spider that spun a web right by our back door.  We've destroyed the web over and over, but he's industrious and resilient, and just hangs out in the center, waiting for prey.  I have half a mind to smush him, but he does keep smaller bugs at bay, and really, who wants to try to smush a quarter-sized spider in mid air with the possibility of the web and spider getting on you?  NOT ME!


I can't believe my baby will be one in three days! I feel like Harrison's addition has changed everything about our lives, and though he keeps my head spinning, I wouldn't trade the chaos for anything!  We're having a little birthday party for him on Saturday, so stay tuned for inevitably adorable pics!