The last day of Kara's parents' day out program was last Friday, and since families were invited, I took the day off work to attend the annual end-of-year carnival with Luke and the kids. There were game stations and dollar-store prizes, a bounce house that neither child took to very well, a fire engine tour they both adored, and a creepy old-man magician that had Luke and I rolling our eyes every five minutes. Overall, though, it was a neat way to pass the time.
This picture has nothing to do with the carnival, but man, is my family gorgeous or what?
The closer we get to bringing this baby home (five weeks from tomorrow, not that anyone's counting), sometimes it's hard to remember that the two kids we have now actually started out as newborns. Babies are lovely for sniffing and snuggling, but the older Kara and Nathan get, the more fun we all have together -- even planning for the future has become more interesting, as we imagine what lies ahead for our party of five.
Precisely because they aren't babies anymore, and also because one of my biggest stressors is making sure the kids have a fun summer despite the initial turmoil that is sure to result from welcoming a new baby, Luke and I are working hard with the money we have at our disposal (thank you, savings) to sign them up for a couple of things that force us to get them out of the house. They'll both take a nine-week tumbling class at our town's rec center starting in two weeks, and Kara is signed up for a week-long nature camp sponsored by a local park for late July. We also learned of a week-long vacation Bible study class offered through the same church that runs our parents' day out program, for the low, low price of FIVE DOLLARS, so we'll register Kara for that as well. I wish there was more for Nathan to do, but those last two require the kids to be fully potty-trained, so he'll just have to wait until next year. Really, though, just getting him in the tumbling class is a big deal, since he's never done anything like that before. It should be a nice transition into his starting "school" in the fall.
We researched a number of activities in the Indy metro area for ideas of things to do, but the nearest YMCA doesn't have anything for the toddler age range, and the closest Gymboree is 45 minutes away. Also, frankly, our bank account can't handle many more unplanned expenses without putting our maternity leave savings at risk. Still, though, I'm excited about what we do have planned, and we recently renewed our zoo membership, and we're already frequent visitors of our local library, and there are several neighborhood playgrounds in our zip code, which means there are plenty of opportunities for additional fun. Once Baby Brother is here and we know he's healthy, Luke and I have already talked about using more of our savings to buy additional memberships to the city's Children's Museum and the rec center where tumbling is being held, as it has fantastic indoor and outdoor swimming facilities AND a gym AND exercise classes AND is within walking distance from our house. There's even been talk of going to the beach again, like we did last year.
I've been trying not to get so hung up on our summer plans, but it's hard. There were actually a couple more classes at the rec center that we could've enrolled the kids into (dance and music), and I would have done it without a second thought until Luke wisely talked me down, reminding me about the zoo and the library and the parks and also of our commitment to keeping them active even while I'm recovering from my (last!!!) c-section. That's been the kicker for me, I think: knowing it will take me the majority of the first six weeks to feel anything like myself again and how unavailable I will be during that time to do things like hike, swim, or even take long walks on the trail.
Fortunately, Luke and I have already talked at length about this, and we agree that it will be important for him to be out and about with them just like he is when I'm at work so that I recuperate from surgery without feeling guilty. After that, though, I hope to be more on my feet so that we can make the best of the second six weeks we have left. This summer will definitely have its challenges, but I still want to make it the best one we've had yet.
What are you doing this summer?
My youngest just turned two and isn't potty trained - or even close, really, but I am sending her to a little Children's Day In program one morning a week. At first I was just going to send my three year old but then I saw that they take kids from 9 months old and up so I figured I'd send the other one too. It's around $150 for six weeks, which is more than I wanted to spend this summer, because I wasn't going to spend ANY, but I figure it will be good for her to do something except be with me. I'm also due with our fourth in the fall, so I am looking forward to having a few hours a week where I am responsible for NO ONE. We're going to continue in ballet and go to the park and fill up our 'pool' (a tub we normally use for drinks) on the deck and just relax. It's getting busier and busier for us during the school year, so I want to chill out. I keep thinking we will plan a beach (NJ) vacation but I keep having all these pesky kids, so maybe next year. :)
Posted by: Joanne | May 24, 2011 at 12:58 PM
My son is only 14 months and (I'm having another in August - so besides having a baby), I've made plans with a friend who has access to a pool to take the little tykes swimming every week. It's not much, but I'm excited to get him used to the water.
We're also going camping in a few weeks, which I'm simultaneously excited and nervous about. Naps and bedtime not in a crib? We'll see how that goes...
Posted by: Heidi | May 24, 2011 at 01:16 PM
Your family IS gorgeous! I can't believe that "baby" Nathan has become such a big kid!
This summer we're doing some camping, swimming, hiking, park, beach and aquarium going. Megan will still be in daycare, which gives me the flexibility to hang out with Emily for the mornings or all day when I want to, and keep both kids when I can.
Three and a half is a fun age, isn't it?!
Posted by: eva | May 24, 2011 at 05:54 PM
That sounds like a great plan! Kara and Nathan will have a blast. Our summer sounds pretty similar. Now that you've brought it up, I'm going to investigate and see if there's a tumbling class near us! We had talked about gymnastics, but the minimum age is 4. Dean's doing a 2-week swim class at the YMCA and we're going to buy a membership to the hands-on science museum. We're also travelling a lot. We are in the middle of a 2 week trip to Florida right now (visiting family and vacationing a bit), we'll be at my parents' place for July 4, then we'll head to DC to visit Marcus's parents at the beginning of August.
Yes, friend, don't forget to take good care of yourself after the c-section! And, you know, enjoy sniffing that baby.
Posted by: Jen L. | May 24, 2011 at 10:42 PM
Wow -- is it just me, or does Nathan look like Samantha in this picture? :)
Posted by: Dannielle | May 25, 2011 at 07:24 PM
The summer plan has been well thought out. An on going action plan is the best. Resting and getting back stenght is a good part of the plan. Well done, again.
Posted by: daddyd | May 26, 2011 at 10:14 PM