Here we are, 4 months later. How can it be that Abby is 4 months old already? It’s crazy! She smiles and talks and is starting to laugh. She managed to roll from back to front for the first time, just one day shy of her 4 month birthday. She likes holding toys, but only if she can get them into her mouth. She goes with the flow with almost no complaining. And she’s still a champion sleeper. She’s the perfect third child!

Except when she’s NOT perfect, like last week when we had a babysitter here for just 2 hours (Chris had a wedding and I was at work.) Abby cried for almost that entire 2 hours. No real reason, she just cried. 2 days later, at Aunt Karen’s house, she did the same thing. Hysterical, unexplained crying. We drove 40 minutes home with crying all the way. In hindsight, I think she might have been overheated both times. I guess she’s more like me than I thought – she doesn’t like to be hot and sweaty! We still think she’s great and we’re going to keep her!

The whole family enjoyed our trip to Blue Harbor last week. Maggie loved to do the “big kid”

slides, while Katherine was happy enough to stick with the kiddie slides. She tried the big ones, but was happier in the kid pool. Even Abby got in on the action, sitting on my lap for a ride in the lazy river, and splashing in the baby pool. We were happy to enjoy a 2-bedroom condo, which gave us a full kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and plenty of space for all of us. It was just a short walk to either the Lake Michigan shoreline, or the hotel and waterpark. Chris and I each enjoyed an hour massage at the spa. That was about the only relaxation we enjoyed –as taking 3 children to a waterpark is not exactly relaxing, but anytime you can get away from home for a few days, it feels great!

The trip offered education as well. Our wonderful, daytime sitter, Linda, came to visit just before we left. She brought Maggie and Katherine each a digital camera. They are basic, and child-proof and very exciting. However, they do not have a display screen, so the girls were confused as to why they couldn’t immediately see the pictures they were taking. Chris and I tried to explain the concept of film, and went so far as to say “when we were kids” and went on to describe taking pictures with a 110 or 35mm camera, bringing the film to the drugstore, and then waiting 3-5 days to ever see the pictures. I’m not sure they really grasped the concept, but it was fun to talk about.

The other “life-lesson” from the past 2 weeks was learning about convertibles. Maggie noticed a “car with no roof” while we were driving, so we talked about how some cars have roofs that can hide when the weather is really nice. Maggie really liked the WORD convertible, saying “Hmmm, convertible, Con-Ver-Ti-Ble, That’s a hard word Mommy, but I like it!” Every car ride is now more exciting as both girls shout “CONVERTIBLE” when they see one.

Next week is back to school for Chris with teacher in-service on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Then Maggie AND Chris are back to school on September 1. Katherine gets an extra week before APL school starts. I think we’ll all appreciate the return to routines, but we'll certainly miss the lazy days of summer as well!