My Summer Vacation

(Since Marc officially went back to work this morning, I decided to give myself a "back-to-school" assignment for the blog.)

My Summer Vacation

By: Serena Mouser

Age 33

This summer was a very busy one...in a laid back sort of way. First of all, I gave birth to this little person:

Valerie Joy has been a great little baby. Although she spits up (A LOT!) and still gets a bit fussy in the evenings, she has already brought us so much happiness. After a rough start, she is as healthy as can be! In other words, she eats like a little piggy. She has been very flexible with our crazy summer schedule and has already started sleeping through the night on occasion. (Unheard of at this age with the previous Mouser girls.) Valerie is a very smiley little girl and LOVES to watch what her big sisters are up to. She'll babble your ear off if you stop to listen and make faces at her.

Another major accomplishment was potty training this little spit-fire:


Ally was very stubborn about using the toilet for a long time, but this summer she decided to give in to our valiant efforts to get her out of diapers. We are so proud of her, in spite of several embarrassing accidents.

The rest of the summer has been filled with lots of fun family activities. We always enjoy the movie nights at Settler's Park:

And, of course, we spent lots of time playing at the river:

A recent highlight was a visit from Marc's oldest brother, Steve, and his family. The girls don't get to see their new big cousins very often, so this was a real treat:

Now it's time to get back into a school time routine. I'm looking forward to that in a way. I'll miss having my best friend around all day, but we have lots of good memories to look back on. In a few more weeks some more big changes will take place. Our oldest is heading off to Kindergarten.....AHHHH!