Our First Summer as a Family of Seven

Yes, I'm still among the living. Barely. Just kidding....kinda. ;) Baby boy has not yet learned the precious, precious value of sleep in any form, be it nap or nighttime, and we are exhausted. But. We are so in love!!! We had a big scare earlier this summer when Levi began to cough uncontrollably and really just struggled breathing; it wasn't whooping cough but pneumonia. Poor baby. I felt even worse because he got it from us when we all had pneumonia weeks before- it was a highly contagious strain, which doctors assured us babies rarely get. Famous last words. So after Levi's x-rays were read, the doctor called us and told us to get checked into the hospital right away. As in, skip dinner and just get there. That was a difficult night to say the least, but he responded well to the meds and we were allowed home the next afternoon.

Overall, our summer has been a good one. I was just going to say, "not great," but it HAS been great, just not exactly what we're used to. It has been a while since we've had a baby around here after all, ha. We've enjoyed hanging out with family and friends at home (hello pool! such a blessing!) and a few trips to the lake, but only one trip to the beach and zero trips to any of our favorite tourist-y type places. In time. =)

Here is a smattering of our summer photos. I definitely keep my IG account much better updated. I'm bethanylivs_life over there if you want to say hi and see what we're up to.

Levi, around 2.5 months

first night out all by myself in over three months- got a haircut :)

big discovery upon leaving the beach this day...

...a tooth! 3.5 months old...too early for teeth!  :(

Ethan's 17th birthday

we hid gift cards under all the balloons in his car! ;)

and yes, I stood out there in the pouring rain doing this!

such fun that day!

Now that the boys are older, I don't feel right about posting so many pictures of them on here, that's why they seem a bit...lacking. They are all as handsome and active as ever, let me assure you.

School starts this week, and I'm ready. I do have mixed emotions, but I'm looking forward to finding a new norm, some structured time. A new season to welcome in and get familiar with. If anyone reads this blog anymore, I hope your summer was a good one and wish you well if you're dealing with new routines and schedules as well. =)