Fall is Peeking Around the Corner

Although the first official day of fall is still over a month away, I think we would all agree that it' s about this time of year when if feels like summer is wrapping up. It's Back-To-School Time. But for the first time in forever, I am NOT going back to school this year. HOORAY! It has all felt more real this week than ever that I'm not returning to work. My teacher friends all started back this week and I can't help but be so grateful that I get to stay at home with the kids. I've heard people say that staying at home with your kids is the hardest job in the world. I would have to disagree. It can be challenging, of course, but for me being a working mom was beyond tough. There was never enough time for everything. I would try to leave work as early as I could to get home to Bridget, only to feel guilty that I wasn't working late and bringing piles of work home like so many of my co-workers did. Then once at home it was a crammed afternoon of getting dinner ready, keeping up with the house and trying to spend the quality time with Bridget that I had missed out on all day. Last year it was twice as tough being pregnant. Talk about being tired...being a 1st grade teacher all day, mommy to a toddler and being pregnant! Whew-nearly impossible!

So I think the point I was trying to make was that I'm THRILLED to be at home with the kids and the fact that summer is ending is not all that sad for me anymore. It's been a long and hot one and we're all so ready for all the fun things that fall will bring to the Johnston home...The first day of preschool...digging out all my fall decorations that I love so much...Gator football Saturdays....cooler weather (hopefully sooner than later!)...Bridget's 3rd birthday....starting Bridget in soccer...Halloween...Thanksgiving...Christmas-and so many more little things in between! The best part of it all is that this year we're doing it with not just one, but two babies!

We definitely had a lot of fun this summer though. Plenty of pool and play dates mixed in with some big milestones for the kids. Since Bridget starts preschool next Tuesday this is our last full week at home without any obligations or places we have to be. We're spending it just as we have all summer...waking up slowly and lazily and just seeing where the day takes us!

Here's to enjoying the last days of summer...

The potty sticker chart worked so well, we tried it again for bedtime. Ever since moving Bridget to her big girl bed last fall, we've had to lay with her at bedtime until she fell asleep. We were often asked to "Play with my hair", "Scratch my face", "Rub my arm". Enough was enough. She earned a sticker for each night she fell asleep on her own. In usual Bridget fashion, she resisted big time at first, but in the end she got it. And now Todd and I can finally enjoy some time together in the evenings again!

Oh-and the reward for completing this chart was supposed to be a Snow White doll. When we got to The Disney Store though, it was the prince that she wanted, so it was the prince that we brought home!

We call this the "Bozo Hair Look" and it's what happens when she pull her pigtails out. Wonder how many times I'll pick her up from school looking like this?

So happy, so sweet, so cute, so chubby:)

Ross gets two baby food meals a day now and he loves them both!

Pool and popsicle afternoons

See you next year, Summer!