The Baden Family: Summer Wrap-Up

While attempting to organize the hundreds of pictures we've taken this summer, I realized there's lots that I haven't shared yet. So this post is a random round-up of our summer outside of our bigger adventures.

Earlier in the summer Daddy's Taurus, which he's driven since high school, finally bit the dust. It hasn't been the most reliable car for more than a few years now. We've held off on purchasing a new vehicle partly because neither of us felt like doing it and partly because we've been saving money. Like the Energizer Bunny, the Taurus somehow managed to keep going and going and going, and it would probably still keep going, except the repair this go-round would cost way more than the car is even worth. (Just for laughs, the bottom range for Kelly Blue Book value is about 60 bucks!) We decided it was time to move on, and are so happy with our new (to us) van! The extra space has made packing for trips this summer so much easier.

Jacob was pretty excited to get a new "big-boy" car seat for the van. At first he was sad to give his old seat up, but when he saw his new seat had TWO cup holders he was sold!

We passed Jacob's old convertible seat down to Lydia who is very happy to finally be out of her infant carrier seat. She technically still fit in her old seat, but it was becoming a tight fit. (Sorry, second child!)

Speaking of the old infant seat, we took advantage of Target's trade-in event since we won't be needing it anymore. Even though both kids hated this seat, I still felt kind of sentimental about getting rid of it. I remember when I saw it in the backseat before Jacob was born. It made it seem real that we were having a baby. I also remember strapping Jacob in it incorrectly for his ride home from the hospital. I sobbed when I realized it, thinking we were definitely not qualified to be parents. And how could we forget Lydia screaming in it every single time for the first 12 weeks of her life? Lots of memories!

Jacob and Lydia sent the majority of the summer not getting along, but every now and then they had really sweet moments. Jacob has started "reading" stories to Lydia and its one of the cutest things ever.

The kids and I had fun celebrating Ava's birthday with the Bradley family at the end of July. It was great to see everyone, including some of our cousins visiting from California.

I made a rookie mistake by not leaving in time to get home before the kids were too tired to stay awake on the drive. Both slept about a grand total of 15 minutes and had a terrible time going to sleep when we arrived home. I think it was midnight before everyone was settled and asleep. Needless to say, they were disasters the next day. Adding to the fun, Jacob started throwing up the next morning. Poor little guy had vomiting and diarrhea for the next few days.

While I was busy cleaning up puke, Lydia got in a little dressing herself practice. I think she nailed it.

Whenever we found ourselves home and not throwing up this summer, we took advantage of how delicious Asheville is. Our favorite new place is definitely the new Baked Pie Shop in Arden. We've gone a couple of times and it never disappoints!

We've never seen much of Scott in Lydia until we saw this picture. They make the same face when drooling over pie! :)

We also made it over to the Moose Café and the Farmer's Market one weekend. Lydia spent 30 minutes buttering a biscuit and then ate the whole thing in addition to a pancake!

Both kids loved sampling fresh watermelon and exploring at the Farmers Market.

Lydia's sleep has become more consistent over the summer. She's still not as predictable as Jacob was at this age, but we're all getting way more sleep than we were this time last summer. She's currently cutting her 2 year molars, so hopefully after they get in she'll be more comfortable and less likely to wake during the night.

Lydia also now has enough hair for a cute little ponytail, or "pony" as she calls it. It never lasts more than a few minutes, but that's probably a good thing considering my hair styling skills!

She's also been pretty excited about sitting on the potty. She's nowhere near being potty trained yet, but I think we're off to a better start with her than we were with Jacob.

And I have to include these pictures from Jacob's shower following his surgery. He couldn't submerge in a bath for a week. He's taken showers before, but doesn't like getting water in his face, so he took some precautions.

He also took necessary action in preparation for the eclipse. He put on his jammies when I told him the eclipse was going to make it "night" in the middle of the day.