Lovebirds' Belated Summer Plans

Since I spent the first part of the summer waiting for a certain someone to arrive we got a late start on summer plans. I'm usually all Type-A making my summer bucket list as I've done in years past, but there's a big difference between a baby that arrives on June 16 (Gray's due date) vs. June 27 (running into Independence Day) not to mention the difference it makes in mama's recovery, which is going much better than the first time around BTW (yes, birth story still forthcoming . . .). 

My daily uniform this summer! 

Anyway, here's what we're up to this summer:

We start the week with circus class! Remember I reviewed it here? Once Gray made his arrival I was able to confidently sign Nia up, and she's been loving the classes. Gray and I sit in the lobby while he usually sleeps then wakes up right at the end of class to eat - never fails!

Next, we do soccer. It works well since I can park adjacent to the shaded field where Nia and a few friends run around and kick soccer balls. I wish I could grab a pic but I stay in the car with Gray who once again eats during class. I'll try to get a pic after his immunizations coming up soon . . .

Wednesday we take a break and stay home in our PJs, and it is GLORIOUS! We usually do activities like this and this. 

Yes, that's a sticker on Nia's forehead!

We end the week with soccer and circus on the same day then starting this week we'll begin 6 weeks of woodworking class. Nia took a trial a few weeks ago, and I'm so excited they added a morning class. I find we do much better if we can get out early besides trying to find street parking during rush hour is a real pain. 

Next month we'll continue with woodworking class and add piano back into the mix. Nia was adamant about not continuing with ballet, but I'm glad she stuck it out! I had hoped to introduce swimming too this summer, but our local pool is on hiatus with lessons this season. 

Our philosophy has been to do 2 activities at a time, and so far it's working out without feeling overwhelmed. For the most part we're on time of our activities and the worst lateness we've had is 17 minutes late for soccer the first week but hey, when Gray has to eat he has to eat! I love that Nia's pretty understanding of this too. 

Regarding trips I was hoping to make it to BlogHer next week, but I think it'd be a bit overwhelming to go to CA with a 3 week old (like I said a BIG difference between a June 16 vs June 27 arrival!), so I'll be staying home and following hash tags from far. We did want to have some kind of getaway so Mr. Lovebird booked us a trip to one of our favorite cities:

via @danyl_too_ready

YES! We're taking the whole family to Vegas Labor Day weekend. We used to look at people who took their kids to Vegas and stared in disbelief, but after we first went to Red Rock sans kids for Blogalicious in 2012 and again last fall we saw so many families and thought it'd be doable. It's a very kid-friendly property far removed from the usual questionable things you see on the strip plus they have reasonably priced child care if Mr. Lovebird and I want to step out for a bit. Gray will be immunized by then, and having traveled with a nursing baby before I'm not nervous about flying. We're looking forward to hiking with both of them as well as taking Nia to a magic show (she's been talking about magic since her cousin Robert performed a few tricks during our stay at the Can House!), and I'm hoping to sneak away for much needed spa treatments. 

To say I can't wait is an understatement! 

Now this means I need to seriously get on the ball with pumping (KellyMom is a wonderful resource). I have a pretty awesome double electric pump thanks to Klout and a slew of bottles to try/review so a full post on my experience is forthcoming. With Nia I only manually pumped and she pretty much fed on demand but this time around I don't want to be that tied down!

Besides Nia's classes and Vegas we have a bunch of Nia's friends' birthday parties to attend as well as hosting her own which will once again be super low-key (hooray for summer birthdays in the park!). 

I can totally see how this summer is/will fly by and soon enough it'll be time for Nia to start PK4. I'm thankful to have the time with both my little ones and look forward to spending lots of one-on-one time with Gray just as I did with Nia until she went to preschool.

What are you looking forward to this summer? Do you tend to start the summer out with a bang or end the summer with a bang?