Summer is in full swing here. Bea's friend Laura arrived from France for a three week visit.  A few days after Laura got here, the two girls traveled to Florida to visit Bea's grandmother. On the same day that those two went to Florida, Serena headed west to spend three weeks with her dad in Oregon. We're all excited to welcome her back later this week.

While the girls were away, Kevin and Ian and I checked into a local hotel for a few days to take a break from the everyday and spend some time swimming and relaxing. Ian absolutely loved the pool and he did so well sleeping at the hotel - this kid is a traveling pro!

We're so happy to share that we're going to be adding one more McLean to our clan! The time is flying by, and in just three more months our little BOY will be here! It's seems so right that we'll have our two older girls and our two younger boys. Ian is going to love having a little brother to play with as he grows up. 

It will be interesting to give birth here in the U.S. after my experience delivering Ian in France (which was pretty fantastic). Already I'm noticing that there are a lot more doctor visits here but way fewer blood tests. In France you go to the doctor once a month right up until you go into labor - unless there are complications, of course. Here, it's once a month at the beginning, and then it jumps to twice a month in the last trimester and then EVERY WEEK for the last month. That seems like a lot after my last pregnancy, but when in Rome (er, America)...

And just like that, we've been back in the U.S. for almost a year! Obviously, I haven't done a great deal of blogging over the past few months - there's a lot to do when you move to a new place, and when you add a baby/toddler to the mix, time just slips away. So, I'm throwing together some highlights from our first months in Raleigh...we've managed to get out and experience some fun things, while also furnishing our whole house, lining up doctors, dentists, hairdressers and such, and just getting into a groove here. ​

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! There are many different kinds of fathers, and I feel so lucky to be married to one of the best. Kevin has more patience than I will ever have, and there is no one I would rather have beside me on this parenting journey. When I fell in love with him, he was a single dad to Bea, and I couldn't help but admire what an amazing father he was. In the years since then, I am continuously in awe of everything that he juggles and the way that he is able to stay calm in any circumstance. In can't be easy living with three strong minded women, but he handles it beautifully. No matter what crazy things pop up in our lives, he is the rock that we all lean on. Now we have Ian, and through all the sleepless nights and the trials of the newborn phase, I have felt so fortunate that he is the one by my side. I'm really glad there is a day that we celebrate fathers, so I can tell the world what an incredible father my husband is to our children!