SUMMER FUN & TRYING TO SETTLE IN!!!!!

I don't think I have EVER been so ready for school to start!!! Between setting up doctors appointments for all the kids, Gracie's heart cath & surgery appts, working to get Gracie added to insurance (which she finally did last week--PRAISE GOD!!!), researching what lender & insurance co. to go with, dealing with building problems (which I think are squared away!!!), registering the boys for school, looking for a preschool for Chloe, ...blah, blah, blah. And with four kids who want & need my attention this has really been a challenge to say the least! Not to mention all the daily house hold things that need done-which have been highly neglected! But--we have found some time to go to a few parks and have some fun family time. Our apartment pool has been a life saver too! Several times, I have put Gracie in the stroller at her morning nap time, park her in the shade, and then the rest of us frolic in the pool while she naps. When she wakes up she gets in too and absolutely loves the water!! We thought she would be walking by now especially since on a Saturday a few weeks ago she was taking up to 10 steps on her own. But no--she will not do it again!! We think it may be a power control thing for her because we know she can do it but we aren't pushing it. She will walk when she is good and ready. She does however climb on anything and everything she possibly can and has taken a few headers because of it! But it has not slowed her down!! She is quite a handful and like her paperwork said "can be obstinate at times"!! But she is a total joy and loves to make us laugh!! Kaleb, Lucas and Chloe just can't get enough of her!! She will make funny noises and Chloe will say teasingly "Is that your China cry??!!!" She uses the signs we taught her very well and she seems to totally understand exactly what we are talking about. She is really a very bright and intelligent little girl and we've had several people comment on that including the cardiologist. She totally responds to Gracie now but we still call her Mei, Mei occassionally. I have finally got her into a good napping & bedtime routine--about an hour to an hour and a half morning nap, the same in an afternoon nap, bedtime at around 8 or 8:30 and then she wakes up anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30 am. She starts out in her portable crib at bedtime but inevitably she ends up in bed with us. Co-sleeping is what we wanted with her to help with the bonding process but we didn't bank on a baby who LITERALLY tosses, turns, flips, flops, sits-up, climbs all over our heads, fusses, etc, etc!! None of us have been getting any kind of restful sleep. We swaddled all three of our other children and so I finally decided to give that a try last night. It is suppose to make them feel more safe and secure--like they're in the womb. Of course a little receiving blanket wasn't going to work on an almost 16 month old so we swaddled her like a burrito in a queen size sheet. She slept ALL NIGHT in her crib and we never heard a single peep out of her!!! I am soooooo hoping this was not a fluke and that we found the breakthrough resolution to our sleeping problems!!! I woke up at 5:45 am totally rested since I hadn't been wrestling with her all night!! I will try to post some more pictues in a few days---goodness knows I have plenty!!!!