a bedtime letter for s

S-

Tonight we put you to bed at your normal time, and an hour and a half later, you were still awake in your crib. You sometimes chat in there to yourself, and we joke that you're talking to your ghost friend. After you'd been chatting for a while, I went in there to make sure you still had your "stuffs." (Your pacifier, blanket and your lovey.) I picked you up out of your crib and just held you in my arms in the chair in the corner of your room for a few minutes. 

Two summers ago, I used to sit in that same chair and think about the beautiful baby that would someday sleep and play in it. I'd sit in the perfectly decorated room and would feel you kick in my belly. I would run my fingers over my belly and whisper to you. You brought life to this room, to our home, and to our family.

Last summer, I had two babies. One was in my belly and one was in my arms. But, it was hard. You wanted me to hold you tight and play with you and climb up on me. I couldn't play with you the way I wanted to because physically, I just plain wasn't able to. It broke my heart sometimes because I could see in your eyes that you wanted more from me than I could give.

This summer you have miraculously become our little cuddler. I love to nuzzle my nose against your cheek and tickle you. This summer, you fit perfectly in my arms...as if my arms were made for the sole reason to hold you close. 

As I sat with you, you stayed very still and gently played with the little "S" and "J" charms on my necklace with your little fingers. You do this often. After a few minutes, I told you that it was time to go to sleep. You looked up at me and smiled. It was such a funny smile that it made me smile so big. This of course made you smile even bigger. For a second I wanted to throw sleep out the window and just bring you back out to play with us.

Instead, I laid you back in your crib, tucked you in and gave you your lovey. "I love you, baby," I whispered. "Night, night."

You then smiled again and waved bye-bye.

I hope you sleep well tonight, baby.

-mama 

S the Explorer

Ever since Dada got her these binoculars, they are always by her side. We went out and explored for a little while yesterday morning. One of our very favorite things about this girly is how curious she is. I hope she'll hang on to that forever.

"Oh, no!" Over and over. You can actually see how dramatic she is in this picture. This girl needs a new catchphrase.

We have a little collection of her treasures by the breezeway door. She even managed to bring a stick she collected from the Isle of Man (specifically, the old Cannon home) all the way across the Atlantic. It's sitting on her bookshelf right now...wonder how long it'll survive before it's tossed.

Memory Lane: Dallas Zoo

Even though it was the middle of winter, we picked a great day for the zoo. We went with some friends as well as my sister-in-law and her two youngest. It was a fun zoo and it was great that it wasn't crowded. 

How bald does J look? Sheesh.

See you later, alligator!

No joke. Whenever we try to take pictures together S always pulls one of these.

Memory Lane: Nasher Sculpture Center

Back during our Texas leg of our year of travels we were able to do a lot of fun stuff with C's family. One day, we took all the kids downtown to visit the Nasher Sculpture Center. They were having a special event just for kids. They handed out green backpacks to all the kids, and led them on a little treasure hunt. The older kids enjoyed looking for everything on their list, and S enjoyed just running around. It was the perfect size for young ones.

My mother-in-law, sister-in-law and cute nieces and nephews.

We then walked across the street to Klyde Warren Park. That place is awesome. Basically, a huge grassy area with lots of cute chairs and tables in the middle of Dallas. There is a good sized playground for the kids, a splash pad perfect for the summer weather, a reading area AND food trucks! LOVED the food trucks. My very favorite was the Naami truck. It was a Vietnamese fusion truck that I had to have at least half a dozen times while in Texas.

S and her cousins. One of my very very favorite things about being in Dallas for the time that we were there was having family close...especially cousins for S and J. I look forward to watching them all be friends as they grow up.

This was the cutest thing. S and her cousins lined up all by themselves against the gate watching their Poppy clean the pool.

And because who doesn't want to see some blackmail-worthy photos of us...

What I love about summer...

Summer has arrived in Williamsburg. Anyone who knows me knows that summer and I are practically enemies. I'm allergic to temperatures exceeding 83.5 degrees Fahrenheit. As I was unloading the kids from the car today (both of them with cute sweaty foreheads) after letting them play in the nice, cool bookstore, I thought, "You've got to make a list. At least five nice things you can say about summer."

So, here is what I love like about summer:

watermelon

pedicures that show through your sandals

a real excuse to let my kids run around in diapers

knowing that fall comes next

corn

bright colors in my closet

SIX! I even surpassed my goal. Yes, I did not include water activities such as the pool or the beach. I like going to the pool. It's fine. The beach is cool, too. But, one day of beach is plenty for me. 

On a totally different note...yesterday I was at the (same) bookstore...

Okay, pause.  I should stop before I continue. I'm having a hard time thinking of indoor places to take my kids in between naps to beat the heat. This bookstore has a) trains b) blocks and c)books (duh) d) cupcakes e) not a ton of people, so my kids are really happy there. So if you're thinking, "Gosh, do they go anywhere else??" The answer is no. Well, yes. But mostly no.

Back to the story. I ran into a lady from S's music class. We hadn't seen her since around the time J was born, so we chatted for a little bit. She asked me what I did to lose the baby weight, and I told her honestly (and I recognize this is not the same with everybody) it was mostly from nursing baby J. "Huh? You're still nursing him?" she asked. When I told her that yes, I am still nursing him, she looked at me like I had just told her I was born six feet tall. J is just short of nine months...that's not crazy long. 

Additionally... I am of the mindset that if a mama wants to nurse her baby till he's fifty-five, she has every right to. (But, don't get mad at me if I give you really weird creeped out looks.)

Suspenders and Binoculars

S and the Great Blackberry Massacre. Can't trust that girl with a bowl of blackberries. They were all over her face, down her shirt on her thighs, etc etc.

So, we're officially the circus family at church. The area around us is inevitably covered with baby puffs, toys, raisins and markers. And our kids are loud. We arrived just a couple minutes late today, so we sat almost all the way in the back. We let J crawl around, and he was his normal happy and excited self. A lady that sat close to us came up to me after our meeting and said that another little boy nearby was looking for baby J (I had taken him out to nurse him.) He turned to her and asked, "Where's that funny happy baby??" My heart swelled. This just sums up our little guy to a tee. He's still just a baby and already loves and enjoys life. Daily, he teaches me about how great this world we live in is.

S in nursery. She had so much fun today! She has a couple little boys that follow her around and wanted to hold her hand. She liked them because they kept bringing her toys. Sigh. Today she became particularly attached to a pair of binoculars. For a solid ten minutes she walked around the room looking up, down and all around. She kept saying, "Oh no!!" Then, she'd point at something. They have little paper cranes hanging from the ceilings, but S thought they were airplanes. She loves airplanes right now. 

One of the nursery leaders commented that she is so dramatic when she speaks. I laughed because C and I say the same thing almost every day. This girl is just SO dramatic. It's hilarious. One of the older nursery boys came up to me and asked, "Why she say that so much?" I asked, "What do you mean? What does she say so much?" He said, "Oh, no!" Haha :)

Portsmouth

Today, we took the kids to The Children's Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth. After being spoiled rotten by all the fun museums in London, we've been itching to get back to one. We all had a blast and are thinking we need to come back again over and over and over.

Brush those teeth!/S loading up her grocery basket with lots of fruit.

This girl was in button heaven.

This thing was adorable. They had a little tot area for younger children, and this was shaped like a giant nest with these huge eggs. Pato was my little baby bird :)

Big girl with her very own drink. (Water. I know, we indulge her too much.)

Afterwards, we walked over to the small outdoor farmer's market. I think I may have figured out how to get her to smile for pictures. I said, "S! Show me your teeth!" In this picture she is saying, "teeeeeth!"

Passed out after our fun day.