Is summer halfway over already? I'm finding it harder to post and more time goes in between when I do but I still want to keep at it because it helps me remember all the wonderful little things that are happening during this time of our lives. It doesn't really get documented anywhere else besides in my mind and it's become pretty clear that the little intricacies of those memories fade away over time. I thought I would remember all the little things about Maggie's baby sleep patterns, the exact month when she started potty training, the length of her curls at certain ages I see in photos, the faces she makes in relation to certain things, all of the funny things she says, and so on in comparison to Max but it really drifts away and morphs into bigger overall memories.Life is full. Much of the time I don't want to sit down and post just as I don't have any umph to read new knitting patterns or look at my yarn envisioning new projects. I simply get excited these days (and I know I'm repeating myself) to be with my family, especially when I'm away from them. A couple days ago we spent the morning blueberry picking with our mom friends and all the kiddos. I watched them play together and create their little worlds in the moment. I love watching kids free play. I love letting my kids go in the backyard and learn to play with eachother without me interferring. It is full of funny words, sharing, fighting, rolling around laughing, eating plums and tomatoes, swinging, and them running around naked or Max in a diaper exploring the dirt, sticks, or hose. I cherish the time I have with my little ones, it makes my heart very full.
Summer Bucket List
Make ice cream
Make lots of forts indoors {we've started a couple and discovered that the art easel makes a great teepee}
Swing Max around in a big blanket {we did this when Maggie was a baby and she loved it}
Kiddie pool and sprinkler play {the kids got a couple cool sprinkler attachments for their birthdays and this is always a good idea in the 100+ degree heat}
State fair {we've been once with family, we're going to go a second time with friends}
Blueberry picking {check!}
Date nights {last two...Sellands market on couples night out with our mom's group friends last night, the one before that we did sushi + movie}
Watch Mary Poppins (Maggie told me" "I DO NOT want to watch Mary Poppins") {we watched it and didn't make it all the way through but Maggie was fascinated. I think she likes the songs more than the movie}
Read lots of books {visiting library about once a week, one of Maggie's favorite activities}
Make gazpacho
Visit grandparents
Make mock apple crisp with zucchini!
Frame lots of family photos
Visit Oregon {planning for it, especially the long car ride there and back}
One of us take Maggie out to a movie
Have a tea party with Maggie using a special teaset I got from our wedding
Set up obstacle courses in our backyard for the kids
Maggie quotes
Me: "I noticed you were making a fort today under the picnic table." We were at Boeger winery after blueberry picking and she was cutely playing with some friends. Maggie: "No, that was our house."
Maggie comes in from the backyard with real tears...me: "What's wrong?" Maggie: "There was a squirrel in the backyard." I think for a minute. Ok wait, she has spent the last couple years doing little screams at squirrels running on the telephone wires or up the trees and around age 2 or 3, she told my mom as she was watching one that they are so talented! Naturally, I was waiting for her to go on but that was simply it. Many animals, big and small right now, are scaring her. She's having wild dreams about them. After talking about it she said: "I wish squirrels weren't in this world." Over the next few weeks we talked about squirrels here and there, encountered them at the park, and sort of faced her fear to where she was again ok with them. Then this week Maggie came in again from the backyard right after she had gone out and shut the door looking outside. I asked her what was up and she said "I saw the squirrels eyes".
Maggie found a yellow jacket nest in her play structure and came in to describe it to me. I knocked the nest out in the morning but they were still swarming so I told her later we would go back out and check it. She reminded me that we needed to go out there in the afternoon. I asked if she had been over there to check it and she said: "No, I wanted to be on the safe side."
Maggie: "Mom, look at my tummy. It's full. I ate all my cereal. I ate all of my fruit cottontail."
Me: "Do you want a hermit crab as a pet?" Maggie: "No, too pinchy."
