C Says Hi

My little girl is so cute these days I just had to share. Picture above is from breakfast time and 

here she hams it up a bit before dinner. I love this age, such a perfect blend of baby and big girl. 

Oh, and W is going to sneak into this post, because it is certainly worth noting that he learned to ride his bike without training wheels today! 

Pretty pleased with himself. Score two for the balance bikes, as, just like Amy, the learning process was as simple as "Mommy, would you take my training wheels off?" And he just took off, no seat-holding/running alongside required. So proud! 

So begins the "away" portion of our summer vacation. Before it gets to be too old news I'll have to share some pics from our epic (I hate that word) journey here, but that will be another day. I still have some sleep to catch up on. Till then! 

Peas in Pods

We enjoyed a fabulous visit with Don's parents through the weekend, and one of our activities was an easy hike near the ocean. Took a bunch of pictures that day, but this one grabbed my heart. 

In garden news, peas are going crazy and we've already enjoyed them with several meals. Note to self: don't plant snap peas and shelling peas in the same bed. Rows are all well and good, but now they are so bushy it is hard to tell where each begins and ends where the two rows meet in the middle. It is easy to tell them apart by taste, but sampling each individual pod would be a bit impractical. Oh well, the garden is always a learning experience! 

Four Important Things

Today was our last day of school. Hooray!! Always a little surreal, chugging through the last few weeks, trying to keep the troops rallied, and then all of the sudden it is over. It has been a good year. So to commemorate the day in pictures I give you: 

The girl who started the year as a first grader, and ended the year having completing second grade, with a perfect report card, no less. She received the class "excellence" award for the last quarter and, yeah, we couldn't be more proud. 

The boy who cried the first day of preschool and ended the year with the "confidence" award from his teachers, and who sang his little heart out, front and center with all his classmates before a large audience of parents at their awards assembly. He is openly excited about kindergarten now, and while I know he'll always be my homebody, I'm so proud of how he rose to meet the challenge of school this year. 

The girl who turned 18 months today, who now approaches two, who is shown here sitting on the lap of her newest BFF, Grandpa. (We are having the pleasure of a visit with D's parents for the first time in almost a year.) Where does the time go? This curly-haired toddler was JUST a baby, wasn't she? Now she likes to color and follows directions and eats sandwiches and all kinds of crazy things. Eeesh. 

And that's me today, feeling victorious about a school year completed. And feeling like I look a bit more than the 15.5 weeks pregnant that I am. Yes, that's right! We will be growing to a family of six in late November/early December! I've been trying to come up with the right way to share the news with "the world", but this new little one has most definitely been On My Mind, and fancy announcement or not, "Facebook official" or not, I wanted to tell you, my loyal readers. 

So that's where we are today, this June 11th. A year ago today a big truck took our entire material world away from our sweet house in SC and began our move out here. What shall we be up to on this day next year? What a lovely adventure it all is.  Thanks for sharing these little, important moments with me. Happy Summer! 

Field Trip (two)

Today was Amy's turn for a field trip, and she, Caroline and I all had a lovely time. The destination was the "exotic animal petting zoo" a few towns over which screamed road-side tourist trap but was really quite good fun for the young set. We fed some goats, and the goats in turn cleaned all the ancient crumbs out of the stroller crevices. Amy got to pet a baby bear, fox, and possum, among others. Caroline was quite taken with it all and alternated saying "oh!" and "hi!" when each new creature turned up. 

The morning was capped off by lunch at the city park and a brief romp on the playground. We even got permission to play hooky for the remaining 90 minutes of the school day, picked up William (who had a highly anticipated post-preschool lunch date with Daddy) and came home for a restful afternoon. 

Littlest of course got to come on both trips, and clearly enjoyed herself, but I was grateful for the time with each of the other two, just (sort of) one-on-one. It is a treat to see my kids around their classmates, to see how much they stay true to themselves, and ultimately how much they still like hanging around with Mommy even in the midst of it all. 

And now, our busy week continues with end of the year "awards" tomorrow, and the final frantic preparations for houseguests who will be arriving in the middle of the day. Wheeee! 

Field Trip (one)

Went on a lovely little field trip with my boy and his preschool class this morning. It was a perfect, sunny day and a beautiful location. Most of the time was spent on what turned out to be a gigantic downhill hike (followed, obviously, by a gigantic uphill hike). The woods were pristine, the marsh was scenic, and the kids were impressive in their non-whineyness. I carried Caroline on my hip for the whole long march and was hurting by the end, but there was remarkably little complaining from the shorter set. And I'm telling you, this was a long, steep walk. Even my boy, who has been known for his ability to drag his feet and beg carrying on much shorter excursions put on his big boy face and charged along. One of the reasons I come back to again and again in favor of school - it brings out a resilience and adaptability in my kids that they don't always show me. 

One more week of school to churn through, including Miss Amy's turn for a field trip. Will report back soon!