Summer Lovin' -- Week Two

My little Lolabug,

What a week! I waited with excitement for our visit from your Aunt Lindsay and cousin Ryan. You're changing so much from baby to kid, and Ryan is only 6 months older, so I knew you two would have lots of fun.

And as we waited on their Tuesday visit, we explored a little on our own. First, we found a baby playtime that counted you among babes, and we were off. Babies and blocks and bubbles, oh my!

 

Oh, and your 1st parachute!

So fun! We'll go back.

Tuesday, we drove a little bit to explore a park deeper set in the neighborhood. You rode a whale...

...and took time to look sassy.

Finally -- cousin time! Almost right away, Ryan decided to teach you his rock star moves. (You sort of caught on :)

And that cute boy LOVED your train. 

The next day, off to try the Zilker train. We had a bit of an adventure getting there, since our GPS decided to lead us to a house 6 miles in the wrong direction when we had only minutes to make the train. Clever Aunt Lindsay called ahead to ask them to wait -- and they did! We ran from car to train and breathed a sigh of relief. Kiddos happy and munching on snack, mommas resting :) Lots of "Choo Choo!" from my sweet nephew.

Then a stop for a snack -- I love this pic!

Then we let you two go nuts at the playplace at our mall. You had so much fun!

The next afternoon, we loaded up and headed out for the sprinkler pad. Both of you were a little out of your element, but you started to explore a little...

...even when that meant sneaking off with another kid's toy :)

Finally, we started a day at a cool outdoor park with slides and a mini picnic table...

...and ended the day at an indoor playland with bounce houses and foam animals.

You had your moments of cute cousin cuddles...

...and really, it was a good week. 

I think you're so funny sweet, especially how you think giving hugs means ducking your head and leaning in. (I feel sure that's what you're doing with Ryan here, so it's definitely a sign of affection!) And you & Ryan were both adorable as you tried to say each other's names ("Lolalye" and "Whywhy"). Good times with you kiddos; good times with my sis.

Looking forward to the next adventure. 'Til next time, Love to my Lorelai

Summer Lovin' -- Week One

My little Lolabug,

I'm going to try to remember to list out our best summer moments, simply so we can look back at summer's end and remember. Even if we just find a favorite spot to re-visit, it will be fun to see what caught your attention.

This first week was a great start to our summer together; in fact, we had a surprising number of highlights, given that I worked a couple days this week to fully close out the school year. What a nice surprise.

First, we returned to a splash pad we discovered last year, thanks to ladies at church, and it was once again fun to see the difference a year makes. Last year, I carried you from spot to spot and probably got more soaked than you. But this year, you went right for it...

And you knew how to show (scream) your appreciation:

We had a great time, GiGi snapping pics...

Even though you were so attracted to the tall geysers but screamed for help every time you got under one :)

We also decided to visit a frozen custard place that offers "baby cones" -- a teeny, smaller than golf-ball scoop on a teeny cone. And Mommy, silly Mommy, ordered you chocolate. Hilarity ensued.

Yes, that's finger-painted custard on your leg. And no, I have no idea how you lost a shoe in the process.

Maybe vanilla next time. But definitely a next time.

Later in the week, GiGi and I decided to combine her visit and a visit to your great-grandma, Maw, in San Antonio. Apparently, as the 1st grandkid, I once dubbed her a guttural MAW, and it was super sweet to listen to you make good attempts at her name and "GiGi."

GiGi's teeny dog went with us, and you're obsessed with dogs these days. We think you're trying to bark, and it's really funny. So we took a pic with your favorite teeny dog...

And made sure to snap some with Maw, too.

And we can't forget the pancake-man pancakes your Maw made you, to your enormous approval :)

Ah, pancake-man, you were not long for this world...(chomp chomp chomp)

Playtime is evolving, too. Your favorite new toy is not a toy but the mesh pop-up hamper we used to carry them:

I see forts in our future :)

I guess it's the cardboard box = best toy theory. And speaking of boxes, we had an unexpected chance to pop in on a friend's 2-year-old party, and his mom had gone to town on the boxes. (Awesome job, really.) You went right for them.

And then Daddy joined us in San Antonio, and we took you to a retirement party for my once department head, Jacque. I think she wanted to keep you ;-)

A lovely first week of summer. Looking forward to more summer fun and rest.

'Til next time, Love to my Lorelai

Summer is Coming

May is upon us once more. And I know it's not our first May together, but it feels like some kind of first. Not my first Mothers' Day this year, but the first one that you could call me "Momma." Not the first time approaching a summer with my Lolabug, but I feel it coming more this time.

And it's a good feeling.

Last year, I was teaching as summer approached, but I only went back to work for almost 6 weeks. And you had only been with us since January. Certainly, I was glad for summer then, too.

But now, we have made it through almost a full school year as a family -- you figuring out daycare, me trying to find balance between work and family time, and Daddy dealing with the both of us. (hee, hee)

It's been a good year. If we measure by the leaps of your school year, its been an amazing year.  To think, last August, you were just learning to discover your world, still a little one that didn't move from where we put her.  Learning to use your hands and sit for short bursts was all the rage at the time.

And now, you're a little person, a kid, barely a baby and yet still my baby. You're standing and walking more and more, seeking us out more and more.  You love to dance, and it's this funny wide stance, head bopping sort of dance.  Your most endearing new habit is backing up, bottom in the air, to sit in my lap to watch your PraiseBaby DVD.  You love to squeal, and if we squeal back, you laugh and laugh.  You have learned to hug -- really hug -- and we are both a little caught up in joy every time you squeeze one of us.  You love your books, which makes my English teacher heart so happy.  Watching you play with your books makes me long even more for summer -- for stories and trips to the library for toddler time. 

I think about you at surprising times as summer draws nearer. Today, one of my sweetest students said goodbye to me after two years. She was with me during our pregnancy, and I was lucky to get her back this year. She wanted to pay me a compliment -- as I said, sweetest students -- and she told me she would miss me and that she thinks I'm a really good teacher, and then she burst into tears. As I gave her a hug and told her I love who she is, I thought of you.  As happy as I am that I had the chance to teach this sweet young lady and mean something to her, our goodbye made me think about how much I hope to mean to you -- and how much you already mean to me.

As I close out this school year, I came across a poem with such a lovely thought, a thought I hope I can hold close all summer long: "God's gifts are measureless, and there shall be / Eternal summer in the grateful heart." (Celia Thaxter).  As I look forward to a summer of ordinary days, a reprieve from our more formal schedules, I know that we may have moments of feeling tired of each other and tired of ourselves.  But a summer of ordinary days is a blessing, and I hope I can help us both to cultivate thankfulness.

Because there's an awful lot to feel thankful for, don't you think?

'Til next time, Love to my Lorelai

Somebunny Loves You!

A really fun time of year, my sweet Lolabug. And you're figuring out more and more of the world around you.

First, Spring Break. We took a girls' trip to visit your aunt, your cousin, and GiGi, and you & your cousin are a hoot. He's interested in you -- and you're interested in his toys.

And I learned something about you, Lolabug -- you can be sneaky :) When your cousin isn't sure about sharing, he lets us know. When you don't want to share, you keep quiet -- and push your cousin off a toy bench!

Once we discovered this, we called for a very tenuous truce:


(Look at you, trying not to cry!)

 But you two are sweet playmates, too. Your aunt set up a Easter Egg Hunt playdate with cousin Ryan and one of his friends, and you took to egg hunting right away. You snagged a heap of them -- but then crawled into Ryan's outdoor playhouse and started unstacking your eggs to share.

And beyond your eggstravaganza playdate, you two had fun, in a similar stage of play and movement at last. I loved seeing your aunt love on you (while I got to love on your sweet cousin) and the two kiddos interested in many of the same things.

We had fun at the park, riding strange beasts...

And at the children's museum, playing at tea and a giant Light Bright board...

And I had so, so much fun watching you explore the Tot Spot at the children's museum.  You crawled and climbed and laughed and flirted your way through the playscapes.  It's impossible not to smile at the fun you're having these days.  And I love your curious, figuring-it-out faces just as much.

Then, home again to Daddy. And when the "real" bunny days approached, we had to go find some fun as a threesome.  We found us a ragamuffin bunny and snapped a few pics.  (This one went SO much better than the attempt with Santa :)

Of course, Easter means much more than bunnies and eggs -- but bunnies and eggs are a good start for our little family.  And thank to your GiGi, you had a special dress for Easter day -- a dress that made sure to show just how special you are to all of us.

At first, you weren't so sure about the dress, even with your daddy and dog nearby...

But then our sweet girl reached a truce with the dress, too.

We had a lovely Easter day, made even more lovely by reflecting on this time and anticipating time to come.  Your little personality is funny and thoughtful and loud and quiet and silly and serious -- all wrapped up in one little you.  We're so glad you're our little bunny.

'Til next time, Love to My Lorelai :)