The last of Summer

Whew.  What a whirlwind wind-down last few weeks of summer we have had.

We have made the last few weeks count with plenty of play dates and park dates.  A little trip up to New York (which honestly the weather had it feeling a lot more like fall-  eek!).  Plus, a quick trip down to Virginia Beach to visit our great friends and their sweet little Vivian.

It has been exciting to try to cram in all the last minute summer adventures. In years past I have been so anxious for the change of seasons that I usually skip right over and jump ahead to the next season.   I love fall and wearing sweaters and cozy socks.  I love the chill in the air and cuddling up with a nice quilt and a cup of coffee. I was always looking forward to what was coming next.  I decided this year I would make a conscious effort to suck every last drop out of the season, most importantly the day and the moment I was in.

No more wearing Uggs in 80 degree heat to try to force the feeling of Fall.

I chased down the Ice Cream truck in the neighborhood because Nora just had to experience that this summer. We ventured out to the beach just to feel the sand one more time. We wore our favorite summer outfits, just one last time.  We ate our favorite summer meal on a blanket outside. Nora will never be this age again.  Next summer she won't get to wear the same swimsuit or little sundress.  I am sad to see my baby grow older but I am so excited to see the big girl she is becoming.  I understand so much more and yet still so little about what it means to live in the moment. I am trying.

But today is October 1st- and you better believe I had a cup of Pumpkin Spice coffee wearing house slippers and wrapped in a quilt.  Despite it being 80 degrees outside.

I can't wait for the excitement of fall.  Jeremy's mom is in town this week and that means I can get all of my Halloween decorations up in one day!  Hooray for grandparents!

Now for a photo dump:

 

     

Momma + Mini at my Dad's wedding reception

                      

  I seriously will never get enough of those chubby legs.

            

         

last days of summer in our favorite dress!

That was the last of our summer in a nutshell.  We are moving on into fall and I am ready to embrace it with open arms.  Nora has thinned out so much over the past year that she will actually be able to wear a lot of the same clothes for fall and winter as she did last year!  I am excited for practical reasons but also for sentimental reasons as well.  Jeremy left for Afghanistan in mid-October last year.  He didn't get to see Nora in all of her clothes.  I am about 100% sure he doesn't care about what she wears (unless it has an Under Armour logo on it).  Emotionally, for me anyways, this makes it seem like there was less of a disconnect while he was away.  

Bring on the pumpkin flavors of fall!!

bethany beach vacation

we have returned from a wonder-filled beach getaway up to bethany beach, de.  nora and i loaded up our goodies and headed up to a beautiful beach house with some other moms and kiddos from our mom's group.  we ate an obscene amount of fried and sugary foods, and we loved every second of it.  

besides the obvious benefits of a beach vacation {sun, sand, boardwalk food} we also had the opportunity to experience the way five different babies and moms make it from sun up to sun down every day. lets be honest the most valuable experiences shared were those that pertained to the witching hours after sun down.  every single baby in that house woke up every. single. night.  

we were all exhausted and tired and exhausted.  it is one thing to deal with a crying baby in the middle of the night when you are at home.  it is an whole different beast when you are in a house full of others that are currently catching some much needed zzz's.  i tell you, those kids must have had a baton they were passing along.  or a spirt stick of some sort.  when one finally went to sleep, another took over with a cry that said "i am refusing to sleep in a strange house where there are other kids that i could be playing with right now, can i have more funnel cake and ice cream, i want to go to the beach and play in the water..." 

we all had hard nights.  and hard days.  the greatest part was how we all dealt with it.  i had copious amounts of coffee and dr. pepper to start with.  but in a more serious way it was great exposure to see how they all dealt with the difficulty.  it would have been so easy for us to all throw our hands up in the air and call the game.  the reality was, despite the difficulty we managed to laugh. a lot.  it was great to see the dynamic of moms and kids.  to take note of how they get their little one to calm down or stop bad behavior.  it was so nice to have someone be present and to see their ability to step in and calm nora (or other kids) down after a fit. that was when i realized, i may have become so invested in what i determined my parenting style would be that i began overlooking some simple solutions to problems that were annoying me like a pebble in my shoe.

the stairs. oh my gosh, the stairs.  i seriously freak out over nora going down stairs and slipping and falling.  so much so that i tend to just carry her down so that she doesn't fall.  insert the cycle of nora never learning how to go down the stairs.  we have practiced every method known to man and i deemed her too stubborn to learn to use the railing.  she wanted to go down free-for-all style.  

this house had stairs and no baby gate.  and there was one amazing momma that spent an hour working with nora on those stairs.  teaching her to use the railing and not giving up when nora yanked her hand away from the railing.  now my kiddo is a professional walker down the stairs.

patience.

and so that's what we did.  we were mommies to all the babies.  we fed and nurtured and played with all of the babies.  mommies got to finish a cup of coffee while it was still hot and fresh out of the pot, not after it had been microwaved five times throughout the day.  it was exhausting.  but so refreshing at the same time.

i can't say i am eager to *vacation*  with that many kids again, but i certainly came away from the experience with a new perspective on parenting.  and a whole lot of patience for my little one.

and for the best part of it all-  nora stinkin' loved the beach.  sand and waves and sun and all.

loving her orange sorbet ice cream cone

moms and babes

all of the kiddies!

it was a great trip.  i learned so much about the other moms that i spend my days with as well as so much about nora.  she is one smart and stubborn cookie.  i love her.