What does summer mean to you?

Another Lost Naptime

Old MacDonald's Farm, her mini stuffed 'Easter Bunny', "I love you Easter Bunny", daddy, New Baby, Baby Stella, this little piggy goes to market.... naptime is a party in the crib!

Teaching Stella to Draw

Got my babies all set up to watch 'Yo Gabba Gabba'.

This girl is a LITTLE MOMMA.

Name Writing

This is, amazingly, Ainsley's approximation of an 'A'.
Spontaneously and without ANY prompting.

She's 28 months old!

Puzzles!

She loves puzzles - and is quite good at them!

A Ride for Baby Stella

Stella is still Ainsley's favorite baby. She can't sleep without her.

Ghost Update

OK, so Sohya is not a ghost after all.

(sheepish grin w/ shoulder shrug)

Found out from the nanny today that Ainsley has been going on play dates with a little boy named "Sawyer" ... aka "sohya".... who she LOVES. She hugs him and kisses him and plays happily. Apparently she's been talking about HIM in the middle of the night.

hmmmm.... not sure what's worse... ghosts in the house or interest in a boy?

Summer Rain

85 degrees and pouring... POURING rain... big windy storm blew in just minutes after we returned from a sunny afternoon at the park.

The vids don't do it justice...

Summertime Daybook

Outside my window...

It's reaching towards 100 degrees. Again. Record breaking temps for June in DC.

I'm thankful for...
big stretches of un-planned time. I love summer!

I am thinking about...
summer plans. ha ha! What's a girl to do with un-planned time but to plan it! :) We will be taking Ains and Jake "camping" at a KOA in a few weeks. And I'm getting so excited for our trip home in about a month...

• grandpa
• my sisters
  
• showing off Ainsley to the fam
  
• the bagelry
• the firehouse
• dance & yoga classes w/ my favorite teachers
• a dear friend's wedding
• a cousin's wedding
• berry picking w/ Ains & "auntie rachel"
• nothing to do but play
  

I am working on...
getting to sleep at a reasonable time... at least once a week. :)

learning all the time...
Ains is now counting to 20 (kinda). [see video on recent post]. She's learning so many new words, I can't keep up. Her current favorite word is BECAUSE. She's also learning the art of negotiation and of manipulation. "No, mommy, 1 more minute." or "Daddy say yes." or my all-time favorite: "Dr Dickey say no nigh night. Just play."

from the kitchen...
I made a roast! It smelled amazing. OK, not much to do but plop it in the oven - but I was still proud of myself. We won't mention that it was so overcooked, not even Jake could chew it very easily. :)

Ains and I made home-made peach crisp from real peaches. Summertime means stress-free kitchen time!

I am creating...
organized/clean spaces around the house. A glorious side-effect of summertime!

I am going...
to dance, do yoga and exercise all summer long!

I am reading...
Devil in the White City - by Erik Larson
Amazing writer. This is a true story, chock-a-block full of incredible, historic events centered around the World's Fair, Expo, in Chicago. (Jasper started to re-read it, and he's such a speedy reader, he may well finish it before I do.)

I am hoping...
My recent knee injury is nothing. I'm hoping that we find good dog-care for Jake in August. I'm hoping that Ains stays healthy now that she is off of round-3 antibiotics.

I am praying...
for a good solution to the oil spill.

I am hearing...
nothing but the trickle of water in our aquarium and the soft hum of our window air-unit.
(Thank God for nap times.)

around the house...
It's WAR. With the ants. Bring it, little demons.

heard this week...
49-9 ('forty nine, nine') - We have NO idea what this is. Ainsley says it all of the time.

one of my favorite things..
COFFEE with half-n-half

a few plans for next week...
tutoring in the afternoons, a killer yoga class or two, driving up to the American Dance Institute to take a company class from my favorite local teacher, hopefully a trip or two to the pool, more clean spaces in the house, digging up our camp gear from the shed, plenty of walks with Jake, perhaps baking cookies

a picture thought I'm sharing with you...
My three kindergarten ballerinas and a silly Ainsley.

Ainsley's 'Beach'

She arranged her gift of seashells from Ocracoke in a single line on her water table and had a ball....

Count to 20!

Do you believe in ghosts?

Ainsley woke with a fright, screaming and crying with her eyes wide open and staring at a specific spot across her room. It took several (10?) minutes to calm her down. When she finally calmed, she said:

Sohya come play wid me. She died. She nigh night. She over dere.

She's woken every night for the last few nights - and continues to talk about Sohya. Sometimes she says she likes her. Sometimes she says she is scared. Apparently Sohya is everywhere... can be in our room or other places around the house. Our house is indeed nearly 100 years old, in an historic district, could be a ghost. Or perhaps it's an imaginary friend.

Final Beach Days

Fish Tacos on the Pier with dear friend Joelle

Sunset in Ocracoke - the pictures speak for themselves...

Sunrise the next, my last, morning...

All in all, a glorious time away by myself. Rejuvenating, refreshing, and a great way to start summer vacation. The ocean water was about 80 or more degrees... a warm, salty bath! If you are a mother reading this blog and need an extra push (or justification) for going on a little trip by yourself - read "Gift From the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Jasper did a GREAT job, bless him, being a single daddy for 4 days. He not only kept baby happy, bathed, fed, got her to and from daycare (using the metro) but also COOKED. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, don't be fooled. The man, it turns out, can cook real food. He even took Ains to the zoo. He promptly slept for nearly 24 hours straight when I got home - way to go, dadda!

Island Living

Yes, honey, I actually rode a bike! And didn't fall down once. :)

Jelly Fish

Nothin' but beach.

Watch out for the locals!

Cute little antique shop:

Wicked Cool Pelicans Vid:

Ocracoke

"Do you like my hat?" :)
First. Ever. Vacation time sans bebe. Girls only. Glorious.

This is Joelle's beach house - she becomes a local here every summer on this amazing, 16 mile island... home to Blackbeard's infamous treasure and many a haunted tale.

We planted a bunch of herbs and use them in the kitchen

Wine tasting at Zillie's.

A grown-up meal. Shrimp, homemade pesto sauce, wine, candles. No food thrown on the floor. No 'buzzy bee' game to get the kid to eat. No sippy cups or spilled milk. Oh - and a real table and chairs.

Though I feel like I'm missing an arm without Ainsley around, I'm beginning to relax. Surf, sand, cicadas, dolphins, pelicans, wine, chick music, and girl talk are just what the doctor ordered.