End of Summer Post

Hello again!  How does the end of summer always seem to slip away from us in a haze of beautiful, swept away days?  When home is just a stopping point, on the way to the next thing, and the end of the day arrives with all of us worn out and ready for bed.  I love it, and I love when the quiet returns as well, as we look forward to finding our regular schedules and routines.

Griffin started pre-school this week - his first day on Friday, and then today.  From now on, it will be every Tuesday morning.  About the first day, he had this to say: "I cried.  A lot."  This morning, all through getting dressed, eating breakfast, and driving to Paradise (yes, that's the name of the next town over) he was crying, "I don't want to go!!!!"  Then we arrived, and he clung to me and screamed as the daycare lady (Miss Cindy) scooped him up in her arms and said "Bye Mom."  And so I left.  I called fifteen minutes later, when Holly and I arrived home, and was told that he was still crying, but stopping once in a while to check something out.  When I picked him up at lunchtime, he was all smiles.  He had played, and sung songs, and had a snack.  He wants to go back already. Whew!

Holly is a speed-crawler now - giggling away if she's crawling toward something she's not supposed to touch (mostly the potty).  She giggles all the time now - she thinks dropping things is hilarious, pulling off her bib is hilarious, the word POP is hilarious.  And, of course, you can't help but join in - is there anything so infectious as a nine-month-old baby giggling?

We had an amazing time in Ontario (where all these pics were taken).  Griffin just loved being surrounded by family, playing by the lake every day, and meeting his cousins for the first time.  He still talks about it all the time.  Both kids handled all the travelling really well - Griffin said "Wheeee!" every time we went through turbulence.  All in all, it was a successful first family trip!  And, of course, I took a million photos.  Look how gorgeous it is!

Look at these two, only days apart.

Popsicles

Hi!  Um, I'm still hours behind on photos, so I'll just put some popsicle pics in here for now.  Holly is crawling.  Griffin is colouring.  Jai is being sick.  I am doing laundry.  Now you are up to date.

the heat of the summer

Hello!  These days are passing so quickly, and in such a tumult.  Most days, we get to the end and have a  "Whew!! we made it!" moment. Every day seems full right to the end.

What are we up to?
Jai is working lots, stacking mountainous piles of firewood, planning Dayliner shows, and fitting in all the usual household chores.

Holly is babbling like crazy - things that definitely sound like stories, if only we were smart enough to understand them.  And she is currently lying on the living room floor, happily scooching about.  She's not crawling yet, but she can now drag herself across the room, and get just about anywhere she likes.  Which is something we are not even close to ready for.  Yikes.  Most mornings when I go in to get her, she is sitting up in her bed, trying to amuse herself.

Griffin has been growing and changing so fast.  Everything is "why" these days.  "Why is it raining?" "Why is it dinner time?"  "Why do we all eat at the same time?"  Any answer you can provide will provoke a new "why?" question, and it usually all ends in me saying "It just is."  He's been wearing underwear exclusively for almost a week now, and is excited about his forthcoming promised potty party.

 
And me, I sometimes feel like a chicken with it's head cut off, running around in crazy circles.  Summer is just like that, I guess. I've been busy with the business, doing all sorts of different work.  I had two weddings in the city with Emma Rose, have been answering a lot of e-mails, and have agreed to be the official photographer of the Lawrencetown Exhibition, which has been a little crazy, to say the least (and it hasn't even started yet!)  Don't get me started on laundry.  And all the food that's in season, that I feel I should be putting away, but is currently filling the fridge until I (hopefully) get around to it!  Plus pulling a million and two things out of Holly's mouth on a daily basis.

I'm sure we were much more organized with Griffin.  Ha!  That's probably not true at all!  But he was less mobile.  Plus it's been very, very hot.  These are the days that make winter seem so sweet.

Not that I want to complain too much.  Summer definitely has it's up-sides!

I Scream for Ice Cream

I'll take a moment, now that Holly is sleeping, and Griffin is lying in bed talking about his day with Jai, to slip in here and do a quick update.  We've been busy, and getting less sleep than we need, and my brain, by the end of the day, is functioning far below average.  I can't even think back - luckily it's not me up there, going over our day!  Here's some pics, though, from a recent trip to Pearl's - the local ice cream stand. 

Picnics and Other Joys

Here we are again!  The summer, it seems, is just GO, go, Go.  Don't get me wrong - I love it all.  But I won't deny that there is a part of me that is secretly looking forward to winter, to slowing down, to warm soups and hot tea.  For now, though, it is all picnics outside, and weeding, and bathing suits, and flying kites. And thank goodness for the rhythm of the year.  It is One of the Things We Love About Living Here.  Here are some of the others...
Some photos from Canada Day:

Some Photos From a Small Family Picnic:

All that and more - berry picking, bug bites, visiting, and thrifting.  Good days, which end in brown bath water.

For more summer pictures, you can visit my photography blog, where I am participating in the Let the Kids Summer Shot List.  We have been having fun.

The Natural Playground Update - Two Years On...

Here it is, as promised, a little update on the Natural Playground.  I haven't really written much since we put it in, but there have been some developments.  We applied for some grants last year and used the money to add some cement culverts as tunnels, which the kids decorated with paint handprints, 

and now this year some musical instruments.  We added an amindala (like a vertical xylophone), a whale drum, and a set of listening tubes.  Griffin was happy to be the first kid to test them out.  Yup, pretty fun.

 And the old perrennial favourites still hold up - among them the sand box,

 and the climbing tree.  This (lucky?) old pine is almost always full of kids.  You can see in the background of the above picture that we also purchased some child-size picnic tables from a local non-profit group, and the plants in the foreground were a donation from a local gardener.

The night after we put the new pieces in, I was putting Holly to bed upstairs and could hear some chiming coming from the direction of the backyard.  It took me a minute to realize what it was, but then it put a big smile on my face.  Apparently the additions are a big hit.
Coming soon, we have big and exciting plans for a large addition, but I'll write more about that as we get started on it.  Until then...

Come to me, O ye children!

For I hear you at your play,

And the questions that perplexed me

Have vanished quite away.

-Henry Wordsworth Longfellow