Summer's End

It feels like the real end of summer around here lately. Classes are back in full swing now at NPU, the weather doesn't stay warm without it getting nippy by dinner time, leaves keep crackling under the stroller whenever we're out, and all our schedules and routines are in the process of being switched around for this new season. I feel like we "accomplished" so much this summer - seeing people, places, making memories, trying both everyday and wild stuff with our willing toddler.  Here is my seasonal collage to remember some of the highlights from summer 2010:

Good, Clean Country Fun

All three kids (Eva, Hannah and Jacob) on their friendly horse. Eva hopped right up there, and Hannah and Jacob are pro riders!

As I've mentioned, we've been rounding out the summer with a lot of trips recently - including a weekend in MI with Peter's parents. We had the ultimate countryside fun weekend, and I finally got the rest of the photos uploaded and edited. Eva got to play with two new friends her age (2.5 and 5 yrs old), AND ride a horse for the first time, go swimming, and just all-around enjoy herself. Here are just a few of my faves that show our amazing hosts - Amy, Jacob and Hannah (and Dale), at their horse farm/pool/house, and a few from the church fun fair later that same weekend. Such great people, on a great August weekend...


Hannah and Eva brushing down his legs and spraying for flies.


The two girls had a blast together - although this shot doesn't show it!


The kids took turns using the helmet out in the pasture - Jacob was a great big bro and friend with the girls.


Eva LOVED trying on goggles and flippers! hee hee


Eva and Jacob floating on the frog.


Bouncey castle at the church fair.


One happy girl!

Second Half of Summer Pics...

FYI family, our smugmug account is finally caught up on most of our summer fun. (And I also have two great videos of Eva from this week, but am still having trouble loading videos on here. It did work on facebook, however, so I am still exploring how to easily share videos with you all...)

So below are a few of my favorite photos that recently got loaded online - reminding me of what a rich and fun summer we've had this year! 2 1/2 is the perfect age for experiencing the simple joys of summer I've decided. :) Eva LOVED it all.

Cabin Quotes

We just got back into town after a long week traveling to MN, then WI, then MN again, and then back to Chicago. Whew! Eva traveled fairly well, slept amazingly great at every new place, and the weather mostly cooperated (aside from a near-tornado billowing through sleepy Cumberland, WI, where we were staying!) Today has already been consumed with unpacking, cleaning, making grocery plans and babysitter/work plans for the week; and it's only 9am! But we all got a great break this past week and I feel refreshed and re-focused for our dive back into summer!

There are a slew of great photos coming soon... but before I forget, here are a few of my favorite memories from this past week in the form of Eva quoteables.

"Hi Bo! I like your dress!"
To Tim, as he picked her up for a hug, while he was wearing a t-shirt and shorts:

"Want to play me? Want to go with me?"
To everyone, all day, most days.

"I hear a frog! I hear it! I hear it! Shhh. Quiet."
Said while running toward the lake shore, with her hands on her face to help her 'be quiet' to find the frog.

"Awwww. Hi kitty! Awwww. She's coot! She's coot! Awwww. Come here Meow, Meow. Come here. Up the stairs with me Meow, Meow."
Said while playing with a stray kitty Peter found and brought home; Eva named her Meow Meow and spent quite a while walking up and down the front stairs with her, clapping and explaining how cute she was.

"Good job Megs! Good job fishin'."
Said to the fishing queen, after she caught a crappie.

"I will miss you! But I will see you again soon. You come again? You come play me again?"
Said to Grammy and Gramps as we were leaving.

Bringing the Summer Fun

This long weekend has been a really fun exploration of trying new stuff, enjoying everyday things, and celebrating a long holiday weekend with four days of family time in a row!

Just today, we got a huge bag full of clearance items from a neighborhood thrift store for under $15.00, then took the el downtown, had a Ghiradelli's Ice Cream treat and visited with the carriage horses on the magnificent mile, before heading back home for naptime. In the last few days, we've camped out by the lake in Evanston to see fireworks (and saw 0.2 minutes of the show before Eva got scared and we went back home), flew a kite by the lake, swam at the beach and collected shells, and swam at two neighborhood pools (where Eva has successfully jumped in, rode on my back, put her whole head under once, and blew bubbles twice!) We've also hit the nature center to see animals and shoulder high plants, set up Eva's new sandbox, watched Mary Poppins (and then sung songs from it almost every day since!), had dinner out and saw a movie with some friends, and taken a bike ride and trips to the park. I happily crossed a bunch 'o things off my summer fun list today - and the long weekend isn't even over yet!

Most of these events have cost us little or no money, have taken minimal planning, and have been very fun for all three of us. It has been a good reminder for me that I can feel "accomplished" in these fun, everyday and family ways - not just through homework or sending work emails. :) It has also been a good reminder that motivating ourselves to try some things that are new, being ok with activities that may take time to get to, or patience to park at, etc. makes this city a great place to enjoy the summer and enjoy each other. Also, we've taken a lot of naps after our time in the hot sun and galavanting around town - that also helps!

Pictures will be coming sometime soon... happy Fourth to July weekend to all!

Summer Fun List '10

We've had a busy and fun start to the summer. So much so that I am not taking photos, blogging or reflecting much about it lately. But that is a good problem... I will update photos and other fun snippets for grandparents soon :) - but in the meantime, I thought I'd quick post the "fun summer list" that has been in my head this past month. I finally jotted it down last week and its been kinda fun to see what we've already accomplished and what we hope to still make time for this summer. I am in a phase of needing to write down details, plan ahead, and make good use of intentional time and relationships - hence, a summer fun list! (Plus it doesn't hurt for me to see things crossed off and associate some accomplishment with a jumbled up summer schedule.) Here is what we're doing - or hoping to do - this summer in the fun category (I also have some impressive "to-do" lists, but those aren't as, you know, "fun.") If you want to help make our fun list come true, lemme know and we can have fun together! :)

Fun Stuff for Summer List:
 Visit the Library
Fly a Kite
Visit the Beach
 Go to the Zoo
Go to the Children’s Museum
Go Camping – with Eva? Without?
Visit a State Park/go Canoeing at park or in the city
Take a long bike ride and picnic
 Play Nerts - lots
Play an outdoor lawn game we haven’t played before
 Plant flowers on deck/backyard space with Eva
 Take a (big) boat ride on Lake Michigan
Find a friend with a (small) boat on Lake Michigan
See fireworks
Go to a new discount/thrift store
Go to garage sales in our hood or Evanston
 Make homemade popsicles
 Do crafty-something-super-mom-ish with Eva
Play softball
Go to Ravinia
Do something at a Covenant Camp
Go to Chicago Fire Game and/or Cubs Game
Visit Shedd Aq
Go Dancing at Night
Train for and/or run a 5k (by October do the actual run)
Do Karaoke
Go swimming in a pool for first time with Eva
Do gymnastics with Eva
 Take Eva to dance/music class
Pick fruit/veggies from a garden
See at least two movies in the theater
Date night seeing a play/musical/performance/downtown
Paint one room in our apt.
Find great salsa/pico de gallo recipe – make it
Make at least 2 kinds of cordials/liquor for the fall
Visit somewhere new that is nearby – MI vineyards, or WI somewhere…
Go bowling
Play mini-golf
Watch Mary Poppins, Music Man and/or Sound of Music as a family
Go to Farmer’s Market
 Volunteer at church event/community event as a family
Try one new neighborhood restaurant
Read (at least) one great fiction and one great non-fiction book
Find new devotion/reflection book to use ongoing
Record something for fun with friends (singing, piano, etc.)
 Have fun grandparents weekends planned with both families
 Pick out fabric/clothing design for handmade Eva outfit
Spend quality time with a friend from out of town who I don’t see enough
 Spend quality time with a friend in town who I don’t see enough
Enjoy a campfire/backyard fire
Go to street festival/neighborhood carnival
See the view from the Sears Tower
 Take Eva on the el/bus ride

Some Common Eva Phraseologies...

Lately I find myself laughing - hard - at Eva's way of seeing and communicating with the world. (I also find myself getting irritated and wiped out by some of her two-year-old antics - but mostly, its pretty stinking cute!)

Some of these phrases I hear, literally, ten times a day, so I wanted to remember them and her funny little way of talking and interacting with our world. :)

"Okay, buh-bye, see you soon!"
(Said when she is going to leave, for any length of time, including going into her own room if I am still in the kitchen - for example.)

"Socks (or, baby/momma/drum/etc.), wuh-are you?"
(Said while wandering around the house and looking under things, or sometimes after she has hidden something and is purposely making a game of finding it.)

"Where did thot come from?"
(Said in a quizzical tone, whenever she is surprised by something being where it shouldn't be, including - today - wondering where the brightly-colored ear on a new toy came from.)

"Good night momma, love you momma, g'night, see you soon."
(Yelled through her closed door after I tuck her in for a nap/bedtime.)

"Oh Boy!"
(Said all the time, for obvious reasons.)

"Stop it, stop it," or "go away, go away."
(Said when she is being typical two year old and getting upset about something.)

"Dans with me, dans with Eva, in-si-ments, get insiments (instruments)!!
(Said many times a day, or whenever music is on, or she gets an idea for dancing or pretending she is something.)

"HI!! (Yelled full-volume to most strangers we see in the park/grocery store/or off of our deck. Then it's followed up by:) "What's your name?" (which is sometimes followed by:) "I Eva."

"Hi little toes, how are you? What's your name?"
(Said while crouched down on all fours, talking to my painted toenails, which she loves lately :). Yep, our daughter talks to toes.)



(This last photo is Eva playing a new 'instiment' with her dad, where they both make sounds into the "pipe" - aka, her toy broom handle. It's a fave game lately!)

On the First Day After Having My Paper Turned in...

We enjoyed a beautiful Saturday! Warm, sunny, breezy - the perfect kind of day to not be in a basement office!

This morning Peter and Eva made Swedish pancakes and coffee for us all - yum. And I got to see a good friend from Florida visiting the city for mtngs for a Starbucks catch up. We danced a little, laughed a little, and cleaned up a little.





Then this afternoon we took our inaugural ride with the much anticipated.... bike trailer! Eva LOVES riding in it, and Peter said it was fairly easy to pull around. She even liked wearing the helmet. We made a stop at the playground with the big kid slide and the sandbox, two of Eva's favorites. We saw ducks in the river and lots of dogs on the path while we biked. When we got home we chatted with our neighbors and blew bubbles all over the deck.





Tonight I am going to go to bed at a normal time - which will make a record two nights in a row since I went to sleep at 10pm last night. Peter and I might watch tv together. Before that, Eva will watch some Dora, get her sand-caked feet washed in the tub, and I will read her books before putting her to sleep and kissing her sweaty little head. Insert sigh of happiness - here - .

I am feeling so very grateful for all the normal, everyday, ordinary yet extraordinary things today. What a perfect, relaxing, normal Saturday. :) Good job God.

Summer Lovin' ... Part 2

(a few more fun things to remember from our summer...)

Favorite sweet moments:

- Watching Eva dress, feed, kiss and push around her dolls, stuffed animals and toys
- When I ask for a kiss and Eva gives me a big "mmmm-ah" and kiss; and then keeps kissing me!
- When Peter askes for a kiss and Eva gives him with a big "mmmm-ah," and then he melts and doesn't leave for work on time, just in case he might get more kisses! :)
- Reading, cuddling, singing and rocking in her chair at night together; Eva often wants me to kiss her lambie for her, kiss her forehead, and hold her hand/cheeks while falling asleep at night, which I truly love doing.
- Having her lean back on me while in my lap, or lay on/lean on me/Peter while we snuggle in bed together in the mornings.

Favorite funny moments:

- Dancing - while standing, sitting, at the table, in the car, in her crib, in her diaper, naked, in the tub.... you get the idea
- Twirling and twirling, around and around, to any music that is on - for so long that she gets dizzy, or tips over, or falls down laughing!
- Watching her try on things (hats, long bead necklaces, my shoes, Peter's shoes, sunglasses, our glasses, ...)
- Hearing her wake up in the morning (through the baby monitor), which usually sounds something like this: scuffling sounds, a few yelps, a dull thud from her lambie being thrown on the floor, a sharp snap from her paci being thrown on the floor, her music from her crib player thingy getting turned on, and then her cute little voice starts chatting/singing along with the music.
- Eva learning to whisper. She does it most often in the mornings when one of us gets up with her and the other one is sleeping (and by 'other one' I mean me.) When she wants to come into our bedroom to get the other parent up, she holds her finger up to her mouth and says, "shhhh," and then slowly pushes open the door and tiptoes over to our bed. Truly funny to watch.

Cabin 2009

Our last big trip this summer was to a cabin in Wisconsin with my parents for the week. Eva was there last year, but didn't fully appreciate the wide outdoors, boat rides and new house to explore at just three months old. This year she LOVED our vacay up north; especially all the time with Grammy Lou and Gramps, kissing all the pretend animals in the yard, and standing with her face in the wind at the front of the pontoon boat. Even though we had some cooler than normal temps (so yes, that is a fleece jacket that Eva is wearing in several of the pictures), she got to swim, ride and help drive the pontoon boat, "fish" with dad, take walks, blow bubbles, and have lots of fun inside the cabin too.

Peter and I also had an amazing week - a big break from "normal" life thanks to our two almost full-time grandparent babysitters. We loved sleeping in/getting up to run when we wanted, taking walks into town for coffee and email breaks, going out for a movie date at night, and having more time to enjoy Eva along with help from more hands around to do all the other day to day demands that life brings. Having family and friends excited to help out with a baby/toddler is something that I never understood until I experienced it as a (relatively) new parent; there are few things more supportive and meaningful at this stage in our lives. And there is nothing quite as sweet as watching your child be loved unconditionally by others who love her too - we're lucky.