some summer pictures and random news

Just a bunch of pictures from a random summer evening, except not completely random because, dude, my children are properly clothed.  It's a rare occasion these days, so I thought I should take advantage.  Of course, wearing nice clothes does not, in any way, deter them from digging in the dirt, standing in the water play table, climbing mountains of gravel, or just tromping around the yard with a giant stick.  And I like it that way.

Ahh, dear summer, you are coming to an end.  Tonight marks the last night Ryan will work second shift, and the beginning of his first full weekend off since early July.  I am grateful to have survived another summer, a ridiculously hot summer, and am looking forward to cooler evenings as a complete family.

Other random news of our household:

Mia cut a new molar on the top, which explains her extra wild behavior and poor sleep habits the past few weeks.  One down, three more to go.

Laci has asked me, "How big is that going to get?" in regards to my belly.  She has also informed me that she does not like babies and would prefer for baby brother to stay inside forever.

I have decided that there needs to be another way for babies to be born.  Although I've done this twice before, I'm not so eager to do the whole labor/childbirth thing a third time.  I'm hoping instincts and adrenaline will kick in to get me through.  I'm also hoping to make it to the hospital in time, I don't want to have a baby in the car.  And even as I write this, the idea of a fourth child has entered my mind.  Ryan says we are done.  Hmmm....

As for Ryan, I'm guessing he's just excited to be done working so much overtime.

And, well, I think that covers the basics for the Edwards tonight.  Here's to hoping I'll find the time to post the rest of our summer pictures before winter arrives.

just a few snaps from labor day

With a long weekend like Labor Day weekend, one would think I would have taken many, many pictures.  Well, one would be wrong.  As it turns out, I took pictures for exactly one hour.  Yes, just one hour of the entire weekend.  And that was plenty...sort of.  I didn't get any pictures of the adults, and Miss Harper managed to evade me enough that I only got the back of her adorable head.  But I have a few, and here they are.

corn husking lesson from grammy

 

one of us was too eager to wait until the corn was cooked

 

harper was too busy watching her cousins to look at me

fresh tomatoes from the garden

cousins swinging...it's tough being the oldest sometimes

summer evenings

Summer for us means Ryan works a lot, and usually on the evening shift.  I play single momma in the evenings, doing the dinner-bath-bed routine alone.  It isn't my favorite.  And if I'm being completely honest, most evenings are spent at my parents' house where I have a few extra hands to help.  But, a good number are spent at home, too.  Just us three girls together.  It isn't terrible.  The girls are usually pretty good about going to bed, as long as I can get them to eat more than two bites of dinner and can get them tired enough from playing.

This summer, more than ever, I truly enjoyed many of the quiet evenings we had at home together, even if I was usually exhausted and ready for them to go to bed an hour before it actually happened.  I laugh at Mia's antics during dinner, where I'm certain she burns more calories than she consumes.  I take cute pictures and videos and send them to Ryan at work  We sit together on the couch after bath time, sometimes reading books, sometimes watching TV.  They ask me to sing to them, which is laughable if you knew how terrible I sing.  Even Mia, who hasn't allowed me to sing since she was a year old, will ask for Baby Beluga or Twinkle Twinkle.  Yes, since age one, Mia hasn't liked my singing.  If I tried to sing a note to her, she would cover my mouth and shake her head.  As horrible as I know I sound, it makes me happy to know the sound of my voice can still soothe her.  And eventually, they both fall asleep and I am amazed at how quiet the house becomes.

A few nights ago, both girls had fallen asleep on the couch around me.  I looked at them, like I always do, except it suddenly hit me how they won't be little like this for long.  I mean, I know time is passing quickly, it isn't like I forgot that part.  It's just that sometimes, the truth just hits you like a brick, and suddenly I was glad we waited a year to put Laci in school, and I'm glad I have these evenings at home with the girls even if it feels too hard sometimes.  Because I won't be able to do this forever.  And as much as I love seeing them grow and learn and change, a part of me wants them to stay just the way they are.

***

A few weeks ago, Beth was in New York for work and we decided to "help" Grammy water Beth's yard.  I'll just let the pictures tell the story.

 

 

 

And now, to enjoy the last bit of summer while it's here.

at the county fair

If you were at our county fair last Friday night and noticed a small, hysterical, pants-less, shoe-less, two year old screaming and rolling around on the grass, well, she belongs to me. And she was mad, or scared, or just plain tired, I'll never really know what the problem was. What I do know is that it was a very dramatic end to an otherwise very fun evening at the fair.

Laci was in heaven surrounded by animals, real pony rides, and a carousel full of pink maned horses. Mia, always her own individual, was terrified of most of the animals, wouldn't ride a pony, or even a horse on the carousel. Her momma forgot to change her, which led to a super leaky diaper, leaving her without pants for part of the evening. And once the shoes were off, she refused to let me put them back on. I'm just glad she had a clean, long top on and her hair was neatly in pig tails, because after screaming her head off for fifteen minutes (imagine the snot) and drooling who knows what down the front of her, we were looking a little like that family at the fair. You know, the white trash one. 

Memories. That's what it's about. Making memories. And there was an equal mix of good and slightly uncomfortable. I'll admit to actually laughing at my inconsolable child because what else are you gonna do?

Ryan was at work, as he usually is during the summer months, but we had a great time with Grammy, Papa, Aunty Beth (who was an amazing Aunty that went on all the rides with Laci), Aunty Kristina, and little Miss Harper (who enjoyed her first pony ride immensely, as evident by her happily yelling at the pony the entire time).

Our evening in pictures:

~ goat butts ~

~ crazy smirk means she was having fun ~

~ observing ponies from the safety of the stroller ~

~ telling secrets to aunty ~

I truly can't wait to do it all again next year.  Except the crying, hysterical part at the end.

(Last year at the fair...such babies).