What a Wonderful World!

Sometimes it seems like life is going by so slowly; each week meanders by, each day is filled with a thousand jobs, chores, and errands. It takes forever to make dinner, an eternity to drive across town, and the trip to the grocery store takes ages. And then I turn around and my sweet little baby has turned into a sweet little boy! When did that happen? How did he grow several inches overnight? When did the nighttime routine turn into a relaxing and joyful moment that I look forward to and linger over? How in the world did Gabriel learn to empty the dishwasher, set the table, and drink from a big boy cup? We still have temper tantrums and separation anxiety and selfishness and occasional nap refusals, but this phase we are in is so loving and peaceful that I simply can't even imagine it getting better or richer, although I know it will! It's been such a joy getting to know our little "Butter Bean," and we still feel so blessed by all the wonderful things he's brought to our life!

Tonight was especially nice. We had a fun day outside at the park, pool, and on the swing reading books and being silly, so Gabriel was really sleepy and ready for bed. We hopped over next door for a moment (he loves our neighbors on both sides - lucky us!), and he got to play with their little poodle while I had a cup of real Colombian coffee - yum! Gabriel even got to taste his first dogfood... yuck! Okay, he liked it but we all said yuck. Anyway, we finally got him bathed and booked and to bed (with a lot of giggling and snuggles), and Jake and I sat outside on the swing to enjoy the breeze after the sun went down and watched the lightning bugs and the lightning and thunderstorm. It was awesome! We are finally feeling like this is home, and this is where we are supposed to be in this phase of our life. Tonight just made us feel so cozy and at home and at peace.

As for new news, not too much to report. We had a very chilled out weekend. We went to Linganore for the Wine and Jazz Festival which was great! The music was really good, and we met up with some other Stroller Strides families. Gabriel just had a blast and thought he owned the place. He went from blanket to blanket visiting the other families, playing with toys, eating their goldfish, and dancing like a star! We tasted a few of their wines, and found some that were really nice. It's lovely and if you come visit we'll take you there :). I am still running and planning to run a 10 miler in August. Last Thursday I was supposed to drive 15 minutes east of here to meet up with some girls for a hilly run... I got lost and ended up halfway to Baltimore! It took me an hour and 15 minutes to find the place, and the girls were well finished with the run. I ran the route alone anyway and really enjoyed the challenge. It lifted my spirits and boosted my confidence. We'll do it again on Thursday, and I hope to actually make it on time this time!!!

G is just talking away. He now says a few more words: yuck or it's yuck, truck, dark or it's dark, step, stop, and a few others. He can make monkey sounds and a modified fish face. He's almost reaching the pedals on his tricycle, and he can occasionally make it move a bit! He still loves watering the flowers, but he's eating less of the soil and is no longer afraid of the worms. We still smell every flower. He likes to help me clean up and copies everything. It's so fun to see him be silly and we all get the giggles! Tonight he was yelling, patting his head, slapping his knees while crouching, then cracking up -- it's so great!!! There are a million little things he does that are just so big-boy. Our little baby is not much of a baby anymore, but boy we love him!!!