The day began delightful. Like the kind of delightful where you think, for a minute, that you’re out of coffee cream but then you find a brand new pint behind the pickle jar. And you dance a little happy dance right there in the kitchen, in your pajamas, with a baby in one arm and your new found cream in the other. Because sometimes, there is nothing sweeter than starting your morning finding cream when you thought you had none.

And, of course, cream that almost wasn’t is the creamiest of creams. Consequently, coffee made with that cream is the best tasting coffee your lips have ever sipped. And, I guess the argument follows that any reading material you enjoy while drinking that coffee is more interesting, any baby you hold while reading is more lovable, and any morning from which you drank that coffee, read that magazine, held that baby…is delicious.

You follow?
I suppose that’s all suffice to say…’twas a happy Wednesday…and Nella agrees.

Lainey’s sunflowers have finally bloomed their happy golden heads.

And it’s all I can do not to drag my Sharpie marker out there to draw happy faces on all of them. Because I see faces on sunflowers. Like the kid in The Sixth Sense saw dead people. I really do.

(no plants were harmed in the enhancement of this photo…ha ha. do I really have to say that?)

And if finding lost cream and discovering sunflower faces wasn’t enough…
we got a package from Grandma Krissy today.

My mom is amazing.
She likes European shoes, vintage baby dolls and scoring Italian yarn lots on Ebay. Put these likes together and you have the coolest grandma who gives amazing gifts that have included European shoes, vintage baby dolls and beautiful things made with Italian yarn.

So when I opened the box to find two complete matching outfits for my girls, perfectly detailed from hand-crocheted sweaters to the trim she added to the socks, I totally cried.

And the shoes. Oh, the shoes. My mama knows how to pick ’em. Soft and supple leather. No frills. No bells. No flashy lights or sequins. Just plain Dick and Jane t-straps and maryjanes. Me likey.

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Lainey has mastered the mouse and computer time has just become her favorite reward. It’s still strange to me to see a three year old maneuvering a mouse, double clicking and properly responding to prompts from the screen. Not sure what I think about it, but, used moderately, I’m quite assured that pretty mess of fun plus educational can be nothing but beneficial.

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One of the cool things living in Florida gives us? The Sonic Boom. With the space program ending soon, we won’t be hearing them anymore so we made a big deal of today’s, the last of Atlantis.

Boom Boom.

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Celebration of Summer continues with picnic in the woods where we ate grapes and cheese and graham crackers with frosting from the comfort of our blanket…

Other than that, I could tell you that I left the clothes in the washer overnight again so they smell like a public bathroom. I could tell you that I found another moldy cucumber in my vegetable drawer. I could tell you that I wiped Lainey’s mouth with my sleeve six times today, that Brett and I had a silly argument walking into Costco that, I’m sure, made us look like the worst married people alive to anyone watching or that I had a sunblock reaction that turned my boob into something so leprous-looking, I actually photoshopped it out on the last photo in this post. I could tell you all that because that is life too. And delicious Wednesdays will always come with a few bitter bites, but really? At the end of the day, all I remember are the good ones. The pudding-filled bites. The butter-drenched ones. The sweet, succulent drips of a really good day.

Screw rank laundry and rashy boobs. I’ll take my glass-is-half-full, thank you very much.

We dance.

Hello!

And we celebrate.

And that’s life.

If you give a mouse a cookie, he might ask for a glass of milk.
And if you give a girl a blog post about summer, she might just take it to the moon.
Because ever since I proclaimed my excitement for the arrival of popsicle afternoons and star-gazing evenings, I pretty much just want to do it all in one day. Or at least one weekend.

So we did.

This weekend screamed summer. With its vibrant skies and calming sea breeze and palm fronds that danced to the sweet tunes of squeals and laughter that came from our girl.

While I perfect the sangria recipe, I’m not far from mastering the more sought-after recipe for a Really Good Summer Day. It includes, in case you are wondering…

~ Sidewalk Chalk and a cool toddler who uses it to draw a trillion smiley faces in the driveway because she has just discovered how to draw the World’s Best Smiley and she knows it.

Recipe greatly enhanced, of course, if said toddler does a little driveway victory dance for her World’s Best Smileys. The chalkier the toes, the better.

~ Driveway Pistachio Feasts. These often follow Smiley Drawings. And they are a pleasure to watch; the pure essence of summer, they are. The way she squats all Mowgli-like and primitively attacks the shells, digging for the inside meat. And she pops them in her mouth and scours for another, and what’s left is this beautiful heap of empty shells and the smileys on the hot pavement beneath.

~ Pool Days. When it’s scorching hot and nothing sounds better than diving into the cool ripples of a welcoming pool.

Nella was a total pool champ the other day, sleeping soundly in the shade and soakin’ up the rays all baby cool like. Dude, this baby’s a rockstar.

Miss Julie gave her her first taste of Cash & Rocco’s applesauce at the pool and…Baby Likey.

…with a Milk Nightcap.

~ Late night sparklers and fireworks for no reason at all.

~ S’mores. Late. In the driveway when you’re all sweaty and barefoot and thinking about going in to take a shower at the end of the day but then you have the better idea of smashing chocolate and marshmallows between two graham cracker squares and getting further sweaty and sticky. Delicious. Need I say more?

~ Summer Creativity. I haven’t yet decided what fabulous things we will attempt to create this summer but I’m sure a trip to Joanns and a cart full of rafia and spray glue and pretty rosebud paper later, I’ll have it decided. In the meantime, we’re prepping as Lainey designated the entrance of our house as the “Make-Stuff-Place”…evident by the elaborate display of shredded paper, hardened play-doh balls and capless markers that are drying by the second.

~ Afternoon Siestas. Where I decide nap time is not just for blonde little girls and almond-eyed babies and I say things like “Mama will lay with you just for a little bit” fully knowing a little bit means two hours and “lay with you” means heavily snoring.

I laid on the floor today with Nella and the dog just to hang out a little and five minutes later, I had to get up because I was falling asleep.

And perhaps unrelated to summer but completely pertinent information on the lines of sun and happiness and suck-this-marrow-out-of-life…

Gratitude is so ever present in our home right now. So much has changed since Nella came–all these good, amazing changes–and yet, things seem so much the same. In a good way.

In a moment of thankfulness the other night, we said our prayers. This is becoming a funny little favorite for her where she thinks it’s a game to close her eyes (she yells at us when we don’t keep ’em closed–SHUT YO EYES, she says) and fold her hands, and it’s obvious it’s a game because she stifles laughter during her prayers and fights her shy smile. I couldn’t help but grab my camera the other night when, during prayer, I looked down to see she was covered in make-up. And there was something very antithetic about humble little thankful prayers coming from the clownish made-up face of a giggling toddler.

She cleans up good though.

I’m off to bed. To continue my summer celebration with slithering my tired body under cold sheets to snuggle between two girls. My two perfect, ever-satisfying lovelies.

It’s coming. I can feel it.

Summer. The ceremonious countdown to School’s-Out has begun and soon the ribbons of summer freedom will unravel throughout our neighborhood. Bare feet will tread hot sidewalks, popsicle juice will stain parched driveways, and we will welcome the carefree contentment of the blessed summer months.

I envisioned it all today…the July 4th parade on Fifth Avenue where I will dress my girls in red, white and blue and raise flags to freedom and good. The baked beans and potato salad we will haul over my dad’s for a giant pool party where the boys will do canonballs and the girls will be doted on from their froggy floats. Maybe another road trip to Michigan. Isle of Capri Sundays. Coffee and pajama breakfasts with girlfriends. Picnic checked blankets. Linen skirts with a fabulous pair of huaraches. I can taste it in the air…summer’s almost here, and I can’t wait.

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We, last minute, decided on Lainey’s birthday to do something crazy and fun, so we headed out to Isle of Capri in the middle of the day on a Tuesday. I am enthused by impromptu trips to nowhere special as if they were Mediterranean crusises. There’s something so adventurous–almost dangerous–about deciding crazy last minute to go somewhere. Which is why I screamed when Brett casually mentions at noon that maybe we should hop in the car and head out. And because of that whole seize-the-moment vibe we had going, everything seemed sweeter. We prematurely commenced summer with some ocean kayaking, something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile now. Lainey wedged between Rebecca and I for our little jaunt, and as we paddled past the mangroves into this hidden cove, I entered this complete calm. The sky was vibrant, the water was glass and there wasn’t a sound but for the occasional flying fish that came flopping out and about. We stopped paddling and just sat there taking it in. Even Lainey was quiet…as if she knew that harmonious moment of us and nature was sacred. It was beautiful, even if we paid for the journey the next day with sore arms. The whole time we paddled, I kept chanting, “Nice guns, nice guns, nice guns.”

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Newsflash: Nella rocks Pilates.

She spends half her time now heaving her feet into the air. Seriously. And then she just holds them there, perferctly perpendicular. She looks like clock hands. Cutest damn clock hands I’ve ever seen.

And then sometimes, when she’s really gettin’ fancy, girl pulls out the bicycle.

And when she’s not doing that, she’s either sucking on her fingers or staring at them.

Or randomly cracking herself up.

She has so much depth to her soul, I would climb in there if I could.

I think she knows stuff we don’t sometimes.

And sometimes, when I feed her…we stare at each other until I cry. And they are such different tears than they used to be. They are tears that feel so good to cry…redemptive tears of gratitude. And when I cry, she always smiles. Always.

Nana Kate told me in the hospital that she was certain, in three months, I would drop to my knees and cry, thanking God for Nella. She promised me I would be happy for all of it and for the amazing opportunity to see who we could become with something like this.

I like who we are becoming.

And I can’t wait to see how we will continue to change.

I’ve never been so excited for a summer before…it’s going to be good.

And because good things need good lists, I hereby present my list of fabulous things I want to do this summer. Last year’s list didn’t make it so far because my morning sickness held me up a little, so I am doubly motivated to cross off all of this summer’s to-dos. I even started with one I already crossed-off for good luck…to get the ball rolling.

With no further ado, I will…

Go ocean kayaking (check!)
Paint my bedroom a happy new shade
Become the World’s Best Sangria Maker
Plant flowers
See at least two beach sunsets a month
Lie outside on a blanket with my girls, late at night, and look at stars
Take a road trip
Pick strawberries with my girls in a big open field
Organize a karaoke night
Wear lots of yellow
Bake bread with Lainey
Take a weekend trip to St. Augustine
Hula hoop
Midnight swim
Have Lanai breakfasts
Play Kick the Can
Go Camping

…and about a hundred more lovely things that are certain to make summer splendid.

Happy Almost Summer!

And do tell a few of your own summer plans! What must you do? Catch fireflies in jars? Play hopscotch with your littles? Splurge on the grandest sandals ever? Do tell!