We finally took our girls blueberry picking last Sunday. And it was everything I had hoped it would be. Anna didn't add a single berry to her container, because she picks like her Grampy does. Filling her belly, instead of the bucket. Eliza was a natural, as she reached those tiny arms into the bushes to grasp onto the fattest, juiciest, and bluest berries.  

The weather was perfect. Despite being in the midst of a heatwave, the morning air that day was cool, and the sun hid behind some clouds for that hour. The big girls played their games, weaving in and out of the berry bushes, and giggling loudly, while the little girls (mostly) stayed close to us and to each other. 

It was a lovely, lovely day. It was a perfect day to be a mother. 

Quiz:

Where can you take two children for an hour of total entertainment? At this place, they will be able to play a great game of hide and seek, chase each other around and around, and even find a couple of "stages" for dance performances. They can giggle and squeal as loudly as their voices let them and not bother a soul. 

Answer:

 The tire store, of course!

Just because they're cute. . . 

Ice Cream + Summer = Awesome

Because of the Beyond Birth group I attended with Anna as a newborn, she has had a close-knit group of the same friends since she was a mere 3 weeks. It was there we met such wonderful moms, many of whom are still precious to us, 4 years later. 

But because little Eliza was the second child, she did not have that special alone time with mama in the beginning. We did not attend the Beyond Birth group and she has only 1 little buddy her age, a younger sister of Anna's oldest friend. 

But also because she is the little sister, she gets to hang out with the "big girls" which she just loves. And for the most part, they love doting on Eliza. 

 

How can you not?

Another reason why I love summer:

Last summer, I had an infant-in-arms and a little 3-year-old who I brought to our local swimming hole during those long, hot days. Both children needed their mama's arms while in the water, and while the hours spent there were refreshing and necessary to beat the heat, it was a challenge. 

This year, look what I have:

The infant, now a pig-tailed toddler, scooping up sand and squatting in the puddles along the shore.

My 4-year-old and her sweetest friend, snug in their Coast-Guard approved life-jackets, floating, playing, swimming, and giggling, without us, the mamas.

Not only do the big girls not need us, like they did last year, they don't want us. They're so secure and comfortable now, and thrilled to be out of arms-reach of us. Oh, what big girls. But do they really have to keep growing up?