Summer Days are Made of These....

....moments of pure joy and wonder like:

Blueberry picking, Octopus hi fiving,

Tickle attacking, Hammock swinging

...and so many more!

Chatter Bug

Quin is a chatter bug these days, but some of my favorite phrases of his are:

"Heave ho", as when trying to pull a pregnant mama and/or another adult up from sitting to get them to go where you want.
"Ouchie wah wah" or "Boo hoo" just like mama says about her back...
"Ewwww!" with a grossed out face to match.
"Ta da!" when performing talented acts of a 2 year old.
"Maybe not." as a reply to s statement from me like, "Maybe we should go change your filthy shirt."
And just recently, "I'm a big boy now." As in almost a "big brudda".

And cause I don't have a great picture of any of the above at the moment, here are some of Quin being particularly adorable tonight:
He was chosen to be a ladybug at the Library concert we went to where Nancy Stewart was performing bug related songs.I didn't however capture what would have been a hilarious picture of him running off with Nancy's giant stuffed slug she was letting kids hug after the show. He made it almost all the way over to the children's section before his sluggish mama caught him up, giant slug and all and delivered him back to a laughing Nancy. What a character this boy is!

Strawberry Festival

Quin had a blast at Strawberry Festival this year! He was quite impressed by the tractors, dancers, balloons, and so forth in the parade. We watched with Nami:
and Danpa at Danpa's busy VOV booth:
and benefited from the shade it provided, well at least some of the time.

Following that, we headed down to see Anna, Ella, Megan,Mike and kids, visit a bit then grab some lunch. We caught little bits of the many musical performances happening and then headed home for naptime. Quin took a wonderful nap and later we headed back uptown for a relaxing evening of train riding,
music listening, picnicking in the park,
and strolling the festival fun.
Sunday we relaxed at the homestead where Quin played in the big sandbox
(aka the horse arena)
and even sat on Tommy, what a brave guy!

37 Weeks + Ouchie Wah Wah

My oh my, look at this comical belly of mine:
I have to say that being 37 weeks pregnant just tends to look funny on me. Being pregnant in the summer is definitely not nearly so bad though, sipping lemonade, wading pool toe soaks, and lazing around in dresses and tank tops.

I know it could be way worse considering the mild summer we are having. At the same time....I have seriously OUCHIE back! I didn't make time to do prenatal yoga this time around and I was really feeling great up until about last week when my left side started bothering me. Now I waddle like a pregnant woman, clutch my back like a pregnant woman, and generally do not look like I'm getting around that well.
Hmm....might have something to do with the fact that I'm pretty sure baby girl "dropped" last Wednesday (the 2nd or so) and at my 36 week appointment on Monday (the 7th) I was 2 cm and 75% effaced, meaning she could come at any point, or wait another month. I was at the very same pint (dilated etc.) with Quin at this point and didn't have him for another 3 weeks. That said I DID NOT have this sort of really ouchie back pain/giant knot in my back with Quin. I couldn't have, I was teaching a group of wild 1st graders right up until the day before I had Quin. Friends and family have been reminding me though that I did not have to pick up my first graders or get them in and out of car seats etc. So, I will take advantage of my prescription for massages, try to stretch, heat/ice, and take it easy for the next few weeks, really it would make my day for this back pain to go away.

Work in Progress...

Todd has has one leisurely vacation the past two weeks, you know if you think demoing a living room, drywall installation, sanding and mudding again and again AND AGAIN, doing electrical work and so on are your sort of "leisure time" activities.
Anyway, he's been slaving away at this remodel and in the end we don't actually have a bigger room, but one which will be so much nicer with new floors (bamboo), new walls (with fresh "camel" paint), new ceiling (ahhh, no more icky tiles), new trim, new windows (eventually), new heating (before winter), and possibly a new chair or two. Anyway, MAYBE by the time little Miss arrives we'll have most of it squared away, and when you all come to visit her, we won't be entertaining exclusively in the backyard. However, with this gorgeous Seattle summer weather I wouldn't mind entertaining in the back yard one bit. Don't tell Todd though, he's a pretty determined guy and I certainly don't want to slow down his excellent progress...;)

Island Life, Part 2

Fun on Vashon has continued for Quinnie and I the last few days and we've been enjoying all the benefits of Island life...

Saturday Market
Cookie eating at Bob's Bakery
Tartuffe watching at Ober Park (Quin did an impressive job watching 95% of this play, before wanting to play at the playground!)

Visiting chickens and dogs at Linda and Don's, and goats, mini ponies, chickens, a puppy, and cat at Sharon and Dick's. This boy loves the farms!

Picking and eating salmon berries with Nami on our walk home from Linda's.
Popping "poppers" down at the beach.
Being quite impressed with those bothersome deer.
Of course, watching Tommy and Dutchie's every move (at least from safe distances anyway).

And, enjoying time with my first baby on his own for a little while longer...

Island Life

Since Papa Todd is working his tail off on our big living room remodel,
Before...

we have abandoned ship for the long weekend and taken up residence here on Vashon with Nami and Danpa. We had a fun 4th with the g-parents,
relaxing at home,
going to a big potluck at Mike Fox's in Burton,
stopping by the Maki's new home a few houses down and visiting with Jessica and John (Charlotte was already asleep). Quin was pretty impressed by the little fireworks going off all around, though the loud ones made him pretty "nervous".
Then, thank goodness he'd taken a late nap cause then he was prepared to stay up late for the big fireworks show! This was really Quin's first big show as he'd slept through the previous two. He was a little fearful, halfway hiding his eyes under his arm and insisting on laying down tucked around Danpa's arm, but he did say they were "amazing" afterwards.
I for one loved the big show and I'd have to say the highlight (besides the impressive finale) was the cheer of "Ohhhhbaaaamaaaa" from an onlooker to our side after particularly grand fireworks. I'm hopeful that I may indeed get a sweet little calm girl in a matter of weeks as she slept right through the show!