This feels like our first real summer with kids.

I’m not sure exactly why, except that maybe this is the first summer after a “real” year of school, and it’s also the first summer that we’ve had two KIDS, not a kid and a baby.

And we’ve been relishing in it.

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Noah’s been learning a lot. For instance, that looking cool

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can lead to meeting girls.

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And that pistachios make fantastic train passengers.

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And all about the way our bunnies “play” with each other.

(G-Rated rabbit photo only – you’re welcome.)

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And that if you develop a tic of squinting and shaking your head,

 

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then you’ll land your much-needed haircut quicker.

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And that it is super exciting to read his sister’s “die-wee-wee”.

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I’ve also been learning. I now know that my “golden age” is toddlers – it’s easiest for me to love and relate to our kids when they’re between 18 months and 4 years old. So I’ve been trying to learn how to effectively reach Ali at her mature age of six.

In pondering these things, I had an epiphany: she loves to leave me notes, so I bet she’d be just as thrilled to get notes from me.

I was right.

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I’ve started shoving notes under her bedroom door after bedtime about once a week or so,

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and it makes for a very happy morning.

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Noah has spent this summer shocking me with how focused he is. He can do the same thing for way longer than I can.

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Then again, he hasn’t let Twitter ruin his brain. Yet.

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I have no idea what’s going on in this picture (aside from Club Crackers), but I love it. I also love that it gives a sneak peek into how oddly cool our Alabama Spring was.

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I am also loving how well my kids get along right now. I keep telling myself “It’s only a phase,” because it’s very easy to get addicted to sights like these.

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But they truly seem to adore each other*.

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Ali reads to Noah,

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And Noah takes care of Ali’s Princesses.

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We’ve been visiting an elementary school near our house. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to, but we’re doing it anyway. They have their playground in the middle of the track, so Chris (and sometimes I) can run while the kids are playing.

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I hope that this will encourage me to exercise more, but it might take more of a miracle than a track around a playground.

Despite Ali’s firing from swim lessons, we’ve been spending a lot of time at the pool, where she is more than happy to wear flotation devices.

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(Even in the baby pool. When her brother is not.)

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(She is the definition of risk averse.)

But the wrap-up of pool time is always my favorite time to snap happy-kid pictures.

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(Before they start acting like this.)

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She’s probably happy because she survived another day of swimming without a dreaded water-in-her-eyes experience.

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And he’s happy because…he’s snuggling with her.

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So that’s a snapshot of our summer so far. And if this happened to you sometime during the middle of this post,

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I understand. But sometimes, you’ve just got to have a Photo Parade.

After all, it’s summertime.

* The day after I wrote this, Ali hit her brother for the first time, and then lied about it. This is why I shouldn’t tell you good things.

20 thoughts on “Snapshots of Summertime.

  1. Oh, I love these pictures. The ones of Noah playing in the dirt reminds me of James. He can play for the longest time by himself out in the dirt. It makes me so happy to see him just playing and imagining. And I love the pictures of them snuggling together. So sweet.

  2. My two, Jenna, 6, and Liam, 2 (imagine that…lol) are the same way. They absolutely love and adore each other. Liam says all the time, “Where’s my Jenna?” I too, am waiting for this phase to end and for the brother-sister hatred to emerge. Maybe we’re the lucky ones and our kids will live in sibling bliss until adulthood….ahem…..yeah right…….

  3. Great post! We’re really enjoying this summer too because Anderson can play & isn’t a baby blob anymore ;-) Not that I actually minded the baby phase either but it’s so fun to watch him run & dig & collect sticks….Your kids are so cute! I love the towel pics! And the one of Noah’s bed head. Sweet moments :-)

  4. Keep taking the sleeping-kid-in-the-car photos. It’s become a family joke for us and one son thinks we particularly pick on him. But – if a guy presents so many opportunities….what’s a mom to do?! Just planning ahead for the high school graduation photo table!

  5. Great pictures! Enjoy those moments of sibling bonding, they become less and less frequent they older they get. Although, my sisters kids have been close for a long time. They are four years apart also and I think the fighting started to increase when the younger boy decided he didn’t like to be bossed around anymore by his big sister.

    Your kids are cutie patooties!

  6. Love love love the photos. I know our oldest granddaughter is in love with her baby sister and I keep wondering how long that is going to last.

  7. The ‘loving’ stage may or may not ever fade away. I have a 9 year old (boy) and 6 year old (girl) and they are homeschooled together and they share playtime together. They help each other out on their computers and have even “camped out” together sometimes (that means sleeping on the pull out couch).
    I adore watching them grow and learn to respect each other. But be warned. When the green eyed monster does show up, it seems to be more dangerous than normal. I have two laptops that were, yes were, used for homeschool lessons sitting and waiting for new monitors to arrive for me to install.

  8. Beautiful. I love summer with my kiddos. Only two summers before my oldest goes off to college. I should take more pictures but I’m always “in the moment” and forget. Thanks for reminding me to do it.

  9. Send Ali to the pool with my six year old and he’ll teach her to dive in, swim to the other end, and even do a flip off the side before going to the bottom of the deep end to retrieve a dive stick. At the beginning of the summer, he would only swim with his mask on, because the water got in his nose. But he now has a pair of goggles (no enclosed nose) and does great with them. Maybe try her with either a mask/goggles to keep the water out of her eyes and she would like it better?

  10. I feel like this is one of our most enjoyable summers yet…well, once swimming lessons stop ruining my life. PTL, today is the last day!

    Our youngest is almost 3, so she can play at the park without needing constant hovering and attention and being late for a nap hasn’t equaled the end of the world…yet ;)

  11. Two things: um, your tax dollars are paying for that elementary school. Use it to the fullest!

    And “Ali hit her brother for the first time?????!” Wow. My kids get along really well and don’t fight very often, but the fact that Ali has made it to the age of 6 without walloping her brother is amazeballs.

  12. I love it. Sometimes life is just good and you have to appreciate it. Here’s to a fantastic rest of your summer!

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