Farewell Summer

Wow, where to begin. This was such a fun busy summer, but since Molly unhappily noted that she could see her breath when she stepped outside this morning, I guess it's coming to an end. I figured if I didn't try to recap the highs and lows, I never would. And it's definitely been one that we will all remember.

Owen and Maggie, at two and three, were just so much fun this summer. Owen learned to swim all by himself with no floaties, and Mags finally let go of me and paddled around the pool in her life jacket. It was such a lifesaver to have the pool to throw them in on those sweltering August days. This was also a summer of much discovery for them both - marble bugs, the monkey bars, the fact that dirt and water make mud, and lots of it. Not too long ago, they both spent the better part of 30 minutes watching a wooly worm inch slowly across the yard and up a tree. Since we were pretty much free of any obligations, I was able to just watch them interact and it was so sweet to see them on their adventures together. Owen helping Maggie up the hill to the treehouse, Maggie running across the yard to tell me that Owen had skinned his knee. They're more than just brother and sister, they've become best friends and I hope that's a relationship that never fades.

Molly also grew a lot this summer, it seemed. Every day I was more and more aware that she's just not a baby or even a little girl anymore. I was blown away on the way to Isaac's graduation when it hit me that he was her age when she was born. Those eight years have flown by and I know the next ten will go just as quickly. I know they have to grow up, but part of me just wants to hit the pause button for a little while.

Of the three of them, I think Maggie has grown the most. I think a lot of that has to do with the addition of Bodie, but I think most of it is just her finally letting loose of me a little and venturing out on her own. Her vocabulary is amazing--painfully so at times. She knows every cuss word she's ever heard, and can insert them in the correct place in her sentences. Lately she's turned from a sweet shy little girl into a rambunctious, sometimes defiant, bossy little maniac. She's got a horrible drawl when she talks, and I have no idea where it came from. She'll drive me absolutely bonkers all day, but when I check on her before I go to bed, I still melt at those chubbly little cheeks laying so sweetly on her pillow. Her latest obsession is washing her hands. 821 times a day. She'll be playing or talking and then just out of the blue "OH! I needa washa my haaaannnnds" Of course, due to the drawl, "hands" has three syllables. Today she thought she'd plug the sink first, and flood the entire bathroom with water before I realized what was happening.

At times, it's been a rough summer for Owen. He's at that awkward age where he's not quite ready to behave, but he's old enough that he's expected to. We've been implementing some brain gym into our daily schedules and I think that's helped a lot. He's spent a lot of time in the time out area - we have one in the house, one on the front porch, and one in the yard. At the same time, he's really turned into a little man. He dresses himself, is completely potty trained, and has taken on the role of big brother with much bravado. I've been putting him in charge of watching Bodie while I change Maggie's diaper or whatnot and he's very serious about that responsibility. He's learned to ride a two-wheeler with training wheels, loves...LOVES to dig in whatever - dirt, sand, leaves, and has gotten over his bug phobia. He's obsessed with firetrucks and firemen; every time we drew on the sidewalk, he wanted a firetruck. I'm really surprised that we didn't experience a broken bone or stitches this summer, as he's been up trees, over fences and on the retaining wall. We've had lots of fun feeding PeePaw's chickens and petting every single goat at the county fair at least twice.

I've always loved summer - the heat, the water, the flowers and fresh veggies. And seeing the summer through the eyes of the little ones has made me love it even more. I'm sad to see it go, as always, but I know there are many more adventures to come with the next season.

Bye bye, summer. It's been fun!

The Armstrongs