Thursday, July 13, 2017

23/52 & 24/52 & 25/52 & 26/52.

Since my last post we've had end-of-school parties and picnics, a spat of pneumonia (Cecile), ballet recitals (also Cecile), a quick trip south with my in-laws, and a neighborhood block party here and there. I keep thinking, oh, it'll be the next week when we hit that slow summertime stroll, but each week seems to roll even faster forward than the one before it. And so what begin as a twice-monthly post has become a monthly update. 

Genevieve narrates her day. "My get in car." "My go to MOM'S." "My play with baby and baby cry and my give her pacifier." "My pool now?" "My pool after nap." "Ice cream after good dinner." She's remembering a lot, too, often resurrecting moments I thought we had long moved past. All in all, I love two. It may be my absolute favorite age thus far. Honestly, if I could fast-forward through most of the baby phases (checking in every now and again to nurse ... oh, how I miss nursing) and stop just shy of a second birthday and take it from there, I'd have one hundred children. Sadly, I'm not sure I was fully present for Cecile's twos, as I was in the fog of pregnancy for the majority of it. And so this go-around with Genevieve, I can't get enough. There's just enough squish in her cheeks and legs, I can still comfortably put her on my hip or in the carrier on my back, and she still naps for a solid two-hour stretch. She's fabulous company and curious and a talker, and yet we're still a little ways away from the manipulation tactics and inability to distract ... traits I know are just around the bend. I am savoring every bit. 

Cecile transitioned straight out of school and directly into a full-day camp. She takes the bus! It's hard to believe she was ever a kid who was not too hot with transitions as a small child, because these days she pivots and dives right into new situations with such ease. These last three weeks she's home every day from camp with names of new friends and stories of how much fun she's having. It's fantastic. Cecile has also turned out to be quite the reader. Sure, she's been "reading" (a.k.a. memorizing and reciting) her favorite bedtime books to us for some time now (which has totally freaked out a few of our babysitters, ha). But these days she'll slip the newspaper out of its sleeve and work through a few headlines ... for better or worse, considering what those headlines have been lately, ugh. The last few weeks I've been reading her Charlotte's Web, chapter by chapter. She's so innately interested in storytelling and words. It's a beautiful piece of her person. 

A mistake I made: trying to potty train Genevieve and teach Cecile how to ride a two-wheel bike in the same week. Ultimately I threw in the towel with the bike-riding. But! Genevieve took up the potty so quickly! She is so proud of herself, as is the rest of the family with her. Both girls still wear pull-ups at nighttime, but how nice to be nearly diaper-free. As for the bike, I'll try to take off the training wheels again next month. One milestone at a time. 

Even as July has turned quite hot (the heat index is over the century mark as I type), the hue of our hydrangeas are telling me Autumn will be here before we know it. I dug up the last of our spring vegetables (I tired of holding out hope for the beets, which never beefed up), and sowed the beginnings of our fall harvest (arugula, carrots, Brussel sprouts). The girls fight over our ripe golden tomatoes ("'Mato ready!" Genevieve shouts), and we're giving a trellised cantaloupe a try. So, yes: Forward march into more long days with long shadows. Stone fruit and fireflies. Summer hair and hats. Naked ice cream nearly every night. And so it goes.
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