And here we are, in August! We spent the last months of summer creating some beautiful memories and then sent our baby off to 2nd grade! What a whirlwind it has been.
We started by crossing off some local adventures from our summer To Do list!
Checking out the animals ambassadors at the local Nature Center before taking a nature walk!
Splash pad fun at Market Street just isn't complete without sitting on the donkey for photo!
Checking out one of the area pools with a lazy river and a lily pad challenge!
Finally put our zoo passes to work with a trip with friends!
We also finally made it to Old MacDonald's Farm after having it on our list for years. Little Sweetie and Big Brother enjoyed interacting with all the animals!
Feeding and petting the animals!
Possibly my favorite picture...Little Sweetie was the goat's favorite person, but she didn't really return their enthusiasm, lol.
Picture area!
The best part of the day for Little Sweetie, actually getting to ride!
Lunch picnic to end our outing!
We even had the special fun of a visitor! Ms. A came in from Ohio and she and Little Sweetie became fast friends.
Someone might have been a bit broken hearted when Ms. A left, but we're looking forward to visiting with her again soon!
Now, here come some of our BIG summer adventures! First off, Big Brother was invited to throw the first pitch at an Astros game...crazy! We got to enjoy the game as a family from a suite and have some personal time with Orbit.
Our friends E and B got to come with us! They helped Little Sweetie cheer on Big Brother!
Just chilling with our new best buddy, Orbit!
These great friends had a GREAT day!
But our BIGGEST summer fun was a long beach weekend! We can't tell you the last time we went on a trip just for us, not for a conference or a clinical trial or a family visit. So lovely to get away and not have anything scheduled to do.
Loving the view from our condo!
Turns out Little Sweetie is a determined sand castle architect! She spent two full days designing and refining her castle. She wasn't able to get it to withstand high tide, but it was built so well that we could see the ruins the next day!
Finally fulfilling her pandemic dream of kite-flying!
Turns out that she loves everything about the beach!
A great family trip!
And, as always, there was cooking! With school starting, I don't know how much cooking we'll be able to fit in, so I was glad for these last few weeks of making meals together.
Churning butter, which means...
...we can use the buttermilk to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!
Breakfast dinner with a cheese omelet!
As a fan of tuna salad, I was so happy she picked this recipe!
These BBQ chicken tacos were surprisingly refreshing and delicious!
And then here it was, the start of the school year! Hopeful for safe and successful year!
So excited to see her friends and her classroom at Meet the Teacher!
Our 2nd grader!
Our 2nd grader home from school and already challenging boundaries, lol!
Height and Weight
Little Sweetie is now 54.6 pounds and 49.25 inches with some long, long hair!
Our amazing girl!
But seriously, this hair!
Personality
She's one of a kind and we couldn't be more happy about it. She's amazing and adventurous. We're working on confidence in embarrassing situations and always making the choice to be kind, even when we may not feel kind.
Because who doesn't wear a coonskin cap in August? A true original.
Developmental Milestones
Little Sweetie's ingenuity and creativity never cease to astound us. We're so proud of the ideas she comes up with and how she works to make the idea a reality.
A cardboard box, painters table, elastic string, and paint become an obstacle course/habitat for her toy turtle and alligator!
Tinkertoying a dog!
Sometimes it is hard to teach her about chores and responsibilities since Big Brother can't do them, but we're making some progress.
Helping to vacuum out the car!
Fun Tidbits
We hired a new summer helper this year (Ms. A had to go get a real 'grown-up' job *sob*), but Ms. K was up to the challenge. She and Little Sweetie became fast friends and it was so nice to see she and Little Sweetie play and have fun together.
Little Sweetie and Ms. K doing their thing.
So we'll see what life is like now that school has started. Covid cases in our area continue to go up. Little Sweetie's school requires masks, so I am hopeful she will stay healthy and that her school will stay open. What a time to live in, when you realize your now second grader doesn't have a frame of reference for a "non-pandemic" school year.
Good night,
LBM
Little Buddy's Momma
