August 11, 2014

Mama Wore That: I'm The Little Sister

Clara has my whole heart.  Like many parents expecting their second child, I'm sure, I used to wonder while I was pregnant how there would ever possibly be room in my heart for another child.  Everyone assured me there would be, and I believed them, but simply couldn't imagine how.  Clara has my whole heart.  From the moment she arrived though, it became immediately clear that Eloise also has my whole heart.  She may not yet have the full personality that Clara does and she may not be able to construct a sentence that melts me into a puddle.  She may not look at God's creation with a level of wonder and amazement that humbles and inspires me.  She may not grab onto my neck with the same force or be able to ask me for hugs or if I will play with her, but Eloise has my whole heart.  I can't wait to see who she will become and what special things I will admire and adore about the soul that God has given her.  But before any of that has fully developed I can already say with complete confidence that she is something truly special.   They each have my whole heart.

One of the things that Eloise and I will always share is that we are the little sisters.  Being the baby in a family is an important and special role and I will always understand how she feels being the little sister.  If you met me and didn't know I have an older brother, you might assume from my personality that I'm an oldest child (I chalk it up to two parents who were first borns and a family culture that was pretty type-A and driven as a result), but I'm a little sister and that's just one special thing that Eloise and I will always share.  So when Clara (unintentionally) makes you feel like you're not big enough or smart enough or cool enough, Eloise, know that you are and I get it, baby.  When she lords it over you that she has a cell phone or a driver's license or whatever the thing is in another decade that kids just have to have and you're not old enough yet, I get it, baby.   If they accuse you of craving the spotlight or needing attention or trying to always please, just know sweet Eloise, I get it, baby.  You and me, we're the little sisters.





1981:





August 9, 2014

Baby's First Beach Trip

Having a baby born in mid-May, I was too scared to plan any beach trips for this summer until Labor Day.  I just couldn't fully convince myself that she would be healthy, or even if she were healthy that she wouldn't have colic or hate to travel or be generally too difficult to manage a beach trip with.  But once Eloise arrived and proved herself to be the world's best baby and we had a last minute chance to go to the beach for a few days, we jumped on it.  Sadly, Robert had to work, so he missed out on Eloise's very first time in the ocean.  Fortunately, she won't really know the difference... she pretty much just slept right through it all.   And we'll be back again soon... with Daddy next time!

For now, lots of pictures of baby sleeping on the beach and a few of big sister playing hard, like she does.


































I even snuck in a little (extra) light beach reading.  (I recommend.  I love Mindy.)



How we ate, by night and by morning, on the porch.  Not a bad life.


Poolside...


 A few fishy outfits...



Their cousins came to spend the second half of the week there, so we overlapped just a couple of hours and snapped this moment of all four of them together.


See you again, soon Kure!  Thanks for the good memories of Eloise's first visit to the beach.  I'm sure she'll grow to love it as much as her sister, mama and Sweet Mama do!

Blueberry Pickin'

Blueberry picking is always on our list of summer to dos.  There are several farms nearby so one Saturday while Daddy was at camp for a meeting the girls ventured out.  Sweet Mama had never picked blueberries before, so we had her come along to help us gather this year's bounty!  The morning before we went we read Blueberries for Sal.  Just like Sal, Clara managed to fill her belly with berries, but by the end of the morning there weren't any in her bucket.   












After we were done picking, we enjoyed a picnic together before heading home.











And once we got home with all those blueberries, of course we had to bake some blueberry muffins.






Ahh, the sweet tastes of summer!

Want to take a look back?
Blueberry Picking 2013
Blueberry Picking 2012
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...