A Weekly Ritual

September 30, 2014 by Summer

Every week we stick to a routine. A series of outings that help us stick to the rhythm of our days. Outings that coincide with all the things we do inside, like laundry and dishes and painting and reading and playing. Every week, we head out to the local swap meet. We check out all the “junk” and if we don’t find any treasures, we head to the beach across the way to enjoy the sand and surf. But, before we head to the swap meet. We always watch the train go by. See, the swap meet is right across from the train stop and for over a year now, it’s been something Ellie has loved to do. Something that never gets old for her. So off we go to sit and watch that train go by and wonder where the people are headed. Even if that train is 30 minutes late… we’re there waiting for it.

and off to the beach…

Weekending!

September 29, 2014 by Summer

This weekend we went to visit with friends, visited the farmers market and picked up some fall-ish foods. We did some painting and spent sunday morning zooming around the house in capes while Dada played hockey. Grandma and Grandpa came over for a walk downtown. And we ended the weekend with some local grass-fed burgers on the grill.

How was your weekend?

Portrait Project

September 28, 2014 by Summer

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eloise: Some days we enjoy each other’s company immensely. We glide through the rhythm of the day and happily float into the night. Other days we disconnect and struggle with keeping that balance. I think this is what toddler hood and the beginnings of independence are all about. Days of watercolor painting and frozen yogurt pops. Days of constant frustration and anxious nursing. Days of weary and Days of joy. Together we are finding our balance.

-joining jodi for the 52 project!

{this moment}

September 26, 2014 by Summer

“A single photo. No words. Capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.”

– joining soulemama!

Autumn Good Morning

September 24, 2014 by Summer

“Yellow the bracken. Golden the sheaves. Rosey red apples. Crimson the leaves. Mist on the hillside. Clouds grey and White. Autumn good morning. Summer Goodnight. “

Okay, so it doesn’t exactly feel like Autumn around these parts, but that’s not going to stop me from wearing socks in the early mornings and decorating with browns and oranges and deep purples, and painting pumpkins and reading books about falling leaves.

(To help explain the strange animals on the Autumn play mat; her Autumn play mat, because of her sudden intense interest in Winnie the Pooh, has now become the Hundred Acre Wood play mat).

Weekending (and Boston/NH week catch-up)

September 22, 2014 by Summer

We made it safely home yesterday from a week-long trip to Boston and New Hampshire. To tell you the truth, this trip was not quite a vacation. For some time now, Jeff and I have been discussing the prospect of moving to the east coast. We both enjoy what California has to offer, but I believe we’re both craving something different. We’ve always wanted a little more land, a little more woods, a little more rural, a little more small town. We would like to buy a home someday soon and California is proving to be difficult, finding a home with our desires. Moving away from California would be a very big decision. One we are definitely not taking lightly. It would mean moving away from my family but moving closer to Jeff’s family. It would mean moving away from the constant warm days we have here and moving into a very different climate. Jeff grew up in Massachusetts but hasn’t lived on the east coast in some 20+ years. In short, it would be a major adjustment for all of us. But, it’s something we are still very much considering. So we decided to go out to the east coast, particularly New Hampshire for various reasons, and take a look at different areas. We stayed in Nana and Papa’s cabin’s by the lakes. Jeff and I would leave Ellie for a good portion of the day, each day (because our child does NOT like the car) and we drove all over the state. Ellie had many adventures with her Nana and Papa and Auntie Lindsey and did fantastically while we were away each day. We were always back way before dinner time and Ellie would tell us all about her adventures. Here are a whole lot of photos from our trip. We haven’t decided quite when and where we will be going, but this trip was very helpful in determining which areas of New Hampshire we definitely liked and which we definitely did not like.
The Morning we left, Ellie awoke to her very own Miss Mouse to take with her on the plane. It was a very useful tool through the airport and on the plane rides to and fro. I’m so glad I decided to make Miss Mouse for Ellie.

Flying with toddlers, even if you have a Miss Mouse AND a Pink Baby, is just no fun. Both flights were tough and tiring to get through, but we did our best and made it both ways without any major meltdowns thankfully.

We flew into Boston and then drove up to New Hampshire to stay near the town of Meredith in Jeff’s parents trailers by the lake.

This was the same lake that Jeff played in as a boy. I got to thumb through old photo albums of him and his siblings as babies, digging in this same sandy spot so many years ago.

For Jeff and I, the first stop on our tour was the little towns surrounding the lakes region of New Hampshire.

The next day, Ellie went to an animal center nearby the campground and the local library with her grandparents. Jeff and I headed north to the beautiful college town of Hanover.

Dartmouth University is the centerpiece of the town. A very elegant and lovely town. But, very north of Boston (maybe a little too north for us).

We drove through some of the smallest of New Hampshire’s towns.

Each day we’d return to a happy camper. (or a camper who has just woken up from a nap in the carrier).
We walked around the local town of Meredith together. It’s another lovely, little town.

There were statues throughout Meredith for an annual art walk.

The next day, Jeff and I headed to Portsmouth to see the seacoast side of New Hampshire. We drove through Durham, Newmarket and Exeter (three adorable suburban towns) and up the coast through Rye and then into Portsmouth. Portsmouth was quite a fun, little city that if we had more time, would have been fantastic to explore.

We stopped in the Portsmouth Brewery for some local brew and lunch, walked around a bit and then headed back to the campgrounds.

Heading back to the campgrounds, we went through another lovely little town in the lakes district called Wolfsboro. Quite amazing views of the lake from the road.

On our last day in New Hampshire, Ellie and her grandparents (and Aunt) spent the morning apple picking and then headed back to Boston ahead of us. Jeff and I headed west, toward Keene. I think Keene may have been our favorite town. A great size, lots of good-looking eateries and shops, a beautiful library and just an overall good feel. And Jumangi was even shot there!

An homage paid to Robin Williams, right in the center of town.

We had one more day in Boston before we flew home and so the three of us rode into the city on the train.

We checked out the frog pond and rode the carousel of course and then because Ellie seemed to be getting tired and a bit cranky, we quickly headed over to Faneuil Hall to pick up some new Boston hats for a Dada who needed a new one (his get yucky, quickly) and a little girl who’s outgrown her “infant” hat.

We had a pretty good (long) flight home yesterday and today was catching up on sleep and laundry and bringing a certain french bulldog to the vet to get a piece of a plant removed from inside her ear. (Our dogs always seem to make sure to let us know how unhappy they are when we leave them for vacations).
It was quite the whirlwind trip of driving across an entire state, being away from our baby longer than ever before (she thankfully, didn’t seem to mind spending so much quality time with her Nana and Papa) and making decisions upon our possible future. We haven’t made up our mind yet, but it was good to get out there and finally see these areas we’ve been reading about for ourselves. As of now, we’re all thankful to be home and come Monday, back into our regular routine.

(a side note: Thank you to my in-laws for being incredible with Ellie and letting Jeff and I get the time we needed to explore these new areas! They took such good care of my baby and of us)!

Portrait Project: 37 and 38

September 21, 2014 by Summer

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eloise: Some days you wake up from your nap, happy and playful and adorable. Today we cuddled in bed for an hour, being silly, telling stories, talking about our upcoming trip to Boston, took cute photos. Then we headed downstairs to finish what was left of the day.

(and because I was offline this past week, I’m finally getting around to posting last week’s portrait, taking on my iPhone and this week’s portrait, from our time in New Hampshire and Boston).

38/52
eloise: This was minutes after we had gotten settled at the campground in New Hampshire. We headed to the beach, you were still in pj’s from the night before and when you saw the lake and the little beach, you dove right in. Literally, dove right into the water, clothes and all. Your Dada had to scoop you out. You spent the rest of the day happily jumping in and out of the water, playing on the beach with Nana and catching frogs with your Auntie Lindsey. You are certainly one with wilderness my child.

– joining Jodi for this year’s 52 Project!

{this moment}

September 13, 2014 by Summer

“A single photo. No words. Capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.”

– joining Soulemama!

A Trip and A Mouse

September 12, 2014 by Summer

We’re headed to Boston and New Hampshire this weekend for a week long, little late summer, early fall vacation and visit with Nana and Papa and the rest of the east coast Langille’s. It’s been quite some time since we’ve flown with Ellie. We made this trip multiple times when she was a tiny baby, but haven’t flown this far in quite some time. I’m a little anxious about flying with a toddler, but we’re hopefully as prepared as we’re going to be and fingers crossed it’s a smooth flight. To prep this girl of mine, we picked up a whole bunch of airplane and flying books at the library this week. Ellie took to one of the books right away (Miss Mouse Takes Off– About a little girl who takes her stuffed mouse with her on a trip to see her Nana!) and because she has been enjoying the book so much, I thought I’d make her, her very own Miss Mouse to bring on the trip.

(I thought it might also make the flight go a little smoother with a special friend going along for the ride).

I’m going to have Miss Mouse all set up on the morning we leave with a little note for Ellie, asking if she can go along too (fingers crossed she likes her enough to say yes)!

Wish us luck on the flight please. And I will most likely not be in this space at all next week, except maybe to link up with my portrait.
xoxo!
Summer (and Miss Mouse)

“MilkaMilk” with a Toddler

September 8, 2014 by Summer

I never got to write a breastfeeding post for National Breastfeeding Month back in August, due to birthdays and out-of-town visitors, but really want to do my part to normalize breastfeeding (something I feel very passionately about). So I thought, I’d tell you about my adventures nursing a two-year old today.(In case, you were interested, here is my nursing post from last year. Nursing a toddler is a whole other ball park. Our nursing relationship is quite different from those sleepy beginning days. The quiet, relaxed morning, noon and nights with her little baby body curled up against mine, taking in all the nourishment she needed from her Mama’s breast. Nowadays, it’s not quite as relaxing but it has become a sort of cool down zone for Ellie. A place to reconnect. A place to get that kick-start needed to continue on with that important learning through play. Sometimes it’s nice and relaxed and I am able to kiss her head and talk about our day. Other times she kicks and squirms and hops all over me and I wonder why she bothers for Mama’s milk at all. Some people have asked me how long I plan to continue. Some, flat-out ask me why on earth would I want to still be nursing at this age anyway?

There are certainly days and nights that I wouldn’t mind throwing in the towel. Long nights where I struggle with, if nursing this long is even the right thing to do. But, then I realize that there really is no “right” thing. Women all over the world nurse their one year olds, two-year olds, four-year olds and even seven-year olds. And for Ellie and I, it’s something very special we share. I love the closeness breastfeeding brings. I’ve seen the almost magical powers it has to calm an upset child, to recharge a tired toddler, or to help a tired toddler fall asleep. It makes me feel better on those days where she barely eats anything because molars are breaking though; I know she’s getting nutrients from my milk if nothing else. For those reasons and so many more, I want to continue on. And my hope is, that ever so gently and ever so slowly, she will need Mama’s milk less and less and it will become just another thing that’s helped form her identity and her attachment. Something to help her understand the connection we will always have.

(A silly photo of our daily nap times).