Now that we’re well on our way into September and heading steadily towards autumn, I think I can just squeak in a bit of a summer re-cap.
It was a perfectly normal, low-key, Coastal summer for us. The Sunshine Coast is one of the best places on Earth to spend the summer. It’s what we all tell ourselves as we live through the rainy, grey days of fall, winter, and (let’s be honest) most of spring.
Peter and I were both fortunate enough to be able to work part-time for the summer and so we did our best to balance work and family time, trading off to take care of Pearl while spending time all together too.
There were lots of hikes and lots of beach time. We went camping with Pearl for the first time at the end of June. (You can read about that fun here.)
It went well enough that we tried it again in August, this time with two other families. These friends of ours also have little girls younger than Pearl. The older Pearl gets the more thankful I am to have friends in this stage of life. There have been many shared walks and talks in recent months and we had a blast camping together. (And no judgement about going to bed early!)
On that camping trip, Pearl got to experience a canoe for the first time. For the first ten minutes she screamed about the unnatural horror of floating on water and then settled down and enjoyed herself. Peter also took her out on a paddle board for the first time.
I opted for a more solo paddle-boarding experience.
On August 21st, Peter and I celebrated six years of marriage with a ferry ride and a fancy dinner out, just the two of us.
And we topped our summer off with a visit from family where Pearl got seriously loved on from her big cousins. As she grows, it’s so fun to watch her interactions with these guys.
Pearl is now 18 months. She has strong opinions and strong affections. She doesn’t say much yet but she can run and climb like nobody’s business. This summer we’ve really seen her imagination develop. She pretends with her stuffed animal friends and often seems to be making up her own little games.
Like putting Big Bear in her high chair and feeding him crackers. She’s also excellent at sharing imaginary soups and making her stuffed animals give each other bunny kisses. She understands a lot of what we say and even if she doesn’t verbally respond yet, she makes her desires known and is getting pretty good at obeying simple instructions.
But what’s really kept me busy this summer….
That little rascal in the bottom left corner…
…and the little one who has made its presence known through fatigue and nausea all summer! (The real world, physical arrival will take place some time around March 10th in the new year and we couldn’t be more excited to see our family grow!)
Karissa Reads Books 
What great news!! So pleased for you all and I hope the fatigue and nausea soon pass. You know, I worked for years with kids who were deemed “behaviourally challenged” and in 99 cases out of 100 it was due to poor parenting and neglect. It so lovely to be reminded of what a wonderful thing parenthood, and childhood, can be when two parents are so committed to giving their children all the love and attention that you do. You posts are a great antidote to my world-weary cynicism – thank you! 😀
Thank you! That is such a lovely compliment. On the days when I feel like I’m struggling as a parent I do remind myself that love and attention can go a long way. It’s heartbreaking that those aren’t things all children know.
Sounds like an ideal summer. 🙂 aside from first trimester stuff. Congratulations!! March babies are awesome. 😉
It was a great summer! And I really don’t get hit by pregnancy too hard, compared to some women I know, so I can’t complain too much. Our March babies won’t be too far apart, I think!