small wonders

 These summer days are flying by so quickly. They always do, but especially this year, with this wee baby girl to measure the time by and to keep me busy. She also helps me to slow down though, and to not try and cram so much into these lovely warm months, and I am enjoying it so much. The evening walks with her in my arms, looking up at the dappled sun in the branches and the breeze in the long grass  leaves us both feeling calm and happy. Such a beautiful time of year to have a baby, when I can walk outside with her at any time of day without bundling her up, and when the sound of the natural world can be her lullaby.

Perry and the boys have been busy with camps and festivals and visits with friends. Willa and I join in here and there, but are happy to be at home mostly. Dorian attended an art camp last week (a couple hours each morning,) and was so proud to pack his snack in his backpack and to head off on his own adventure (and he came home with some terrific creations to decorate our home!) Today Ari went to a sports day at our rec centre and was thrilled to spend the day climbing and swimming and running races. Willa and I joined them for a day at our local music festival and we had fun visiting friends and listening to music, but we opted out of the festival that involved a weekend of camping and a big drive. But oh, the boys did have fun! It was hard for me not to join in as it is one of my very favorite events of the year, but we did enjoy our quiet time home together. Next year Willa and I will be there and she will be toddling about quite likely!

We did join in on our annual strawberry pick at our friend's Upick- bringing home 55lb of berries for winter (and I learned that shucking and preserving berries is something that can be done well with a baby in the sling!) There are a few  more out in our garden, and our raspberries are just starting to ripen. We also put up 10 large salmon from a friend, and I got to learn how to clean and cut them, and to cure the row (these things were much too smelly and messy to do with a baby in a sling, so we traded off.) Even when we are not growing  much of a garden, this time of year is all about preserving local food for the winter!

I stole away a few bits of time when Willa was willing to be put down to sew a little. Having a baby girl after being a mom to boys for 7 years is like opening a floodgate for all the flowery pretty little things I wouldn't let myself look at all those years. And now there are all these fun things I get to learn how to make! I obsessively started looking up little girls dress patterns just days after she was born. So I tried my hand at a couple teeny little dresses, using bits and bobs from my stash and a vintage shirt from the thrift store. I used the Geranium dress pattern - the newborn size is free, but I love these little dresses and will make more of the bigger sizes too I'm sure. I still can't quite believe I have a little girl. A baby girl! A daughter! Oh, the sweetness of it.

And she is growing so quickly- getting bigger and chubbier and more awake to the world every day. I remember this feeling so well from my first two babies, they just become sweeter and more adorable and loveable by the minute. She is changing so fast, it seems that she wakes from her naps a little bit bigger, a little more aware, a little more able to make sense of the world. She is a delight to be with, and I feel so lucky that she has come to be part of our family. I am so blessed.