A Farewell to Summer

When I think back to last summer, Daphne's first summer, my most vivid memories are of how poorly she was sleeping. We were all tired and cranky and thinking Daphne would definitely be our only child ever if all kids are as 'excellent' of sleepers as she is.

This summer could be the Summer of the Temper Tantrums (did I mention she now holds her breath and turns a lovely shade of blue when she's mad? because she does) but there are too many good things about this summer that I would rather remember.

For instance, it is the summer Daphne discovered berries. Any berry in any stage of ripeness is her favorite food ever. We have a blackberry bush in our very back yard that David lets grow so that we can have the berries. One afternoon Daphne and I were on the back patio when I looked up to see her crawling as fast as she could all the way to the back corner of the yard. I made it back there in time to see her stretching as high as she could, trying to reach her favorite treat.


















It is the summer of many trip to YoCream, because it seems like frozen yogurt is a better dessert than ice cream, plus it's easy to cover the yogurt with berries for the little person who loves to steal food. Especially when the food is berries.


















It is also the summer she realized playgrounds are one of the greatest inventions of all time. Every day Daphne will ask me "stroller, walk, play?" meaning, "please can we get the stroller and walk to the playground so I can play?"



























It is the summer Daphne learned to sing. David always sings How Great Thou Art to her when he puts her down for the night, so tonight I sang it for her. It is so sweet to hear her sing along with you as she tries to follow the tune and sing as many words as she can.

So yes, it was the summer of the temper tantrums. But it was also the summer of new discoveries and growth, sweetness and joy. The summer of new toddler hairstyles and (more about this later) first steps.

Miracles, really. And those are the memories I will hold on to.