Happy Trails

Seriously, has the month of September really come to an end? We have had nothing but gorgeous, sunny days with just a slight undertone of fall mixed in for good measure. I know that I have mentioned the weather so admirably before but it just keeps on getting better and better. And it's fall, for Pete's sake! My favorite time of year and my favorite kind of weather. Loving it!

Wanna' know who else I'm loving? Elaina and Lincoln are simply the best! We had such a fun weekend. After our wagon sat in the garage all summer with very little attention, Elaina happened upon it, climbed right in and said, "Let's go for a wide, Mommy!" And so we did. I stuffed Lincoln's butterfly play mat in the bottom to act as a pillow and padding as he lay in the wagon facing his sister and away we went. Both Saturday and Sunday, we paraded a trip around town and even a stop at the playground. Lincoln is so perfectly content to sit in the baby swing and will laugh and smile whenever he gets close to me. SO cute that boy!

And did I say laugh? Oh yeah, Lincoln has begun to laugh. Gone are the days in which his throaty, little gurgle would catch in his throat, so near an audible giggle, he is laughing! Eric and I crack up every time he gets all fired up with laughter. At one point, Elaina was playing peek-a-boo with Lincoln and he laughed the loudest I had ever heard. And after his bath one evening, Eric was putting lotion on Lincoln and rubbing his hands and Lincoln busted out again with hearty belly laughs. My trick to get him rolling is playing up-down and wiggle with him. I stand him up sooo big and then sit down (on my lap) and then wiggle him back and forth until the broad smiles give way to laughingggg!! Did I mention that I love that boy? Oh, melt!

And let's just talk about his big sister for a minute. At 27 months (exactly, on Tuesday) Elaina talks like she's 15. In fact, we ask her how old she is and she replies "Two." When asked how old she's is going to be, her answer varies between 15 and 16. And she says it as plain as day. And I beleive that she will be 16 next year. What a little silly! The things that she comes up with just floor me these days. While we were eating breakfast the other morning, she told me that grandma makes her cinnamon rolls and that she wanted grandma and pop-pop to come to her house. Apparently, she was over the bacon and eggs that I was serving. Cinnamon rolls were what she was after!

More Elaina funnies:

* Pulling out of the driveway next to the trash cans: "Mommy, watch out for trash. Whew, it's close." (with the back of her hand against her forehead for dramatics!)

* Just a week ago, we were walking to visit her friend Ali at her house. Elaina told me that Ali fell out of bed. Since we were still about 200 yards away, I figured she was just pretending to think that Ali fell out of bed. I asked her more questions about Ali's fall and with her answers, I realized that she had remembered that Ali actually did fall out of bed when we were at her house for her birthday party. Elaina remembered that her friend fell because Ali cried, but she was okay.

* Speaking of pretending, Elaina has an awesome imagination. It's just the reality check that I sometimes need to not take things so seriously. When she pretends and we play a game with imaginary kittens and crocodiles, it makes me remember to appreciate the small things. That she doesn't need all of the most high tech toys and devices with 8 levels of music and sound and 38 light up colors, she needs some attention and someone to help her run from the crocodiles.

We had a great weekend together, just sitting back and enjoying the small stuff!