Seasons

Ryan had to go down to Davenport, Iowa on Saturday for a rugby game so L and I had a little girls day, complete with donuts, pizza and the park.  I hadn't been to the park with her in weeks because it's been a little chilly and she's fighting a little cold so we've been bunkering down with Dora and the Bubble Guppies lately.  Ryan had taken her the weekend before for a bit and told me what a pro she was all of a sudden.  Sure enough, as soon as we got there she was off.  Climbing up the steepest stairs as fast as she could and flying around the playground with all the bigger kids, taking turns going down the biggest, scariest slides.  And she didn't need any help at all!  With any of it. 

I was so excited for her having reached another milestone and having so much fun up there, so proud of herself for every slide and tunnel and stair set she accomplished.  I was also a little relieved, no longer needing to climb up there and follow her every move, crawling through tunnels meant for much smaller people and following her down every slide.  But as I stood there on the ground watching and cheering her on, I couldn't help but notice the chill in the air and the leaves mostly off all of the trees and I realized that another season has come and gone.  And now, having a little one, those seasons mean so much more.  It's not just Summer to Fall to Winter, it's a season and chapter in her tiny little life.  I sat there reflecting on how much she's changed since the beginning of the summer.  It's amazing to think back to the days where she couldn't even go down the smallest slide without our help, and just a few short months later we have this big kid running around, totally owning that park.

We had one heck of a summer.  From the start of pigtails, to pools, lakes, and splash pads, to obsessions with school buses, then the park, then puppies, then getting her very own puppy!  We had countless dance parties, read millions of books, watched her skin turn bronze and hair bleach blonde with every day spent out in the sun.  It was a summer I could live over and over and over again.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the last several months.  I'm sure they won't make you cry like they did me.  ;)

- K