Late Summer ...

It's coming!  We've had a very warm and dry summer in Vancouver and a bit of a heat-wave in the last week, but just in the last couple of days I've felt something:  the very first beginning of a hint of fall in the air.  Just a bit of crispness, the shortening of the days and a coolness in the breeze.  And I love it!!  I love the prospect of walking along the beach on a crisp fall day, taking the girls to preschool and Kindergarden (and yes, I will feel have a lump in my throat when I bring M to the "big school" for the first time), thick sweaters and warm coats.  In a few years it will mean the smell of new school books cracked open for the first time, and a new school wardrobe, but for now our girls are just little and we still have them with us most of the time.

This has been my "mothering summer".  Little P was born on June 25th, just as the "big girls" were finishing preschool and the summer break started.  Everything since then has been a blurr of sleepless nights, middle of the night feedings and baby cuddling.  M and E have been to a series of summer camps, almost daily swimming lessons and they have spent a lot of time in the garden running through the sprinkler, jumping on the trampoline, hiding in the playhouse and baking sand-cakes. 

I keep reminding myself not to blink, that these are precious days and that the time of nursing and cuddling a  baby are very short. 

Having sweet little girls baking you sand-cakes is a privilege. 

Yesterday, E gave me a picture on which she "wrote" (in writing that is only decipherable to her) "Ich hab Dich lieb" ("I love you") On BOTH sides.

And here is a conversation with M:

Mia:    "Weisst Du, was eine perfekte Mama ist?"
           ("do you know what a perfect mom is?")

Me:     "Existiert so etwas?"
            ("Does that exist?")

Mia:     "ja, dass bist du!"
            ("yes, that's you!")

Sigh ..

I'm trying to squeeze everything out of the rest of the summer,  just taking a little time out each day to do something special for the girls.  Yesterday we painted our nails bright pink - there is nothing cuter than a little tomboy with dirty little feet from a hard day's playing and pink nails.  Today we baked and decorated cupcakes.   I should have a "to do with the girls" list to make sure we don't miss out on anything important this summer, such as a picnic on the beach, a bike ride along the ocean and perhaps a trip to the aquarium and to an old-fashined bowling alley... Just some things to think about.