Can Summer Stick Around for a Bit Longer? Please??

Unfortunately, Summer is coming to a close. I never thought I would care that much, since I don't really like the really hot weather, but since we've had Poppy, I've had a change of heart...summer is awesome! I don't know what we'll do when we can't play outside, take trips to the lake or swimming pool, or enjoy the likes of the zoo, wheeler farm, or some long walks with Georgie. Even in the dead of winter, we always took walks with Poppy. I know our neighbors probably thought we were crazy, but walks are always a sure-fire way to calm down an upset little Poppy. And it was a valuable tool during the colicky months! The pics below are some of our favorites. We were at a barbecue on Labor Day at my parents' friends' house, the Watts. My dad has always played bass, banjo and guitar with John and his band, so we listened to some music after dinner, and Poppy and the cousins had a blast! It also helped that they had a colossal back yard to run around in, and horses, goats and chickens in the yard adjacent, because we all know how much toddlers like their farm animals! Poppy has been very spoiled this summer with the number of trips to the zoo, Gardner Village, the aquarium, and even the State Fair, to see all of her favorite animals! My personal favorite were the sea lions at the State Fair -- so cute. Would've been even better had we not had to stand in the blistering sun for 45 minutes.

Other updates (since we seem to update not-so-occasionally now): hmmmm, Poppy has been talking more lately. She says "bye bye" a lot, but curiously, she usually only says it to the bathwater as it's going down the drain. She also loves to put blankets or towels over her stuffed animals and say, "Night night!" Which is pretty darned adorable. And of course, she can certainly say "No!" with force. Paul and I love that she is almost always willing to give us a kiss whenever we ask for one - right on the lips with a big smack of her lips! She is so much fun (well, about 85% of the time). She has definitely reached the toddler age of throwing tantrums pretty much anytime she doesn't get what she doesn't want. We're working on it, but if you have suggestions, by all means! Also, we'll take suggestions on how to get Poppy to attend nursery at church successfully. I know that most kids don't like it at first, and crying is normal, but we're talking about crying the whole two hours. I kind of feel bad for the nursery leaders at this point. So, once again, if you have suggestions, suggest away!

Anyway, enjoy the pics, and maybe I will try and do some more frequent updates, so I don't have to think of everything we've been doing in the past month or so. Hope everyone's doing well, we love and miss all of you that we don't see very often!

We bought the cowboy boots mainly for Poppy's halloween outfit, can you guess what she'll be?? Love 'em.

Dancing and clapping along with Edison and Maia. And some other unknown child.

Brrrr - it got chilly towards the end of the evening.

Poppy enjoys hiding under blankets. She finds this hilarious.

Dancing with grandma

Having a great old time. Gaby, Aunt Alison, Uncle Darren, and Luke in the pic.

So much fun. Grandpa playing his banjo in the background. He regularly plays for the grandkids; they love it.