Ahh, it finally feels like summer has arrived....for many reasons. First, the cold rainy weather has left us and brought back dry, warm days. Second, Sam finished up a hectic round of teaching summer school that was a bit more work than he bargained for. But now he has the next 6 weeks or so off! (Well, he won't ever stop working but he is technically on vacation now.) And third, we left town for four nights for a mini vacation in Oceanside.
We finally had good (amazing, really) weather. It wasn't since Labor Day weekend last year that we were at the beach and were able to sit out on the deck - usually we were dodging rain storms and waiting for the wind to knock the power out! So we were due for a wonderful beach weekend and that is what we got! 
My parents joined us and they brought Avery with them, so it was even nicer that Morgan had her fabulous cousin to play with. Avery was a patient companion and sand castle-builder extraordinaire! A couple days later, my sister Diane and niece, Marissa, came to visit after just having flown in from Maui. It was so great to spend family time together at the beach.
And with the nice weather, there was plenty of time to walk on the beach, enjoy the tide pools around the point during the low tides, and even go to the June Dairy Parade in Tillamook. I remember going as a kid and it is definitely a cute, small town tradition. Their theme this year was "Butter Than the Rest," and there was lots of butter decor. They passed out the usual candy, but not many parades also pass out cheese and pepperoni sticks! It was Morgan's first parade and she had been excited for it for the entire week. She was especially thrilled by the clowns and kept calling for them to come over - no fears there!
I know I have said it before, but the older I get the more and more grateful I am that our family has this house in Oceanside. The little town hasn't changed much since I was a kid, and every time I go I am reminded of happy childhood memories at the beach with my family. I love sharing that with Morgan as she grows and seeing her fall in love with Oceanside too.
It seems in a matter of a couple weeks, our little Morgan has gone from being our sweet, easy-to-parent toddler, to a big girl able to throw a serious tantrum in fractions of a second, say "NO!" to everything we ask or offer her, and melt down in a pile of seemingly authentic tears right before our eyes. Who is this child?!? Apparently, our dear daughter has an alter ego: SUPERTODDLER!
Needless to say, it's been a challenging couple of weeks, that has left Sam and I raising our voices, rolling our eyes, and laughing at how crazy our daughter and lives have become. And in the back of my mind, I keep telling myself, "Ohhhhh, THIS is where the term 'terrible twos' comes from." I get it now. I was hoping we had escaped all the nonsense that most other parents have to go through with their kids, but I was wrong.
Morgan was just saving it up, brewing things in her quick little mind, until she finally figured out that she wanted to be the one in charge...not us. It's her way of testing our love, I guess, making sure that we still love her to pieces regardless of the things she says ("NO!" and "I don't like ____" to everything), or the things she does (the opposite of pretty much every daily task). And yes, we still love her to pieces, but there are moments. Unfortunately, this kind of behavior seems to be fairly contagious because I find myself with a short fuse and an inner desire to blow up in a temper tantrum as well. Not the greatest role model, I realize. So, Morgan and I are both practicing taking deep breaths and "breaks" (lots of breaks!) when we find ourselves butting heads. At times, I'm not sure which one of us is more stubborn.
Yet, at the same time, I find her making leaps and bounds into new territory. She has started playing indepen-dently with great enthusiasm lately. From the minute she wakes up, she is inventing some new game or imaginative scene with her toys. She scurries around the house, muttering to herself, as she plays and arranges. It's wonderful! Wonderful for her not just to need to be entertained by one of us, but wonderful to see her amazing imagination at work. She plays with her baby doll more now and gives it the sweetest kisses. And her passion for reading is taking on new levels, as she demands we read her a book whenever she is forced to sit still (like on the potty, at meals, and at bedtime). We go to a weekly story time at the neighborhood library, and I am amazed at her confidence and excitement for new situations and people. She has no problem walking right up to the librarian or chatting up other kids. And, like a true superhero, her physical skills are quite out of this world. She can now jump off of things with two feet, and seems to think that with that cape she can actually fly! She also runs faster than ever - meaning, I have to run to keep up with her or I will never see her again!
Yet one of the most touching things in the last few weeks has been the conversations we are having about her being a ........
Yes, Morgan will be a big sister come December, and she is understanding the idea much sooner than I expected. At first she thought I was playing some pretend game where we were both playing with babies. But now she knows that she is going to be a big sister and that Mommy's tummy "is going to get bigger and bigger and bigger!" She seems (at this point) willing to help out with the new baby and very excited about it. Although in the last couple days, she seems convinced that she also has a baby in her tummy. I'm not sure how to clear that one up, but apparently she is just trying to keep up with me!
So despite the adjustments we are having to make in order to live with our daughter's new alter ego, we know that she loves us more than anything. And that more than anything, she wants us to be proud of her and cheer her on in all her adventures. When I think about all the unconditional love she shows me every day, it makes me realize that I need to cut the girl some slack and let her be the supergirl she needs to be at the moment. This phase isn't going to last forever, and there is still a lot of pride, love and laughter in the midst of what, at times, feels like pure chaos. And somehow, through all of this, I think she is turning me into a superhero as well.
This video is short but sweet - the first few seconds are priceless. Here she is dancing to the "Dragon Tales" theme song, where she always runs for her grass skirt as soon as it comes on. Morgan is really learning to feel the music and groove!
Ahh, it finally feels like summer has arrived....for many reasons. First, the cold rainy weather has left us and brought back dry, warm days. Second, Sam finished up a hectic round of teaching summer school that was a bit more work than he bargained for. But now he has the next 6 weeks or so off! (Well, he won't ever stop working but he is technically on vacation now.) And third, we left town for four nights for a mini vacation in Oceanside.
We finally had good (amazing, really) weather. It wasn't since Labor Day weekend last year that we were at the beach and were able to sit out on the deck - usually we were dodging rain storms and waiting for the wind to knock the power out! So we were due for a wonderful beach weekend and that is what we got! 
My parents joined us and they brought Avery with them, so it was even nicer that Morgan had her fabulous cousin to play with. Avery was a patient companion and sand castle-builder extraordinaire! A couple days later, my sister Diane and niece, Marissa, came to visit after just having flown in from Maui. It was so great to spend family time together at the beach.
And with the nice weather, there was plenty of time to walk on the beach, enjoy the tide pools around the point during the low tides, and even go to the June Dairy Parade in Tillamook. I remember going as a kid and it is definitely a cute, small town tradition. Their theme this year was "Butter Than the Rest," and there was lots of butter decor. They passed out the usual candy, but not many parades also pass out cheese and pepperoni sticks! It was Morgan's first parade and she had been excited for it for the entire week. She was especially thrilled by the clowns and kept calling for them to come over - no fears there!
I know I have said it before, but the older I get the more and more grateful I am that our family has this house in Oceanside. The little town hasn't changed much since I was a kid, and every time I go I am reminded of happy childhood memories at the beach with my family. I love sharing that with Morgan as she grows and seeing her fall in love with Oceanside too.
