It doesn't feel like it yet, but summer is officially over. The past three months FLEW by! I got behind on the blog, so here are a few highlights of our summer adventures (prepare for photo overload):
Many sunny days at Brackett Park swimming in the wading pool and playing in the park.
Lots of time hanging out in the backyard. Here are Helen and Eric lying on the deck finding shapes in the clouds.
Dancing on the hopscotch towel after a refreshing dip in the backyard pool.
Art Day on the deck with Tatiana and Sayen.
Helen focuses on her artwork.
Sayen REALLY focuses on getting every speck of the paper covered in paint.
We went to the Pearl Park neighborhood festival and found a "bouncing castle" that Helen could not resist. When there was finally a lull and it wasn't packed with big kids, we let her enter. This little 4 year old named Eliana befriended Helen and the two of them sat in the middle holding hands and laughing until we had to drag them out when it got too wild. Helen cried until Eliana came and found her and they hugged and jumped around and danced to the music. When it was time to leave, Helen called into the crowd, "Eliana! Eliana!" Who knew a little summer park festival could be so fun? Our little social girl makes even the simplest occasions exciting.
We love the park just 2 blocks from our house and so we spent many summer mornings having picnics in the grass...
and one afternoon stomping in the mud.
Helen got a taste for riding scooters at Sayen's. She should be ready for her own next summer.
She also loved riding in the Burley with Jade - another thing that will be fun for Summer '10.
We spent less time visiting farmer's markets than we did last year - can you guess why?
Here's a rare moment when she was sitting still at the Mill City Farmer's Market, content to observe the crowd.
Helen had so much fun in Owatonna at my aunt and uncle's farm pulling around the riding horse.
And visiting the loud sheep who called out to Helen, "MAAAA-MAAAAAAA!"
Since we can't go to the farm every day, we went to the zoo a lot and she became an old pro on the monorail.
One of her favorite places is the Children's Museum, so we visited on some rainy days. Here she is waving to Clifford who has now packed his things and gone on to another city.
Helen and Evelyn are one day apart - born at the same hospital and everything. We met her and her mother at art class and then again at music class and so we became friends and spent many summer days together. Here are the girls in their "parallel play" stance.
Here's a typical day at the park with Helen's darling friend Iris.
And no summer could be complete without lots of play time with dear Neave. She and Bryn often come over at 7:30am after dropping off Daniel downtown. When they see each other, the girls run around screaming with excitement. I love how they have the same crazy energy.
Labor Day weekend marked the end of summer, but the weather was still gorgeous. Nana and Grandpa B came along with Uncle Adam for an awesome weekend visit. Helen learned how to shout, "Go, Bucky Badger!!" while watching the football game and wearing her adorable new pink slippers from Nana and Grandpa B. We visited the Rose Garden at Lake Harriet.
Helen and Adam explored the fountain together. Then we went for lunch at The Tin Fish. She is still asking for Nana, Grandpa B and Adam, so we can't wait to go to Wisconsin for Halloween. It will be here before we know it.
Here we are on Labor Day, lounging in Aunt Jessie's pool.
Helen and Jess took their matching monkeys for a stroll. I love how Helen's triceratops boots are flying in this picture. She was so excited to be there.
And here's the final summer shot to show how much our girl has grown in the past 3 months. Luckily, it still feels like summer outside, so we hope to continue doing most of the above for a while.
Here's to a happy fall!
Wow! It's been a really long time since I've posted anything. Helen has changed so much since November and here's proof. Last week was the final week of her first session of gymnastics. The next session started up again today, so it's kind of funny that they had an awards ceremony and everything. Of course, it's mainly an opportunity for parents to shoot photos and videos. We signed Helen up for this class just so she'd have some physical activity during the colder months, but she really has learned a lot. She can do a somersault by herself and she's really good at the "basket hang" (hanging on the bar and putting her feet up by her hands). She'll also take several steps on the beam before reaching out for a hand. 
