august already?

i almost don't believe the calendar - how can we be near the end of summer already? my teacher friends will go back to work and i haven't spent near enough time with them. the weather will turn cooler, although when it continues to be so hot it is hard to picture. my daughter will become more mobile and then i will chasing two hart babes. it helps that the autumn is my favorite time of year - but why get ahead of myself? i haven't posted in a week, my longest break since beginning this project. at some point i will share about our weekend getaway sans children (which was wonderful). but today i will talk about today. the first of august. a day that helps me remember that being a mama can be such a joy. luca, gia, and i all slept in until 8am. a beautiful way to start the morning. we sang songs over a long breakfast, watching gia try to pick up cheerios and somehow get them to her mouth. by 9:15, the floor was littered with cereal. we went outside to tend our garden. with gia strapped to my hip in the moby, we watered the plants and harvested cherry tomatoes, basil, and a jalapeno. by the time we brought the basket inside, luca had begun working his way through the "matoes." we sat at the dining room table and luca continued to chow down on the red goodness. this is exactly what i pictured in my minds eye when we planted the garden. a green unripened tomato had made its way in the basket and when luca bit into it he exclaimed, "no taste it, no mato taste, no eat it." i told him that it wasn't ready yet and we need to only pick and eat the red ones. he finished off the matoes and picked up the only thing left in the basket. he brought the pepper to his mouth and was about to take a bite when i yelled, "no, luca, don't eat the pepper!" he was startled , but then calmed and said, "pepper not ready yet." i love seeing him make connections and using his two-year old logic to explain the world. (i explained to him later that the jalapeno is super spicy and he accepted this reason.)

we drew pictures, built block towers, played in the backyard, read books, watched gia's crawling skills progress, and overall enjoyed a lovely morning at home. luca was adamant about eating lunch outside. i did not want to be out in the heat any longer so i gave him the choice to eat out there by himself. he surprisingly agreed immediately. while i fed gia and did the dishes, we watched him through the kitchen window. he was so content watching the birds and squirrels. it has been a long time since our home felt so peaceful with everyone awake.

gia and i had some great alone time during luca's nap - something that doesn't happen very often. she is so curious and now reaches for everything she sees. her focus is so intense and she gets extremely frustrated when the object of desire is unattainable. i love making her face scrunch into smiles and listening to her throaty happy noises.

so ends the first day of august - i am feeling busy but at peace, tired but not exhausted, joyful but also happy.