Weekend away

Two full days into the thick of our kitchen remodel, we have escaped to PA to spend some time with family.  It was a planned weekend, but I think it reveals my lack of patience for the time we will be spending without the 2 most lived in rooms in our home (kitchen and dining room).  Everyone heads north to New England this time of the year, but for me, there is such beauty in the Chester County area around this time.  Nothing says fall and back to school like the smell of mushrooms and manure.  I could just bottle it up for nostalgia sake!
We spent the day in Longwood Gardens with some of our friends.  I am embarrassed to say that I am like a New York native that has never visited the Statue of Liberty...I grew up with Longwood Gardens right around the corner, but I have only been on field trips when I was younger.  It is a great place for any age, but definitely a neat adventure through the eyes of a child.  Julia loved the Children's Garden and pumpkin patch.  Given her love for flowers, this was right up her alley!

The rest of our weekend was spent with some good old fashioned quality time that included some lovely drives and adventures through Chester County, PA.  One of these adventures included an AG field hockey game and a much needed and very overdue visit with the ladies that I used to coach with before I moved to Massachusetts.  Oh how I miss those times!

It truly takes moving away to appreciate the beauty that I grew up with in this area.  We ended it on my mom's birthday with a hike through the White Clay Creek Preserve, which is right off of the land that my parents are going to build on in the near future.  I love the feeling of knowing that my roots are deep in this place.  It is exciting to imagine the many memories that will continue here.  

And because Julia will be 16 months old in just a few days and all of this happens so quickly, here are my top 5 Julia-ish things of the moment:
1) Her word bank is 35 words long (and counting).  **Mom advice**Once babies start talking keep a running list on the refrigerator.  You will never remember it off the top of your head and you will be amazed at how quickly the words start to accumulate!  Favorite words of the week?  Poop, Coco (all dogs are Coco in honor of her favorite chocolate lab), please and my favorite - Gee-ah (JULIA)
2) She now puts her finger to her mouth and says "shhh" whenever she hears a loud noise or any noise she doesn't like (or when she wants to hear the birds).
3) She has regressed to only drinking out of her bottles.  She will not drink out of her own sippy cup no matter what I try (she will still try to steal sippy cups from her friends though).  I don't know what I am going to do about this one, but I will consider it a phase until further notice.
4) She likes to snuggle with us in the morning.  It's the prop her up on the pillows, throw on a blanket and nestle in kind of snuggling.  The good stuff.
5) JuLia is officially a dipper.  She has discovered ketchup!  Even though most of her day is spent in wreckless abandon, she methodically and very carefully dips her french fries (or the food du jour) in her ketchup.  I enjoy this quality because I can appreciate the art of the dipped food.

Happy 10-10-10 Birthday Mimi - you are incredibly special!  Everyone in the world loves you and we get the privilege of having you all to ourselves from time to time.  

It makes my heart giddy to be in your presence :)