Summertime, and the livin's easy...

We made sun tea this week, on one of our 80 degree days.  Charlie and I have been drinking sweet tea with the fancy whiskey he got for father's day.  Scarlett has been having iced tea, and she thinks we're drinking the same thing.

Last weekend after a run, I was drinking chocolate milk.  Scarlett didn't know what it was, but she wanted some.  So I told her it was special coffee, and she stopped asking. 

Scar and Ramona, slathered in sunscreen and wearing their stripey swimsuits. 

Father's Day

Dear Charlie, you are the best daddy I could hope for my little girl to have.  Not just because you found Arnie tonight after I'd been looking for half an hour, although that was impressive.

June

Some of Scarlett's favorite things lately:

• Bears! We are still celebrating teddy bears and their picnics several times a day.  She is sleeping with a huge stash of bears, her giraffe, a cow and a whale, and even from under that huge pile of stuffed animal, she asks for more friends.
• Smoothies, with honey
• Requesting a glass of milk and not drinking it
• Generally not eating anything
• Talking about how, when she was in my belly, she had no toys to play with.  No Arnie, no books, nothing. 
• Hugging this lion, on our neighbor's porch.

She's also grown a bunch since our last trip to the swimming pool.  She was able to walk farther out of the shallow part than ever before.  Her height on the chart at the pool was imprecisely 35 inches. 

40 years

Our Season of Injuries

This weekend was a rough one for our toddler's perfect skin.  One evening, as she ran into the bathroom to throw toys into the bubble bath, she caught her toe on the edge of the door.  She said, 'I hurt my toe'.  Thinking she had stubbed it, I reached down to kiss the toe, and saw it was bleeding and there was skin dangling off.  A lot of skin, enough to make me queasy.  Seeing the blood, she said 'It's red!  There's red!'.  She was fascinated with the 'red' and was mad when we put a bandaid on it.  She is much stronger than I am.

The next day, she was running in the driveway and fell, landing face-first, and now she's all scratched up.  Scratches on her cheek, a vaguely black eye, and a fat lip.  She also has a scratched-up hip which we didn't notice until later.  She cried for about 30 seconds and then wanted a snack.

What I have learned is:

• Toddlers do not want you to ice their wounds
• Hurt is irrelevant to her if snacks are around
• Her pain hurts me more than her

In her unscathed days- playing in the crib with Carrie

Scar and Grandpa.

Also pictured, Bill the bear.

From Portland with love

Dear Charlie,

Scarlett and I spent the weekend in Eugene and when we came home last night, the house was very empty without you.  When she woke up this morning, she asked where daddy is.  I keep reminding her, that you are in Boston with Max, his belly hurts a little and you are there to give him extra love so he will get better.  She seems happy with that answer, but she asks about you every day anyway.

• We have been reading Make Way for Ducklings a lot, because the ducklings are in Boston like daddy.
• Scarlett got to pet chickens, she went into the neighbor's back yard but not into the chicken's house.  She found this much more pleasing than just looking at them through the fence like normal.
• Today we ate lunch and she directed me to sit in your chair, and Laundry Bear sat in my chair, and she sat in her own chair.
• I asked what her favorite part about our trip to Eugene was.  She said, playing on Grandma and Grandpa's bed.  But, I would have guessed it was playing with Lucas' toys.
• Today before naptime she said 'I am make sure-ing the right friends sleep in the shopping cart.'
• One of her books ends with 'What do you think Star Catcher wishes for?' and today she said, she wishes for a snack.

I'm glad you got to visit friends.  I will be glad when you get home too.
We love you and miss you.
Emily and Scarlett