Sweet, sweet summertime.
A little thing in life that I have come to adore is the smell of my babies covered in sunscreen. It usually means that we are on the brink of leaving for a fun day – swimming, riding beep beeps at the kiddie park, or running through the splash pad. Some of the best memories that we have made with the kiddos involved the use of sunscreen.
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This summer has been a little bit different than we expected and we haven’t quite used as much sunscreen. Mitchell’s episodes have gotten worse (more about those here) – more frequent, worse in duration and still plain scary to see – so we have toned it down and shifted to the slow lane. It’s hard to say what will trigger an episode, but we know that they are exacerbated when he is overtired, overwhelmed, or overheated. Although they have no consequences on him in the no-long term, they are exhausting on him in the short-term and often lead to an immediate nap. In general they are something we strive to avoid at all costs.
But in a weird way, there is a silver lining to this whole situation. His breath-holding spells (which fortunately will subside in the coming years, hooray!) have helped us find fun things to do close to home and within our normal routine. Rather than spending hours chasing down fun or pushing the limits with schedules and activities, we have been able to savor the little parts of life.
We have been living up summer with two toddlers in small ways. Water balloons, hide n seek, walks around the neighborhood, indoor Olympics, tunnel races, short (yet sweet) trips to the kiddie park and extra story times.
Kenz had her dance recital in June and is now loving “nastics” class so she hasn’t noticed the slow pace. In a few weeks we’re even hitting the road to enjoy the slow pace in Lake George, which I’m pretty sure will be good for all of us. And it may include sunscreen, but if it doesn’t that’s okay too.
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So here’s to a great summer! Here’s to enjoying life, being silly and making memories in unexpected moments. Here’s to getting out and wearing sunscreen, and here’s to staying in and having just as much fun. Here’s to trips near and far, and loved ones on our street and on our minds. Here’s to life in the slow lane and here’s to appreciating it.
And here’s to all of us taking a deep breath and just focusing on the really good stuff in life.
Cheers & love,
Erin
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