Sunshiney Day

Today was a beautiful day in Seattle. Summer finally arrived yesterday (for now) and we've enjoyed temperatures in the 80's. Everyone is so tired of gray and rain that summer is really celebrated when it appears. Yesterday, it was in the low 70's and Lauren and Jake played with water balloons and ran in the sprinkler.....brrrr.....but they had a blast. Today, Jake and I had our special time - soccer class and a playdate at the park with his buddies. After Lauren's school, a few of her friends came over and we had a delightful afternoon of more water balloons, sprinkler fun, and popsicles. Our sidewalk is colored with sidewalk chalk, we have a load of wet towels and swimsuits, and I couldn't be happier. There is truly nothing more joyous than the sounds of children laughing, shrieking and having fun.

Taylor has also had several good days. David dressed her in overall shorts today and she looked quite cute. She's enjoying walks in the stroller and feeling the warm breeze on her toes - although she wasn't fond of grass on her feet when David helped her "walk" in the grass this morning. We're continuing to see good signs of improvement from Taylor daily - it's such a gift and gives us tremendous peace of mind. This week she has started holding on to her bottle (she can't hold it entirely by herself, but she has the right idea), and just in the last day, can bring her hands together. She couldn't even do this for the Boyer Clinic evaluation, so we're thrilled with such good progress on her motor skills. She is loving putting both hands in her mouth and clasping them together. This is another little thing that I don't know if I even realized when Lauren and Jake did this - but with Taylor, we get to celebrate every little step because we know to appreciate them.

Tonight as I write this, Lauren is singing in her bed - alternating between a made-up song "Kindergarten here I come" - seriously - and a variety of "High School Musical" songs. And, Jake was so wiped out tonight that he asked to go to bed at 7:30 - wonders never cease. It's a gift that my kids are so happy and I'll leave you with my favorite new Taylor trick. After months of relative indifference to her many toys, she clearly has a favorite game now. We've noticed that she loves hearing songs - even though we aren't the best musicians. Her favorite game is to hold a small rattle and when I sing the Wiggles classic "Shakey Shakey", she shakes the rattle. She laughs and smiles and it is precious. And, it works everytime, which I love. Here's to summer!