Summer's best

Well, here we are - September.  I find myself taking lots and lots of deep breathes these days.  I'm not sure if it's out of relief that this summer's over, handling anticipation of all that is to come this fall, or both!  But before summer slips away, I wanted to take a couple minutes to reflect.  Here's a little compilation of our "bests" from this summer.

Best meal: Barefoot Contessa's Israeli Couscous and Tuna Salad - Ina made this recipe on an episode of her show that I watched while in the hospital after having Baby P and it looked so good that my mom made it for our first family dinner once we came home.  I think we've had it twice since then, it's fantastic!  Don't worry about finding Italian tuna, I'm not even sure what that means, because regular old tuna works just great.  Next time you need a healthy, fresh, delicious one-dish meal, try this.  You won't be disappointed.

First bath in the big boy tub because he already outgrew the baby one!

Best song: Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker - I cannot tell you how many times we listened to this song this summer.  Little B loves it!  He can identify it immediately whenever it comes on the radio or iPod but will only sing one line on his own..."Rock me mama like a wagon wheel, rock me mama like a wagon wheel, rock me mama like a wagon wheel..."  It's a good thing Hubby T and I like Darius Rucker!

Best fruit: Blueberries - We went blueberry picking probably four or five times while waiting for Baby P to arrive and I learned that not only is my 2 year old capable of picking blueberries (I truly wasn't sure the first time) but he loves eating them off the bush!  I don't blame him.  I also learned as a child that there is a very special deliciousness to eating a sweet berry that has been warmed by the sun.  We did more picking later in the summer when they were ripe at Mom-Mom's house further north.  Next spring we are going back and we won't stop picking until I have enough to completely fill my freezer - delicious!

Ring bearer in training!

Best new (to us) book series: Arthur - Little B has gone through many phases where different book characters were his favorite...Curious George, Amelia Bedelia, Little Critter, Biscuit, Spot, Berenstain Bears.  A couple weeks ago we discovered Arthur and he is sticking.  Little B now tells us multiple times a day to turn off the computer and Macbook at night because that's what Arthur did to save electricity in Arthur Goes Green.  I don't think Little B has any concept what being "green" is but he sure know how to do it!

Almost smiling for the camera

Best grown-up book series: Harry Potter - Knowing that I was going to spend copious amounts of time sitting-nursing-reading this summer, I decided to re-read the Harry Potter series.  It's so wonderful to read something you know you're going to enjoy.  Also, really fun to read after you've seen the movies because you forget how much more story is in the books!  Sadly I finished Book 7 last week.  Although maybe that's a good thing.  Last night I had a dream in which I was looking for something and said "Accio wand!" and it came to me and even in my dream I appreciated how cool it was to be a wizard.  Any other suggestions of series to read to make late night feedings any easier?

Best new (to us) toy: Books on tape - Yes, I do mean cassette tapes.  Any other children of the 80's remember these?  My grandma used to keep them in the backseat of her car for us...blast from my past!

Mom-Mom had a ton of these books and tapes that she was going to get rid of if we didn't want them, so we snatched them up and brought them home.  Little B has now figured out how to turn on the tape player, put a tape in, press play, and follow along as the narrator reads.  It buys me 20-30 minutes of peace every day.  Just goes to show that sometimes a good idea is timeless:)

But in the end, the summer of 2013 will always be the summer of Baby P.  He is what we will remember most.  He is the best of the best.