summer is on it's way out

As we approach the end of August I become more and more ready to welcome Fall. I'm ready to close up the windows and put the blankets back on the bed, put away the shorts and tanks and pull out the jeans and sweaters. I love living in Seattle because we really have all four seasons. Now, despite my complaining about the rain come April, I really don't know if I could live anywhere else. I love Seattle.

We have had such a great summer. The weather has been, for the most part, really nice. We even had a couple days into the 90's, and on one particular 90 degree day Emma and I discovered the community pool in Magnolia. We had so much fun (along with hordes of other people) splashing around and cooling off.

For the Payne family, summer starts with birthday's. Eric is first on the 3rd, followed by Emma on the 9th and myself on the 13th. Eric is one year away from the "dirty thirty" as he turned (quietly) 29 this year. We celebrated with a small dinner of grilled pizzas among both sets of parents. I also picked up some of his favorite beer from Trader Joe's which I know he enjoyed.

Emma celebrated birthday number two this year with family and friends as well as a Bee Movie theme- her favorite movie of the moment. We grilled, ate a cake in the shape of a beehive and opened present after present. By the end of the day, she was exhausted and we were surrounded by torn birthday paper- truly a successful party!

And lastly, we celebrated my birthday at El Camino in Fremont with my mom and Bill and some friends. My mom and Bill were nice enough to keep Emma for the night following dinner so Eric and I and our friends hit up Fremont for some bar hopping. It was so fun to have a night out.

For Emma, summer has really been full of growth. She is now singing her ABC's, counting from one to twenty, dancing and singing up a storm (she loves to sing Michael Buble's Mrs. Jones). Her blonde hair is now to the middle of her back when wet and a mess of curls when dry. I love her hair and with the acception of a few bang trims, have no plans of cutting it anytime soon. She has really developed such an amazing personality. She is so funny, constant entertainment and a total chatterbox. She can carry on a conversation with anyone- a stuffed animal even!
We are slowly introducing potty training. At the moment she doesn't seem too interested but I want her gradually get familiar with the idea. She has two potty seats, as well as some pretty awesome Elmo underpants. Wish us luck!
In the past year Emma has really gone from baby to little girl, and I'll admit I do miss the baby stage just a little; especially now that she has started asking "why" and "what" all the time. BECAUSE I SAID SO! The terrible two's have definetly started, and I hear that three is even worse. Yikes!

In July my friend Christi and I teamed up to throw my mom a surprise birthday party. Christi and her husband are living in India right now and their trip home to visit coincided with my mom's birthday so it really worked out well. We reserved the party room at her condo building (they own a unit that they are renting out while they're abroad), Bill was in charge of cooking all of the food and Eric responsible for the wine. We had a great time and a good turn out of guests; my grandparents were even able to make it up for the party. She was truly surprised- especially since I am a terrible secret keeper! We really pulled it off and had a blast!!

Just as summer was getting underway I signed up for a beginning runner's class. Now that Emma is two I really can't call these extra lb.'s baby fat anymore because she really isn't a baby anymore. Now it's just fat! AHH! The class was held at Greenlake every Wednesday morning for 8 weeks. And the best part- it's all moms with strollers! Beth Baker is a great running coach, an awesome cheerleader for first time runner's and a great motivator. I met a couple really great mom's that I'm sure will become longtime friends. Cory is a mom of two- a one year old and an eight year old, as well as one on the way. She started the class at 15 weeks and is now around 25 weeks. By the end of our 8 weeks together I was almost having a hard time keeping up with her! She's supermom! Cheryl is mom to Vincent, who will be 1 in September. Cheryl is a great runner and was seriously kicking butt by the end of class. She claims it's the FiberOne bars she's been eating. Maybe I'll try them! Also, her freckles put mine to shame.

Cory started a mom's group which I quickly became active in. There's a meetup scheduled for almost every day of the week, as well as mom's night out's and lots of running meetups which I love! I have met some more awesome women. Cheryl and another great new friend Sherry and I have taken up running (sort of- just getting started) on the weekends early without the kids. I really enjoy our running together. Sherry is quite chatty while running, as I'm huffin' and puffin', and keeps our minds off of the miles, which I love! I am really looking forward to getting more and more connected in this group. It's so nice to finally be meeting other families with kids.

Overall, summer has been good to us, and I'm looking forward to a new season of new adventures and experiences.