Strawberry Pickin'

Oh man, it seemed doable at first, but then I realized I was in over my head! Warning: Picking Strawberries requires a 1:1 ratio of adults vs children. Luckily, I wasn't in it alone. My friend Sarah and her two boys, Aidan and Nate, were with us. Unfortunately, you can't count on a 3 year old to pick good strawberries at a quick pace and soon enough Colin was grouchy in his perch on my back (acutally, he was doing fine at first because he napped, but I guess its hard to sleep when your "bed" keeps bending over to pick fruit).

This was the first time I put him on my back! He seemed okay there, before the bending. Please excuse the hat placement. His head was sorta facing down, so the hat kinda made a little roof.

Sarah was smart enough to bring the wagon for the kids, the strawberries and the two bags of crap I insisted on dragging out to the field

It was a slow start -- Lily had never been strawberry picking before, so it took some time to explain what we were looking for

She wore her rainboots because the ground was still soft from yesterday's monsoon, er rain.

Soon enough, she got the hang of it, with a little help from Mom

*Sigh* I love this one

So two smoothies later, a nap in the car ensued, thank God. I am pooped.

Time for a Colin update: I love this boy. He is really just maturing too fast for my taste! He is starting to reach for stuff now (started around 10 weeks but I thought it was accidental), mostly with a closed fist (he looks like he's putting up his dukes), but sometimes he opens his little hands and grabs what he wants. The sweetest thing in the world is after he nurses, he looks up and has a conversation with me. We are struggling to set a nap schedule in place, but we're getting about 3 naps a day. We have to fight for that last one, but we get it! I have to say, when I was pregnant and heard "boy," I blanched. Now, I love this little man with all my heart and wouldn't trade him for a thousand girls. Oh, and as an aside -- as a couple, we have made a final decision on birth control. Colin will be our last baby. Part of me is sad, because that door has closed, but I am also so grateful to have two amazing children. I am twice blessed and totally smitten :)

My Man riding in my Mom's Maclaren (which I'm about to swipe, er, trade for my other one)