Looking back on the past month, it’s hard to believe how many wonderful things happened in such a short period of time. The month started off with James and me traveling to Michigan for the annual Fleming family vacation at Long Lake. While I was very nervous about traveling alone with James, the entire trip turned out to be a fantastic experience.
There are many memories that I will always cherish from this vacation from watching the boys wrestle on the floor to singing songs around the campfire to taking James on his very first sailboat ride. However, my favorite thing about this vacation was that I had at least one special moment with each of my nieces and nephews and my sweet James:
Jackson: My favorite moment with Jackson was when we played “sea monster” down at the lake. Standing calf deep in the water, I would hold James (the sea monster) out in front of me and chase Jackson, growling the entire time. He would squeal, laugh, and then “attack” the “sea monster” with his toy boat. I would then yell, “Oh no! You hit the sea monster! The sea monster is dizzy! The sea monster is dizzy!” all the while swirling James around in the water, “He can’t find you!” Jackson would then happily exclaim, “I’m over here!” and the chase would resume.
Henry: I had a fantastic time pushing Henry on the swings and playing trucks with him in the sand by the lake. I loved playing a game with him where I would bury his feet then he would “escape” and I would chase him down, pick him up, and swing him around in circles while he laughed and laughed and laughed. However there is one moment with Henry, though slightly bittersweet, that tops them all. The Pannings were all loaded up and ready to go home. I turned to Henry as he was sitting in his car seat and said, “I love you, Henry, and I’m going to miss you.” He looked right at me and said, “Hug.” “You want a hug?” I asked. “Yes,” he said very firmly. So, I leaned into the car and he gave me one of the most wonderful hugs I have ever had. That hug said loud and clear, “Thanks for all the fun, Aunt Jessica. I love you and am going to miss you too.”
Valerie: My favorite moment with Valerie had to be when we were filling up the water balloons for James’ party. At first when she saw me doing this, she just stood back and watched, but it wasn’t long until she firmly, but quietly said, “I help.” “You want to help fill up the water balloons?” I asked. Valerie nodded and stepped closer to where I was sitting with the hose and the pile of empty balloons. She then took each full balloon from me and put it in the bucket or wagon with an amount of care, and gentleness not often seen in a two and a half year old. After each full balloon was safely nestled with its fellows, she would grab an empty balloon and hand it to me to fill. Her attention didn’t waver until the last balloon was filled. Valerie and I then grabbed the handle to the wagon together and pulled our balloons over to the yard in front of Grandma and Grandpa’s cabin where the party and water balloon fight would later take place.
Lucy: While there were many wonderful moments with Lucy at Long Lake, usually involving happy exclamations of “Shoe!” or “Ball!” my favorite moment actually took place back in Ann Arbor. I had just gotten James to bed and was coming up from the basement to spend a little time relaxing with the adults when I heard sweet Lucy crying. I went upstairs and tiptoed into the kids’ room, trying not to disturb a peacefully snoozing Henry. I then picked up Lucy and brought her out into the hall. She snuggled happily against my chest and we swayed gently until her little snores let me know that she was sound asleep. I then softly laid that sweet angel back in her crib and tiptoed out.
James: Where do I even start? There were so many wonderful moments with my sweet baby James. I loved watching his face light up whenever he saw one of his cousins. I loved seeing him try so hard to be just like the “big kids,” which led to him becoming a full time walker, learning to throw a ball, discovering his love of trucks, and learning to tolerate cold water. I loved pulling him into bed with me in the middle of the cold Michigan nights to have him snuggle happily in my arms and sleep soundly until morning. I loved watching him celebrate his birthday with his loving family and taste his very first cupcake. I loved seeing him eagerly gobble down the ice cream sandwich that Grandma gave him each night. I loved seeing him run over and bang his little hands on the side of Grandpa’s guitar because he was so excited to see him play. I loved it all!
We returned home to Florida exactly one week before James’ first birthday, and launched right into finishing the preparations for his Sweet Baby James Cowboy Birthday Party. This was a rough week for me, as there was so much that still needed to be done. I ended up staying up until 2 am almost every night and even then wouldn’t have finished if it hadn’t been for James’ wonderful godmother who came over almost every day that week and slaved with paper mache and paint. However, it was well worth it as the party turned out exactly as I hoped it would.
Everyone who came had a fantastic time, and the cowboy town was an especially big hit. The kids played in it for three solid hours, stopping only briefly to eat their lunches around the paper mache campfire. James was a little overwhelmed at first by the noise and the crowd (about 14 kids and 20 adults). But, after an hour of sitting back and watching, he decided that he was ready to join in the fun! He then spent the rest of the party charging around the house, chasing after the big kids, and crawling through the cowboy town. After everyone went home, we piled the dishes in the kitchen, gathered up the mountain of gift wrap, and collapsed into our beds for a good long nap.
The next few weeks flew by with James starting swim lessons again, frequent play group outings, and all of us trying to spend as much time as possible with James’ godmother and my best friend, Sarah, who had moved into her apartment in Boca Raton while we were up at Long Lake. Then, suddenly, it was the end of the month and time to celebrate my birthday.
The celebration was stretched out over the entire weekend with meals out to Earl of Sandwich, Bonefish Grill, California Pizza Kitchen, The Pelican, and Saito Japanese Steakhouse. James was an absolute angel for all of these trips and really enjoyed trying a lot of new foods. The family next to us at the Japanese steakhouse couldn’t believe that he was happily slurping miso soup, crunching on ginger salad, and munching his way through a pile of Japanese rice, veggies, and salmon. The meals were a lot of fun, however, the best part about my birthday was that my parents were able to come down and spend the weekend with us. We even took my parents to the dog beach, which was my mom’s first beach trip in about 20 years.
I hope every July is just as wonderful as this one was!
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