bathing suit beauties

Mama and Pepsi

Mom,

Last Monday would have been your 55th birthday. All day I'd planned on writing a nice birthday blog to commemorate the occasion. However, when I finally sat down to write, the lump that had been only a small nuisance in my throat throughout the day, quickly grew to twice its normal size. That, combined with an ever tightening "I miss you" chest ache, made writing beyond the bounds of possibility. There are still days when the yearning to lay my head down on your lap, when the desire to see you rock and read to Teddy, take over and everything else falls into the background. Monday was that day.

So rather then writing about a birthday memory from long ago or what I imagine we would have done to celebrate on Monday, I think I'll just say I missed you instead.

Yours always, Katie

And in an effort to not let the resurfaced grief wreck havoc on a gorgeous summer week, Theodore and I hit the pool for a fun, carefree dip on Tuesday morning. I'm excited to report he is really starting to make strides in the pool! The most notable difference was a desire to put his face in the water! It was hilarious, he would slowly bring his little nose toward the water and then shriek and giggle once it touched. I think by the time we get back to MN he will be ready to really enjoy the lake.

The above photo makes my heart melt.... it is just so 100% Teddy. Happy as a lark with a Tupperware full of cantaloupe, raspberry stains on his face, and a little Buddha belly showing the signs of both snack and pool water consumption.

And since this is a blog posting were I seem to be jumping all over the place, I'll make one more bounce back to the birthday arena by wishing my ever so cherished sister-in-law Diane a wonderful birthday. Wish I'd been home yesterday to give you a big ol' heart hug.