Takes my breath away

Wow, Monkey really is growing up. Sometimes it takes my breath away to realize what a defined person, what a "big girl" she's become. And it makes me so proud yet also almost breaks my heart in the exact same moment.

Sometimes she'll say or do something that makes me realize how much she's grown and changed in the last 23 months. It's always simple things, like saying "wow, so windy" when the wind whips her hair.

And sometimes, I run across an old photo and I can hardly believe the changes. Here's a photo that is almost precisely 12 months old - from a birthday party we went to in July:



Then fast forward to this year, at her boyfriend Caleb's second birthday party!:



Last year she was just starting to walk.
This year, she's running like a fiend and stuffing her face with cake. And occasionally holding hands with her boyfriend. No photos of that, alas - it was too fleeting for me to capture with my camera. But I'll always remember it. I think it was the first time I realized that someday, she's going to grow up and maybe even have her own family.

Summer lovin', happened so fast.....

Tell me more, tell me more, did he drive a nice car?

This past weekend we went to San Juan, PR, and really enjoyed ourselves! M was there for a work conference, with colleagues in from around the world. Monkey and I just went for the sand and the surf....and the pina coladas! We stayed at the Caribe Hilton, where the pina colada was invented. And yes, there was a swim up bar. (no, sadly, we did not take advantage of that option....Monkey declined to get in the pool. More on that later.)

No, I don't have a tan. My dad's nose was just carved up to remove skin cancer, so I was blanketed in sunblock. Monkey, too. I've had several colleagues at work ask me when I'm leaving for San Juan....and look puzzled when I explain I'm back already. What, they thought this pale white skin would suddenly be a deep bronze? Sheesh. I was too busy watching Monkey to even turn my face to the sun 99% of the time!!!

The Caribe was lovely. There were several pools, including one for kids only two feet deep. You'd think that we would have spent all of our time there, right? Nope. Every time we got close to the pool, tons of kids would swim over, with much splashing and laughter, and holler "hola bambina!" and Monkey would say "no!" and walk away. I think the water was too cold and the commotion was too much. So no pool for us.

Thankfully, the Caribe had a lovely beach. The sand wasn't the superfine sand that looks like confectioner's sugar, but it was still heaven on earth as far as Monkey was concerned. We spent quality time building and tearing down sand castles, and throwing rocks into the ocean (Monkey liked the splashing). They had clearly engineered the beach to be super-friendly for kids, as the incline was such that you would be 15 feet out in the water before it was even mid-thigh....so Monkey could walk pretty far in, without getting in over her head. And, while there were waves, they were really gentle and enjoyable.

At first, I didn't think Monkey would go in the ocean. I thought we'd be destined to spend the entire time playing in the sand. And that would have been ok. Just not as much fun.

But, then Joey showed up. Dun dun dun! Joey F, a gorgeous Italian-American 10 year old, the son of one of M's colleagues. Joey was all that and a bag of chips, as far as Monkey was concerned. She had a bona fide crush on him! A graceful 10 year old, Joey was fun and funny. He'd put sand and seaweed on his head to make Monkey laugh. And once he went into the ocean? Well, in went Monkey!

Every time Joey showed up for the entire weekend, Monkey's face would break out into this gigantic smile. She'd chant his name and ask where he went, when he swam away. I kept humming the "Summer lovin'" song from Grease in my head as I watched their interaction.

I don't know how much of this vacation Monkey will remember. And I don't really have any pictures, since M was busy which meant I was on my own at the beach - not a good time to be trying to handle an expensive camera...when your toddler is heading into the ocean and doesn't know how to swim! But, what I will remember is the pure joy that Monkey exhibited when Joey came around, and how much fun she had tumbling in the sand and playing in the ocean. Pure heaven.