more freedom for me

Every summer my daily life gets a little easier. For the past 13 summers I have had an infant to nurse or a baby who has to be protected against falling down the stairs, drowning in a pond, or running out into traffic. I have had to haul around one of those huge infant car seats or lug around a 20 pound baby who is too active to stay in one place, but too mobile to play without constant supervision and assistance. This summer however, every one is a year older, including Julia Ellen. She doesn't require a highchair or baby food, she listens to directions most of the time, and even when we forgot our life jackets on the latest trip to the pond she only had to be hauled out from the deep once. Here is a little montage of her past few weeks....