summertime!

back to blogging. as a little catch-up, here is what has happened since you last saw us.

-i had a wonderful vacation in the bahamas with my bff. i highly recommend trips like that. we have four days to do nothing. and when you are a full-time mom (or even a part-time mom, or a babysitter, or whatever), that is invaluable. we talked, laughed, read books, slept, ate, drank, didn't do dishes, didn't change diapers, didn't do anything we didn't want to do. when i came back, i was disappointed at how quickly all of my relaxed feelings were sucked away, but jason pointed out that the trip was mostly about anticipating, not so much being relaxed afterwards. so i'm anticipating our next trip in five years already. let the countdown begin.

-summer is in full swing. it is hot and muggy and i remember why i hate the south. but, the pool is open, so that makes it a little better. hiba knows no fear when it comes to the pool and matthias is slowly warming up to it. i bought them both puddle jumpers, which was one of the best decisions that i have made recently.

-i finally got everything worked out for school and i really am going back to school in the fall. i'll just be part-time for the first year, which i think will be a good way to ease into this whole student/mom thing.

-we spent a weekend with my family in branson and had a great time. it was great to all be together and hiba and matthias love seeing grammy and oscar and all their aunts and uncles.

-matthias has learned to talk. i used to think that he would be less verbal than hiba, because it took him longer to start talking. which is not to say that he was a late talker, since hiba started talking when she was like eight months. but i was wrong. he loves to talk. all. the. time. and he is at that oh-so-delightful stage where he wants me to repeat back whatever he is saying, so he knows i know what he is saying. all. the. time. he's started putting two or three words together, but pauses between words. it's so cute. and it amazing how fast he is learning new words or phrases. i guess that's what happens when he has an older sister who talks like an adult.

-jason and i got to spend a weekend in nashville with two of our best friends and see U2 and florence + the machine. in concert. our friend, matt, scored some really great tickets, so we were on the floor, about 40 yards from the stage. it was pretty amazing. florence was a great opening act. and then there was U2. i adore U2. i love their music and i love bono, so really "pretty amazing" doesn't even begin to describe how i felt about it. epic. and the weekend was so fun. i love my new friends, but there is something so great about hanging out with old friends. and it was a fun to road-trip with just me and jason, something we haven't gotten to do in a while.