Summer has appeared with a vengeance, with this month being the hottest June on record in Richmond. Madeline spent much of her time focused on indoor pursuits - drawing, fingerpainting, cooking and watching lots of World Cup soccer with me. She also enjoyed spending quiet time with her stuffed friends, reading to them, taking them to the imaginary doctor or grocery store, or just taking them for a walk in the doll-size stroller.
There haven't been many major developments, other than her continued growth. She's actually starting to look tall now, and the latest bedroom-door marking sits nearly three-quarters of an inch above the last measurement, taken in May. Potty training is going well - she only wears diapers at night now, and has even made use of public facilities when the need arises while we're out and about. This makes us think about putting her in a kid bed now, but we're not quite ready for the secondary effects - the refusal to get in bed at bedtime and the midnight visits to our room. That time is coming soon, though.
We went camping early this month at Otter Creek on the Blue Ridge Parkway. When we set up camp on the first afternoon, a tired Madeline quickly settled into the tent with her books and her friends. This was not the case at bedtime later that night, when it took almost four hours to get her settled down.
Madeline's favorite part of the camping experience was playing with Mommy in Otter Creek, which trickled peacefully next to our campsite. Here she plays in the afternoon. . .
and it was her first order of business early the next morning.
With apple in hand, Madeline hiked most of the mile-long trail to Johnson Farm.
Madeline and Mommy surveyed the grounds from the window of the historic farmhouse.
Madeline even got to see the dolls that the girls who lived on the farm once played with.
We also hiked up a mountain - at the top, one of us was full of energy, and the other was not.
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We were amazed when Madeline swept this paper off the kitchen counter and it landed as you see here - on its side.
Madeline enjoyed playing dress-up on a muggy, lazy afternoon at Grandma's house.
Madeline still gets plenty of enjoyment from her kitchen - a Christmas gift last year. She cooks stews and cookies using spices and kitchen supplies borrowed from Mommy.
When the weather returned to more seasonable temperatures later in the month, Madeline and I jumped at the chance to spend a morning hiking along the James River.
Here Madeline's thinking, "Hmmm, what can I throw into the water?"
We stopped at a shady bench to eat a snack and watch the water roll by.
