To be clear, this is not a eulogy. I just wanted to preserve a few memories on my blog. We have had a spectacular summer filled with hanging out with friends, trips, swimming, beaches, etc. (more posting to follow about these events ;). The most notable thing of this summer, however, has been our friends of the past 4 years moving to Virginia. It has been a long time since I have had to say goodbye to close friends. The Ericksons have been a huge part of our lives in Los Angeles. Brittany and Chad moved into our apartment complex just before I had Seth. They had a 5 week old - Paige. I feel like they helped me transition into motherhood (and a transition it was). It wasn't easy going from having a high stress job to having to recover from a C-section and to having a newborn who had two modes - sleeping or crying. Brittany was an answer to so many prayers.
We hung out everyday and filled our babies' nap times with crafts and projects. She taught me to scrapbook, make cards and many other things. As couples we frequently got together on weeknights and virtually every weekend (no exaggeration) to play games. Canasta was introduced into the Davis home! We took our kids out to dinner to the Cheesecake factory at the Grove on the first of MANY dinners out. Paige and Seth took their first dunks into the pool together at a few months old. We went on walks in our neighborhood just for sanity's sake. I really couldn't have asked to have a better friend just a walk away. Despite the short distance there was also a huge spike in the amount I texted. I think we have checked in with each other multiple times a day, every day for the past four years.
Seth and Paige have turned into next of kin and have been almost like siblings . . . I say almost because Paige has declared her intention to marry Seth. They love each other dearly and talk about each other all the time. Paige is 3 months older than Seth, yet they always got mistaken for twins. Paige entered nursery before Seth so she was already there on his first day. Seth walked into nursery without reservation and planted a big kiss on her. That isn't to say that they haven't battled at times. They never really were only children because they had to learn to share at a very very young age because they were together so much. I am thankful for that. They have won costume contests together for Halloween, hunted for Easter Eggs and even spent a Thanksgiving together.
We even traveled together, including vacations to Big Bear, San Diego and Yosemite. We've had a great four years.
We knew the friendship was set when a few weeks in Brandon raised his hand and shushed Brittany so he could hear something on TV and Brittany took it like a champ . . . never letting him forget it! As a side note, Brandon swears that it was something very important - or at least funny - that he needed to hear.
Our friendship morphed into routine. On Friday night Brittany would text and ask what we were going to do this weekend. Whatever it was, the night would usually end with playing games or watching a movie while the kids were asleep. Chad usually kept us in check with the rules and made sure scores were tallied correctly:) We will miss that!
The transition has been interesting. Seth cried the morning Paige moved . . . and so did I. Seth seemed absolutely fine in the days that followed. He would ask about her, and even point out her house when we drove by. I think it is finally getting to him though. For the past few weeks he has been more easily provoked to tears. Today he broke down because a ball that used to be Paige's rolled into the street. He cried saying that it belonged to his best friend Paige and that a car almost ran over it. He talks about her a lot and gets to video chat with her on the internet. That turns into the adults chatting and catching up, too. I am thankful to have good friends. We are holding out hope that the Proctors don't have to move next year as planned!
Here is to next summer when we plan to go on a cruise together!!!
I have always wondered when we would have our first broken bone in our family and how I would handle it. I have never wondered, however, who the first broken bone would belong to...Emery! Emery is our family daredevil, climbing just about anything. Before she could walk she would crawl onto the stool at our kitchen counter, pull herself up to a stand then draw up her feet and hang from the counter. 
Last week we confirmed that she has a broken leg. Poor baby girl broke it on the trampoline. Everyone assumes that she fell off, Seth landed on her, or something dramatic happened. It was very odd how she broke it. She was standing on the trampoline while Seth jumped. He is not heavy at all and doesn't create too much of a bounce, but it was enough to make her lose her balance and land on her foot wrong. Poor little girl screamed so loud and continued crying for an hour or so. We took her to Urgent Care who took x-rays and said she had a sprain. After four days of not putting weight on her foot and not sleeping well we took her to her pediatrician who looked at the same x-rays and said she had a fracture on her tibia. We took her to a pediatric orthopedist and got a cast. Seth picked out a nice neon green one for his baby sister. He was such a help that day with appointments and running round. 
