How to enjoy maternity leave

The maternity leave I am talking about is not my leave of absence from work, but my mother's!  The two weeks she spent with us were some of the most blissful of my life.  I don't think I have EVER had that much uninterrupted time with my mom.  In fact,  if/when we have more children, it will probably be almost exclusively because I want more time with my mom (okay, so that might be a slight exaggeration, but only just slight!).
I am NOT the kind of mom that gets a kick out of holing up indoors with their newborn for a month.  This is summer in Seattle, and not to be missed.  In preparing for my mother's visit, I kept telling her all the things I wanted to do with her once she got there, and she had to keep reminding me that she was coming because I was having a baby and that it would be okay if we just stayed at the house and she helped me out.  You would think that she would know me better than that!  I can't stay in the house if my mom is visiting and it is SUMMER in Seattle.  Nope, new baby notwithstanding, I had a whole list of things we were going to do together, and I have to say, I got almost all of them checked off the list!So we started going to the beach when Benjamin was just three days old!

The surest way for me to avoid post-partum depression is to have time outdoors every day.  Feeling the sunshine, walking on a beach, and watching my daughter run are the medicines I need for my mental health.

Benjamin...he just goes along for the ride most days.  He is so forgiving, and chill, and relaxed, and resilient.  He lets me go wherever I want and do whatever I want, and he seem to love me anyway.

WE ate lots of ice cream cones and popsicles

For some reason, I couldn't give up the cooking role entirely, even with my mom here.  I always have to have my hand in every pot, which Richard doesn't like for sanitation reasons.

We had to get the ubiquitous plastic swimming pool to help cool off the scorching 75 degree heat!

I love this picture of Anna showing Benjamin a little love.  He's got a lot of bald head for us to kiss.

We went for lots of walks together...
and my mom didn't so much walk as gracefully hobble.  She can't seem to keep her limbs intact.  Injuries are the only way my mom ever slows down.  When I was little, there was no one who could run faster than my mom could walk!

We examined lots of creatures.

We picked berries which was is my favorite NW activity!  These are blueberries.

We gathered wildflowers!

I may always compete with Anna for the love of my husband...he just adores her so much!

more visits to the lighthouse!

Eating Salmon burgers.

a great visit with my brother. Right now Benjamin looks more like Nate than he does me or Richard!

more berry picking-- this time big ripe raspberries.

I just didn't want to miss a single great summer moment, new baby notwithstanding.  I kept myself, Anna, and my mom busy every day with wonderful explorations and experiences.

Anna was actually a big help...eating all the raspberries before they went into the box.

I love my mom so much.  I tell my mom often that I have the soul of an only child but I trapped in the body of a middle child.  I wish I could have her all to myself, every day, forever.

We even went to a Mariners baseball game while my mom was here!

Anna actually likes the baseball games we go to.  She can follow pretty well and likes to see the men hit the ball with the stick.  And she never EVER got bored....for at least the first 20 minutes.

blueberry picking again.

We went to the science museum and got to pose as King Tut

my mom even took the opportunity to teach Anna about helping out around the house.

and of course, as many trips to the beach that we could handle. Benjamin is such a trooper.  He just goes wherever and sweetly puts up with all of our plans.

Anna and I took our own little trip to see the blue angels.  We got to stand in the middle of the I-90 floating bridge and watch them fly formations right above us.

We even saw a rock concert or two.  We had front row seats to the see the "Not Its" at Kelsey Creek Farm.

And puppet shows

And Shakespeare in the park!  We saw Twelvth Night.  Someday when we are filthy rich, we will give oodles of money to awesome free programs like this.

And Benjamin was just 6 weeks old when he took his first trip to the top of the Space Needle.