I can't help but feel revived and refreshed today!  First off, it is a gorgeous day - just the right temperature with a cool breeze and not a cloud in the sky.  The girls and I went on a long walk this morning, collecting leaves from different kinds of trees along the way.  And this weekend was great too.  Avery went to my parents house on Friday and then we went yesterday to spend the day at the lake and pick her back up.  It was a welcomed break from our three-year-old.  Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly and I missed her a lot, but we had fun getting to have some special time with Mia (and getting a break from daily three-year-old kind of things).  Plus Avery had an amazing time at my parent's house.  Yesterday we spent the day swimming, boating, fishing and enjoying the outdoors.  It has all been so relaxing and wonderful.  It's little breaks like this that revive me and make me feel like a better parent.  I am anxious to start the day and see what we can learn and do.

I am also excited because Chris and I are planning out first solo trip since we've had kiddos.  We are heading to Clifty Falls state park for a long weekend to celebrate our 5th anniversary.  We will be gone for two whole nights!  It has been fun to research the little town of Madison to see what kind of things we can do.  We hope to spend one day just hiking and doing the camping thing.  And then have one day where we can enjoy the town with it's cafés, wineries and river walks.  I can't wait for out little adventure

We also got some good news today.  Mia's new speech therapist is so impressed with how well she is talking that we are going to decrease her sessions to every other week for a month and then maybe go down to once a month!  She thinks that by her 2nd birthday she may not need ST at all!  Her speech is really taking off, saying almost 100 works and two and three word phrases.  She comprehends what we say really well too, and will answer with yes and no when asked different questions.  She is amazing!  And Avery loves to teach her new words, which Mia just loves.  Avery loves to show her things and teach her what it is.  Avery has really started to blossom as an older sister.  She really seems to be interested in loving and caring for Mia more and more recently.

So as you can read, my cup overfloweth.... we are truly blessed!