Somedays The Waves Are Bigger Than Others

And while they are stunning and almost captivating it would be foolish to stand there and just let a powerful wave knock you down....
Ahem,

I don't know if she entered the terrible two's full throttle or if she was suffering from some kind of "I'm on vacation and I'll act how I want" syndrome, but to say that there were moments when I felt knocked down by my 2 year old over the last couple of weeks, I would be putting it lightly.

...but, I am determined to "deal" with this stage of her life, our life, in the best way possible.  I have a new resolve this morning, I will not stand by and watch my sweet girl be stared down by strangers whose looks communicate to me either  that "they sure are glad they are not me," or that  "that mother needs to get control of her child." I will not be knocked down by this "wave."

I am going to love and nurture her the best way I can...which though it may slightly less comfortable for both of us, it may include a bit more gumption than just "dealing".  I don't think that parenting can be dealt with anyway...I think it must be lived and lived with intention.

So anyhow, I went to the book store last night and bought "Parenting: It's Not For Cowards" and "The Strong Willed Child," both by Dr. James Dobson. While I am not naive enough to think that a couple of books are going to change our lives, my hope is I will come out on the other side of having a two year old with out ripping out all my hair (or her ripping it all out) and perhaps even a smile...ready to face life with a three year old!
Enough metaphors.
Let me tell you about traveling abroad when you are 6 months pregnant. 

Ha!  Despite lots of Braxton Hicks and a constant sore back from carrying the Little who always wanted to "hold da Mama," thankfully, I was still able to take a lot of naps, due to plenty of extra hands to help with Little Miss I'm 2 Now...
For our birthdays, Kev and I got to go an overnight trip to our favorite restaurant and stay in a village where one of our favorite British shows is filmed. 

After a meal from Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Cornwall, my tummy was full, in the best and worst sense of the word and my husband realizing we were baby free, thought this would be a great time to do some exploring.  He literally drug me up and down a cliff and out onto a precarious edge in hopes to grab some great pics.  I am posting these pictures in hopes that someone will understand how up and down these cliffs are.  I did it, with the Mags in tow, and at times felt really good about it and others I felt a little irresponsible as a pregnant mother.

So, we're home now...sort of.  We stopped in London again before our nightmarish flight home (which is a whole other post in itself which I've vowed to never blog about), but before any of that, our last night in Bude we went out one more time to try and catch that sun again...
We marvelled at the waves, hid our faces from the wind, and wished we could stay just a bit longer in this place


We hiked up to the spot where Kev asked me to marry him and just like then, it was breath taking.
 


He asked me right around this spot a little over 6 years ago.  It might have been the perfect proposal...for me at least.  There was a picnic blanket, there was a warm breeze and sun, there was a chocolate Kinder Egg for dessert that had the best prize ever...there was us...

Warm fuzzy heart, now our us is growing...look at those two.  I love them.  I love this life, big waves and all.

Here's to coming home from vacations, if we never did we wouldn't appreciate them so much!

Grace and Peace
xxx

PS  I take no responsibility for grammatical errors in this post...I've been trying to type it all day.  It is now nearly 1 am and my ability to write anything that makes sense is failing...so no judgement please.