Nooks and crannies

 Lately Anna Ruth and I have started going on a daily walk.

We take in the sights and sounds of the country,

 look for the beauty sprouting up in the hardest of places,

 often stop for a chat with the neighbors,

 and let the peacefulness of our farm seep in and relax all the nooks and crannies of our bodies.

 Our little girl's hair is turning into big girl hair!

I even snuck a tiny braid in front one day.
You can imagine how long that lasted!

 Brett has been such a hands-on dad from day one. 

These days are no exception! He plays with Anna Ruth after supper so I can clean up the kitchen.

One night I walked in to see Anna wearing her special bag her Aunt Becca made for her, full of baby doll supplies.  Anna Ruth toted this bag around for the longest time, and even went crawling with it on!
Silly girl. This made us laugh and laugh.....

 We are a fruit loving family!
Anna Ruth's food of choice is currently a peach or nectarine,

although I like frozen grapes for a sweet treat.

I like peanut m and m's just as much too, 

but the grapes make a prettier picture. 

How are you enjoying your fruit this summer?

More on this later, but the "less is more" mentality is stirring in my thoughts when it comes to toys and the amount of choices little ones have. 

To start, I cleared out this shelf (believe it or not!) and put a few items back on Anna Ruth really enjoys.

And amazingly enough, just by turning the books with the covers facing out she has shown a huge difference in the amount of attention she pays to them now!
No longer is she simply clearing the shelf and throwing the books in the floor,

but is now "reading" them, and bringing them to me to read to her.

In this case, less truly is more!