Those Summer Nights

Now that sunlight floods their rooms late into the night, we've eased up on bedtime a bit. They've taken full advantage, begging to play outdoors after dinner.

A few nights ago, they even cajoled us into letting them play with sidewalk chalk ("Pay-per?"--Riis) in their pajamas. They knew it was unusual, and it made them giddy in the fading light, laughing together and making up silly games.

Riis, her baby tummy full and round with her nighttime milk; Cole a blur of increasingly long arms and legs, darting all around the yard overseeing pretend battles and identifying bugs.