Bolts

So much to report:

• We have been doing tons of stuff since Don is out of school. It is much easier to get out with two adults. And we only have one kid! I can't imagine wrangling a bunch, but obviously it can be done. We have been to the zoo, the beach twice, and the pool. Last night we went to a Charger's practice. It was fun (and free!) and we got to see our favorite players up close. The trip was almost foiled by the distance of our parking space to the event, but we persevered. Logan made a couple friends and enjoyed the cheering, which is a nice change from last year



• The boy is starting to really understand simple commands. "Take off your hat," "Get the ball," "Come here," etc. can be followed when he chooses. It is pretty cool that he comprehends this information. Two weeks ago he wouldn't have known what we were talking about.



• "Yeah" This word just started today and it is universal in its usage. Mostly he uses it correctly though. Too cute.



• The pucker. He is going to melt hearts. He has the funniest kissy pucker I have ever seen.



• Teeth. Yes, they are still coming (swear this one has been going on for over a month) and are wreaking havoc with the sleeping. Naps are in flux. Just in time for our big trip!



• I am in denial that we are traveling to the east coast. In just a few days. Gulp!

Evidence of our Bolts love...

Prey

Sunshine is a hunter! When I was pregnant, she got outside right before bedtime and caught a mouse. She dropped it in what was to become Logan's nursery, but at the time was a wasteland of boxes and yet-to-be put together furniture. It took us about an hour to catch the darn thing and we were able to get it outside alive. Sunshine was then banned from going out after dark.

Well, Don and I were enjoying the cool night air last week and she was outside with us. We haven't been quite as rigid with our "no outside after dark" rule since we moved into the new place, and she has been taking advantage. I saw her focus on something in the front and then dart after it. I noted to Don that I thought she might be stalking something, but, silly me, I didn't think she would actually catch it. Wrong. Sunshine ran back toward us and Don yelled, "She caught something! It's in her mouth! Don't let her in!" I was waaaaay too slow, and only served to make her run faster toward our bedroom. We found her under our bed with a small animal under her paw that looked like a bird.

We shooed her out of the room (in retrospect, this might have been a mistake, as she could have helped us catch the thing), and used our broom to get said "bird" out from under the bed. Then Don looked at me and said, "I think it is a lizard." Oh, my heart sunk. Mammals I can handle. Birds? No problem. Reptiles not so much. They really creep me out. I knew Don was going to be even more freaked (he detests snakes, so I figured this was just the same) so it fell to me to catch it. It went behind my magazine carrier so I moved it out and screamed, "It's a SNAKE!!!" Not my finest hour. It really did look like a snake, and a nasty one at that. Don flew around the bed, grabbed the trash can, and trapped the animal. It really was an alligator lizard after all, but it was pretty big. Maybe 7-8 inches long and fat. Ugh. Don totally stepped up and I so didn't. Unfortunately, the reptile didn't survive the encounter, and Sunshine was mighty pissed that we took her toy away. Logan slept through the whole thing.

Here is Don trapping it



Here it is on our back patio. *shudder*

Jibber jabber

Hanging out over the weekend...

Done

I can't believe it. Purchased, read, and over. *sigh* I love Harry Potter. Now off to read the whole series in order...

The day after

The party has come and gone. It went well for the most part and the turnout was good. I wish we would have had more food, which usually isn't a problem for us, but this time we didn't estimate correctly. Oh well. Logan enjoyed playing with the older kids and was totally over stimulated. He slept past 8 the next morning! Unheard of. My sangria turned out pretty good and Don grilled like a champ. We got a bunch of new plants as housewarming presents, hooray! They are all so pretty.

Sunday was a waste. Poor Logan was completely bored as Don and I crashed. He was very happy at daycare yesterday, I am sure he was thrilled to be doing stuff again. I took him to the local community pool for the first time in the afternoon and we had fun. He decided that he didn't want me to hold him after a while, but, alas, he is not ready for that yet. I have to sign him up for swimmy lessons, but all the slots conflicted with our August vacation so I couldn't do it this summer. Hopefully in the fall it will work out.

I turned 32 yesterday and it was pretty low key. We really didn't do much of anything besides the pool and I liked it that way. H is going to babysit next week so we can go out to dinner. That will combine my birthday with Don's "school's out for summer" celebration. Two for one! We have a few plans for the weekend, but are mostly looking forward to doing a whole lot of nothing special. So exciting, eh?

Here are belated pics...

Logan in front of his closet mural



At the car show



And eating blueberries

Busy busy

We are in full prep mode for tomorrow's party. So far we have:

• New shelf in the living room
• Pictures matted, framed, and hung all over the house
• Two new shelves in the bedroom
• New curtains in the bedroom
• New hardware in the bathrooms
• New doorknobs on all inside doors
• Unpacked more breakables (that we can't put out due to one wee family member)
• Drawings in Logan's room

And outside...

• New hummingbird feeder and post
• Tablecloth on outdoor table
• Trimmed Dogwood
• Mowed, raked, and whacked lawn

Whew! Don's tired... (hee hee! I participated too...)

Logan's motto is "a new day, a new bruise." He bumped his head, has bruises on his leg, and seems to get more by the minute. Little bodies are amazing in their accident tolerance levels. He has also started hitting. Did I mention the hitting? He only does it to me. Not Ms. T, not Don, just me. Booo! I am seriously not liking this turn of events. I am using a consistent method to curb this behavior, but dang, who wants to get wailed on every day?

Not to jinx it or anything, but he also fell asleep the last two nights right away with no crying at all. Heaven!

Hmmm. I can't make a title for some reason. That will get fixed later.

I know I haven't posted in a while, but we have had paci withdrawl, crazy work, new computers, a summer cold, and a variety of weird occurances. Lame, I know.

We did get a grill and Don is very happy now. The fourth was spent at H & M's new house and we could see fireworks from their backyard. It was lovely. We are doing all sorts of sprucing up to the house since we are having a big party on Saturday. Neighbors, coworkers, and friends are all coming to celebrate. Hooray!

Logan is doing great. He is dancing like crazy, no longer using the paci, loves the outdoors, and is working on a fake laugh that has us giggling every time he does it. He has added a few words to the list including:

• what's that
• door
• ball
• bird
• Tere (Ms. T)
• Te (M, Ms. T's daughter)

Please note that there is still no word for me. No mom, mum, ma--nothing. I get eh eh eh. So special.

Pictures soon, I know it has been a while.

A huge congrats *late post*

My cousin E and his new wife L were married two weekends ago, and my other cousin S and his new wife D were married last weekend. I wish them all the best and I hope they grow together and continually learn from one another. Both couples are extremely happy and I am only sorry that we didn't get to attend either event.

I can honestly say that my marriage to Don has made me a much better person. Weddings always make me all mushy for my beloved and these are no exception. He is a great dad, caring partner, gifted teacher, and wonderful friend. I feel lucky to be the one he chose. *swoon* Ok, yeah, this was supposed to be about my cousins and their new wives...