Update-o-rama-lama-ding-dong!

Oh my goodness, baby... things are soooo busy!  I'm taking a time-out on the 100 things list to just do a bit of updating on some day-to-day things in our lives.


The cookie business is doing well!  So far I have been "in business" for about 2 months and we already have a great start on your college fund!  I've probably scooped nearly 400 cookies at this point and some days it seems like there is no end to the cookie madness!  Just last night I scooped some to take to a buddy's birthday party we're going to tomorrow.  They aren't for sale, but mama is ALWAYS trying to network!  Today I'm scooping 4 dozen cookies to send with some extended family to their 4th of July event for the same reason.  Over 40 people are going to be exposed to our cookies who wouldn't have been otherwise so it's worth it to do some voluntary baking now and then!  At the end of the week your dad has an event where he's going to showcase his art skills and, because he's awesome, supportive, and wants you to have a good college fund, he's taking a bunch of cookies to sell alongside!  Right now the only downside to the cookies is that I have to bake them after you go to bed or you spend all your time baby-birding (hanging around me with your mouth wide open!) for some cookies.  You're a little sugar fiend!


A couple of weekends ago your grandpa came to visit over Father's Day.  We celebrated Father's Day, his birthday, and your dad's birthday all in one weekend!  We sort of have a funny way of celebrating around here.  Grandpa spent most of his birthday trying to fix our garage fridge for me so I can have more space for cookies and cookie ingredients.  It isn't quite fixed yet, but it works well enough to give me a few more options!  He'll be fixing it fully next time he's back in town.  He also spent most of Father's Day putting in a new faucet (that he bought, nonetheless) in our kitchen!  Your grandpa is pretty handy to have around, don't you think?  He taught me much of what I know about basic home repair; a skill set I also hope to pass down to you as the years go by.  I'm sure he'll spend a lot of time teaching us both a few new things!


At the end of June we took another trip to Wichita to visit some friends and go to another kiddo birthday party!  Our buddy turned 3 years old and he had a pool party and BBQ to celebrate!  We got him a neat Captain America swim vest and swim trunks, a poster and some stickers... all Captain America, of course!  You got to swim at his grandma's pool with him and a couple of his cousins.  You enjoyed riding in the inflatable boat in the pool, but mostly you REALLY wanted to do the sidewalk chalk with everyone!  You usually have a window of time that you're actually entertained by something that lasts no more than about 10 minutes but the sidewalk chalk kept you entertained for over an hour!  You were so entertained, in fact, that we didn't actually realize you pooped in your swim diaper.  Oh my gosh... that was... bad.  Swim diapers don't hold as much as regular diapers.  I almost recommended taking the hose to your bum, seriously!  The trip was a success and you had a lot of fun!  You also saw your grandma, your great-aunt, and your aunt!  You spent some time sitting on grandma's lap, chasing the dogs around, climbing up and down on an old rocking chair made for little ones like you, and "talking" on the cell phone.  Everyone thought you were as cute as can be!


The Wichita trip held one important "first" that I both love and, possibly, regret.  You didn't nap on the way down and were getting VERY grumpy, so when we got to the pool party I asked if I could try to lay you down and nap you.  You've never napped in a big bed before and, predictably, you had no idea what I was trying to get you to do.  You barely had any of your sleeping comforts (only your binky and your Yo Gabba Gabba blanket) and you were more amused by the fact I was laying next to you than interested in napping, but after about 30 minutes of struggle, you finally dropped off to sleep and stayed there for an hour or so.  You kept snuggling up next to me and it melted my heart into a little heart-puddle!  So why would I ever regret such a thing?  I want to nap with you all the time now!  I don't because I know that you get better sleep when you're in your crib, but I can't wait until you're old enough to snuggle up to us on special sleep-over nights in the big bed!


It's so hard to document all of the little awesome things you do each and every day because they come in waves now.  You're getting so big, learning so many new things, it boggles my mind!  Overall, right now you are a pretty flexible baby who just rolls with the punches.  Of course there's whining... you're a mini-toddler now and all of your teeth conspired to come in at once lately!  There are mini-tantrums because you're learning your way around your new boundaries and don't like being reigned in.  But, there are also unsolicited hugs (which are my new favorite thing EVER!  I love it when you throw your arms around my neck and hug really hard.  Your hugs are strong, last a long time, and rock my world!), new words, new understandings, new fun, new games, new adventures, and a lot of laughter in the house because of you!  And dancing... did I mention dancing?  Mama dances a lot more these days!


It isn't pretty.


But you know who is pretty?  YOU!  I can hardly believe sometimes that someone so beautiful and perfect came from me!  It doesn't mean that I think poorly of myself, it just means you're that amazing!