And now, the text

I had a headache last night when I posted the pictures- looking back I think it was because of my stupid ponytail being too tight. Don't you hate that? LOL.

So a few things to discuss. First, Beth said "banana." All three syllables, correct pronunciation, just like you or I would say it! It was really impressive- Ryan and I were not expecting it and we both were shocked! Beth really likes to eat bananas (although not her favorite food anymore) and when I pulled one out of the pantry last night to eat it I said, "Beth, do you want a banana?" and she said "Banana!" It was so neat to hear her sweet little voice say something so perfectly! Some of her other words right now are "more" (mah!) and "night night" (nigh ni). She'll also say "hi da!" for "hi dog" (I guess "Finley" is too hard to say!) and mama, dada, bye bye.

And it's officially summer around here. I just got in from watering the plants and I have counted 20 fresh mosquito bites. I was out there for 10 minutes! And I'm wearing capri pants! They're all on my ankles and hands. I am going to have to start spraying myself with bug repellent even for the quick little trips, like taking Finley out. On a short trip like that I can manage 3-6 new bites. They really love this hunk of white meat! Another way to know it's really summer is that I took Beth and Finley for a walk today around 1:30 and it was definitely too hot. By 3/4 mile into the walk I was ready to sit down and pass out, but of course I had to turn around and walk back. So looks like we'll have to start walking in the early morning again- with lots of bug spray!

I have a tip for y'all- and you may already know about this but it was new to me as a new homeowner. Our electric company has "peak" and "off peak" hours, which means that during peak hours the price of electricity is easily quadrupled the price of off peak hours. Our hours change twice a year- there are summer hours and winter hours- so we just switched yesterday on May 1. This means I do all of my laundry and dishes and vacuuming before 1 pm now (or after 9pm, but who am I kidding). I'm not sure how many people can plan their chores around hours like that but I'd like to think I'm saving us some money by sticking to their schedule! It'll also be incentive to keep extra lights off during the day- although I'm pretty consistent about keeping our A/C at about 76. I can't handle it any higher than that! So if you can, check your electric company's plan and do your chores accordingly!