Mow Mow

Luke has an obsession: his mow mow. Beth called the lawn mower the "mow mow" when she was younger, and I guess it stuck in our heads because that's what we've called it since. He loves this toy! I truly think it's one of his favorites. Could it be because it's one of the loudest toys we have? Could it be because it's like mommy's vacuum cleaner or daddy's big mower? Or because it's incredibly fun to chase Finley around with it?

His vocabulary is growing, and it's constantly surprising to me when he'll say something that I understand, but didn't really formally teach him. He doesn't end the words quite yet, but he's moving into two-syllable words and slowly starting to put two words together. Every day he's talking about something new!

He is all boy though, and though that might be a stereotype, it's hard to describe in any other way! He won't let Beth put her arm around him for a picture, he loves bugs, he's got quite the rough arm (though we're working daily on "sweet hands!"), and he's very into his play toolbox. I just bought him a little baseball cap because he adored one at a friend's house, but of course he won't wear the one I bought for him! But, Ryan doesn't wear hats ever, so it's sort of a new concept for him!

Beth's first dance production is this Friday! Tonight she and I went to a rehearsal and I have to admit, I teared when she ran onto the stage. Though she was in her plain black leotard and pink tights, she just seemed like such a big girl up on that stage! She rehearsed as well as any 3.5-year-old will rehearse, including one tiny little fall. She is so excited about the production on Friday, she won't stop talking about going to "the stage" and watching the "big girls" dance. After this, we'll be done with ballet for the summer, but I think Daddy has plans to take her for some soccer lessons!



Her speech is also becoming clearer, and I think it's obvious to most everyone. I think she's always been easy to understand, but for some reason lately it's like she's hit another milestone in terms of speech development.

We had a photographer come to our home on Sunday afternoon to take some pictures of Beth to use in her portfolio (she'll also come back to take pics of Frisbee too when he's about 10 days old!), and Beth was a HAM. She loved it. I can't wait to see the pictures, I know we're going to wind up buying a million of them because I'm pretty sure they ALL came out adorable.

She and I are continuing to try to have "school" during the days, I haven't been diligent about posting what we're up to but this week we're on letter G. I had big plans to take her to the fire station last week for letter F, but I never made it out. We were going to make cookies and bring them to our local firemen! I still hope to do this soon, but maybe it'll have to be after Frisbee comes.


Ryan's weekend project last weekend included setting up our pack n play so I could get things a little more organized, and he also decided to prime and paint the kid's bathroom. We agreed on a yellow that I initially picked out, and it is bright. Insanely bright. We're trying to figure out how to tone it down, including adding a faux finish or a stripe of a complimentary, less-bright color. He's been working very hard on it though, not letting me near any of the paint for fear that Frisbee might grow a third arm!

I'm about 98% ready for Frisbee. Well, in terms of being prepared at least. We have all the supplies we should need for him and me, I've stocked our pantry after a humongous run to Sam's, and I have his clothes pulled out and my postpartum wardrobe pulled out. Only thing left is that I have to install his car seat into Ryan's car, and I'm waiting until after Friday to do that. On Friday, Finley has a trip to the vet for his first- ever teeth cleaning, Ryan and I are praying that it will do something to help his awful stinky fish breath. Ick.

Ryan and I have also picked three possible name combinations for Frisbee, and are going to keep them secret for now. :-) We're going to wait to meet him and see what fits him, hopefully it will be a miraculous event and we'll both just instantly agree on the perfect name. Hey, I can hope, can't I?