Whoopsadaisy!

It has been brought to my attention that I kinda skipped over the end of our summer. (love ya G - you know I'm just teasing!!) We really had a good summer this year - just fast and furious as usual. We went to library time most weeks, with our little play group from church. Usually that involved story time at the library, and then us all going afterwards to somewhere to eat (um, McDonald*s cheap happy meals on Thursdays?) and the kids to play as well. Plus, it was a good chance for the kids to get books to read - they both seem to really enjoy reading, which is a joy for their dad and I.

Then, we met Grammy in Albaturkey just before Az4's bday. She and Az3 then left to go to D-town to see Gran and Codfish for the weekend. They had a blast! They played golf, putt-putt, and Az3 learned how to play the clarinet...or so I hear. I know everybody really enjoyed that!! Then Grammy and Az3 headed back to her house for a few days as well. He had fun there too - got to ride horses with his friend Lane, and got a Power Ranger too. (Those were his highlights - I know Grammy enjoyed having him. It brought back special memories for me too - I used to go visit my Grandma for a week or so by myself during the summer. I so enjoyed that - especially having her all to myself. Her house in Dumas was so special to me - not just because that was where my mom grew up, but because it was so different. No dishwasher, a long lonely backyard, all the cool "old" toys to play with, and even relatives to visit there. Some of my favorite memories were going to see Sissy and Sharon (Grandma's sister and her daughter) at their house there, where we would talk collectible dolls (Sharon had a million or so), and Sissy always had ice cream for me!!! Very precious memories to me, as Grandma moved down here to our town when I was in 5th grade, so I'm glad my son can enjoy that kind as well.

By the way, the baby is crawling!! She's been trying this for about a week, on her belly, think army men crawling. It's pretty hysterical - almost like a snake with legs. But just yesterday and today, she's really gotten it down, to the point of crawling around the living room, and even trying to negotiate the step up into the rest of the house. I ran an errand this morning, and when I came back, the older 2 were out in the backyard. Daddy and Az5 were in his room...or so he thought. He had stepped into the bathroom for a sec while he got ready for work, and when I hollered down the hall, we discovered Az5 had crawled from our room into brother's room - waaaaaaaaayyyy more interesting and with toys!! Plus, she waved bye-bye (floppy wrist/arm movement) to GrandMommy last Sunday, and now does it as prompted. The neatest thing for me though is that today she signed the word for "milk"!!! I was so pleased...we've been calling her bottles milk now for several months, but I've only introduced the sign for it in the last few weeks. I've taught my kids all signs at this age - babies really do have the ability to process language at this age, but their physical motor skills with their mouth, tongue, etc, just aren't ready yet. That's why sign language works so well with babies - they do have more control over their hands and arms, and it really helps them communicate, cutting down on their frustration. So cool!!!

Have a great Sunday! We're supposed to be getting some rain here - and got some nice rain today. Really cooled things off here too. OH, and for a garden update....we've had 7-8 yellow squash that we've enjoyed so far. (Az5 loves it as baby food!) We also have 3 baby ears of corn that have started, along with 4-5 baby seedless watermelon that range in size from quarters to dimes...plus my first blooms on the bell pepper vines, along with our first tomato blooms. (They are doing really well - about 3 feet tall - I'm hopeful that we will have little green 'maters soon!) We have had our first zucchini too, and I'm probably going to dig up our first carrot this week to see if they're ready yet. Got several little baby pumpkins too, and our first cucumber will be ready this week. The baaaaaaaddd thing is, we have serious insect infestations - multiple varieties, from mites to aphids - plus maybe grasshoppers. (You name it, I probably got it!) So I went to a nursery today, and got some serious insecticide to start waging battle on Monday. Hopefully by about 3 weeks from now, everything will be back to normal.....