Hmmm...so back in April, I had the very best intentions. I really was going to make weekly stops at the library to update my blog. I mean it. Enough with the apologies...how about an update?

We have had an exciting summer and have added to our family. In addition to the smartest little 15 month old alive and Tank, our playful lab mix, we have two kittens - Phoebe and Bone Crusher. Their purpose is to control the chipmuck and squirrel population on our property. So far, they've spent a lot of time stalking morning doves, climbing the apple trees, and trying to get into the house. I haven't seen any dead chipmunks. I did, however, see a dead bat. In the diningroom. With a bullet in its brain. Very long story short...a bat lived in our house for about 16 hours before Joel hunted it and shot it. Now there is a bullet hole in the diningroom ceiling, and I spent one evening cleaning bat blood off of the hardwood floor. My hero.

We're still working on the house. Except for some paint, the upstairs is done. The kitchen is being worked on as I type this, and the new countertop should arrive from Lowe's at the end of September. There is still the downstairs bathroom to deal with. I stay out of there as much as possible. The other big job is painting the outside of the house. We have all of these great new windows, but we need to paint around the outside of them. Anyone have a 40-foot ladder that Joel can borrow?

And my darling son...I don't even know where to start. It's been so long since I've been able to update about him. Right now, his obsessions are tractors and lights. He adores riding the tractor around the yard with his "Daaa" and climbing on the tractor when his "Daaa" lets him. Owen can even put the key in the ignition all by himself. And lights. Oh, lights. He flips the diningroom light switch 'til the cows come home. I'm pretty impressed that he can say "light." He can't get the "T" sound at the end, but even strangers can tell that he's saying "light." Owen can imitate a whole ark full of animals: cow, horse, sheep, duck, goose, frog, bear, monkey, lion, bee, dog, cat, fish (yes, fish), bird, and turkey. He knows most of his body parts: hair, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, hands, fingers, shoulders, belly, knees, toes, and feet. We're working on elbow and bottom now. Most of the time he can say "yellow" and "purple" without too much coaching. Last weekend "Daaa" taught Owen to blow a whistle. That lasted about 10 minutes before the whistle "disappeared."

And pictures are coming. I'm uploading them now. It's just taking awhile. I think it will be quicker to put them in another post. :)