What have we been doing, you ask?

Well, I am sure you haven't really been asking yourself such a thing at all because you have dar more interesting things to think about. *grin*

Nonetheless, this is what life looks like around here.

We play in the grass...with flowers and puppies (and the occasional skeeter):

Yes, that is a skeeter on his head. :( 

We play in the pool:

(Those are totally my feet, yes...lovely. Be thankful I didn't show you my thighs...)

We experiment with new hairstyles:

And we have been busy growing crazy amounts of teeth:

I hope you are having as beautiful a summer as we are. :)

Proof...

that even the silver lining has a shadow:

And, you know what? That's ok.

The glass is only half empty because I very much enjoyed half of my beverage and am happily contemplating drinking the other half. Santa Claus isn't real...I got gifts because my parents love me. Watermelon seeds will NOT grow in my tummy, but a baby did.

So, go ahead, silver lining. Be all shadowy and stuff, because even if I was incapable of making lemonade out of lemons, I could still go to the grocery store and buy it in concentrate form.

Just sayin'. ;)

Feely Bugs and Odin the Owl

Jude LOVES books. Big books, little books, board books, fragile books, colorful books, black and white books, cloth books and paper books.

But, he has a very favorite book. He enjoys thumbing through it himself...loves to touch and feel and taste. And, let me tell you...this book has it all! (Except, of course, it really isn't meant to be tasted...*grin*)

Feely Bugs, by David. A. Carter, is part of a rather large series of "bug" books. Some of the other titles include Bugs In Space, How Many Bugs In a Box?, Bedtime Bugs and Snow Bugs. They are whimsical, colorful, cheerful little books that are sure to engage your child no matter their age. Heck, I never get tired of reading Feely Bugs...and we read it a lot!

Puffy Bugs!

Lacey Bugs!

Fluffy Bugs!

We have stacks of books, and this is the one he chooses. Every. Time.

Don't get me wrong...he loves to listen to other stories. Especially if he can clutch Feely Bugs while he listens. This book has been through it all. Diaper changes, car rides and trips to the store. It has been sat on, dragged, chewed and drooled on. The binding is held together with tape and there are tooth marks on the cover and several of the pages, but those things are simply indications of a well-loved book. ;)

Reading tip: Let your child explore the book in his or her own way as often as possible. Books are meant to be loved, devoured and dog-eared. 

Now, I am sure you noticed the cute little owl button near the top, right? Why is he there?

Sarah, from Becoming Sarah is hosting an awesome book giveaway in honor of her daughter's first birthday, and for the sake of pediatric literacy. 8 books, people. 8 very adorable books. To enter, you simply have to disclose your favorite children's book character(s). Easy peasy, no? So, get on over there and comment. You can enter once a day for the duration of the contest, which will end when there are 300 comments, or 10 days have elapsed.

Good luck, and happy reading.

Because they made me smile:

Could they be any cuter?

Black Tutu For Tanner

I am coming out of my (very long) blogging hiatus because this?

http://thebhj.com/journal/2010/7/5/the-black-hockey-jesus-blogher-5ks-for-tanner.html

This speaks to me.

BHJ, one of the most brilliant (sarcastic, beautiful-jaded) bloggers I have yet to encounter, will be putting on his running shoes, donning a black hockey tutu and running as many successive 5k marathons as his body will allow to help raise awareness for Muscular Dystrophy in honor of this little boy:

That little guy up there? His name is Tanner, and he is 8 years old. He has Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy, a disease that causes his muscles to deteriorate. It's fatal. 

Tanner's aunt, Catherine of Her Bad Mother, and many of the bloggers attending BlogHer will be running in tutus for Tanner. BHJ is taking a slightly more manly approach, in the hopes that Tanner will appreciate a little bit of testosterone thrown into the mix. 

I would like to think that if my son was in the position Tanner is in right now, there would be people willing to help him, and others like him, out. So, I made a donation, and will be adding BHJ's widget here and to my sidebar in case you would like to do the same. 

Thanks. :)