How We Spent Our Summer Vacation

UT started school today, so summer break is officially over. (Though Jamie and I are actually heading to Kirksville tomorrow, and Thomas leaves for Bulgaria on Saturday . . . so we're sneaking in a little extra vacation time.) We really had a great summer. I've already written all about our trips to Missouri and Utah, Jamie's birthday, moving to a new place, and all the visitors we had. But most of our time was not spent in such exciting endeavors. Thomas was in school (he took classes in Latin and German), and he was very busy with homework, particularly for German. I divided most of my time between hanging out at home and taking Jamie to the park, the pool, or the mall play area on rainy days. I tried a variety of new recipes, some of which were keepers (like strawberry freezer jam, whole wheat blender pancakes, and beef tacos with homemade seasoning and taco shells -- yum!) and others which were not (like a new tuna casserole recipe -- I don't like tuna. Thomas barely tolerates it. What possessed me to try this recipe??). Jamie had a very busy summer, turning one, learning to walk, and learning to say a few words (mostly just momma and dada, though). Thomas's summer classes ended last Tuesday, so we got a week to spend as a family. We tried to make the most of it by:

Going to the park

how Jamie spent most of his summer

Going to the zoo, where Jamie got to meet a red panda :)

Going swimming

Going to the park some more (seriously I spent half of my summer at the park)

and going bowling (Jamie's first time : He LOVED it!)

story time

Let's face it, we are kind of obsessed with books. So we are thrilled that Jamie is starting to love them too!

We have been reading to Jamie since before he was born, and he has always loved books . . . they are, after all, great for pulling off shelves, chewing on, and throwing in the laundry basket. Just in the past couple weeks, he has started bringing us books and climbing into our laps to have a story. He doesn't always stay for the whole story, but that's okay. Nothing has EVER made me happier.

At any given time he has a few favorites that he keeps bringing us over and over. Right now, those include
Good Night, Gorilla
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
The Teddy Bears' Picnic
Ten Little Ladybugs
Roly Poly Pangolin

I hope he always loves books this much!