This has been the busiest summer I have had in a long time. Between moving and chasing a nearly 2 year old boy who is into EVERYTHING, there's barely been any time to relax! We try, though, to squeeze in a little swim or backyard time whenever we can. We are moved and settled in to our "new" house now, and making the most of it. Jay truly loves the backyard, and to be honest, it's really a better backyard for him to play in than the one we had before. I sat on the back deck one morning and drank coffee while I watched him play in his little pool. Not a bad way to start the day!

Jay LOVES to play in the water whether it is outside in the pool or sprinkler, at Splash, the "bah" (bath), or even in the toilet - -we try to keep that one to a minimum, but he's a fast little guy when he's motivated. So, as much as possible, we play in the water and have enjoyed as many summertime water activities as possible.

In the last couple of weeks, Jay has also started to expand his vocabulary. We're very glad for that. . . we think! I know I've said it before, but he hasn't been the quickest talker. Since I've last blogged, he's picked up and clarified quite a few words. For my own memory's sake, here are a few. . .

• "tractor" - - The boy loves tractors. We look at a calendar full of tractor pictures almost daily and point out each of them. Tractor - twelve times. We watch YouTube videos of tractors. We point out the tractors in fields and construction projects that we pass by. Not one escapes his view. He finds them before I can! I have a video of the tractor pronunciation, but until I can link a Blackberry video to the blog, it's on hold. Please let me know if you know how to do this!
• "no, no, no, no" - - As in, "Do you want to get this sunscreen on?" Answer: "no, no, no, no."
• "ice" - -Who drinks anything without ice in it? Definitely not Jay.
• "bah" - - It's what we do after supper, or while Mommy gets ready in the morning on occaision - take a "BAH!!!!!!!!!" It is always pronounced with great enthusiasm!
• And a couple others. . . "yes" (which is pronounced with some sort of "th" blend), "that", and "more."
• I really think the other night he said, "I did it!" after opening a door handle he's never opened on his own before. Maybe he's speaking in sentences already and we're just now starting to understand them a little.

He gets so frustrated sometimes when we don't understand what he wants. Keep the words coming, Jay, and Mommy and Daddy will do our best to figure them out!

I posted this one because I think he looks 5 years old in this picture. When did that happen? Two pictures later on my picture card, he still has a baby face. Constant change. . .

Mmmmm - popsicles!