Happy June!

Working on the gardens

Maddie helping to plant

Ryan assisting the kids

Madeline watering the finished product

Katherine, Delaney, Madeline, Jane and Emma at Zio's Pizzaria after gardening

It's a beautiful day out and I am happy to report that we are forcing Anna to drop a night feeding. The little booger just loved her mama too much. She's dealing with it moderately well. She's such a soft warm cuddlemuffin that it's been a hard decision to make, but I am cutting her off! Hopefully by the end of 8 months I can wean her off of all night feedings. We'll see. Ryan will be mighty happy once we accomplish that milestone.

My eight month old booger is 18 pounds, moving all over the place, pulling up (a little) but much prefers the hip of her mama or dada. She started saying dada on Ryan's birthday. (He asked her for that (as his birthday gift from her) the previous day, and she obliged)

Madeline has gone through some rigorous testing on her ears the last week. We've been to an audiologist and ENT. She's on a nasal steroid temporarily to see if her ear pressure reduces. It doesn't bother her, but it does impact her low level hearing. She may ultimately get tubes to reduce the pressure but we won't know until her birthday. She's still reading her Bob books very well and has started writing words too. We're gearing up for her birthday party which will be a tea party with a clown (she does great face painting and balloons). Ryan finished the retaining walls and seeded so we hope to have the grass fill in soon. Once that's done we'll be able to move the trampoline and buy the new play structure. The goal is to have the backyard ready for her birthday party. Ryan is also building a fire pit and arbors but those will not likely be ready until later this summer.

This weekend we're enjoying LaVista Days, strawberry and pea picking (in our backyard) and lounging around. This afternoon Maddie's school is installing a series of gardens for the students. Ryan is in charge of the effort. Money Magazine is coming to my work on Monday. We don't know why for certain but suspect we made the top ten places to live/work. We made the top 25 last year.