The Start of Summer

Lily's school didn't wrap things up until 6/20 this year and between that and my usual E3 madness, followed by a week at home then a week on set, it felt like summer took forever to get here.  And of course there is the Seattle factor, which means despite long days, we aren't guaranteed warmth until at least the 4th of July.  Oh Seattle and your public school system, how you do love to toy with us!!

Despite being gone 14 nights this month (yikes), I still captured lots of noteworthy moments with the kiddos.  Notably, Lily getting Beer humor I missed.  Yes, I am embarrassed about this.  Here's what happened: I bought Chris this shirt at Sub-Urban Riot in LA.  I thought he'd like it because it said "Beer" and I thought the bear was cute.  Anything beyond that went right past me.  When I got home from E3 I picked Lily from school and told her about the goodies I'd brought back.  I described the shirt and without even seeing it she said "that's funny because BEER starts with B and DEER has the rest of it so it's the two together."  Wow.  Yeah.  I'd totally missed that.  Embarrassing.  Proud of her, sad for me.

Creative Lily made this goatee
out of Gouda wax

Other than getting adult shirt humor, Lily's been kicking her kinetic self into high gear.  We can't walk down the street without her turning into a game of hopscotch (often so fast I am cringing, waiting for the crash that never comes) and she constantly does this little hand-jive-esque routine on any hard surface (tables, floor, chair arms, car ceiling etc) or her lap in the absence of anything convenient.  She exudes energy and is so vibrant and full of humor and mischief....but at the same time is growing into a pre-teen so much faster than I'd like.  This month she did a ballet intensive, 3 lessons a week for 3 weeks, and handled it like a pro.  She took the responsibility of moving to the next level and getting to wear the skirt *very* seriously and poured her heart into it.  Such a long way from the little girl who just a few months ago had to apologize for being too disruptive.

Matteo is now in the "guess what he said today!" phase and is consistently cracking us up and making us say awwwww.  This month he was in rare form...so much so I must now post all the funny things he said in the few weeks I was in town: 

Father's Day brewery visit

• Driving down the big hill in Magnolia: "WheeeeEEEEE!" Followed by "I love it!"
• Refusing both Chris' and my help brushing his teeth, instead requesting "Lily do it!" (and bless her she did...and did a great job!)
• "Tooooooppppp pooooooooot!" when he sees the building followed by "dooooonnnnnuuuuttttsssss"
• Sitting on the couch next to me: "Hey mama, you want cover?" and sweetly pulling a blanket over me
• "Water" - the answer he gave when asked what he wants to be when he grows up
• "Little Pony la-laaa-la-laaaaa!" - grabbing Lily's My Little Ponies and presenting them to me, complete with theme song
• "Thank you for the ride" - to Chris, when he wheeled him to the park in the red wagon
• Holding one finger up and declaring "I have an idea!" when posed with questions ranging from what he'd like for lunch to what game he wants to play
• "Ouch, ouch, ouch" - him narrating what his Chuck truck would likely say as he rolled it down the stairs

He's about more than verbal adorableness, though.  He's also a truly sweet, funny kid.  The kind of

Taking being 3 seriously

boy who gives his mama a full minute of Eskimo kisses the first night I was back from E3, the kid who wants to play catch with his daddy, but automatically covers his face after each toss, remembering when one ball got him in the nose, the kind of kid who insists on being covered head to toe in dirt everyday, but still wants to be extracted from said dirt so he can cuddle and coo into my shoulder, he's the boy who loves to lounge, laying down with hands behind his head, one knee up and the other casually crossed over it, the boy who demands his mommy...then his daddy...ultimately wanting to be surrounded by his family, the 3-year-old who reluctantly stood with his class at the end of year ceremony, front and center while all the little girls sang "Let It Go" at the top of their lungs while he stood, awkwardly and silently wondering how he'd gotten there and when he could leave, he's the kid who asks "Can I smell it?" about all food/drink/flowers and then stands over whatever it is, breathing out harshly like a cartoon bull.  He's that kid.


And I'll now wrap up the month with a crass moment I found funny.  Matteo crawled into bed with me one morning, crying and upset for no clear reason.  I sat up and pulled him onto my lap, at which point ihe audibly tooted like a small machine gun and burst out laughing.  Without missing a beat, Lily called from her bunk perch "well that cheered him up!".  It sure did.