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.

 

Thoughtful Lily and 3-year-old Matteo

Chris and Matteo share quality bonding time

Dang that went by fast!  Vacation seems like a distant memory that happened sometime before the whirlwind of May.  Not a lot to report this month as I was heads-down at work and sadly didn't journal antics as I normally do.  Silly job, always getting in the way.

A few standouts include Mother's Day....or actually the Saturday before when Lily presented me with an overflowing bowl of cereal:
Lily: I know this isn't what you asked for, but I made it anyway
Me: Why?
Lily: Because it's Mother's Day so I wanted to make you breakfast
Me: Thank you so much, but Mother's Day is tomorrow
Lily: I just don't know my days
I don't care if she knows her days or not, making me breakfast spontaneously is not something Lily would have done a year ago.  I love that she is becoming ever more thoughtful...it's the little gestures that make your day, you know?

Lily's note to her Tooth Fairy

Lily's thoughtfulness didn't stop with me.  She lost her first top tooth this month and while getting ready for bed that night, she pulled out her tooth pillow (aptly named "Toothy") and put a dollar in it along with a note and her tooth.  When I asked her why the money, she replied "because my Tooth Fairy is always to nice to me, I want to be nice to her."  Seriously.  The "Tooth Fairy" was so touched she remembered to leave money, but forgot to take the tooth.  Silly emotional Tooth Fairy.

Matteo also felt Lily's largesse this month.  Lily had a toy motorcycle that Matteo has always coveted and that she'd always denied him.  The morning of his birthday, without being asked, she went and got it and presented it to him, saying he could keep it.  Again, without prompting.  And silly me thinking it wasn't possible to love her more.

Matteo actually clean

While Lily was showing her thoughtfulness, Matteo was busy turning 3.  As his vocabulary continues to explode, so does his helpfulness.  His new favorite question is "Can I help YOU?" and his favorite declaration is "I HELP you!" (caps representative of the up-and-down cadence of his voice).  This kid actually *wants* to go to the grocery store, pet store, etc with me and really does try and help.  The only thing that rivals his sweetness is perhaps his dirtiness.  Man does this boy love dirt.  Now that warm weather and long daylight hours are here, he's basically turned into PigPen.  Every day at pick up, we brace ourselves what will surely be an impressive amount of filth.   The boy never disappoints.  He loathes baths, so one day I changed him out of all clothes (pull-up included), wiped him down from head-to-toe, then let him lay down in our bed.  When he got up a short while later, there was a small pile of sand left behind.  Where did it come from?!  I try not to dwell on that question too much - there is no good explanation.

Matteo's first pedi - 100% his idea

The month wrapped up with Matteo's birthday week.  I say week because it started with a visit from Grandma one weekend, followed by is actual bday, followed by his Tumble Bus bday party the next weekend.  I think he may have gotten a little too accustomed to special treatment as the week after his big day, when Chris went to pick him up from school, he announced he would like "TOY STORE!" for dinner.  Nice try, buddy, nice try.

Rock climbing at REI...in a dress with
Moosie hanging from the belt