Nature Boy

The Boy no longer has even a hint of baby about him anymore; he had his first big boy haircut on his 15-month birthday and left the last remnants on his baby self on the salon floor, never looking back. Today he is sick, feverish and glassy-eyed, already napping in my lap at 8:30, but for the last few weeks he has been spending a lot of time at my parents' house in VT, where the two black labs, four llamas, and a half-blind old mare have kept him in Nature Boy bliss... Goat bite notwithstanding, the Boy loves him some animals. I include the above video because you can hear him, at the very end, calling out to Sadie, the horse-- I would say 90% of his first words are animal-related.  He also says goat, llama, bird, squirrel and moo as well that the usual doggy, kitty and our pets' names...

We have been busily renovating, and at the last phase our floors were sanded and polished up beautifully, turning the dull old dark oak floor into a shiny clean expanse of blonde.  What with the still-to-come paint job,  the new white cabinets and the removal of the very-wrong wall, the house has been transformed from a dark hobbity hole to a bright, clean modern space, safe and tight and clean.  It has been nearly a year since we have had space that felt like our own, but in just a few more weeks, it will be done.  Our countertops will be installed, our kitchen will have electricty, and the refrigerator will finally be able to move out of the living room.  Then I will share  Befores & Afters...