Summertime fun

I absolutely love summer even those gloriously hot days that make some people retreat indoors to air conditioned places. I think it all started when I was younger and my grandparents had a place on the Belleisle complete with private beach and sailboat. It was excellent. Fast forward about 10 years and we hardly ever go there anymore, but I still love all things summer because of all the time I spent there.

So far, we have had a great summer this year. We went to PEI for a much deserved first family vacation. We came home and have been busy since then, but really haven't gone very far from home. Alex and I have gone swimming a couple of times, played in the park and enjoyed some (lots in my case) ice cream. We've attended something almost every weekend - family get-togethers, my sister-in-law's 30th birthday, my cousin's wedding where Alex was the honorary ring bearer! I couldn't have asked for a better summer, which will make it even harder to go back to work in September!

Some things that I would still like to do:

• Road trip to Truro to see my aunt and uncle!
• Go to Parlee Beach. We usually take an annual trip with my brother's three kids for the day.
• Take a trip to King's Landing. Something that I've wanted to do for awhile now.
• Check out the Moncton Zoo again. I like it when I'm there, but afterward I always feel bad for the animals. I guess that's why it's at the bottom of the list.

My husband works every day of the week except Sunday, so it makes it hard to do a lot of things. He'll have to take a couple of days off, especially if it looks the weather will be nice!
So wish me luck, because I hope that we can cross all of those things off of my list.

PS: Alex has tooth number three and four in and he attacks far less than before!

Attack of the Baby

My sweet baby boy turned into a little monster overnight. A biting, scratching, hair pulling monster.

I can't believe that he's the same baby as last month. We used to take naps together frequently because it was a quiet time to cuddle. No more naps because now I wake up with little fingers clawing at my eyes or digging up my nose.

I am sporting a very nice scratch by my eye thanks to Alex. It's bad enough that he does it to me, but when I see my almost 80-year old grandmother thwarting off an attack, that's when I am at my wits end. When he does it, I say something to the effect of, "Mommy doesn't like that. Please stop." I put him down, but as soon as he is picked back up, he does it again. It's even worse now that he is crawling because he crawls over, pulls himself up and gnaws on my knee. Ah!

I think that he has many items to stimulate and soothe himself, but he just does it to get a reaction. My aunt said that it's payback because I used to do the same thing to my Mom. She used to say, "Erin, you are nothing but an animal." At least I've stopped!

I really just hope he gets better before he gets any worse. Any suggestions would be much appreciated..