I hate when I forget my camera!

We went bowling today and had a blast.  Sorry, no pictures to share.  I had so many great faces from Mason too.  He was so excited and got a couple strikes.  I even played really well too.

He is doing so good in swimming now.  He can swim about 15 feet or so with out any help.  The biggest problem is that he turns back around looking for the instructor instead of just swimming for the wall.  He can probably swim more like 25 feet if he wasn't turning circles the whole time.  Yesterday we got a very special treat and the swim instructor (Brian) took Mason down the big slide outside.  You normally have to pass the swimming test (25 meters, unassisted) in order to do that.  Of course, he loved that too.  And no pictures!

We have about 6 more weeks of swimming lessons and then I think we are going to switch back to tennis lessons - and cancel the gym membership.  I plan on signing back up at Lifetime Fitness prior to next summer, when Alex is bigger and able to be left at the child care center.

Last week, Suzy was watching Alex all week - THANK YOU.  On Wednesday I snuck out of work a little early to see a library concert.  It was Eric Herman and we all had fun.  The best part was this:

Doesn't that look like a picture of two kids - no longer a kid and a baby!  I love it!!!  It is so much easier when he is mobile.  He really likes music and seemed to like seeing all the kids dance.  It was a little overwhelming and he did a lot of staring, but eventually got used to it and started to dance just a little.

Super cute alert:

I think I actually like these concerts more than the kids.  Do you know how good it feels to shake and flap your arms and stomp your feet after getting yelled at by contractors all day long?

And now we have two new "new music" to listen to in the car.  Mason is VERY particular about the music he listens too.  Basically he hates anything new and wants to listen to the same thing over and over again because he has all the songs memorized.  There is definitely a perfection streak in him.  The music started out with a Humpty Dumpty CD that contains about 15 nursery rhymes.  He could probably sing the whole 30 minutes of the CD without it even playing in the background.  He listened to that CD for over one year straight.  About a year ago (maybe longer), we went to another one of these library concerts and got a CD full of fun "new music."  However, he refused to listen to it, because it was new.  Finally (months and months and months later) I convinced him to let me put it on.  It took a couple of weeks of going back and forth, but finally we transitioned to only listening to the new music.  But, even when it was old music, he still calls it his new music.  I forced him to listen to the two new CDs because if I have to listen to another round of Love Grows I think I am going to puke.  Actually, it is a very nice song and the cutest thing ever when Mason starts singing it when he is doing something.  He will be playing tennis and running around, and then all of a sudden start singing, Love grows, round in a circle, and comes back knocking on your front door...It is such a scene, because it is a slow love song and he will be running fast but still singing the song slow and sweet.

Well that was most of July.  I feel like I am forgetting some things, but oh well.  I can't wait for August  and September and October and November and I really wish we could just skip right to December! That will mean Steve is done with the academy.