Batman, to the rescue!

We haven't done anything worthwhile, but for those who care, here is a short update.

We have bats. Yes, the flying mammals took up residence in parts of our house while we were on vacation. So far, they have stayed in two window (for lack of better words) awnings. They can't get into the attic, we hope. We had a bat man come inspect our house, and he swore we were bat free. That night we counted at least 50 coming out of one of our windows. In the last week, we've counted at least that many more coming out of a different window. They are federally protected creatures, due to their excellent pollinating, so our hands are tied until late August/early September, which is when they're babies should be big enough to care for themselves. Then you don't exterminate them, you just put up one way doors in hopes that they move on. Steve has worked hard to block up the windows that they aren't in, so hopefully they move on to somewhere else! Besides for eating insects, they have also cleared up our bird problem by taking over the windows where the birds were building their nests. : )

We spent our 4th of July weekend working around the house....and Sarah's house. My little sister is a homeowner, which is nuts. I went down one day to help her clean and then we all went on Saturday to help her move. We did some painting and some cleaning, but I think she has more projects for us in the future. Okay, maybe I have a list of suggested projects, so it is my fault for coming up with the ideas. I guess I'll help out with fixing them. We did take Maddie to a local parade and fireworks. She was really impressed with the first 10, but then they were old news. I forgot the camera, so we do not have any pictures. Oops!

Maddie is changing in super-fast mode. Within the first week back from vacation she started signing 'bed', 'eat', and 'eat more'. 'More, more' is her favorite and means she wants food. I then tell her to say 'eat more' and she will...as long as there are treats involved. She talks jibberish all of the time, and points at everything wanting to know what the word is. She also learned how to play pat-a-cake. She pats it and rolls it and marks it with a 'b' (which is the cutest part because she wiggles her finger around). Her feet are also growing at a freakish rate. I haven't gotten her new shoes yet, but I think she has gone up 2 sizes from the beginning of the summer. Luckily, I bought most of her summer shoes a size too big. We will definitely be getting new ones before she goes back to daycare at the beginning of August...that is a disgusting thought!

Three, little monkies, jumping on the bed! Lucy was showing off her big girl bed and the three of them went nuts. They were bouncing and laughing and having a big time.

'More, more' got her some iced animal cookies. She took her time licking the icing off each one before feeding what she didn't want to the dogs. That's my girl!

This is Maddie's favorite summer outfit. She picks it herself. : ) She 'helped' Aunt Sarah sweep the floors at her new house, and decided to help mom, too.