We are loving these glorious, long days with absolutely nothing scheduled. We're regulars at the Little Howe wading pool. By afternoon, that water feels pretty balmy! And look, Joseph got caught sharing with a little girl we met at the park. He's getting better about playing together these days. I always bring the junkiest toys -- usually empty containers from the recycling bin -- yet those are the toys the kids want. Joseph won't eat anything green on his plate, but he checks daily for peas from our garden ready for snacking. This summer, we planted pumpkin, cilantro, mint, rosemary, peas and zucchini. The little garden strip is mulch, not rich compost, so the plants aren't the happiest. We're not living off the land types; it's just to have fun and teach Joseph about growing plants. Dance competition at our street's block party. Joseph is the littlest one but he tries to keep up. One thing I'd never done before is climb to the top of the water tower at Volunteer Park. Joseph and I did it together, and he loved counting all the steps: 107 up and 214 down. Cutest little backpack ever came from friends in Taiwan. It's picnic season! Peanut butter and loganberry jam sandwich. We found the jam at Pike Place Market, and Joseph was tickled that it shares a name with his buddy from preschool, Logan. Joseph loves letters, and loves to read. It still freaks me out that he can sound out big words, like "Bismarck," "novelties" and "innovation." We've read together every day since he was born, and now he's reading books to me. July slipped by so quickly! We are looking forward to more fun adventures and visitors in August.