Did you see that?

Twenty seven days.

Twenty seven days until my baby boy starts preschool. It's hard to believe that a child of ours is old enough for school. Where have the last 3 years gone? All too soon our last few summer days will be spent back to school shopping. :( I just can't believe my baby is going to school.

Summer seems to have flown right by, as usual. Aaron's 3rd birthday party was nice and small with just family this year. Uncle Erik and Aunt Cindy came up from Chicago with Jack and Chloe, and Aunt Kathy (minus Uncle Timmy :( ) and her doggy Teagan came up from Ft. Fun. We had a nice birthday party and then the power went out due to a weird wind storm. And it stayed out for 8 hours. So Erik and Cindy decided to high tail it back to Chicago instead of spending the night with us in a non-air conditioned house. Can't blame them! The cake I made for Aaron was a melted mess due to the heat and humidity but no one minded since it seemed to disappear quickly.

We spent the rest of the weekend in Saugatuck, at Millenium Park, and at a local 4th of July parade. Fun had by all.

Keith celebrated his 32nd birthday on the 6th. He tried convincing me he was only 30 but although I am older than him I'm not quite needing my gingko biloba.

The middle of July is a slight blur. All I know is that it was so hot we hardly did anything but run from the house to the air conditioned car, to an air conditioned store, back to the air conditioned car and then back to the air conditioned house. Despite it being so hot we've hardly been in the pool much this year. It's a lot of maintenance (and a lot of costs!) and just a general pain. Of course you don't find me complaining when I'm in it staying cool.

Keith got yet another promotion at work and is now the account manager for Kmart and Meijer stores, in addition to being the customer service manager. I fear we won't see much of him from late February until July, but he's excited about his new opportunities.

In Aaron news, he's *THIS* close to being completely 100% day and night potty trained. In a few weeks we will make a big production out of going to the store to get his beloved Thomas underwear (his big prize for PTing successfully) and then out for ice cream. I have to say that it is sooooooooo nice not changing diapers! I am so extremely proud of him and quite honestly it was way easier than "they" make it out to be. I attribute it to Aaron's easy going personality, and starting before he was 2.

His personality, while still sweet and mostly laid back, is uh...changing. He's become quite a little challenge and every word out of his mouth is defiant and sassy. I can see a glimpse into my future and how my teenage son will act. When we correct him and try to get him to change his words/actions, he'll say things like, "YOU DO NOT SAY THAT TO ME!" or "I DO NOT WANT YOU TO LOOK AT ME!" I know it's typical and quite normal three year old behavior, but I don't like it. My boy is too sweet to use such naughty words! And I am sure that being around other kids his age isn't going to help much. It'll be quite fun teaching him right from wrong when hearing things like, "But_____ at school does/says that!"

He is growing leaps and bounds and I can't keep up with him! He wears 4T in pants and 4 or 5 in shirts. He is so long and lean that pants just fall right off of him, even with adjustable waist tabs. And though he doesn't look a bit like me I guess it's a good thing he gets his tall genes from me.

He has an insatiable appetite. Those who have eaten at our home or out at a restaurant with us are often baffled by the amount of food our child packs away. I just don't know where he puts it. It's not uncommon for him to eat his own breakfast and then ask for 1/2 of mine, bites of Keith's, and/or his grandpa's leftovers.

Aaron is quite a charmer. Last week his grandma and her husband were visiting and I heard, "Grandma, you're the best. I love you soooo much!" many times. Of course grandma ate it up, as she well should. It's not uncommon for him to say, "Mommy, you're the most precious mommy I've everrrrrrrr seen". (*sniff, sniff*) And I do have to say that he has very good manners. We work very hard on this and it is paying off nicely. I've been told quite a few times what a nice, well mannered boy we have. His mommy and daddy are proud! :D

Our boy LOVES his vacuums. If you mention that you might be heading to Meijer, Target, Lowes, Home Depot or the like he will ask you if you can take him to the vacuum aisle. Nothing, and I mean *nothing*, makes our boy happier than to gaze at a row of vacuum cleaners. I wonder what he finds so fascinating about them. They're loud, they pick up dirt, and they (generally) stink! He can tell you name of any vacuum he sees. The red one? Oh that's the Bissell Lift-Off. The purple? That's the Dyson mommy wants ;), and that yellow? That would be the Eureka.

He has also become quite a car aficionado. He loves cars and continually asks me the make and model of a car he may see. His favorite cars are the PT Cruiser and a Corvette. He thinks any sports car is a corvette. And if a PT Cruiser convertible happens by, forget about it. He'll talk of nothing else for the rest of the day. His little mind works in mysterious ways.

In a few weeks we're off to Flint to see Thomas the Tank in *A Day out with Thomas*. He's going to flip out when he sees the train painted just like Thomas. It will be a good time and I hope he enjoys it. We've been talking about it for months (got the tickets in May!) so I am sure it'll be worth it.

After that it'll be September.

And in 27 days our son starts school.

Incredible.