A Full Weekend!

 This past week felt like a "pre-pandemic" type of weekend! I was pretty exhausted at the end of the day on Sunday, but it also felt good to have plans and see (vaccinated) people! Here is how we filled the weekend!

On Friday when I went to pick up the boys, Will's teacher told me he is the easiest baby in the room! She said he is always smiling and only cries when he is tired or hungry. We have noticed that he is a much easier-going baby than Paul was! I will say that besides being a better eater, he was a fussier and a worse sleeper during the first 12 weeks. So each kiddo had their "easier" periods and I am sure that will continue. But it's nice to hear how happy he is at daycare!

On Friday night, Phil went to Home Depot after Will went to bed to buy a new washing machine!! Hooray! I have been wanting a new one since we moved in. We have a front loader but the previous owners must not have been good about keeping the door open after using it - the gasket was pretty gross. I tried cleaning it with bleach but it didn't help. Phil kept putting this purchase off but when the front loader we had in mind went on sale, he pulled the trigger. It arrives on Friday. You know you are an adult when you get excited about a new washing machine! Paul and I worked on some puzzles together before bedtime. He LOVES puzzles so takes after his mom! 

Saturday was warm and steamy right from the start! Paul wanted to clean up all the stuff that our Oak tree had dropped so Phil and him worked on that. Phil was not excited about this, but Paul was very insistent that they clean off our back patio. He used his rake and shovel from sand toy set to help and was VERY proud to show me the results when they were done! 

My MIL came over after Paul's nap on Saturday for an early birthday celebration. I put Will in an extra cute outfit. He looks like he's ready to hit the links with daddy!

Always be smiling!

We ate a yummy meal of grilled brats, asparagus, fingerling potatoes and corn on the cob! Joan's birthday gift was a quart of her favorite ice cream from a local ice cream shop. Funnily enough, Phil went to buy it at 10:15 on Saturday morning and there were 25 people in line!! He was NOT expecting it to be so busy. Everyone was getting ice cream! I guess we are all excited to be out and about again - and it was a VERY hot and steamy morning. 

On Sunday morning, Paul worked on some art projects with these bingo dotters that a friend handed down to me. He's not super into art projects but loves these dotters! 

Later that morning, 3 college friends brought brunch to us so they could meet Will. I failed to get any pictures of them with Will, but did snap this one of my friend Amanda reading "The Gruffalo" (a fave of Paul's). With the exception of a winter walk with Amanda, I hadn't seen these girls since last September so it was great to get together!

 

Then later in the day, we walked over to Phil's friend/former coworker who lives about 3 blocks away. They did a major renovation last year so we got to see the finished product. They have a daughter who is 6 months younger than Paul so they played in the back yard while the adults caught up on the patio. We hadn't seen this couple since pre-pandemic so it was great to see them in person and catch up. 

Whew! And that was our weekend. I was definitely exhausted by the end of the day on Sunday but felt so thankful to actually have PLANS again! Yay for vaccines!

How was your weekend? Is your social calendar filling up now that we are moving out of the pandemic?

TGIF!

Happy Friday! It's a rainy morning here but we really needed the rain so I can't complain. I just hope it's not too rainy this weekend so we can be outside as much as possible! Here is how my week shaped up!

The book I'm reading is Mergers and Acquisitions by Cate Doty. This is a memoir written by a columnist for the NY Times wedding section. It's all about what she learned over the years covering weddings. The wedding of a good friend of mine from NY was in the Times Sunday Vows section and I was in the print version as they included a photo of the couple and me! So that was pretty cool! I love books like this and it felt timely to start this on our 4th anniversary. 

The high of my week was going to a friend's mother blessing last Sunday, which is a mom-centric alternative to a baby shower (super cool idea!). This was the first social event I've been to since last September when we saw a group of Phil's HS friends. It was also the first time I've been away from both boys on a weekend for more than 40 minutes!!! We all sat outside and it was just so lovely to see people in person and celebrate this amazing mom-to-be. These kind of events are what I missed most during the pandemic. I don't miss restaurants or concerts or things like that. Take-out suffices and we aren't in a stage of life where it's easy/super desirable to go to concerts and such. But give me the in-person social gatherings! 

The low of my week was still feeling sick and Will getting sick with our cold. Bleh. I can't wait for us to all be healthy. It was a head cold for Phil and me but a chest cold for the boys. On Thursday morning, he coughed after I fed him at 4am and then projectile spit up everything he ate... Oy. On top of feeling under the weather, Paul has had a tough week of challenging behavior. I see what people mean when they say 3 is a tough age. That has definitely been the case for us!

A recipe I made was seared ahi tuna steaks with Asian rice pilaf and grilled asparagus. No picture because both kids were really tired/not in great moods by the time we sat down to eat. Phil got the Ahi tuna steaks at Aldi and they were so good! It's such a fast, easy meal so we'll have this again when he sees those steaks at Aldi next. I was glad I could come up with a rice side with things we had on hand and I threw some frozen peas in at the end which was a great addition. 

A show we are watching is Halston on Netflix. Even though this is about a fashion designer, it's something Phil and I both find interesting. Phil actually suggested we watch it after seeing it featured on the CBS Sunday morning show last weekend. One episode takes place at Versailles (not sure it was filmed there but it sure looked like Versailles!) so brought back memories of my visit to Paris and Versailles. Major content warnings on this one for drugs, sex, etc! 

For workouts I went for walks Sunday through Tuesday because that was all I had the energy for while battling a cold. On Wednesday I did the beach body upper body fix workout, on Thursday I did the lower body fix workout and this afternoon I plan to run with my neighbor. She's training for a half marathon but is happy to have company on shorter runs even though I am limited to walk/run intervals. I'm hoping to do another beach body workout on Saturday morning and a run on Sunday morning. Feels good to be back to a much more active state (even though it pales in comparison to what I considered "active" pre-kids!). 

The best money spent was on a couple of lattes. I treated myself to lattes on days I did drop-off as it's sort of on the way home from school!

My plans this weekend include seeing my MIL on Saturday afternoon for a pre-birthday dinner celebration at our house - her birthday is on Monday. Then on Sunday 3 college girlfriends are coming over for brunch so they can finally meet baby Will! I haven't seen them in person since the fall!

Bonus Paul and Will photos!

Will has discovered his feet! I'm sure they'll end up in his mouth pretty soon!

Pablo "reading" to Will

Happiest baby! Will is almost 6 months and is a really happy/content stage. He's getting his bottom teeth and has a cold but he's still so smiley and easy going!

How was your week? What was the high and low of your week? Did you cook anything interesting?

Mays of Years Past and Today

One of my big projects for 2021 has been to cull photos from my google photos. Every month, I go through photos from previous years and delete things like duplicates, bad photos, screen shots, etc. Basically I delete anything I know I won't want/need to look back on in the future. It's a really easy process with google photos - I just search "May 2014" for example and all my photos I took May 2014 show up. It's become a really fun project! I love revisiting previous years through photos. It's usually an uplifting experience. 

May in particular was a fun month to look back on. So I thought I'd share some photos from past Mays that stood out to me! 

May 2014 - long time readers will remember that I was relocated to Charlotte, NC for a job in the spring of 2013. I moved back in May of 2014 after finding a job back in Minneapolis. Because I was going to a competing company, I had what was called a "garden leave" - which was basically 4 weeks of pay without working. I spent the bulk of those 4 weeks in Charlotte and did lots of hiking in the area which is something I wasn't able to do for most of my time in Charlotte. When I moved to Charlotte, I got diagnosed with a stress fracture and was in a walking boot for months and then I got diagnosed with RA and was in a lot of pain until it was well managed. So I really made the most of those healthy final weeks in Charlotte and did lots of hiking at state parks! I included a couple of photos below!

Hiking in the Asheville area

Another hike in the Asheville area

May 2015 - The highlight of this month was certainly going to Colorado with my friend Kyria. We packed a lot of hiking into that weekend trip! 

May 2016 - This is one of those "not fun" flashbacks! I had surgery to repair a labral tear in my hip. I moved in with Phil on a Friday and had surgery on a Monday. I was on crutches for 3 weeks and needed A LOT of help from his so it was a real trial by fire for us! Ha! I wouldn't recommend getting surgery and needing to completely rely on your partner just days after moving in together but it showed us we could get through challenging circumstances together and still love each other!

Oscar was my constant companion while I recovered! It doesn't feel like we have a cat right now because she has spent most of the past year with my MIL as her "emotional support animal" during the isolation of Covid, but she'll be back with us this summer!

 

May 2017- We got married on May 19, 2017 (yep, today is our anniversary!) so this is a very fun month to look back on between wedding photos and photos from our 1.5 week honeymoon in Maui! That was one of the best months of my life!

Our faces say - in 4 years we are going to have 2 kids, 3 and under! 

Our first big hike in Maui was so much fun! And so humid - hence the messy hair in the photo.

Black Sand Beach on the road to Hana

Hiking at Halaeakala

May 2018 - This month was all about adjusting to having a 2 month old baby! The first couple of months of Paul's life were kind of stressful as he struggled to gain weight so we had tons of weight checks and other doctor appointments. Things got more enjoyable when we got past 2 months. And that's when he got really smiley which is such a fun stage!

May 2019 - Paul was just over a year, but not walking yet thanks to his tiny body and HUGE head. But he loved using his walker toy to get around the house - and he got to taste ice cream for that first time!

Mmm, ice cream! Funnily, Paul does not like ice cream anymore - although we haven't given him soft serve in a long time so maybe he would like that?

May 2020 - Oof, this is not a fun month to look back on. We were in the beginning of the pandemic and felt so isolated. This photos is from an outdoor playdate with 2 other daycare families. It was the first time I'd seen people outside of our household in months so that was certainly the highlight of that month.

Paul loved playing on this swing set. He is typically extremely cautious so surprised me when he wanted to climb this ladder!

May 2021 - And now here we are, a family of 4 with a 5 month old and 3 year old. These kids definitely keep us on our toes, but Will is hitting a more fun stretch of the baby stage as he's very happy and so in love with his big brother. The feeling is pretty mutual! 

Crazy hair, don't care! He loves this jumper now that his feet touch the ground!

Double stroller for the win! A friend gave this to us and it's nice that Will is big enough to ride in it. 

The happiest baby - especially when he's not wearing clothes!

Is there a particular month of the year that holds a lot of memories from years past? 

Three Things Thursday

My friend Stephany shared a "3 Things" post earlier this week, so I thought I'd borrow some of her topics and do a post of my own! 

Three childhood memories:

- I remember going over to my cousin Julie's house to play one day. We are 11 months apart and she's like a sister to me. That afternoon, I remember her asking what we should do and I said - "Let's organize your dresser!!" Ha!! A lot of her clothes weren't folded, so we organized and folded everything. Gosh I was a fun child. ;) I'm thinking I was around 4th or 5th grade in this memory. 

- This memory is from when I was a bit older. One Christmas Eve I was tasked with stirring the ice cream mixture on the stove. It seemed a little boring to me so I decided to read while stirring (always the book worm!). I looked up and the mixture was boiling over! My mom was NOT happy! It went into the oven vents and somehow ended up in the door of the oven. My mom was worried it would burn and cause a mess, so she took the oven door off and tried to clean between the layers of glass in the oven door - and cut herself in the process (she was using a paper towel on a knife to clean). Ay yi yi. My siblings were like - 'why do you always have to have your nose in a book!!' We can laugh about it now - it was a tense moment when it happened, though!

- I have a lot of memories of going to the lake as a family. Up until I was in college, we had a camper or a trailer on a campground. We'd go to the lake every Friday after my dad got home from work. My dad's brother has a lake place 20 minutes away so we'd spend lots of time with their family. I have great memories of swimming, tubing behind the boat, and eating s'mores around the campfire. I'm glad our kids will have memories of going to my parents lake home during their childhood!

Three books that have been on my Goodreads TBR the longest:

- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (added 12/19/2008)

- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (added 4/3/2010)

- The Book of Negroes (added 1/19/2012)

Will I ever read this? There are 252 books on my TBR list, so the chances of me getting around to these is low - but I'm not ready to delete them just yet (I do go through my TBR list occasionally and delete things I know I won't ever read). 

Three favorite snacks:

- Popcorn - especially homemade popcorn in a stir crazy popcorn popper!

- Potato or tortilla chips topped with sliced pickles. Weird I know, but I was doing this before dill pickle chips were a thing!

- A cut up apple - especially with peanut butter!

Three things I'm doing this weekend:

- Seeing a former coworker so I can hand off all the stuff Will has grown out of! Her daughter had a baby boy in April. I'm so glad I have someone to pass hand-me-downs to so I can pay it forward. We've received so many things from friends that are still in great condition.

- Attending a friend's "Mother Blessing" which is a spin on a baby shower. I'm excited to celebrate this mom-to-be! It'll be outdoor so I'm hoping the weather cooperates!

- Hopefully napping at some point! I caught the cold that Paul came down with over the weekend so could use some extra sleep.

Three things I'm looking forward to:

- Getting Paul back into swimming lessons in June! He really misses swimming lessons and we finally feel safe putting him back in lessons now that Phil and I are fully vaccinated. He'll be in the pool by himself instead of with me like he was in the past - hopefully he does ok with that. The place we go has one teacher and 3 students so I know he'll get tons of attention. I'd like to start Will in lessons in the fall or next winter. I think the earlier they get used to the water, the better.

- Going to the lake to see my parents in June and finally seeing my grandma (who turns 98 next week!!) during that trip. In general I'm looking forward to more regular visits to the lake this summer. 

- Seeing some college girlfriends and introducing Will to them later this month. I haven't seen them in person since last fall when I was pregnant!! Now that everyone is vaccinated we can safely get together in person and I am so excited! 

Three trips I look forward to taking when our boys are older:

- Visiting some National Parks in Utah. There are so many cool hikes but I want the boys to be old enough to enjoy hiking. 

- Visiting the Grand Canyon. I figure we can combine this with a trip to visit my sister in Tucson. We could maybe do this in a couple of years and just put Will in a carrier? We'll see. 

- Visiting some of the National Parks in California - especially around the Bay area as I think our friend Kyria would be up for coming with. She loves hiking and traveling and is such a great tour guide! 

Since these are all National Park trips that require hiking, I'd prefer that Will be at least 5 so he can hopefully do some hiking? As you can see, I'm most interested in taking our boys on outdoorsy trips as that is what Phil and I are most interested in these days. Hopefully they end up loving hiking and the outdoors as much as we do! 

Your turn - pick a category or two to answer!

Things are looking up!

Happy Monday! Phil is getting better every day so after a rough week, things are looking up around here! This weekend was much better than I expected as I got to take a nap on Saturday and Sunday! Woot woot! That's all I really wanted for Mother's Day but Phil also came through with tulips, ice cream and my favorite wine (Kim Crawford Sauv Blanc)! He's not usually a gifts person but was feeling very bad about the rough week I had. Here's how our weekend shaped up!

On Friday, I picked up both boys from daycare (I'm doing all the drop offs and pick ups right now since Phil can't lift Will when he's in the car seat). I didn't get a picture, but Pablo got to go scooting around the block. It took a lot of convincing to get him to try the scooter last year but he finally started to use it in October (we have a very cautious kid - which is fine!). He's very glad scooting season is back! Then it was bath time for both boys. Will is at the stage where he loves his bath but he's in that awkward stage where he can't sit up but is super wiggly. But it's a good way to cheer him up when he's tried/cranky at the end of the day. 

On Saturday morning, I did a quick walk/run before Will's first nap. It was really nice to get out of the house ALONE for a little bit! Phil felt well enough to do the grocery shopping on Saturday morning, so I was home with the boys for the rest of the morning. Will worked on his rolling skills. He learned how to roll from back to stomach right before he turned 5 months but doesn't do it a ton. So we did lots of blanket time so he could work on that skill. 

Later that morning 3 girlfriends came over - 1 who is expecting in June and 2 who have 2 kids - for an outdoor coffee catch up/play date. It was beautiful outside so we were able to be outdoors. One friend brought coffee and treats from the bakery by her house. It was so nice to see them and talk to other adults! 

The best part of Saturday was taking a nap during Paul's nap. Phil watched Will until he went down for his nap so I got a 1.5 hour break which felt amazing.

We stayed close to home that day as it looked like it was maybe going to rain. Paul had fun playing with all his cars/trucks/construction equipment. He's still really into lining them up. 

On Sunday morning I fit in a 21 day fix workout while Paul had breakfast and Will hung with dad. Paul woke up with a cold that morning but we had promised him a trip to the park the day before. So we went early in the day when we knew the park would be quiet and had him wear a mask at the park. We used the double stroller our friend handed down to us for the first time! Will goes for buggy rides at school so I figured he was ready for a forward facing stroller. He really liked it and Paul loved having a buddy in the stroller with him! 

I got several comments about how cute our baby is. :) 

Hanging out at the park!

I got another nap in on Sunday which was glorious as Will was up for the day at 5:30! 

I made fish tacos for dinner that night (no picture, sorry!)  and then we watched another episode of Away. 

So all in all, it was a much better weekend! I'm bummed that Paul has ANOTHER cold, though. I guess our long healthy stretch has come to a screeching halt - he's had 2 colds and the stomach flu in the past month. I got his first cold and the flu (I think we got the flu from Will) but am hoping to avoid this latest cold. We'll see. 

How was your weekend? 

TGIF?!

Hey hey! Happy Friday! I used to do TGIF-style posts many Fridays but my last one was back in November! As I was getting ready to write this post, it made me think about how the phrase TGIF feels different now v pre-kids... Honestly, while working is tiring at times, I find it way easier to work than watch young children. Don't get me wrong - I love our babies and miss them during the work week, but weekends aren't... relaxing, especially with our boys being 3yo and 5 months. Add in the fact that Phil is still out of commission due to his back injury and still unable to lift either child. So nearly everything falls on me right now, making weekends extra tiring. So I guess the TGIF mantra is more about "thank God I get to see my kids and don't have specific places to be at a certain time" versus my pre-kid mantra of "thank God I get to relax and do exactly what I want this weekend! :)  But I knew kids were a lot of work before we had them - and they are so worth it. This past week, I was reminded of a mantra on the Happier Podcast: "Don't make a gift a burden." So that is something I am keeping in mind because our healthy boys are such a gift! But oof, I am tired these days! I know this time will fly by in hindsight but when you are in a more taxing stage of parenting, the days can feel really long sometimes. Again I want to emphasize that I love being a mom! Just trying to keep it real around here and acknowledge that there are tough seasons of parenting.

The book I'm reading is The Paris Dressmaker, which I'm reading for my monthly "set in France" buddy read with my friend Kyria. This book is set during WWII which is a genre I usually love but I'm not sure I'll love this book. There are 2 characters, so the POV switches back and forth while also moving backwards and forwards in time and I'm finding it confusing at times? That could just be my sleep deprived state of mind, though. I'm 21% of the way through so there's still lots of time for me to change my mind. 

The high of my week was going for a walk/run during lunch on Thursday. Being able to squeeze in mid-day workouts and runs is one of my favorite parts of working from home! I got the OK to increase my 1 min run/30 sec walk intervals from 15 to 20 minutes. It's still a ways off from what I consider "running" but I have to start somewhere. I still have some issues to work out regarding my pelvic floor and c-section incision pain, plus she noticed some imbalance in my stride that is likely related to my hip surgery in 2016, so I'm working on strengthening my core so I can stay injury free!

The low of my week was getting sick. Paul getting sick. Paul puking in the car twice. Phil being injured/unable to pick up either boy. The combination of all of this has made for a very rough week and I have not been in a good mood. Phil saw a doctor on Tuesday after I harassed him to make an appt and is taking prednisone to solve the sciatica issue. But the doctor said it could take 7-10 days for him to feel better. Sob. 

A recipe I made was this soup with the ham bone I had frozen from our Easter dinner. Unfortunately I made this for dinner on Sunday night when I was already not feeling well so I did not eat it that night since my stomach felt off at dinner time so I did not eat anything. And then I got sick in the middle of putting Paul to bed so was glad I didn't try to eat any (I had considered having a small bowl to see if it would settle my stomach). I have had one bowl of leftovers, though, and it was a good soup. 

A show we are watching is Away on Netflix after my parents recommended it to us. We are both enjoying it!

For workouts I did the 21 Day Fix Cardio fix on Sunday morning before the flu struck! Then I was out of commission the next 2 days. On Wednesday I went for a 30 minute walk, Thursday I did a 20 min run/walk workout with a walk before and after, and today I plan to do another walk/run. Hopefully I can do 21 Day Fix workouts this weekend when William is napping. It feels good to be able to talk about workouts I am doing again!

Podcasts I listened to are 2 new/new-to-me parenting podcasts! An IG parenting account I follow started a new podcast that I am loving - it's called Good Inside. She tackles a topic in each episode by answering 3 parents' questions. I especially loved her first episode about getting kids to listen to us. And then recently I was introduced to the podcast Simple Families which I'm really enjoying. She applies minimalistic living to parenting which really resonates with our lifestyle. I want to go back and listen to some of her old episodes this summer!

The best money spent was on a new FitBit. I've had my current FitBit since the spring of 2017 and while it still works, it's a little glitchy at times. I went with the FitBit Inspire 2 as it has a small watch face which is key for me as I have tiny wrists. It's lower tech than some of their other products but I like what my current FitBit Alta provides and this is similar but just a bit of an upgrade. Plus it was on sale for $30 off! I'm considering this part of my Mother's Day gifts to myself. Ha. I'm also planning to get a massage once Phil is feeling better. I haven't had one in the longest time but now that I'm vaccinated, I feel comfortable doing this as the spa I go to has great covid safety provisions. 

My plans this weekend include crickets. We have no plans. It's Mother's Day weekend so I'll talk to my mom and grandma. We're getting take out sometime over the weekend to give me a break from cooking so I am looking forward to that. Otherwise I am hoping we can spend lots of time outdoors - the weather forecast looks pretty great!

Bonus Paul and Will photos!

Will is drooling a ton and chewing on anything he can get his hands on!

In this photo, Paul was singing "Old McDonald" to William. He's holding an Old McDonald finger-puppet book. Will was so entertained!

Brothers!

Will's feet almost touch when he's in the jumper so he's starting to really enjoy it! This picture shows how "floofy" his hair is! It stands on ends, especially when it's freshly washed!

How was your week? Have you made any new recipes lately or started a good show?

What We Read in April

Ugh. This week. It's been awful. Long story short, Phil hurt his back and can't lift either kid, I got the stomach flu, and then Paul got the stomach flu and puked twice in his car seat. Car seats are impossible to clean. If they weren't so expensive, I would have been tempted to throw it out after the 2nd puke. Oh and I think Will is getting his bottom teeth as he's up more than often? Or maybe he's just extra hungry since my milk supply tanked after having the flu since I barely ate for 24 hours. Le sigh. 

But let's talk about something more fun - like reading! I read 9 books in April which is the first month my reading hasn't been in the double digits since November I think? Or maybe earlier? But 9 is still a lot. I feel like 5-6 was my pre-maternity leave average so I expect my reading to maybe migrate back to that? We'll see! 

Mom's reads:

The 5 books below were my favorites for the month. What Kind of Woman is a poetry collection that has been all over the internet so chances are you've heard of it. You can read this in one sitting. It's delightful and very relatable, especially if you are married and have kids! Kindred is classified as Sci Fi as it includes some time travel but it didn't strike me as Sci Fi as I always think of that genre as being about space. It's about a mixed race couple that time travel from the 80s (I think - it's been awhile since I read it) to the Antebellum south. It was an interesting and impactful approach to talking about slavery. Dominicana is about a young 15yo Dominican Republican girl who is married off to a man who is over 30. He is her - and her family's - ticket out of the DR to NYC. It was a very engaging read and horrifying to think of a young girl - a child really - being married to a man in his 30s. At the end, the author explains that the book is based on her mom's life. The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano was a "sliding doors" type of book that looks at how a woman's life would differ if she chose not to have children. Lastly, To Raise a Boy was the most important book I read last month. I had a horrified look on my face for much of the book as it talks about heavy topics, like the sexual assault that is happening more and more to boys - by other boys - in locker rooms. I have heard of this happening in a tiny town in ND close to where I grew up, so I believed the author when she said this is happening in urban and rural communities. The book also talks a lot about consent and respect for others. This prompted a lot of conversations with my husband. 

The next 4 books were good to "just ok." Nothing I'd strongly recommend from this batch.

The boys' reading:

Will continues to take more and more interest in books. He really pays attention when you read to him and tries to grab the pages of the books. He also really seems to pay attention when we are reading to Paul!!

His favorite "book" is this Jungly tails book. he loves to grab the different tails!

Reading up on bedtime routines!

Paul enjoyed reading some books with Nana when we were at the lake earlier in April. He loved having a bunch of new books to check out! I also checked out some books from the library based on his newest Amazon Prime tv obsession - Stinky and Dirty. Each book is about a different truck or piece of construction equipment. We honestly kind of hate these books - the show is MUCH better. But he likes the books so we've checked several out of the library. 

Did you read anything great this month?