Happy Father's Day!

Sorry it's taken me so long to get an update on here, but PJ is really doing so much better! Thank you for your prayers and well-wishes. I don't know if that's a testament to how well that type of burn usually heals, or how quickly babies heal in general, but I'm amazed at how fast it happened. Every day it looked better and better until today, when we just have the teeniest scab on his left cheek, barely visible in this picture.

Yes, it's the first picture in which PJ is full-on smiling! How cute is this baby? This is how he looks for most of the time that he's awake. Couldn't you just bite off those cheeks? Gosh, I love this kid!

This has just been a week from H-E-double hockey sticks for Patrick, as far as his work schedule goes. He had to go to Arkansas Monday and Tuesday. Worked late Wednesday and Thursday, then had meetings all day Friday - from early morning until 10 pm. For this reason, we're just laying low this weekend, spending some quality family time with Daddy for his special day.

My camera battery died, so I thought I'd just pull a few of the pics that have been living on my cell phone for a little while now. Here are a few of Jack on the swing at the park - a new favorite. He used to be a little scared of the swings, but has recently started to love it.

Yesterday, we visited Long's Park in Lancaster. We have never been there, but it was such a fun place! It's an enormous park with lots of picnic areas, playgrounds, and even a petting zoo. We had a blast, and Jack is just fearless when it comes to the animals. Well, except for one enormous potbellied pig who was napping and did not enjoy the group of children gathering around him in his little shelter. He was making these terrible belching sounds and then let out this terrible growl/squeal that scared the bejeezes out of all of us - kids and parents alike. So we left Mr. Pig alone. Jack's still, even just this morning, making pig sounds and then shaking his head with a scared look on his face. I have to reassure him that the pig isn't going to hurt him. Stupid pig. Anyway, here he is with the goats. He loved them.

The donkeys were so friendly, they'd come up to us to be pet. This one has a weird thing going on with his neck, but check him out - no fear.

Even this huge llama, which Jack kept calling "Mama," did not scare him. If I ask him, "Is your Mama a llama?" he says yes. Thanks, buddy.

He's talking up a storm lately, and repeats so many words. For a while now, I've been able to ask him where body parts are and have him point to them, but now he actually started pointing out our knees and saying "knee." He calls PJ "P," or "baby." He's getting so good with identifying his colors and knows how to say "blue" and "purple." He knows the letters A, B, O and M. My favorite thing he's doing right now is holding his hand out, towards things we've told him are hot (the stove, the grill, our coffee cups), and saying, very dramatically, "Hah!"

He's so in love with Dada. He missed him so much this week, but Patrick always makes it up to him by playing outside, or taking him for bike rides - his absolute favorite thing to do! He even asks to go on them by knocking on his head, like Patrick must have done with his helmet on, and saying, "Uh huh!"

Patrick is so amazing with our boys, and they are so blessed to have him as a role model of a loving, godly father and husband.

Happy Father's Day, Love!