What Ian is loving right now: Ben 10. He has the Ben 10 Lego figures which he loves and now he has the "Alien Creation Chamber" which you use to create different figures out of various interchangeable body parts from the different characters. It's hard to explain. I ended up getting him an extra set of the figures and he's having a blast with it. We sat outside on the deck this afternoon for several hours while I read my book and he messed around making all kinds of different combos. He does watch the show, too, and likes it, but mostly he's into the toys. He was like that with Thomas the Tank Engine when he was younger, too. Not that into the show, but loved the trains themselves. The show he loves right now is "Max and Ruby." Once I asked him why he liked it so much and he told me that he just liked bunnies. And Max has cool toys. I think he really identifies with Max, who is always being told what to do by his bossy sister but manages to get his way anyway.

Since the ball pit isn't working out as a pool, I got one of those Intex "Easy-Set" ones off Craigslist for half price. It's 12' in diameter and 36" deep, which should be fine for this year anyway. It's the kind where you blow up the top ring and then fill it with water and it holds up by itself. David says he'll set it up this weekend, so I should have pictures to post then.

What I am grateful for: Conversations with Ian. It rained overnight and was still drizzling this morning and in the car on the way to school, he said, "I love the smell of rain." I said I loved that, too.