So much to say, so little time. Every day there is something new and different with young Master Ian. We had a fantastic time in California over the July 4th weekend, but I am still putting together the photo albums and will attach the link to the blog on that weekend, so check back for that. And then last weekend, we were at Kai Yi's house to visit with cousins Carolyn and Peter. There are some great photos from that visit as well, so again, check back for that entry. And we watched the World Cup final at Cindy & Dennis' new apartment and Ian had a great time checking out the view there and going to Central Park.

In the meantime, the cuteness continues. I took him shopping on Saturday morning and he caught sight of an Elmo doll and hugged it and wouldn't let go. Now he is always hugging and kissing it. Last night when we were getting him ready for bed, he took Elmo and wanted me and Jeff to kiss Elmo and kept running back and forth between us and holding Elmo up for a kiss.

We also found a hat that he liked. I tried a few different ones on him, but the one he liked best was a bucket hat that is reversible -- camoflage on one side, light green terrycloth on the other. He recently learned to say the word hat. For some reason, he seems to have a French accent when he says it, as the "h" is silent. He kept saying it, "Ah-tuh!" and leaning his head forward so I could put it on him. He wore the hat all the way up to the cash register. Now when we go out, he likes to put on his hat.

And in school, his teacher Jenn said to me on Monday, "Oh, Ian did the cutest thing today!" She asked him for a high five, then a hug, and then a kiss. He did all three and then he said to her, "I love you!" She was so happy that she kept doing it over and over again. His teachers just love him.

As his mom, I think he is one of the more lovable kids in his school. And he also is very helpful. Like yesterday, when I went to get him, they were playing with blocks. When I said it was time to go, he gave his block to the teacher to put away. Then he saw one on the ground and he picked that one up and gave it to her, too. At bedtime, Jeff asks him in Spanish if he wants to read a book, and he goes straight to his nightstand and opens the top drawer where we keep some of the books and starts to pull them out. On occasion, he has insisted on putting the books back in the drawer and closing it before having his bottle and going to bed.

And he is always singing now. When he finishes, he will applaud for himself and say, "Yay!"