July 3

While Daisy napped this morning, Caleb and I decided to dig in the garden. Chris and I recently bought two butterfly bushes (the beginnings of the butterfly garden my mom dreamed up for us!), and I figured it was better to plant them while it was only 86 degrees, rather than letting the poor things suffer another day in the triple-digit heat.

It turned out that Caleb was a surprisingly good garden helper!

The Caleb-sized shovel from Grandmother was a big help. 

(See our lovely butterfly bush behind him? I may be getting a late start, but I am so excited about this butterfly garden. I spent a whole morning researching which plants attract butterflies, act as hosts for caterpillars and larvae, and are also deer-resistant. Let the plant-shopping and digging begin!)

I love the little vein bulging in his neck; it makes it look like he's really working hard.

I also love my clothes line with diapers drying in the sun. It may be one of my favorite things about summertime in this house. (Well, that, and our front porch. And the neighborhood pool. And the proximity to the lake... OK, I guess I just really like our house.)

It turned out that Caleb's skill set is more about digging, and not hole-filling. He kept trying to dump his dirt into the hole I was digging, which left me a bit frustrated. Finally, after the second bush was planted, he figured things out.

Then we watered our newly planted plants.

What? Doesn't it look like the boy is watering the plants? He may have watered himself a bit, too. But when it's this hot out, I don't blame him!