Butterfly Summer...and Catching Up

"Awake to a woodpecker drummer--it's a butterfly summer!"

(from Caterpillar Spring, Butterfly Summer by Susan Hood)

One week after turning into chrysalises, our Painted Lady butterflies emerged. They were sneaky about it though and I never actually saw any of them as they came out of the chrysalis. We watched them for a few days and tried to feed them sugar water and orange slices. They did not seem too interested in eating, so we decided to release them into our garden. Most of them flew away quickly. This one stuck around for a few minutes before fluttering away. "Where flowers go?" Noah kept asking.
Now for the catching up...
This is supposed to be Work in Progress Wednesday, but lately, I feel as if the days are flying by quickly, and I don't have anything to show for it. Nothing except for a chunky baby who seems to be either nursing or sleeping or chewing on those fists. I know that that in itself should be enough of an accomplishment at the end of the day, but sometimes it just doesn't feel that way no matter how many times I tell myself that it is. He is going through a change in his sleeping patterns these past few weeks and it has been wreaking havoc on my daily rhythm, which is why I am probably feeling a bit out of sorts.
Isaac has also discovered that he has feet, though he is only able grasp them when he is naked or wearing a disposable diaper. The cloth diaper bulk interferes with his flexibility apparently. And whew! does this boy ever have stinky feet! Seriously! But I kiss them anyway because they are just so cute and soft!
We have been having lots of thunderstorms and rain. One evening last week, the sky to the west was a brilliant golden orange color while in the east, purple sky and... This HUGE rainbow formed an arc across the entire sky. It was too big to fit the entire thing in the viewfinder. I was so tempted to jump in the car and find a better vantage point, but alas it was bedtime for the boys and probably not the best idea during a thunderstorm warning. It was truly incredible though. I think every person in Madison has some version of this photo.

On Father's Day we headed to a local GoKart track for Curtis and Noah to take a ride in a "big car." Noah loves cars, especially the ones attached to the shopping carts at the grocery store that he can ride in (but that I can't steer and invariably knock into some display with), so we thought this would be a good father/son activity. They took one 5 minute ride. Noah is so quiet in new situations, it was hard to tell if he liked it or not. I love this picture because it looks like they are winning the race. Really, they are getting lapped :)
In between all those things were trips to the stable to reacquaint myself with my girl, Sable, and a leisurely ride through the fields and forest on Winston. So while I don't have anything concrete to show today as my 'work in progress', it seems I do have lots of memories and life. There you go...my life is my 'work in progress'!

~Jen