Things I've learned recently...

I learned that letting your child play in the sprinkler for hours on end can result in the much-needed nap for your child, which you'd pretty much given up hope on even attempting:


I learned that you should never wrap a present in a huge hurry in your bedroom, then dash off and leave the roll of paper, the tape, and the scissors to be put away later, because your toddler CAN (and will!) find them and have his own fun (with 1/3 of a roll of wrapping paper, and several feet of tape):


I learned that helium balloons do NOT last very long on a hot day (5-6 hours):


I learned that it really truly was HOT that day (by our standards anyway):


I learned that it's very very helpful to set the timer when baking cookies:


And lastly, I learned that Jared is very well-prepared in case of a natural disaster. I was stripping his bed to wash all the bedding and I found three cups of water, two extra blankets, an emergency crank-style lantern thingy, and a pack of fruit snacks (fruit snacks not pictured because Connor snatched them as I was trying to take the picture and it wasn't worth chasing him down):