Planting Season

Abram and I weeded the garden this week in preparation to plant this weekend. Well, technically I weeded while Abram played in the dirt. Curtis tilled (by shovel and rake) the garden and went and bought the plants while Abram napped and I pruned trees. When Abram woke up we all went out to plant the garden.

 Abram helped dig...and fell in a hole a time or two. Curtis did the serious digging while I monitored Abram's use of the trowel. *note to self: look for PLASTIC gardening tools.

Abram did pretty well digging but attacked the plants a few times and got increasingly frustrated as his digging space was decreased with each planted row.

Then it came time to water the seeds and baby plants and happiness returned to the garden...

and MUD was discovered!

 

Along with my gladiolus that are coming up nicely this year again, we have planted tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, green beans and onions. We have two strawberry plants that popped up and surprised us from last years planting and we still plan to put in some sweet potatoes (they did so well last year) and peas (which I've begun to eat after 30 years of avoiding). We're going to train those to climb so they won't take up as much square footage. Curtis is also trying a potato bucket on the porch. Hopefully we'll have a great harvest and have lots of canned goods for the winter!

Flowers and Birds...free happiness:)

As many of you know, I love flowers. I really love free flowers. Not all of my flowers were free, but each year they come back blooming beautifully, the better the investment!

 When I came back from visiting my sister, my Knockout Rose bush had exploded! This flower was not free, but so hardy and such a long bloom season that I'll be sure to buy more eventually.

My irises were free and they only become more plentiful They are as beautiful and fragrant as ever this year. My lilly of the valley also came back bigger and better...also free.

 I need to thin them out this fall and mix up some of the varieties so that I don't have clumps of one shade of purple that blooms and dies before another shade blooms. A daunting task, but one I've put off long enough!

 I tried to dig up a few that were "off" colors, mainly yellows, but I left any that had any purple, like these lovelies. I waited too long to do this, so I'm sure I missed a few yellows...I'll get them next year!

 I snapped this shot of my azaleas before I left...they bloomed a LOT more abundantly after I took this picture, but it was the only one I got. Once I got back, the blooms were dying off. I hope I can keep these alive this time! Oh, and my hydrangea has plenty of buds starting despite being frostbit...can't wait to see how it will look! Neither were free, and not nearly as hardy, but beautiful and on sale!

This was my mystery bird. I had never seen one like this before. I guessed that it was a female because of the "drab" color and she thought she looked like a huge sparrow.  I also noticed that her beak was larger too...more like a cardinal than a sparrow.  She was not timid and I could approach pretty close and then zoom to take a really good picture of her. After pouring over several bird books I decided she was a female rose breasted grosbeak.  I asked my dad and he confirmed that he'd seen that type of  bird and had the same result.  Here's a professional photo of the same species....I'm hoping to see a male at some point too! So pretty!

15 Months

15 month photo with "Bear-y"...our shortest and grumpiest shoot thus far. Not totally Abram's fault really...I only allotted about 10 minutes to accomplish it before we had to go eat something really quick and then head to church. This was literally the only clear shot of a pleasant face before he decided the shoot was over. I'll plan a little better next time.

We began going to Growing Kids Pediatrics (Dr. Christina Lane) at his 15 month checkup. His iron levels were good so no more Poly visol Drops! Yay! He weighed 23 lbs and was 32 inches (rounded)...so still skinny and tall. Dr. Lane said it was nothing to be concerned about...that America does not have a problem with too many skinny kids. ha!

This month he has/will:

• Eat most of the things that we eat...fruits are still quite limited
• Feed himself with fingers and makes valiant efforts with spoons and forks (cereal with success)
• Tends to use his left hand more with utensils
• Use his potty (or the toilet) at least once a day...pee or poo
• RUN around the house playing
• Beg to go outside ALL the time
• Not able to leave the cats alone, especially poor Gypsy who seems to be missing a survival instinct.
• Nap for several hours, up to 3 or so, after lunch time
• Yells and fusses on car rides, even when it's dark and way past his bedtime (ugh)
• Has spells which can last 1-4 days where he's fussy, needy and drags at his mouth (and me) like he's really hurting. Can't wait til teeth are all in and don't have to deal with it.
• Loves when we sing Itsy Bitsy Spider and will do the spider motion and clap when we're done.
• Watches the birds on the feeders intently and points out when he sees birds in the sky, in the grass, in trees, etc.

He does so much more every day and is getting bigger and bigger so fast! I'm sure there are other "new" things I could list, but new becomes routine so quickly that I just go with the flow!

Washing the Car

Harriet, sweet Harriet

For nearly 3 years, our home was graced by the presence of Harriet, the foster Beagle.  She came to us on a hot day in June of 2009. We found her near death underneath a friend's car in our driveway. She was infested, infected,  raw and swollen. We never thought she'd live...but she did! With the help of The Shamrock Pet Foundation and Dr. Garrity at the Downtown Animal Hospital in Louisiville, Harriet's health returned but she was still clearly an aged senior and not highly adoptable. So she lived with us and we gave her as much comfort, food and prednisone as we could to keep her feeling like a pup for as long as possible. She had her bad habits, licking the floor incessantly being the most annoying, but she was a sweet little old lady and I look back on the time she lived here with fondness. We're glad that when her time came, she was able to go without assistance while laying on her cozy bed at home.  She died late morning on Wednesday, April 11, 2012. We scattered her ashes in the woods she used to roam, underneath some white flowering dogwoods. Goodbye sweet Harriet.

Happy Easter

 Curtis joined us at Grandma and Grandpa's, after we got back from Macon, for Easter weekend! Here we are dressed up for church on Sunday. It was a little cool and breezy, but nice.

 Curtis' amazing dessert for Easter lunch with his family, Banana Nutter Butter Trifle. Soooo yummy!

 One of Abram's Easter baskets with the Cunningham/Wagners.

 It's like another Christmas!

 First Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's house. There were only 12 eggs and his only competition was Harriet...who was banned from the yard after we discovered she was hunting eggs too! (see video, around 1:35 she flops down to gnaw an egg)

 After the first couple of eggs Abram really got into it! He started trying to open them when one popped open by accident. He still didn't realize he was finding candy.

 But he really enjoyed putting eggs in the basket!

He got a soccer ball in a basket Grandpa picked out for him and Grandpa also made him his very own walking stick, which he LOVES, as you can see in the video!

Macon, GA Trip

 Over my mom's spring break, Abram and I flew with her to Macon, Georgia for a little mini-vacation. We stayed with my Aunt Jeanne (mom's sister) and Uncle John in their new house. Abram and I were also able to visit several times with my old co-worker, Steven DeGeorge and his wife Lauren and their little boy SteveO. SteveO and Abram were due about 2 weeks apart but then SteveO was born very early on November 10th. It was so great to see everyone and I wish we could have stayed and visited longer!

Our flight from Indianapolis to Atlanta was at 6:00...which means we had to leave my parents house at 3:15 AM...I don't think Abram really knew what was happening. I was so nervous about flying with a 14 month old, but he did really well! We managed to keep him entertained with snacks and an IPad!.

 He also loved the window seat! He was fascinated by all the activity on the tarmac.

We played on a nearby playground ....Abram loves to slide!

 Lauren, Abram, SteveO and Steven at Lauren's parents house.

 Abram and my Aunt Jeanne on their beautiful screened back porch. We spent a lot of time out there reading! Mom and I both read the first book of The Hunger Games (and I've since finished the trilogy...wouldn't say I enjoyed them, but I had to know what was going to happen).

 These boys are too young to "play together", but I at least got a picture of them passing by!

 Abram did AWESOME at Ruby Tuesdays! Like night and day from our last visit to a RT's...when he screeched like a banshee and there were cracker crumbs everywhere! THIS time he ate, colored, played by the window and was very pleasant!

 We got to visit two of Jeanne and John's kids (and their wives and children) that live between Atlanta and Macon. I hadn't seen them since I was about a month or two pregnant, so that was fun to see Abram interact with his second cousins and see the other new babies.

 Most of the second cousins are girls...Abram did a lot of watching. He did really like Emily, the oldest of the girls (knee visible on left) and kept tackling her! haha

Last day of our trip we stopped at a Denny's Diner for lunch. Yum!

 Before our flight home we stopped at a place called "Noah's Ark" that had a lot of animals on display. We didn't have time to do the long walk to see all the animals but we saw a few of the ones close to the parking lot. Abram liked the tortoises.

I took about 10 pictures of the peacocks! They are just such pretty birds!

We bought a monkey "backpack" before the trip and it was great! Abram walked through the Indianapolis and Atlanta airports and was such a trooper! He loved the escalators and "moving walkways". It was great not having to push a stroller.  I had made a bag for his car seat which hooked over my carry on suit case and checked  it at the gates. I was so pleased with how the entire trip went and I'm so proud of Abram!