Ahh.. Spring

It has been so lovely outside lately. We spent the weekend hard at work in the yard and garden... trimming trees and bushes, raking out the flowerbeds as the cheery daffodils spring up to meet the new year. Kade and I dug a long trench in the deep black earth at the edge of our garden, next to the ruffling leaves of the returning rhubarb, and planted a row of freshly cut seed potatoes. Kade huddled over, carefully placing the potato chunks, cut side down, eyes pointing up evenly spaced along the trench. He plodded down the row in his bright yellow rubber boots with the potato slices tucked in the pocket of his sweatshirt. He examined the other end of the garden which contains three rows of peas and a row of radishes, peering down to be sure he couldn't see the trace of a new seedling. Our raspberry bramble is fully planted and we are awaiting the bare rooted canes to come alive. The tips of our apple and plum trees are fuzzy and pale, just waiting to burst forth with new leaves. The tulip greens are thick and strong and soon the bright, showy flowers should be brightening our yard.

It seems that the animals are enjoying the Spring as well. In addition to the usual plethora of bunnies and squirrels, the birds have been really active. They have been singing loudly, chattering and chirping away. Our yard is covered with chikadees, thrush, cardinals and robins. In the last week we have seen the mysterious red fox once. Two days ago, we looked up to see a large doe standing about 50 yards away in the greenspace, staring us down. She sat for a while, nervously deciding whether or not we were a threat and then she slowly ambled back over the ridge. This evening as we looked out the back window we saw a large tom turkey walking along the ridge, walking busily, poking out his head here and there with his long beard dangling below. He came back a few minutes later, seeming to be on some sort of important mission. It is great to see our yard coming alive.

Avram is taking more and more steps- he has gotten pretty adventerous. He is up to about 8 steps at a time. He has also been loving to spend time with us out in the garden - maybe a little too much. I have seen him on occasion dig in the dirt and then put his super dirty fingers in his mouth - dark, black dirt mixed with his drool running down his chin. Eww! And then - Kade and I were out gardening, Avram was next to us digging away in the dirt. I looked over, he was kneeling with a big smile on his face. He had a giant mound of packed, moist dirt weighed down in his little hands - the size of one of those extra large muffins - he smiled - looked right at me - and took a big bite off the top! Just like he was eating the big ol' muffin. The kid's a dirt freak! Kade was never like that! He never put anything weird in his mouth. I guess they are all different. Let's just hope these are boosting his immune system!

Birthday boy...2 small steps...

Our big one year old enjoying his birthday cake...

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Where Dreams Come True...

So I feel like I am playing catch up! We have had a really busy last couple weeks. We spent a great few days in Florida for Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary. It was really nice and overall, a really great success. There was a big turnout and they looked really happy with it too.



We also spent a day at Disney World. When we left the house, it was raining... a lot. All, the way there, Kade was really worried that we would have to go home. Despite having the GPS in the car, we took a serious of wrong turns and each time Kade was equally concerned that we would not ever get to our final destination. Upon arriving, he was really anxious. His eyes got so wide upon entering the gate and he anxiously walked up to the first character he could find for a big hug. Soon after we arrived, the drips started to slow and stopped. The clouds literally parted and it turned into a really gorgeous, warm, sunny day. One benefit of the rain was that it apparently scared away a lot of people because the park was not that crowded.


Kade had such a blast. The first ride we rode was the "pirates of the carribean." He was a little freaked out. As he sat in the middle of Dan and I, he firmly held onto our hands, one on each side of him. He looked out quietly, taking it all in, occasionally flinching when a cannonball flew. When it was over, he was quite proud of himself. Since returning, he has told everyone he has met, sometimes more than once, about the ride. He really enjoyed all the rides. When he stepped off of the Peter Pan Ride, he said, with emphasis, "that was GREAT!" He really held on all day. While standing in line at the small world in the late afternoon, he felt a bit sleepy, resting his head on my shoulder. But, he kept getting new winds and lasted all the way until we left, after 10pm. He fell asleep in the stroller before we could even buy him his gift so it was a suprise the next morning. He just loved his new Captain Mickey Pirate, complete with pirate hat and compass.

He can't stop talking about disney, he loved it so much. He is already planning his return trip!