Asleep at the Meal

Some kids can plow right through the day without a nap, but my child is not one of them. This is result of a skipped nap on Sunday. She made it all the way to dinner . . .

Kate's Second Birthday!

Our sweet pea is now two years old! So hard to believe. Family and friends gathered at our house on Saturday to celebrate with us. We feel incomprehensibly blessed by these last two years. Kate is a joy to be around, and we can't imagine our lives with out her. Happy Birthday, Kate! We love you so!

Trip to California

The week before Kate's birthday, we flew to California to visit Josh's mom. Josh grew up in Hesperia, which is in the California High Desert about an hour and a half northeast of Los Angeles. The landscape is gorgeous--sandy desert and Joshua trees with huge mountains in the backdrop. In fact, we were able to spend a day up in the mountains and found a few snow drifts left. Kate got to play in the snow for the very first time! We also drove down to San Diego and spent a day at the zoo, which was amazing. Kate had so much fun and was so well behaved for the entire trip...even on the way home when our flight from DFW was delayed for 3 hours. She was a real trooper (probably in a better mood than mom and dad at that point) and we were so proud. Here's some snapshops from our trip.

Kate and "Oma":

Playing in the snow on Big Bear Mountain:

In the Sky Tram at the San Diego Zoo. Kate was fearless and loved being so high.

I don't know what was going on here...either a hug or trying to steal some food out of his buddy's mouth:

We were told to talk quietly in the panda viewing area, because this female panda is potentially expecting and they didn't want her to be startled. Of course, that didn't keep Kate from excitedly yelling, "Panda!"

Kate's Week with the Grandparents (a.k.a. My Spring Break!)

Over the week of Spring Break, my mom and dad offered to watch Kate and give Josh and I a little stay-at-home vacation. It was wonderful! Kate spent a fun-filled week in the country, while I had a productive and relaxing week at home. I slept in every day, completed my entire to-do list (everything from spring yard clean up to finishing Kate's baby book), Josh and I ate out multiple times that week with no kiddo in tow (think of it!), and I even had time for some pampering for myself. Now, I've felt a little guilty sharing my wonderful spring break with some other stay-at-home moms, who--whether they admit it or not--tend to have a glazed look of envy when they hear about my week. So, if you're thinking the only pampering you know involves diaper cream and wipes...forgive me, I just had to share. :)


Here are some snapshots that my parents took during Kate's week with them:

Sitting on Grandpa's tractor:

Checking out the bunnies & chicks at their local co-op:

At the Tyler Zoo:

Helping Grandma clean up:

Ah, fresh country air!

The Good Earth...and the Bad

I decided to start a vegetable garden this year. I've wanted to ever since we moved into our current house, but the timing never seemed to work. I thought this spring would be perfect, since Kate is old enough to help "tend" the garden--and she loves playing and digging in dirt anyway.

So last week, I decided to break ground on the garden. Had I known the extent of "breaking" that was required, I might not have been so eager. Every single shovel thrust hit rock! I knew the ground around here was rocky, but come on. It's only a 6' by 6' plot, but you'd have thought I was busting up a driveway. But I trudged on...using muscles I didn't know were there until I felt them hurt the next day. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday went like this. Shovels and shovels of rocks. And, when I dug past the rock, there were about 6 inches of compact clay that might as well have been rock. Finally on Thursday night I asked Josh for help, and strong fella that he is he was able to finish up most of the plot. Of course, I told him it was much quicker for him since he didn't have Kate stopping him every 2 minutes to look for earth worms (or "wormen" as she calls them--thanks, Backyardigans).

During those first few days, I thought about what God said to Adam after he and Eve ate the forbidden fruit: ". . . cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Yep. I think I have a new appreciation.

After toiling in the garden all week, we finally prepared a bed that I think--hope--will bear some decent crops. Of course that's after eight cubic feet of compost and a whole bunch of raking/hoeing/aerating. So, today Kate and I planted our first seeds--some purple hull peas and sugar snap peas. I know she will enjoy watching them sprout and grow, as well as the watering and fertilizing along the way. It'll be fun, but it sure would be nice if we had perfect soil to begin with. I guess there'll be no need for compost in the New Jerusalem . . . but Austin's another matter.

The Last Days of Winter

These pictures are from a trip to our neighborhood park that Kate and I made specifically to play in the leaves. I realized that winter was drawing to a close and Kate hadn't really played in leaves at all this year. So, we went to our park, which has a wonderful grove of oak trees, and made a big pile of leaves. Kate was tickled to sit in it and inspect each twig, acorn, and leaf she encountered. I love that she's an outdoorsy girl.

Then & Now...

Prom, April 1996

Prom, February 2009

My parents came into town to watch Kate so Josh and I could go out for Valentine's Day. We attended a "Second Chance Prom" hosted by our Sunday school class at church. It was fun to dress up and spend a night on the town with friends.