Scenes from a Memorial Day

S with her Daddy as he took a break from packing

Our old iris blooming in front of our new light fixture

S strolling the grounds (and probably counting the dandelions)

Checking out the neighbors walking by

Where did my baby go??? Seriously she looks so grown up in this picture

Oh wait, there she is. Whew!

Out of season

We're going through our first warm spell of the spring/summer--highs in the 80s, lots of humidity, afternoon and evening thunderstorms.

Yet I am knitting mittens.

I found another pattern from the book that brought you my mom's fingerless gloves. And I found some yarn that hadn't made it into a box for the move. And I got to knitting.

These aren't perfect, but I love the color, and it almost makes me want the fall to come that much sooner. Almost. (It was a long winter)

A picture to make you smile

I was taking some pictures of cloth diapers in S's room and she suddenly realized I wasn't paying attention to her. I pointed the camera at her and said, "Smile!" This is what I got

We realized something last week

S has been to 9 states already.

We're counting any state she's at least gotten a diaper change in. So her New England road trip last summer got her to PA, NY (oh yes, the diaper blowout at the WalMart), MA, ME, and NH. Her trip to Tahoe added AZ, CA, NV, and CO. I don't think we've stopped long enough in CT, but maybe we'll work on that.

Not bad for being a little over a year old, huh?

Finally, something for my husband

Just about every guy I dated got something handmade from me. A blanket, or a scarf, or a throw. Except for my husband. Maybe that means something...

Anyhoo, I took a sock-knitting class last month. I had always wanted to try socks, but I needed someone to walk me through it. It was a great class.

It turns out the socks fit my husband quite well. And he loves them!

He makes a great foot model, no?

A (crafty) picture to make my mom happy

When we travel, my souvenir idea is local yarn so I can make something to remind me of the place. It turns out there was a yarn store near our house in Tahoe. My mom, my sister in law and I headed over to it near the end of a day of shopping.

I found a really pretty hand-dyed yarn and a pattern for a wrap sweater for S. And I had my mom pick out some gorgeous sock yarn to make her some socks. While we were at it, my mom found a great pattern book and a pattern for ribbed wrist warmers. She thought they'd be great for her to wear when she and Dad spend time in Carmel.

I only managed to finish one of the pair while I was in Tahoe, but I finally got the second one done this week:

I just hope Mom knows where the mate is!

Good day sunshine

The last week has been amazing around here. The sun has been out, temps were in the low 70s, it was dry and clear as a bell, and everything was blooming.

(That is not our house. This is a shot from our garage. But that is our magnolia in bloom.)

S and I have fallen into a nice springtime routine. After breakfast we head out and do some errands. By the time we get back it's usually naptime, then she has some lunch and hangs out in the house.

Sometime in the late afternoon we put on S's Crocs and head outside.

The first couple of times, S was really tentative around new surfaces. If she started to wobble near the mulch or the grass in the back yard, she'd throw her hands out but try her hardest not to touch the alien surface. After finally getting her hands dirty, she got more comfortable with the whole situation. Now she motors straight toward the rose bush or the backyard.

S is fascinated by the (too many) dandelions in the yard. By next year she'll have figured out how to blow on them.

We're going to have to figure out a new routine this week since it's going to rain for days on end. But S has a really cute raincoat, so I'm sure we'll figure it out.

Traveling fools

Yes, in the midst of a major move, we decided to take a cross-country trip to Tahoe to see my family. In all reality, the trip has been planned for almost a year, it just happened to fall in the middle of The Great Move.

S had her own seat on the airplane, so it was my purpose in life to find a car seat that would fit in it. Amazon had an amazing deal on this one, because it was a discontinued fabric.



S did really well on the plane, all things considered. It was more of a learning curve for Mommy and Daddy to figure out what would make her happy.



S had a wonderful time with her aunts, uncles, and cousins, not to mention Nana and Tapa. The house was roomy, with lots of opportunities to climb and check herself out in the mirror.



Nana and her youngest granddaughter posed on the back porch before we took off.

There was still plenty of snow, which isn't surprising. Tahoe got 61 FEET this season.

Before we knew it, it was time to get back on the plane and head home.

Thanks Nana and Tapa for a wonderful visit!

Happy Birthmother's Day!

This is the day we think (even more) about S's birthmom and her decision that makes tomorrow extra special for me. It's Birthmother's Day.

Even though we don't see/talk to each other often, we are so happy that S has her birthmom in her life in some way, and they can have a relationship. We just got an e-mail from S's birthmom today, and we will see her next month. We are very blessed.