Vacation Post 2-First Birthdays and Plants

ELEANOR ELIZABETH is O-N-E!

Nora turned one this month. It was a monumentous event. She is growing beautifully and is charming the pants off of most of the people she meets. This was one of the most special events I've ever experienced since I feel like I've done something right for the first time in my life.

For her actual birthday we had a small gathering at the house with her parents, grandparents, 2 aunts, an uncle and a cousin. As usual, she was too busy to sit down and celebrate. A quick song and a couple bites of cake and she was off to play with her new toys and books. She loves to read and can sit already for 20-30 minutes enjoying her books. She even has been giggling at the pictures.

A few weeks later we had the big party. It was Yo Gabba Gabba themed and her Auntie Robin got her a Foofa dress that I know I will be putting on her quite often this summer. By watching one of the big girls she learned the joys of her DJ Lance Rock hat that she now finds and (tries) to put on when we watch an episode.

She was a girl on a mission that day. She played with all the big kids, said hello to everyone and ate, ate, ate. For the first time she seemed to enjoy sweets with her little cupcake, but most of it ended up on the ground and in her bib. The weather was beautiful and we were able to be outside for the entire day. She crashed out for a bit when everyone left but while there was company, she had people to see and toys to play with. My favorite part of the day was watching all the kiddos play around. I've decided that the good people in our lives have done an excellent job of making other really good people.

Gardening

I've begun gardening again for the first time in 4 years. It's amazing how fast the time has gone. In 2007 we were married and besides a few plants there wasn't much of a garden, we had too many things to focus on. In 2008 I had my second foot surgery in June so I spent that summer recovering. 2009 was the summer of traveling and finishing my masters, too many things going on...but boy did we have fun. 2010 I had Beans and had my third foot surgery. Tom would have completely melted down if I would have given him more responsibility.

So this is the year. I've been weeding and planting for the past couple of weeks and we're going to get a rototiller next week to really get going on the garden. As a mother's day gift I've asked that Tom makes my ground level garden into a raised garden for Nora and I to plant cucumbers, peppers and squash. The strawberries and tomatoes are already planted and there are some beautiful potted plants throughout the yard. I've found that I've become a more patient gardener and I don't get so hung up on the placement of plants. I'm kind of going by instinct and it seems to be working really well. This year I'm not going to plant things just to try and grow them. I know what I can do and what I can't. Things that I will not attempt to grow include, artichokes, cilantro, basil, parsley and any kind of lettuce. I have tried and failed many times. However, I can grow tomatoes with my eyes closed and cucumbers from seed so I hope Nora enjoys both of them.