Indisputably Spring

It's definitely spring in our neck of the woods. In fact, spring has been here for a week already, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. But today I felt it. After a translation job, workout, mom's group, and quick trip to the library, I squeezed in some gardening time while NS was asleep (before getting some shut-eye for myself). I was comfortable wearing a T-shirt while loading the big yellow wagon with dry leaves, vines, and weeds and piling them behind the shed to decompose. (Yesterday I weeded, pulled vines off the fence and shoveled about 30 gallons of compost from the bin into the garden.) The forsythia in front of the house is starting to bloom, and several of the thick daffodils are already glowing in the front and back yards.


Views from the front door (blurry with springtime rain):



Backyard views (the messy-looking patch is the garden ready to be planted):

This evening the weather was so fine that we had to take a walk before supper. Here's CP with NS in her exciting new mode of walking (facing out!). In case you're wondering, she's sporting rainbow froggy leg warmers.


We traveled to our respective parents' places during CP's five-day spring break (Easter weekend). Highlights included skinning logs for fence posts (much like peeling a giant carrot, but it's harder on the back) and playing Chicken Foot dominoes. We invented a version of Chicken Foot that's similar to Fast Scrabble, but didn't keep score (imagine having to count all those little dots!).

Here's Princess NS presiding over pillows. She enjoys sitting up (with a little help). A few days after her 3-month birthday she flipped herself over from front to back for the first time. She's also getting the hang of thumb-sucking.

Below: studying Grandma's Easter card