Our Garden: A Horror Story

I have to say that I'm surprised our garden even lasted this long. We don't have a lot of room in our side yard, and since it is a side yard, it only gets a small amount of sunshine each day. But last spring we took the chance... and it was glorious.

Baby plants and watering boots

We planted my favorites: tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, jalepenos, and five different herbs. June even pitched in to help watering it. It became her first chore. She loved it.

Sitting next to the garden, eating Otter Pops to cure the afternoon blues.

The jalepeno plant didn't last long. We got to eat a total of three strawberries, the rest were eaten by ants before we picked them. The herbs were used in various dishes. The cucumbers grew beautifully, and were as crisp and juicy as ever.

Taking a break from the pool to admire the plants.

Then our tomatoes finally came in. I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to add them to salads, sandwiches, bruschetta, and pasta dishes. They were plump and green, and almost ripe.

Showing her our glorious tomatoes.

Then the unthinkable happened: One morning we woke up, and the top half of the plants were gone. We puzzled over this. The next day, William came outside to water them, and noticed a "cute", "little" green caterpillar. But upon closer inspection, that "cute" caterpillar was a Tomato Hornworm, and seemed to have brought friends... or an army? There were hundreds... okay, maybe 20ish, but they were eating and pooping and destroying our beautiful lush tomato plants. What once looked like an appetizing treat, turned into a bloodbath (when William tore out the plants and threw them into our garbage can).

What's left of our garden and the ENEMY.

Next time, we'll be ready... and by "ready" I mean we're not planting tomatoes ever again.

Note: Yes, I realize most of these photos were not really focused on the garden, but on June. Sorrynotsorry?

June's 2nd Birthday

My little June turned two on Monday. TWO. 


I was so excited to celebrate her birthday, I could barely sleep. 

We ate breakfast at Joe's Farm Grill and played at the dog park afterwards. June had never been to that park, and she was IN HEAVEN. The sweetest dog approached her to throw his frisbee. They played catch for a good ten minutes. I think it was magical for June.



After that, we bought her a little plastic swimming pool and let her play in it while we got the final party preparations ready.

We celebrated with my parents, pizza (June's FAVORITE), and cake. (We also missed having William's parents there.)

Ryan and Sarah stopped by to watch June open presents, which included bubbles, shoes, and a slide, June's favorite things right now.

And watch as June tries her cake for the first time:



That's my girl.

Happiest Birthday to my favorite little red head. We love you so so much!!

Thursday

On cloudy days, I get headaches. Without fail. 

Luckily, cloudy days magically become quiet days around here.

Every once in a while, I catch myself actually getting something done without interruption. Then I look to see June lining up her Toy Story figures, stacking blocks, or pushing her baby doll around. I think we've reached a new era where June has actually learned to play on her own. 

On the other hand, sometimes she's dumping her toys everywhere, pulling all the laundry out of the baskets, or rolling out the toilet paper.

It's a good thing she's so darn cute.

I guess June likes talking on the phone.

June has been all kinds of wonderful lately. I keep thinking, "this is the best age", and then it just gets better and better.

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Planning: my handmade Christmas. This is the first Christmas that I'm going to try to make most of my gifts (we'll see).  I've got about ten decorations and presents to make just in the next few weeks.
Also planning: our annual Christmas Song. I feel like we just got done writing this one... I guess this year flew by.
Eating: Homemade Blackberry Ice Cream. These Ice Cream recipes are blowing my mind (and my diet).
Hoping: to win these Christmas Cards (It's definitely a long shot).  But if not, I'm trying to design our own. It's kind of fun designing, but kind of (extremely, horrifyingly) difficult.
YEARNING: for Thanksgiving. Even though it seems like I'm already planning all things Christmas, my favorite holiday hands down is Turkey Day. (I'm crossing my fingers for a deep fried turkey.)

Tricky Treat

As much as I love the month of October, I'm always a little glad it's over. 

Last night we made two kinds of delicious soups, baked four batches of cornbread, drank ginger ale, cream soda and Yoohoo, and ate two chocolate pumpkin pies.

It turns out, June was born to Trick or Treat. After about the second house, she knew exactly what to do: knock on the door, hold out her bucket, followed by an "ooooOOOOOO" when candy was given, then on to the next house. (As a former teacher, I really do believe children learn quickly when candy is involved.)

When we dumped her candy on the floor, she only grabbed the suckers. She'd suck on one for about a minute, then find another one. We ended up with about six uneaten suckers, but at least my girl was happy.

October was amazing, but let's move on to more important holidays, shall we?

Happy Trees

Greer, AZ

I've got a list of a thousand things to do, but I'm going to stop for one minute and share to everyone how much I love my family and friends right now.

Here's why:

· He loves to eat waffles at least twice a week, and plan fun outings, and drink soda late at night, and watch scary TV shows, and listen to music all the day long, and plant luscious green winter grass, and go for walks to look at holiday lawn decorations, and record an a m a z i n g album that I am so proud of.

· She has cute pigtails and curly hair, and loves "bubbus" and "doggies", and loves to chase around a ball, and give kisses with delayed 'smack' sounds, and obsess over new shoes, and push grocery carts, and eat an entire apple on a stick, and have dance parties.

· They invite us over for Sunday dinner every Sunday, and prepare us 72 hour kits so we don't have to, and take June to the carousel to ride at least 6 times, and they sew us curtains and blankets, and buy ten different kinds of cheeses, and challenge me to Tetris to which I win triumphantly or lose terribly.

· They throw parties at the last minute that look like it took weeks to prepare for, and serve soup in bread bowls, they recommend good music and TV because I'm so out of the loop, and they have pizza ovens in their backyard with every pizza topping you can dream of, and they are talented and help me to remember to push myself and, most importantly, they make me laugh.

This is terribly written, but it's true.

A Book for June

I've been wanting to make a family book for June so she can start learning names with faces. I received a coupon for a free 8X8 photo book on my birthday from Shutterfly, and I figured this was the perfect opportunity to finally make one: 

Click here to view this photo book larger
(Click the rectangles to turn the pages)

The only reason June seems to like it is because she thinks it's a game to find Chubbs in the book.

So basically, Chubbs wins.

It's time to step it up, Bradfords and Coombs'.

Smitten

It's been a while since I've done a post about June (and by 'a while', I mean 'more than a week'), so I figure I better do a quick post.

I'm obsessed with this girl. 

She is so fun to hang out with. Lately (since it's still too hot), I've just been taking her to big stores (Target, Barnes and Noble, etc.) and just letting her run freely, push things around, carry giant bags of candy, etc. She loves it. Everyone around us gets a kick out of it (unless she takes things out of their carts, I guess).

I mentioned in Instagram, that nearly everything I received for my birthday, was really for June. This is not a complaint... I love when she gets things. I'm currently obsessed with winter clothes for her. I love looking for cute (cheap) toys. I've made a list of presents to make her for Christmas already. And on top of that, I've been racking my brain for ideas for her Halloween costume (every costume I can think of requires some sort of hat or wig... she refuses to wear ANYTHING on her head). 

Have I mentioned that I'm obsessed with her?

I think I need a new hobby... or another child? (No, not pregnant.)

P.S. Don't worry, William. June has not caused me to forget your birthday next week. 

Cherry Chick-a-dee

That tiny red chair belonged to June's great grandma. I love tiny red chairs.

And what is it about tiny fruits on tiny children that is just the sweetest thing ever? My creative, talented, funny, everything I want to be friend, Debbie, found this gem and kindly let June wear it. She has the best vintage clothes shop on Etsy; I've found some of my favorite shirts there. Take a look and keep going back, she's always adding things.

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June has been a little inconsistent on her sleeping habits lately. She's also been slightly clingy...

It's hard to tell if it's because of her teething, or the rain, or the heat that forces us to stay indoors, or the lack of fruit snacks in our cupboard, or the fact that she knows exactly where we keep the Otter Pops and she can't understand why we won't give her one every single waking minute of the day.

Despite everything, she has starting grabbing my hand to hold, voluntarily plopping herself in my lap, and giving us the most gentle kisses.

I'm the luckiest.

Routine

I'm trying really hard to be a morning person.

William can attest that I don't like mornings one bit. He's energetic, singing a tune and motivated to do a chore. I'm the complete opposite... grumpy, groggy, and dragging my feet. I save my chores for after lunch. 

Luckily, June is a morning person. She LOVES to wake up. I swear her favorite meal of the day is breakfast (with the exception of dessert, of course). I think I'd be a morning person, too, if I knew that I could take a morning nap.

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Listening to: The new Shins album. I love it. Also, this Mr. Rogers Remix song. (Thanks Daphne.)

Eating: Homemade Dunkaroos. It's just melted chocolate chips and graham crackers. (Remember Dunkaroos?! They were really gross, actually.) 

Planning: An afternoon at the splash pad, healthy dinners, and a Father's Day project for Activity Days.

Watching: John-John on Sesame Street. Remember John-John? Cutest kid on that show. June loves him too. 

About to start reading: The Daughter of Smoke and Bone... I heard good things. 

Crawl

I feel like every single post is about June. 


This one is necessary though... I want to remember this stage as much as I can.

The above photo is a rare look at June's calmer side. Most of the photos I have of her in the recent months are blurry because she won't hold still. She's entered a hilarious (and tiring) phase. She's learned to crawl, and there's no stopping her.


Here's what else she's up to:
- Pushing tiny cars, the walker, tiny grocery carts, strollers, chairs, basically anything that slides across a smooth surface. She seems so desperate to walk now, so she'll do anything to try. I truly believe that she's "walked" several MILES just this past week.
- Her love for dogs is OBVIOUS. When she sees them, she points and barks (which sound more like an adorable squeak). The best is when she impersonates Chubbs by rolling around in his bed.
- Dancing... If it's the Yo Gabba Gabba theme song, The Black Keys, Wilco, basically anything else with a strong beat.
- She chatters on two occasions: when she's talking to William on the phone, and when she's desperately trying to get me to give her food.
- If she could, she would climb up and down the stairs all day long. Thanks again for the gates, mom.
- She's an expert at fake-laughing.


The thing of which I'm most delighted about is that she'll fold her arms when it's time to pray. I've been studying a few talks that explain the importance of teaching your children  the gospel. The "Church of June" takes place in the hallway and foyer and requires constant snacking. I KNOW this is just a phase, but seeing her fold her arms reassures me that spending 2 1/2 hours in the hallway might be paying off.

Change of plans

Last weekend, I was supposed to go to the beach. We had been planning it for months. Then with just a few days left, we decided that I should just stay home.


It was a difficult transition, going from beach-bound to staying at home. William said that on Saturday, I could do whatever my heart desired.


But all my heart desired was the beach and grilling.  


So first we went to the Tempe Beach Park. June experienced her first splash pad. It was bliss for about ten minutes. But we concluded that with all the children running around her and constantly getting squirted with water, it was a little over-stimulating for June. We'll keep practicing.


Arizona BBQ Festival was next. We sampled some of the finest BBQ I've ever eaten. June enjoyed a baked potato and oreos.

Then we came home and let our tummies rest. At 11:30pm, we grilled pizzas.

Missing the real beach wasn't so bad anymore.

(That last photo is of June riding Grandma's Cadillac Escalade Power Wheel with her cousin Emerson. It's there to look awesome and, as a bonus, completes my Instagram photo square.)

P.S. Yes, this is my third post in a short while where most of the photos I'm posting are from my Instagram...I'll try to be better.

Backyard with June

I love Instagram on my phone, but it's difficult to capture June's laughing and dancing in those tiny square photos.





Thank you 8mm app.

Keep Swinging

Lately, it seems my energy level has dropped. I don't know if it's the heat or the overwhelming lists of tasks I've written. 

I'm amazed with how much energy June has sometimes... and then I remember she takes naps, sometimes twice a day.

I think I'll try that.

A Tribute to Mr. Murray

Bill Murray just happens to be in five of my top ten favorite movies of all time.

June must be a fan as well, because she currently styles her hair like Bill's:

(Thanks to William's hilarious cousin, Alisha, for pointing this out.)

A slight problem.

I'm not sure how it happened, but there's no turning back. I blame myself... I just love food too much.

And now June seems to have taken on this trait of mine.

Her demands:

1. As soon as she's sitting down, there better be food in front of her right away.

2. She feeds herself. She holds her spoon and fork, sometime one in each hand.

3. Do not hold her bowl or plate.

4. If there's dessert within 10 feet of her, she MUST have it.

If you don't meet these demands, you might get reactions like this:

I guess I would react that way too if you didn't let me try your milkshake.

A Fiesta for June

Plinko, prizes, nacho bar, IBCs, cupcakes, and family... the formula for a marvelous time.

Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us!

I think June had the best time. That night she slept like a... baby?

June turns 1

I hope June had as much fun celebrating her first birthday as we did. We literally spent all week celebrating. Family came over, plentiful food, desserts delicately eaten, lovely gifts given... but more about that later.

June's birthday celebrations ended with a baby-friendly pinata. Instead of filling it with candy, we filled it with her favorite snack, Gerber Cheetos.

Thanks to Oh Happy Day for the idea... TOTALLY worth all the work.