First Garden Post of 2015

Spring is here!  After a pretty lame winter in these parts--we had very little snow and incredibly mild/springish temps for most of the season--we are now fully into spring mode.  We haven't returned our skis yet because I'm secretly hoping for a giant snowstorm and 1 more chance to ski, but now that it's April, it's getting much less likely that will happen.

In addition to already conquering a few hikes this season, I've been working on getting the garden started and already have a few things sprouting!

Here's the first garden update for 2015:

Tulips and the Deer that ate them:  I planted 6 dozen in the fall and deer have come and helped themselves to about 5 dozen.  But, that means at least 12 beautiful blooms for me to enjoy.  Note to self:  Work harder to find a deer repellent that works.

So far, I've planted spinach, sugar snap peas, lettuce, and swiss chard.  I planted garlic in the fall and that is growing like crazy, which is one of the reasons I planted it.  I love feeling the early spring success!  :)

spinach sprouting

Swiss chard planted-no sprouts yet

Sugar snap peas are popping up! 

Garlic!! 

So that I can compare how the garden looks from month-to-month, here's the views of the garden on April 1st.  I can't wait until it's all lush and green again!   That Hancock-building-looking-thing is the trellis I made for the sugar snap peas to climb.  Supposedly they grow 6 feet tall--we'll see! 

Should've had a beautiful tulip border--ugh deer! 

This year, my plan for the garden is to mostly grow things that I don't need to cook.  I love grabbing handfuls from the garden, rinsing them off, and putting them on the table for snacks and sides for lunch and dinner.  I'm also pretty over growing tomatoes.  Last year, very few of them turned red before school started and that's just not fun for me.  I want fresh tomatoes in July, not September.  So, I'm planning to grow 1 cherry tomato plant and then I'll just plan to use farmer's markets over the summer for fresh tomatoes.  Once our frost date passes (they say May 1st), I'm going to plant bell peppers, cucumbers (tons), cherry tomato, and herbs.  I may grow 1 zucchini plant, but I'm not sure.  For fun for the kids, we'll be planting pumpkins and watermelons in a different area of the yard.  They took up way too much prime garden space last year and I'd much rather have an abundance of cucumbers.  

Ok--and here's some recent pictures of the kids since I completely stink at blogging these days.  

the boys hiking

hiking fun

matthew, catherine, and an elephant

catherine and i on another hike

took the kids for a long walk--including our first time going in the walkway over the highway! 

Catherine enjoying some alone time while the boys napped.

She's obsessed with climbing.

The kids and I all in stripes!

The Little Things

Since this blog is the only baby book I have anymore, I thought I'd just take a few minutes to capture some ordinary events of our week.  Whenever we go out with our 3 little ones, I notice people getting smiles on their faces as we walk by.  Every time this happens, I'm reminded of how fleeting this stage of our lives really is and how much we need to remember the little things.  So, here's a few glimpses into our current chaos:

-Andrew and Matthew have discovered a love of Hide-And-Seek.  The excitement and laughter they get every time one of them finds the other is hilarious.  It's also hilarious to hear Andrew count to 10 before matthew can even leave the room and to hear Matthew skip all sorts of numbers on his attempt to count on his own.  He's getting there, but we've got 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10! happening quite often.

-Catherine took her first steps last weekend!  She hasn't decided to take any on her own yet, but if I set her down a few feet from me, she'll take 3-5 steps toward me.  It's adorable and I can't wait for her to take off!

-Matthew is doing extremely well in speech school!  We recently switched to the University of Utah's speech program and they are having some trouble figuring out what to work on since he's come SO far since his assessment in December!   We are so excited about his progress and it's been so nice to have an easier time communicating with him.

-Andrew made it to level 3 in ski lessons, which means he gets to ride the lift and go on green runs now!  He says he's not scared at all and is sad his last lesson was today.  I can't wait to get up there and ski with him!

-We are attempting potty training with Matthew AGAIN this weekend.  He's very excited to wear underwear, but not very excited to use the toilet.  His current strategy is to just wiggle and hold it in as long as possible.  Then it's usually nap or bath time or something when I'll tell him to go and he'll happily agree.  We are still waiting for him to take the reigns and make it happen!

-Catherine's currently super fussy from 4 until about 6:30.  I've tried getting her to nap, eat, holding, and other stuff, but nothing seems to work.  So, we do an early dinner for her and she's in bed by 6:30 because i just have no idea what she wants.  I'm guessing a 20 minute nap would do the trick, but of course she won't go for it.

-Andrew is completely opposed to looking at words or attempting to read at all.  It's become potty training all over, which is totally ridiculous.  The boy will absolutely love it when he figures it out.  But, just like potty training, this stubborn boy apparently needs to do it on his terms.  Don't you dare point out the word "the" while reading to him!  Gasp!

-Matthew's current favorite thing to say is "That makes me angry."  It can be applied to all sorts of situations--guests leaving town to return home, being told it's not time for play-doh, being told dinner is something he didn't want, that's it is bath time, nap time, dinner time, bed time, etc etc etc.  Lots to be angry about these days.  Life is tough at age 3.

Ok-that's all I can think of for now.  Here's some pictures I've taken recently:

Catherine kissing her new baby she got on her birthday.

She will not leave shoes or socks on.  Ever.

Since we gave up TV for Lent, we've had a lot more play-doh time.

First Girl Scout Cookie!  Mmmm

6" of snow for the first time since Christmas.  5 days later--60 degrees.  What a crazy year! 

Andrew assessing Matthew's speech after observing the speech pathologist.

Catherine's first throw-myself-on-the-ground tantrum.  She didn't want the water I handed her. 

Matthew potty training the doll.  At least one of them is getting it? 

Catherine gets sick of her hair-ties around dinner time and lets loose a bit.

Catherine is ONE!!

I can't believe it either.  Somehow, our little baby girl turned ONE last week!  What a fast year!  And, looking back on the blog, it's clear it was a crazy year as well.  Looks like the last time I posted was when our little Catherine got mobile!  Ha! That sure was a game-changer around here.  Having a baby crawling with 2 big brothers who have tons of toys that aren't safe for the under 3 crowd has proven to be quite a challenge.  We are getting used to it and have good boundaries set for now.  It also helps to have both Andrew and Matthew on Choking Hazard Lookout duty at all times.  Anyway, here's what our sweet little Catherine is up to as she turns one:

Catherine at 1 day old.

Catherine at 1 year old.

-She has 8 teeth--4 on top and 4 on the bottom
-She is a very finicky eater these days.  She LOVES sweet potato today and HATES them tomorrow.  She's also really nice about dramatically spitting out things she doesn't like and/or picking them up and dropping them off the side of her chair.
-Just finished the medicine for her 3rd ear infection after having a hard time sleeping.
-Total Daddy's girl--the bond between those 2 is the best.  They are ridiculously smitten with each other.
-Cruising all over and so fast now.  She's starting to let go a bit to lean to the next piece of furniture, but not walking yet.  It won't be too much longer, though.
-Removing socks as soon as she gets a chance.
-Saying the words--Mama, Dada, Yeah, Hi, Uh oh, Nigh Nigh.
-Raising her arms for SO BIG, blowing kisses, clapping, waving, shaking her head no and yes
-Figuring out how things work and imitating how we use them--trying to put lids on cups, use brushes on her hair, put socks on her feet, hats on her head, etc.
-Sharing things with us.  She loves to hand us things and wants us to hand them back immediately.
-Happily plays on her own in the pack n play while I shower or make dinner.
-Likes to look at books, push trucks while making engine noises, destroy anything Andrew builds, shake rattles, kiss her baby doll
-Is so cute and smiley when we get her from her crib in the morning
-Loves bath time and could splash for hours
-She's transitioning down to 1 nap and seems to do fine with just 1 nap most days.
-She's really easy-going and seems to roll with whatever we decide we are doing that day, even when it means she misses out on sleep.

1 year doc appt stats:
Weight: 16lbs 6oz
Height: 26.8 in

This little lady is petite with a note of "familial short stature" in her chart.  Awesome.  We are looking forward to Catherine's 2nd year.  She's definitely still the favorite daughter around here.