silly tuesday

This is the beautiful puzzle Lydia put together last night apparently. When I asked to see it, she said she'd rolled it up and put it back in the box. 

Well, smart child, she took pictures first.  This is impressive.

And on my list for two weeks now is to sew some baby blankets.  The fabric was bought and washed, then folded and stacked.  

Sewing creates a mess and takes time I don't have, but two were sewn tonight.

Tim then brought up his own blanket, and I drew a blank. I told him I would not have thrown it away, but who knows where it is?

 He said it was blue with slippery edges and then he and his sisters dug around in the bins of outgrown clothes in his closet and found it.   Once upon a time it was chenille on the front and blue satin on the back.

That was a very long time ago.

Here he is, sprawled out with it in that chair back from the upholsterer last week. I like the chair, still getting used to it. It's darker and more textured than the old fabric.

 He said now the blanky can double as a sleeping bag.

Then he thought the new blanky was much, much bigger than his blue one.

Nope. 

Same size.

 This is a guy so annoyed by little kids and the idea of a weekend of them at the lake with the boring parents.  (Me and Jay.)  He's in pain.

I do understand.

My beautiful friend is retiring. She's earned it.  Today the kids went with me as we put together a gift for her--the planter and flower, the bottle of Jay's wine with a ribbon, and a card.  Into the future she goes, and I'm nothing but happy for her.

A little lonely and bereft for myself, true, but that's totally not the point.

 Oh, and here we are wrapping up the night, something about a ninja sound track which made James cover his eyes and groan a little.  "I don't even want to know what that iiiissss."

Mmm, Tuesday, you sweet warm last day of April, you.

My weekend starts right here.

Snow is forecast for tomorrow.

Whatever!  It's still 68 degrees in this bedroom now, windows wide open.

Nothing is going to disrupt my peace.

Onward, May.    love, Val

a little bitty weekend

 It was a weekend, and the weather was gorgeous.

So much sun, all good.

 Dan and Alicia came for lunch on Saturday.

 I love how he's grinning like that next to the unruly, overgrown bulb garden and the multiplication place mat.

Bare feet, striped shirt, perfect.

 The driveway was the prelude to a trip to the park.

James.

 Jay.

 And then there was a sleepover, also very nice.

John did some work on the computer and the wireless, trying to speed it up.

We'll take whatever help we can get.

Onward, tomorrow is Monday.  love, Val

not seen in many months

 Lunch on the patio in warm air and sunshine--look even bare arms, no jackets.

And some local urchins biking around the park:

Oh, wait. I know them.

This little girl is having the time of her life.

This one is already finding it a little overheated.  That whole massive winter coat is going to shed off her in the next few weeks.  The coat has two layers--a silky top coat, and then a dense undercoat that fuzzy like down.  And it's all water repellant.  She had a bath last week, and it was a work out.

 Here she's in bare toes that are actually not freezing cold.  Yesterday she would not leave on shoes and freely admitted she was cold.   Finally she was in a winter jacket--still with bare feet, trying to play in the sand.

 Ahh, yes.  This enticing spring day is making us happy summer might get here yet.

You happy kids?  I love you so,  Mom, aka Grandma

a fun gift

"Smile for your Gramma!"

Yeah.

And then after lunch when I tried to catch a few zzzs, she poked me in the face and took away my covers.   I said, "Be nice to your Grandma. Let's hug and snug and be nice together."

She said, "no."

Well, then.

Then she ate Lucky Charms and burped in Kari's face.

Here is the gift-- this fun device is, in the hands of a pro:

We found Google Earth on this thing and they've been to Niagara Falls, the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, Denali, a fancy building in Cambodia, and found most of the homes of our relatives.

He's just himself.

Sigh.

Cute.

They looked up that place Kirsten lived at in Scotland, and also their grandparents' house, and where their older siblings all live now. We looked at the roof of the mall.

Woo Hoo.

And yet also somehow a bit miraculous.

Here she's probably checking the weather forecast, looking at that serious face.

Onward!   Life is nothing but good.  love, Val

mom, it's doing that again

Mooooom!   Make it stop!  Oh, Good Lor-ED. 

Longest winter EVER.   This picture taken at 11:30 pm. 

love always, Val

one year old

 Here he is, big eyes while they try to get the cake ready.

It was a great party, hosted in the big room at John's work.

 Here's the biggest brother, cooperating nicely for a picture.  He's got no front teeth still, but he's so grown up these days.

 Yes, these favorite women were there:

 Here's a cute kid goofing around for the camera:

 Shaping up now:

 That's my sister in law cuddling the baby.  We don't see each other nearly often enough.

And to you, little guy--a guy we'd never imagined until only a year ago?     You are the most perfect little boy, as tender and sweet and fuzzy as a little baby kitten.   I wondered if that quality would disappear when you got big enough to get off our laps and crawl away.

It didn't.

You're still fuzzy and friendly with that sweet grin that squints up your eyes.

Thanks for coming to this family and being ours.  The whole family is better with you in it.  

Happy Birthday, beautiful boy, love Grandma and Grandpa and Everybody