Gardening: Second Year

"Mommy, spray me! I'm growing." and "I want to water the 'matos." B-Bee is becoming quite the big boy helper - when he wants to be. This is part of my garden late this July. You can see the rhubarb was going crazy, tomatoes were growing tall, and peppers were starting to get going. I've found peppers to be rather slow growing until they get big - the habeneros are just not blooming, hope it doesn't get too cold for them just yet. Now a few of the tomatoes are taller than I am, nearing 6 feet. Don't remember if the super tall ones are the Mr. Stripeys or Big Johnsons - just looked, both are really tall but the Mr. Stripeys are the tallest.

One of the changes we made when redoing our deck was to put stairs on the garden side of the deck. LOVE, LOVE being able to just step right into my garden. Nellie likes it too, because it's easy to follow me everywhere I go.

When they're not busy pooping in the garden, here are the household sungods. At least we're finally keeping them out of the boxes.

We are nearing the end of the harvest already this year. I tried to get all my plants started earlier so that we wouldn't be plucking green tomatoes off before a hard frost in November, like we had to do last year. The Roma tomatoes are almost done and the bigger tomatoes are ripe. We've made lots and lots of salsa. The other night I blanched a batch to freeze until I have enough to make a huge batch of marinara to can. Sweet Banana peppers went crazy alongside the jalepenos. What does one do with so many jalepenos? I'm hoping the Habeneros produce at least a few peppers before it gets cold. We didn't have quite as much zucchini this year, plus I know what to do with the ones we do have this year. There are 4 watermelons that I'm wondering when to pick. How do you tell when a watermelon is ripe? Cucumbers didn't do so great this year - Daddy-O nipped one of my 2 plants with weed kill. Lesson learned there. The broccoli keeps growing more heads, so we'll probably have broccoli once a week until they die off. Herbs did okay, but I was slow getting them in the garden. Next year will be better, but all in all, it was a good garden this year. Year #2 was a success. :D

Bumper Floats & Friends

Even more than swimming, our favorite summer activity has to be having friends over to hang out and grill! (Besides the fact that it forces us to clean house.) We love to hang out on our deck and let the kids run in the yard. This year we added a bounce castle to the fun and redid the deck.

Our newly favorite pool game: Bumper Floats! Auntie Zaza supervises as Nellie & B-Bee chase each other in the pool, the whole while giggling like crazy, all of us.

A couple of my favorite cuties joined us for supper....another Big Brother and Little Sister that love the spinny chairs.



2 Babies In A Tub

Swimming has, by far, been our favorite activity this summer. I couldn't let all the cute suits Nellie has this summer go unused....and they haven't. Last year I just HAD to buy an adorable one with butterflies for full price and then pulled it out of the too small clothes this spring, still on the hanger with the tags. Someone wanted to offer me $1 for it at the garage sale. I just couldn't part with it. Anyways, there have been fountains and "water features" (because we really just don't know what to call the cool water playgrounds that we wish were around 20+ years ago and are so popular now), swimming lessons, pools, pools, and more pools. It's been a great swimming summer! The kids already had the tans to prove it in early June.

I didn't know what to do with the kids on the 4th of July. I really wanted to do something with Daddy-O, but he had to work. So I put a FB out there and my friend, Audrey invited us over for lunch & more swimming. It was great to chill and get to know each other better....and then put the kids in the baby pool to chill. Short post, simple day.

Nellie 1st Birthday Party!

This is going to be mostly a picture post - is there any other kind? - with snippets of the party.

IT CAME!!!! FedEx guy delivered it just in time for the party! "Nellie's birthday present" from Oma & Papa, in lieu of a wooden swingset. Needless to say, it was a HUGE hit - pun intended.

Favorite menu item: RASBERRIES! Cake was a close 2nd. She'll make a beeline to anyone with either.

Ready to get in trouble with her buddy, Lyd. Tutu trouble.

I chopped my hair off the other day. I'm donating 10" in honor of all the wonderful mommies that donated milk for Nellie. As I was nursing her down for a nap this afternoon, I realized - as I admired her for her perfect latch - that I have successfully breastfed her! (Even if we have had to supplement the entire time.) It has only taken me 363 days to get to this point. It has been quite the journey!

Begging from the master chef.... (and Great G'Pa).

The berry tower.

She was so neat about her smash cake. Napless Nellie, Nosy Nellie....and now Neat Nellie.

She was instantly in love with her dollies! ...and even into unwrapping her own presents. I've determined that it IS genetic, cars & boys, dolls & girls. Although, B-Bee has already played with all of Nellie's dolls. He decided that the Bath Doll needed a bath this morning. So he undressed her, "bathed" her and redressed her.

....and at the end of the night, we had one TIRED Nellie (with "aunti" Oz).