Dear Plain 'Ol Grammy,

Thanks for the lovely hand-written letter you sent, and the money you sent for marigolds. I was actually pretty excited to have a couple dollars to spend on flowers because I just finished this book called Carrots Love Tomatoes, and it's all about companion planting. They suggest planting marigolds in your vegetable garden to kill nematodes in the soil. I went to the garden center yesterday and all the plants were reduced price!

I bought:
2 pony packs of marigolds (the circus marigolds are SO pretty!)
2 chives (which are good for your roses)
6 strawberry plants (are mutually beneficial when planted with bush beans)
1 spearmint plant (repels ants, and thus aphids. improves flavor and growth of tomatoes)
1 thyme plant (good anywhere in the veg. garden)
1 sage (improves growth of most vegetables in the garden)
and 1 seedum "voodoo" (which was just really pretty and goes in the flower garden)

I planted all of these while Luke was sleeping in the afternoon. It felt so good to add to my garden. These were all things I had on my list for next year, but I was able to put them in now! I am especially excited to see the chives help keep aphids off my roses because they are covered in buds and I don't want them to get eaten.

This afternoon I am going to Winnipeg for allergy tests. I'm glad to finally be tested and maybe discover some things about myself, but I never enjoy that much driving by myself. I'm considering going to the library this morning and getting a book on tape. That really helped Derek and me get through the long drive from California to Manitoba. We listened to three books on CD. That kept us awake in the warm afternoons.

I love you Grammy. Give Bud a kiss, and Blue a hug from me! We are all looking forward to seeing you in July. I show Luke your picture and say, "Graaa-mmy", and he says, "Gaaa-ng". He can't say the "y" yet. He does the same thing when he says "Daddy", it sounds like "Da-dn".

Missing you,
Laura
PS- This is Luke in a toque my friend Katie made him. I am excited to try the pattern you sent for the scarf. It looks beautiful.

Weekend in Review

Before

After




Luke's birthday party was a big hit with Luke. Even though the power went out for an hour right after dinner and we ate cake in the dark sans coffee, Luke didn't mind. We BBQ'd hamburgers and hot dogs, made WAY too much food (probably ate way too much food), and then enjoyed a most scrumptious guitar cake before opening presents. Cammy helped Luke blow out his candle, but Luke got to eat cake all on his own. Mara and Dan and Jen stayed later than everyone else, and the kids were having such a nice time playing on the floor while we visited, that we let Luke stay up an hour later than normal, and have a second helping of cake. You only turn one once!

Over the weekend Derek gave Luke a few more stair lessons and this morning Luke just took off down the stairs! He's got 'em mastered! Now I will only have to use the gate because I don't want him wandering into the basement without me, and not because I'm afraid he's going to crack his head open.

Speaking of cracking heads. This morning Luke pulled the corner shelf in our dining room down on top of himself. Thankfully my Mom told me to take my african violet off that shelf on Saturday just in case Luke ever pulled the shelf down. Still there was a CD player, a wooden kaleidoscope, a canvas painting and a wooden wreath. Can you believe it? Nothing hit Luke on it's speedy journey towards the floor. He came out unscathed, but very scared. I just about had a heart attack when I looked over just in time to see the CD player slide off the shelf and land right beside Luke! I'm wondering if he's learned his lesson and won't pull on the shelf again, or if we're going to have to exile yet another piece of furniture to the basement. What do you think?

Over the weekend Luke spent a lot of time climbing on his new John Deere, playing his Backyardigans guitar(which we limit to half an hour at a time so that Mom doesn't go crazy), sitting in his Lightning McQueen chair and rattling his Ten Thousand Villages gourd-rattle like a little dictator in his throne. He also spent an hour here and there putting on Derek's baseball cap, pulling it down over his eyes and then walking into walls and furniture. I couldn't help it, I laughed so hard the first time he walked smack into the wall! He turned around and laughed with me, pulled the hat down over his eyes and walked right into the couch. What have I started?

Now that Luke's a year old he can legally sit in a forward-facing car seat. We all enjoy being able to see one another.

Nothing Runs Like a Deere...

Grandpa Stan's idea of a rockin' good time.


Luke concurs.

The Big Day, The Birth Day

On Luke's day of birth I took a cinnamon raisin bagel to the hospital, as well as a Brother Cadfael murder mystery, my teddy bear, and a CD that Vernon Isaac made. I also took bathroom stuff and extra clothes, but those weren't nearly as useful as the first four things I mentioned. I didn't know what to expect with an induction, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience. I had the best nurse in the world, and my doctor stayed with me the entire time I pushed (didn't just come in at the last minute to catch the baby as I was told to expect).

I remember thinking what a beautiful day it was to have a baby when I entered the hospital. There was dew on the grass and the sun was shining in the wheat just outside my hospital window. Before long though, I wasn't noticing the weather. I sang along with Vernon until the contractions got too bad, and then I curled up on my knees at the head of the bed with my face buried in my bear. The next time I noticed the weather was when the contractions got more bearable and I was able to push. I was nearly passed out between pushing, but I noticed the weather outside my window because it was suddenly very dark, and there was lightning and thunder. It was beautiful. And just after Luke was born the sun came out from underneath the storm clouds and lit up the bottoms of the clouds. It was raining and there was a rainbow, and I held my son for the first time.


They're predicting a thunderstorm for tonight. Although it would be too bad if we couldn't sit out on our newly finished deck, I think it would be an appropriate tribute to Luke's entrance to the world.


Stay tuned for more video and pictures of Luke's big day! I'll be posting a few more things later in the afternoon, and then again on Monday. So check back soon.

Induced

Last year about this time I was dealing with swollen ankles, sleepless nights, aching back and Braxton-Hicks contractions. I was ten days overdue and feeling the pain of impatience mixed with the discomfort of twenty-five extra pounds. Although the doctor "induced me", I was "induced" to be induced long before the doctor was ready to induce.

Boys

The boy's side of the clothing department is maybe a third the size of the girl's side. The boy's clothing is simple and brown, blue or green...like a bruise. And the girl's clothes are so colorful and sweet, with little matching sunhats and sandals. The boys get two pairs of sandals to choose from. They better match your bruises.

The boy's toy section extends exactly the length of one aisle, and they include battery operated explosions, motors, and sticky goop to toss at windows and make stick to your ceiling. The girl's toys trail brightly across three aisles and sparkle and glitter and talk.

Even in the health department the girls are catered to, with six different girly toothbrushes to choose from, all covered in Dora the explorer, splashes of color and scratch and sniff handles. The boys are offered a Bob the Builder toothbrush.

It's obvious what I'm attracted to - the bright, colorful, sparkly, clean, girl things. But when I leave the store I remember that I have Luke. Luke, who runs towards the stairs when he sees the gate is down, who sneaks over to the cabinet when he notices the locks are off and ends up sitting in my casserole dishes. Luke, who sits on my closet floor trying to figure out how to put on high heel shoes, and who likes to sit for hours under the deck, putting rocks and dirt in his mouth. Luke, who enjoys his bath so much that he'll run, naked, as fast as his chubby legs will carry him toward the sound of running water.

I don't miss the scratch and sniff or the glitter very much when I remember Luke.

Success!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from my very successful photo shoot yesterday. This little girl just turned three, so this photo shoot was for her. If you haven't taken a look yet, here's my website.

Yesterday evening Derek and Luke and I went to the nursery and bought five hydrangea and seven veronica plants. Then Derek and Luke hung out inside while I planted! I got a little carried away and ended up weeding my vegetable garden, watering all my new plants, transplanting several things that were in the way of my new stuff, and visiting with the neighbor girl who came over and picked weeds out of the dirt while I worked. I will get out there today and take some pictures of my newly planted front flowerbeds!

This evening is my last photography class. Of all the classes so far, today I really don't feel like driving into Winnipeg...especially if I have to leave at 3pm. So I am debating skipping it. Except that it's my last one! Maybe I'll go, but I won't take pictures in to be critiqued, because that would mean leaving early to pick up photos....which I haven't even sent in yet to be printed. The problem is that it's a critique night, and so far I haven't felt like the critiquing is very helpful. It's very vague. It's fun to see everyone's photos, but I don't see the point of putting my own up. Maybe I'm a grumpy old homebody...already? That's not supposed to happen for another sixty years!