My First Mother's Day (with baby outside of my body!!!!)

Admiring our beautiful yellow Reiger begonias...before attempting to de-blossom them...

Ah, I had every intention of making this blog entry short, sweet, and sentimental...until my day was filled with reminders of what motherhood can really be!!! :) Three poops (we still just have the one baby...), a load of cloth diapers, and a crawling 11-month-old who would much rather "celebrate" than nap has knocked out just about all the sentimentality I originally hoped to muster. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

We have actually had a wonderfully laid-back Mother's Day in our home. The weekend has been very family-focused, which is just what the three of us needed. Our plans to go to church this morning were thwarted by a Strawberry who awoke at 7am and therefore needed to go down for her morning nap around 9:30...the start of our service. Oh, well! Harry let me sleep an extra couple of hours and while he took over "Strawberry Duty," and while he was at it he made me some homemade waffles with blueberries. (How is it that he manages to accomplish more when she's up and around than I ever do?!) We had devotional and prayer time together, and reflected on the many things that we are grateful for. I am grateful for a husband who is such a loving, nurturing servant-husband and father!

Because we went to Milmont Nursery yesterday and selected several annuals and perennials for our yard, we have spent the afternoon planting them in order to "color up" our home a bit. This is always the highlight of my spring, because I just love seeing our expansive yard dashed with the beautiful pinks, purples, yellows, reds, and whites of God's creation! I am such a flower lover... The day has been exceptionally GORGEOUS--70 degrees, a cloudless blue sky, a gentle breeze blowing amidst the blossoming branches of our towering honey locust trees. It can't get much sweeter than this!

But it did...because we had Susannah's help in planting begonias and petunias!

She always takes time to observe and consider before diving into anything new.

She is quick to notice barking dogs and to imitate their sound: "Woo-woo, woo-woo!" Here, she is also signing her version of RYLIE.

She started to explore on her own with a "commando crawl," which made her look like a little snake in the grass!

Then she burst into her new, full-fledged, real-live crawl...

...before getting distracted by watching Rylie romp while chasing a bug (I wish I had caught that delighted little giggle a bit better).

Back on the move!

Time to help Daddy loosen the soil for the first pot of begonias.

Mama shows me the sign for FLOWER as I touch the bright orange begonias.

First I will reach into the pot to touch the soil. Then I will take a bite to sample this delectable new substance.

This little thing is SOOOOOO the love of our lives!

Coming next: Highlights from our early April trip to Florida and "Our Strawberry at 11 months!"