Just a smattering of photos from last night. We had a small family fireworks display on the sidewalk, then tried in vain to view the Reeds Lake fireworks from our traditional vantage point across the street. But a four-story retirement community has been erected since our last celebration, and it most definitely blocked our view. Next year I vote for riding our bikes to the park and watching them in person!
I love this photo. Because it clearly shows how much he loves his grandma.
I remember my mom saying at my baby shower that she was very nervous about being a grandma because she’d never done it before. Yet she had nothing to worry about. She and Dev have a very comfortable relationship. Scott and I joke that our kid and our dog seem to adore Grandma more than us. But I also had that kind of relationship with my own grandma. There’s a big difference in the way you relate to a grandparent than to your own parents. It’s a special kind of love. It doesn’t take away from the parental connection at all. It lives in its own place.
Last Wednesday was our anniversary. Nine years and we haven’t strangled each other! I was recovering from my three-day volunteer stint for Festival and feeling in a non-camera mood last week, so I’ve been lax on the updates. I did, however, recruit a shorter member of our family to snap a pic. He was having some trouble getting a reading for the focus so we have a blurred outcome. But I kinda like it anyway.
Happy nine years, Scott!
Updated:
Happened to find this photo (a scan) minutes after posting this. And it happens to be not long after we were married. Scott lost that ring cleaning out the gutters within months of the wedding. Or so he says! 
Of the three pets, Lucy’s the one who really lets Devin get up close and personal.
Juliette is friendly enough, yes. But she’s not really into a kid hanging all over her. She’ll politely remove herself from the fracas and find a more comfortable spot.
Maggie doesn’t even let him have a chance. Since the only human she seems to like is me, if anyone else comes near her she darts off. Doesn’t matter who that person is, although if that person happens to run really fast and make lots of noise on a regular basis, that won’t help the situation much.
Lucy will just lie there and let him pet her. She’ll even flip over and share her belly with him for some tummy rubs. The other night I said, “Since there are three of us and three of them, we can each claim a pet.” He would get Lucy, of course, which totally thrilled him. I’d get Maggie because she wouldn’t want to be claimed by anyone else. And Daddy would get Juliette. Seems fair enough.
I’m beyond excited by the spring we’ve been having. To celebrate the last day of April, we had ice cream cones, climbed a tree (or watched the boy climb one) and then got rained on by the flower petals as Mommy shook said tree, and had a sword fight in the front yard.
And played with dandelions. Love the spring evenings, although I wish there were more hours at my disposal. Still, even a half hour outside goofing around is good for the soul. I need to do more goofing around. I need a remedy for some of the stress and tension that have whittled their way inside of me. Outdoor time with Devin is a great place to start. We just need to get Scott out there with us too!
Spring break has come and gone. I’m back to work tomorrow. I’ve been very neglectful of my online pursuits over the past week, but I made sure I got in some cooking pursuits this weekend while I had some extra time. Yesterday I made mac ‘n cheese with roasted tomatoes. Today it was whole wheat banana pancakes for breakfast, a fuzzy navel smoothie for a snack and a family teamwork dinner with Scott manning the grill for the turkey burgers, Devin putting together a kick-butt spinach salad and me cooking up some stovetop baked beans. Dev and I also made a whole-wheat chocolate blueberry cake. Yumma-yumma. It’s all about the food, you know!
I’m so happy that Dev likes to help in the kitchen. I don’t have to twist his arm. In fact, when he heard me rattling around with the pancake gear this morning, he grabbed his stool and was ready for flipping. (I let him handle the second flip from the pan to the plate.) And he put the salad together all by himself. He decided on ingredients (spinach, strawberries, carrots, celery, feta and goat cheese, pine nuts and sunflower seeds) and layered it all the way he wanted. It turned out great. He’s dubbed me a smoothie expert and he has the crown of salad pro.
There’s still snow on the ground, but it’s fading fast. The past few days have been delicious. Sunny and hopeful.
Yesterday we all went down to the river and hung out at the playground (where Scott was confronted by a gaggle of kids who forced him to play tag with them). Today I took Dev to the Meijer Gardens to see the butterflies and walk run around and check out the sculptures outside. We had a great time. The weather is supposed to be lovely for the next couple of days so we’ll be outside every chance we get.
Lemons being February in Michigan.
The lemonade being a kite festival on Reeds Lake.
We happened upon the event when we visited the library and took a trip out on the back deck to watch the crazy people walking around on the ice. (Crazy, yes, because it gives me the heebie jeebies to even think about walking on ice. I don’t care if it’s 12 inches thick. I’m not going to be the one dropping like a stone, clad in my winter layers, to the bottom of the lake.)
The sun and the blue skies certainly were a grand backdrop to the event. Although we lasted only a couple of minutes as spectators. T’was cold and the kiddo left his gloves in the car.
We had a lovely visit at Hart Tree Farm on Saturday. The only bad part was when Scott hopped off the wagon onto the ground, thinking it was just packed snow. But it was icy. And he went boom. (Did I mention he had the saw in his hand when he fell?)
It was a great day for it. Snowflakes falling and fluffy whiteness clinging to the trees. Picture perfect, as they say. Not a family to mess around, we found a tree in exactly .34 seconds and Scott was down on the ground sawing away. It’s a nice tree. A bit on the plump side, but not too tall. Tonight we made a glitter star out of cardboard and we’ll put it on tomorrow after it dries.
Now I just have to find time for all of the other holiday fun-fare I’d wanted to engage in with Devin. Baking cookies. Making crafts. Reading Christmas stories instead of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which he prefers. I’ll just conjure up some magic of my own and make that happen.
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