Spring?!?

These crocuses are not in my yard. They are on my kitchen counter. I am desperate for some spring color, so a recent trip to the grocery store left me clutching a little pot of crocuses and some cut tulips. And don't they just say "Spring" to you?

Well, certainly more than this short photo essay about Vala's experience in our backyard this weekend.

"Hmmmmmm, what's this?"


Could it be...tasty?"


"I believe it is!"


"Just...a little...more...."




And one more photo essay, for those of you wondering if Vala is indeed walking....





The answer would be "Oh, yes." You have to imagine her gleeful squealing as she runs toward me. Yes, "runs" is a more apt description at this point.

One final "Up Yours" to winter....



(and these are Canadian tulips, by the way. It's spring somewhere up here!)

It's the strangest thing...

...but I can't get a really good picture of Vala. Something always seems to get in the way. Ya know? Like there is something not quite right about the picture, but I just can't quite put my finger on it. Here, let me show you:

Ya see? Huh. I mean, she's a beautiful little girl, and I have a good camera, but look, here it is again:

That indescribable something. Huh.


Ooh! Ooh! It's on the tip of my....

I've got it! It's her eyes!

See how one's got an eyelid crease and one doesn't? Isn't that odd? That MUST be it!

I think. I'll have to think about this.

The Playground

Two entries in three days??? Why, yes!!

I had to show these pictures I took at the playground yesterday. It was the kind of day my ma would call "bluebird", and which I would call "abso-freakin-lutely fan-f#&@ing-tastic". The sky, the sky, oh my god. That's probably why the pictures feature the sky so prominently. And I have discovered that if I want decent pictures of the boy, I can't say, "Hey, Gavin! Smile!" This usually resorts in a look of glum impatience. It's much better to give him something to do, take a gazillion pictures, and hope for the best. So here's the best.







And don't think I forgot the girl. Although her favorite thing is to be held while I am pushing the boy on the swing, which resorts in much giggling, she also enjoys the swing herself.



Oh, and did you know she has two teeth?



Yeah I can't believe it either. She's sitting up, too. Six months old already. I swear, babyhood flies by so quickly, I almost can't believe she was ever a little swimmer in the dark, the secret passenger, that silent witness to my heartbeat. And I admit, sometimes my heart gets a little lonely in there.

My bladder's damn glad to have his room back, though.

i heart autumn

So we actually managed to go on a hike with the Kiddlins this weekend, and found some fall color.

And I also managed to take pictures of the girl in the adorable sweater and hat Sherry made for her. At first she was not amused...


But she grew to like it.


I am appreciating having a photo subject who will actually sit still. Gavin, on the other hand, moves constantly, so photos in which he is smiling and not fuzzy are few. So here's a fuzzy smiling one.


I will refrain from posting a non smiling pic, but believe me when I tell you, that boy can bring on the morose.

Well, not feeling terribly creative today, so that will have to content you. Now get off that computer and go play in the leaves.

w

Harlot-Happy

I've met her! I have finally met the blogger to which all other bloggers should owe allegiance! The Yarn Harlot! She of the Sarah Jessica Parker hair and smouldering lawn! Oh, and she held my baby.

Great. Now I can't ever give Vala a bath. She will be seventeen, with long greasy dreadlocks to the ground, and asking me, "Ma, why can't I bathe? Everybody at school does!" and I will have to shake my head sadly and say, "Yes, but not everybody at school was held by the Yarn Harlot! As an infant! The Harlot!"

Okay, seriously, I had a great time finally seeing the great Stephanie Pearl McPhee in the flesh. She is absolutely hysterical. Like, stand up comic funny. Stories I already knew from the blog took on new life, some complete with Jamaican accents. I of course totally flaked at the book signing, unable to put two words together to make actual conversation. Vala talked more than I did. Of course, that was satisfying, watching my smiley baby charm everybody there. And I met her! The Yarn Harlot! She signed my books! I love her! Aaaaagh!

It's okay, I'm all right now. Just let me go collapse in the corner in a little sweaty ball 'til I regain my composure.

Until then, enjoy some photos.

Don't you mess with this girl's umbrella.


That's better. See? Can't we all just get along?


Oh my god. There goes any doubt that these are his children....


And finally, here is how my son leaves a restroom. Potty seat, stool, and Scientific American.

Out of retirement....

Hey, folks! I don't even want to know the date of my last post, it's so embarrassing. So we will move on, no?

I think I will let the new little lady speak for me. I'm sure you will forgive me after she explains the situation.



Vala Speaks! from scifimama and Vimeo.

There. I knew that would do it.

Yes, there is a new addition to the One Blue Tree family. And our dear little Vala Margarethe is quite a talker, even at 2.5 months. Gavin loves his little sister already, although the other day, when his grandma said, "Why don't you talk to the baby? Maybe then she'll stop crying!", Gavin looked at her little sad face and said, very firmly,

"STOP CRYING."

Ah well.

My life in pictures

Okay, so not really my whole life, but a good chunk of the past two months. For example, the hubbo's parents came for a visit. We took them up in the CN Tower, where we discovered that although most adults get the willies from standing on the glass floor, my son can't get enough:


For those of you who don't know, this is what he's looking at:


Then, came pumpkins and more pumpkins.


Oh, and the boy's favorite new word is "pumpkin", which you can hear about twenty times a day. Usually referring to pumpkin shaped objects, but occasionally referring to Christmas lights, smiley faces, or rotund cartoon characters.

I also discovered that Canadians have a real knack for sophisticated phrasing on signs. Well, at least this one.


Oh, and then there was this tiny man who could lift a car with his pinky, who insisted on traipsing around the neighborhood in a cape and asking complete strangers for candy.


He then took off on his tiny supersonic vehicle.


Oh, and he told me to let you know that Superman is soon to get a little brother or sister. Sometime in April. Don't tell Lex Luthor.