Delicious Days

Our first hot day of the year
was the perfect day for our first BBQ.
T and Ellen had everyone out to the farm
for a beautiful afternoon.

The menu was kielbasa, sausage, and hot dogs,
all made from their very own pigs.
Ellen made homemade buns for the meat,
and we had fresh greens cut from the greenhouse.

With all the trees, green pasture, and fresh air,
the farm feels like paradise.

Handsome husband shot.

Dorothy's cousin Ellis had been sick,
so this was the first time they were able to meet.
Ellis was having a hard time with the concept of being
soft around the baby
and tried to step on her and poke her eyes a few times.

It must be hard, though, to have been the only grandbaby,
and now he has to share the spotlight.
He was especially sad when his mom and dad
took turns holding Dorothy.
I think in a few more months
he'll start to like his baby cousin.

And what blog post is complete
without a new picture of the little miss?

1. the color green
2. packages in the mail
3. afternoon walks

daffodils, documentaries, and digging. oh, my!

Ah, yes.
The sun is shining,
the birds are chirping,
the peepers are peeping,
and the countryside smells like manure.
It must be spring!

To celebrate the new season
FINALLY
showing its pretty little face,
we decided to find the Dartmouth daffodil field.

This place was breathtaking.
After a short walk through the woods,
you come upon this beautiful sight:

It was a perfect family outing,
and a perfect way to end Marty's April vacation.

Over the vacation,
we also watched a documentary called
The Futue of Food.
It was interesting and a little scary
to learn about seed companies and the fact
that they have been able to patent seeds.
It also further motivated us to want to grow our own food
and eat local and organic food whenever possible.
You can actually watch it for free on hulu.com
or learn more about it at thefutureoffood.com.

We definitely know the spring is here
because it was time to start planting this weekend!
I was able to get our little strawberry plants in the ground
and to seed tomatoes, basil, and cilantro to sprout.

I can't wait to get back over in the dirt and sunshine next week!

Happy spring, everyone!


1. a little dirt under my nails
2. naked feet
3. open windows in the house

all dressed up

I love getting this little polka Dot all dressed up.

Ready for church in her denim dress.

Lounging in the green sweater daddy picked out.

Too cute for words on her first day of church.

Such a sweet little lady.

525,600 minutes...

Well, folks,
we hit the one year mark!

It's always nice to take a little stroll
down memory lane..

THEN

and

NOW

Lots of love,
memories,
and a little Dot later,
we couldn't be happier after our first year.

musings of a new mother's mind...

Let me just start off by saying
I love Susan Boyle.
This spunky little Scot has captured my heart.
If you haven't seen her youtube clip yet,
go watch it.
It makes me smile every time
(yes, I have watched it more than once),
sometimes tear up,
and I want to give her a hug.

I was worried that I would not find time to read
once I had Dorothy.
Wrong.
Very wrong.
I just make my sweet Dorothy listen while I read.
There is nothing like a captive audience.
This girl is getting quite the education in the classics:
Frost, Whitman, A.A. Milne, Dickens, and more
have already been covered.

I find myself wanting to pick up my trumpet lately.
Not such a great idea in a small apartment with a sleeping baby.
I guess I'll have to wait until Dorothy is a little older
to get back to my jazzy roots.
I'll let Louis Armstrong fill my want for right now-
he is almost as good as I am:)

And
pretty much every minute of the day
I find myself thinking
that I'm pretty sure I have the cutest daughter in the world.

Oh,
and if you haven't watched the Karate Kid trilogy in a while,
do yourself a favor and put it on.
Go ahead and skip the 4th one
(sorry Hilary Swank--I liked you in Freedom Writers).
Sometimes I wish I had a Mr. Miyagi
that lived in my apartment complex.

And THAT is what this post-prego
brain has been thinking about lately.

Oh, and I have been out of practice with my
3 things I am grateful for.
Dorothy and Marty were about all I could come up with
for the past few weeks.
But now I return:

1. april vacation
2. crock pots
3. washing machines

Heaps Mommy Mania!

I love my sisters!

To celebrate Dorothy's arrival,
they both traveled here to Massachusetts
with their little ones.
It was incredible being together with them
and letting all of the cousins meet.

Here is Aunt Eva meeting her newest Niece.

Dorothy meeting her cousin, Cailyn.
Cailyn's first question was, "can I call her princess?"

Uncle Marty meeting Keira!

Aunt Kristi meeting little Dot.

Heaps sister baby swapping.
Keira seemed HUGE next to Dorothy.

We tried to do the Cliff walk in Newport, RI,
but the weather decided to be uncooperative.
I stayed in the car to nurse,
and everyone else braved the wind and rain
for a few quick pictures.

I loved the interactions between the babies.
Keira would coo and get so excited around Dorothy.

All the sisters and cousins together.
I can't believe how the family is growing!

Dinner at Friendly's--
much deserved after a very busy day.

Of course you can't avoid some puke with
so many babies around.
Keira didn't seem to mind and still posed for the camera.

All of the cousins together.
This won't happen again until Christmas,
so I am very grateful that my sisters
were willing to come while Dot is so small.

And a little family photo.

We really loved visiting with everyone
and can't wait until next time!

blood, sweat, and tears

Yesterday was such an emotional day!

The first week we were home with Dorothy,
we got a call from the doctor's office
saying her thyroid results had come back too high.
This was not a surprise
because I take synthroid daily for hypothyroidism.
We were told that we would need to take her in for bloodwork
this week and a hospital was recommended to us.

Marty was able to come with me and Dorothy to the hospital
(thank goodness).
We went through registration and were sent to the lab.
We were thinking that we would be seen by a pediatric nurse;
however,
just the every day Phlebotomist was there.
She assured us she had a lot of work with infants under her belt,
so we took Dorothy's sweater off and got her ready.

Just wiping down her arm and putting the band around
starting her crying a horrible cry I hadn't heard before.
The nurse tried to draw enough blood
but was unsuccessful after two tries.
She told us to take our poor screaming baby back
to the waiting area while she called for a smaller needle.

After she had settled down,
we were called back in.
As soon as we put her down on the table she started
screaming again, knowing what was about to happen.
This time two nurses restrained her
and had to poke her about 4 more times to get blood.
By this point I was crying too,
and I got even more upset when I overheard the nurses
say to each other,
"is that going to be enough?"
"I don't know."
I don't think I can handle that again,
so I am praying that they got enough.

Our sweet girl was so tired after the whole ordeal
that she spent the rest of the night snuggling with her papa.

I am very grateful for modern medicine,
it just seemed so barbaric to hear Dorothy scream
as they poked her over and over.
I hated that I couldn't explain to her why she had to hurt.
But thank goodness it is over now
and hopefully the results will come back fine.