mission accomplished.

baby legwarmers:
check.

They're a little shorter than I wanted;
I'll have to use longer socks next time.
However,
I am pleased with the overall results.
Thanks, Krusp,
for the idea
(and for the pair you made for Dot).
These will be great for the spring!

of birthdays and blessings

welp,
I'm officially a quarter of a century old.
And what better gift is there to commemorate
such an occasion than a new pair of shoes?
How about
2 pairs of shoes!

My new sandals:

My new heels:

I lost most of my shoe collection last summer,
so Marty thought he would treat me to some new shoes
for my birthday.
He even picked out the snazzy mustard colored heels.
I love them!

This past Sunday
we were able to bless Dorothy.
My parents flew in from North Carolina
and my sister and her family drove up from Pennsylvania
for the celebration.

We have had such a hard time catching one of Dorothy's
smiles on camera,
but Grandma Heaps got one on the first try.
Oh, she just gets cuter by the day!

The weather was mostly cloudy and rainy,
but we had enough of a break in the weather
to take my parents to the daffodil field we recently discovered.

Here is our little Miss all ready for her blessing day at church.

the mama lady and her sweet baby girl.

Another family shot.

Marty gave Dorothy a beautiful and simple blessing.
From the company we had
to the blessing and luncheon afterward,
it was all a beautiful weekend.

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