African Lion Safari

We had a really perfect day at African Lion Safari yesterday.  Bridget didn't cry in the car like she usually does and she barely cried all day.  And Henry loved it!  He thought being in the bus was so cool and especially that he was allowed to move around in it a little bit.  He was also excited about seeing the animals.  He loved the playground there because it had a ball pit.  We sat through one show with elephants which Henry seemed to like enough but as soon as it was over he said 'now we can go to the balls again'.  So we went to the balls again and then went to the water park area which Henry also loved.  It was so fun to have a kid to take to do these fun things.  Feels like now we are a real family.

Best Buds

Here are the lastest pictures in the best buds series.  It has completely surprised us how much Henry loves Bridget.  Sometimes it is to get attention.  He knows we ooh and aw every time he gives her a hug or says he loves her.  But there are times when  I honestly can't think of an ulterior motive.  Like today in Zellers, I told him we had to leave the toys so I could find a place to sit and nurse Bridget and he just agreed.  He just followed us away from the toys with no complaining or whining.  And he waited with us while I sat and nursed.  And then we went back to the toys.  It was lovely, well as lovely as sitting to nurse in Zellers can be.  

Bridget definitely looks a bit different than Henry did as a baby but still this picture looks like Henry and baby Henry side by side and makes me do a double take.

a kiss

a tickle

he just loves her little hands

At Home

We did go out for a walk today but we were home by 10:30 before it got too too hot and spent the rest of the day inside.  It felt like a long day to be honest.  We brought several toys out of the closet to keep Henry busy.  I kept busy taking pictures, I am still working on my skills with my new camera.  

Green Beans

We are eating green beans for dinner every night this week.  (Must commit to succession planting next year!)  Henry helped me pick them but refused to eat them.  Actually they are not very tasty.  I planted a yellow variety this year thinking they`d be easier to find when picking and they are but they don`t taste very good.  Oh well, it was worth a try I think.  In other garden news we ate our first garden tomato on Monday.  

In the garden with Henry

Henry and I took advantage of the slightly cooler temperatures this week and did some gardening.  Henry loves to eat peas straight from the garden these days but unfortunately our pea plants are just about done producing (one of these years I will get the hang of succession planting).  So I got Henry to help me dig up some potatoes so we could plant some more.  These are just the potatoes that sprouted from some of last year's sneaky potatoes that didn't get found during harvest time.  So they got a head start and are already quite big.  Just from those sneaky potatoes (which took over my kale area) we got more than a 3 L basket full of potatoes.  

And when the potatoes were all dug up we were ready for planting some new pea plants which will hopefully give us peas before the first frost.  Henry was a pro at doing this all by himself, in fact he kept telling us "I'm good at doing gardening".  Here are the pictures to show him poking a hole, planting the pea, covering up the pea, and admiring his work.  Gardening with my kid is a dream come true for me, I'm so happy that he's into it right now.  

And he still loves watering the plants with his watering can, here are some pictures I love from earlier in the week.

A top

I made myself a top last week on Henry's Grandma and Grandpa day.  It's a wonder I still sew for myself I so often have failures or things that I think I like at first and then don't wear much at all.  But I like to think that's just because I love experimenting or at least making myself stuff that is a little unique which is always going to be risky.  Oh and because I have yet to accept that the clothes from those Japanese pattern books just don't look good on me.  

This top isn't so unique but it is made from a pattern that I made myself, based very loosely off Heather Ross' summer blouse pattern from Weekend Sewing.  It's the same pattern that I used last summer for this top but without the sleeves.  I usually avoid sleeveless tops because I find exposed shoulders tan so quickly in the sun and as a bonus I don't have to shave my armpits with sleeves.  But this summer has been so hot I am willing to do a little more sunscreening and shaving.

Anyway that similar top that I made last year is one of the few things I've sewn for myself that has really gotten worn regularly for a long period of time.  I've already worn this new one twice.  And I'm sure it will continue to get worn a lot this summer since it hides that mummy tummy that I am working on losing.

Eating from the Garden

There is a lot of food growing in the garden at this time of year.  

For Monday dinner we had all our vegetables from the garden.

And I need to plant more lettuce next year but there is still enough out there this year for a salad every once in a while.

The garden has been more neglected than ever this year.  I can't even blame the whole newborn + toddler thing.  It is really this heat.  We've spent quite a bit of time in the backyard this year but mostly lounging in the shade not digging and pulling in the sun.  But this morning was really nice and cool so Henry, Bridget, and I spent all morning out there and got some gardening done.  I did some weeding, staked up some of the tomato plants that were not too tangled up already, and planted some lettuce and kale.  Henry helped.  He pulled some leaves off some weeds, poked holes in the dirt with a stick, and threw around some seeds.  He kept saying "this is gardening".

He also helped me harvest this kooky cucumber.  And by helped I mean I asked him to take it over to the patio which he did and came back and told me it had made a big kaboom.  Of course I found it on the patio in two pieces.  But oh well it's nice to have an enthusiastic helper.

Here are some more pictures of our morning in the garden. 

  

the creek

I woke up this morning and realized July is half over and we've only been to the creek a handful of times!  Henry and I love the creek in the summer so we headed there this morning before it got too hot.