Will she ever smile for the camera again?

Roses, roses everywhere

Man, I just want to bottle these moments up forever...

Yesterday Daphne and I met my parents up in Columbus for some well-deserved funtime. (Since the last time my parents came down to Cincinnati, it was work, work, work.) We met at Whetstone Park of Roses in Columbus on a beautiful, sunny day in June. What could be better? Well, Kevin being there - but he had to work, again. This place had all kinds of roses - with all kinds of names: Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Liz Taylor and Princess of Wales, to name just a few. It also had a great play area and walking path. So, I hung out with my parents until a storm blew in. There is something about getting older and spending time with your parents - I enjoy it more and more.

It's also going well with Kevin staying home. Lots of little things around the house are getting done and I think that both Kevin and Daphne are enjoying it, which makes me happy.

Happy Belated Father's Day

Do you see a theme here? I seem to be late on celebrating holidays. Father's Day was a good day (although it could have been better if I had gotten to see my own dad.) - Well, maybe not for the father in this house, because he had to work. We did get to play softball, and lost. But we won the week before, 31-8, and I actually played that game. That's a pretty great achievement. And the team went out to eat afterward. It's so nice to spend time with Kevin. So, on this Father's Day, I have some great pictures. And maybe I'll figure out how to place pictures within the text, instead of all at the beginning....
First, my all time favorite picture of Kevin and Daphne. I loved and love seeing Kevin and Daphne bond. It's truly wonderful seeing the love between the two of them. Kevin is an awesome father. He's patient and gentle with Daphne in way I haven't seen before.My, how the past 2 years have flown. That cute little sleeping baby is now the demanding little toddler. And a cute picture from recent days. Do you think she will be embarassed when she gets older seeing this picture on the web? She was trying to put her own shirt on, or was she trying to take it off? Either way, she didn't too well but was very proud of her accomplishment!
And here is Daphne trying to walk in Daddy's shoes, literally.

And one of my Dad and Daphne.

Birthdays...

Kevin finished his grueling finals today, so that's why I haven't been able to get on the computer for the last few days. I am so happy to finally get my husband back again for the summer!!!

Today is the day after my 32nd birthday. I used to think that sounded so old. Contrary to what Kevin says, it isn't. In fact, I feel a lot younger than I ever expected. Daphne and I visited my friend Ann yesterday in Indianapolis. We've known each other for 14 years - and that was just from the start of college. Wow! How time flies. Numerous degrees, two weddings and 3 kids later... and our friendship is still strong. Ann took us to a very cool, kid friendly park in Indianapolis. Noah and Daphne had a blast. I think Daphne might be a monkey when she gets older. She kept hanging on the ropes.

Daphne is out of daycare for the summer and Kevin gets to be a Stay-at-home Dad. For the last 3 days, I took vacation and Daphne just hung out. We went to a little kids water park on Monday (when it was sweltering, in the 90s) and Daphne did not want to have anything to do with it. She cried as soon as I took her shoes off and then, as the mean Mommy I am, I made her touch the water - and that made her cry some more. So finally, we went to the playground area (which was empty) and she happily ran around. Today, we went and fed the ducks at the same park. Ahhh..... what wonderful days. I wished they didn't end.

Back to reality tomorrow. And the new reality for Kevin, of taking care of a toddler full-time. I'll let you know how that goes.

Hot, Hot, Hot

The storms left us and now the weather is hot, hot, hot. I can't get enough of it. But then, Kevin would probably ask, why do I have to have the air conditioning on if I like it so hot. (I turned it on earlier in the week when it was just in the 80s). I do like the heat, I just don't like to sleep in it and our house- even with a lot of windows and ceiling fans - is just not conducive to being cool inside - unless it's winter. With all the hot weather, I thought Daphne would like to try out her flip-flops - and they are not just any flip-flops, they are Little Mermaid flip-flops, even bought in Orlando. Daphne has a name for Ariel and seems to point to her with recognition when she sees Ariel on things, but I can't quite decipher what she is actually saying. Well..... Daphne had other ideas of where the flip-flops should go. She kept scrunching her toes when I was trying to put them on her.

And there are more pictures of flowers. It may seem obsessive, but I do like to garden. After clearing and killing everything in one of my flowerbeds, I decided to replant. And so about mid-May last year, I decided to plant a perennial garden, hoping to not have to plant flowers again and again in this large area and then, I could see lots of blooms, like in my Mom's gardens. I planned it all out - read garden books, even drew out a diagram where the flowers would go - keep the tall ones in back - have complimentary colors. Well, somehow I managed to plant the flowers last year on the last day of rain for the spring/summer season (until about September, or so it seemed). So I diligently watered last year, every night after Daphne went to bed, and nothing. The foxglove and purple coneflowers amounted to nothing more than a few leaves that got eaten by bunnies. The dianthus never bloomed. The garden had formerly had peonies and daylilies in it and neither came up last year. At the end of the season, I also planted a crepe myrtle and thought I had killed it too. Magically, this year, everything came back (well, mostly) and is blooming. There is lots of color, tall stalks and buds and big blossoms. So, yeah, I am pretty proud of the garden and like to take pictures of the resulting flowers.

Beautiful Weather = Gardening

This weekend, the weather was gorgeous!!! Lots of sun and warmth - just the way I like it. Daphne and I got to spend some time outside gardening, while Kevin got to.....study, inside.
Only 1.5 weeks left for the quarter and Kevin will be able to enjoy life again too. I think saying he is looking forward to the break this summer would be an understatement.

Hope everybody is enjoying the beautiful sunny weather! My flowers are finally thriving. After last year's drought I thought for sure that all the perennials I planted would have died.
I also got to finally finish another knitting project - it's been awhile. In my quest for the perfect winter hat, I knit a striped stocking cap. It's nice to see a quick finished project. For those of you with Ravelry accounts, you can see it on there.

All of this and time for a nap - now, that's a good weekend.