Things making me happy right now.

There are several things making me very happy right now. The first of which is that our gardenia bush is in full bloom. I always look forward to this time of year because I know we will have lots of beautiful, fragrant blossoms. I apologize that these pictures are not scratch-n-sniff because the smell of a gardenia is amazing!! I've cut several blossoms and put them in various locations throughout the house in an attempt to make the whole house smell good.
The next thing making me happy right now are the calla lilies. I planted the bulbs about a year and a half ago and half expected them to actually bloom. Well, last year I got a few lilies and was quite pleased. Back in February, however, I noticed that there were holes in the ground where the plants were. I was quite confident that the deer or maybe some other mangy rodent had eaten them because if there's one thing I've learned from living here, it's that deer will eat anything and everything!! So I was extremely pleased to find out that not only have my calla lilies lived, but they are thriving. Whew!!

I'm not particularly a big fan of hydrangeas, but this hydrangea bush is so big and produces such large blossoms that I have a hard time not liking them. The blossoms can be seen through the window when you walk in our front door and we have so many that I have no problem cutting them and giving away large bouquets to people. So that makes me happy.

I'm thrilled that we have a couple (and only a couple) peaches growing. About a year ago I bought dwarf apple, peach and pear trees from Big Lots. Seeing as how the trees are from Big Lots, I had low expectations. Of course nothing happened last year, but I had high hopes that someday we would see the fruits of our labors. Literally. There's nothing on the apple and pear trees yet, but the progress with the peaches gives me hope. Deer don't eat peaches, do they?

Ever since I tasted my first fig at Grandma Palmer's house when I was about 23 years old, I've thought that Fig Newtons were a huge disservice to the fig! They really are tasty. About two years ago, I bought a fig tree from a local guy who sells fig trees as a hobby. The first year we had it, it produced maybe a handful of figs. Last year, we got ZERO!! I was devastated. But this year, the fig gods have smiled upon us and we have several tiny figs growing and I can't wait to eat them!! Deer don't eat figs, do they??

A lady I have become friends with through church is a master gardener. She has given us several plants and of all the plants we have planted in our yard, the ones she gives us seem to do very well and require minimal care. She recently gave us several more plants (including some Siberian Iris=wowza!!). Among the plants she gave me was a "Hardy Orchid". I have orchids growing in my back yard!! Can you believe it?!?! I don't need to take them inside during the winter or do anything extraordinary to keep them alive. So pleased am I.

Finally....and this is for the grandparents...how can I blog about things that are making me happy without posting a few pictures of this guy?!?! He makes me happy because he has a duck on his head....

and a monkey on his bum. Life is good.

Solids

MVP had his 4-month doctor's appointment and the doctor said that we can start him on solid foods. So on Saturday, we started with rice cereal. Note to self: getting a baby to eat from a spoon for the first time will take more than an hour. Uggh. Fortunately, he's a quick learner and is doing relatively well. I'm hoping that by the end of this week he will be convinced that getting more on his insides is better than getting it on his outsides.

In a word...

Dapper.

No wonder people love to hold this cutie pie!!

Look who's driving!!!

You know how there are people out there who will buy something under the guise that it's "for the kids" when it's the adult who really wants the item? Or there are those parents who "encourage" their kids to take up a sport because it's really the parent who wants to excel in that sport? Well, I will totally admit that this was one purchase that was more for me than for MVP. When I first saw this walker, I thought it was the cutest thing ever! Forget the fact that it has half as many toys and functions as most walkers out there. This one is just plain awesome. When I found it on sale after Thanksgiving, I had to get it. From the looks of his little face, I think MVP likes it too...or that could just be my biased opinion. (His feet don't even touch the ground yet!)