a pictoral tale of two trees...and two more trees...

Consider yourself warned. This post is kind of sad. But it ends with new life, so that's good. But it's still sad.

We had two huge spruce trees in our backyard. They were big. Gorgeous. Lush. Really, really lovely old trees. We loved them. The squirrels loved them. The birds, too.

But they were huge. And our yard is small. And they covered the backyard in needles all the time, such that sitting down in the yard would give a painful poking. And sappy pine cones were forever falling down...actually, it'd be more accurate to say that sappy pine cones were forever being thrown at us by a duo of nasty, albeit adorable, red squirrels. And they'd drip sap, too. (The trees, that is, not the red squirrels. Although, if red squirrels knew just how annoying dripping sap is, they might figure out how to do it.)

Sap is sticky. Sap is avoidable (mostly) by adults, but sap and toddlers? That's another story. Needles and pokes, sap and sticky hands...getting the picture?

So here they are on the morning of their demise. Aren't they lovely?

Nedy was pretty alarmed at first by the attack on her trees.
But my little photo journalist quickly went to work.
This is the point at which we realized that our neighbors actually had roofs...and that they were close to us. :)
6 hours into the day, the trees were down. 80 years to grow and 6 hours to come down.
Their ashes. :(
(God, I am so dramatic. I'm actually a little teary here writing this.)

(Just a thought, but I wouldn't mess with this stump grinder dude. I just wouldn't.)
Nedy and Baba visited the garden center for weeks researching trees and decided on a Katsura and an Eastern Redbud. Notice the root balls in comparison to Ned's body. (Needless to say, we paid for our first garden center delivery.)
Nedy's really a very skilled supervisor. :)

It took help from 3 neighbors to get these "baby trees" into the ground.

And now they're leafing out and growing beautifully already. The yard, however, remains a construction site. We've got our summer work cut out for us. Fortunately, Ned loves nothing more than an afternoon spent with her wheelbarrow, shovel and a pile of dirt. ("Mama, YOOK! Worm crawl out dirt pile!")

a Nedy and her Nana

I mean, how cute are they?!

Short pants. Long socks.

I just love these shots because they're just so...Ned.
On this particular day, she informed me in the morning that she wanted to wear "short pants"-- Ned-speak for shorts. I told her I thought it was a tad too chilly for short pants, to which she thoughtfully replied, "Hmmm... Oh, I know! Baby wear short pants and loooong socks!"

And there you have it. Shorts pants. Long socks. A perfectly reasonable compromise.

Happy Birthday, Mike and Syd!

Happy birthday to Mike and Sydney! (Dan's brother and his youngest daughter share their birthday.) Saturday's party was such fun--great weather, great food, and great people. Unfortunately, I was having a 'no reason beyond laziness' camera hiatus most of the party while enjoying the company (and following a small person around), but I did manage to snap a few shots.

Samuel and Josiah's Birthday Celebration

Happy Birthday Celebration Day, Samuel and Josiah!

This year, for the first time, Samuel and Josiah celebrated their birthdays together! Samuel's birthday is May 2nd and Josiah's is July 1st, but because July will likely be a very exciting time for my sister and her family (they are expecting travel to China to bring home their daughter/sister), she had the organized-as-ever idea to throw the boys a combined bash today. And a BASH it was, complete with a fabulous magician show right in their own backyard!

Vivian Lysette

She's here! Our niece/Nedy's cousin arrived this morning at 6:00. We had the opportunity to head down to the hospital this afternoon to catch some of her first day on the outside!

Vivian Lysette (7 pounds, 14 ounces and 18 3/4 inches)
Ned is well trained. Her camera found its way out of her backpack within minutes of our arrival.Needless to say given the expressions on her face, Ned is smitten. She announced that she will call her baby cousin 'Viv'. (Look at the scrunched nose face--seen only every so often, it's a sure sign of pure joy.)
Listening to Nana talk about Viv. Babies are very exciting creatures."Itty bitty fingers...itty bitty thumb," says Ned.Soft spots are fascinating. We even had to talk about "spot on head" on our drive home.Viv needs some itty bitty socks on her itty bitty feet!There is nothing more entertaining than hospital room drapes. Nothing.For real, is this not the cutest family-at-the-hospital shot in the world?!?!


Welcome to the world, Viv! We love you lots. Ned says she's gonna teach you to walk next week. Rest up for that, okay? :)

Nudist ABCs

Finally! I caught her ABCs on video! (Of course, leave it to Ned to cooperate this particular time...when she happens to be running around the house naked...)