Happy 1st Birthday, Sophia!

Oh yes, our youngest is one year old. She has had a busy year:

• Birth (this is probably a big one from her perspective): the first breath, the first cry, the first fight as the doctor tried to get fluid out of her lungs. We were rooting for Sophie: "Go, girl!"

In the OR a few minutes after birth

• Name: It took us a good week or so to finally decide on Sophia. Originally, we were thinking Carolina Grace (which Omi still wants), but Sophia won out.
• Trip to CA: Oh yes, she got to travel across four states while only four months old. This was for her great-grandfather's funeral, sadly, but it was wonderful to introduce her to many family members. On a positive note, she was also blessed while we were in Cali. (For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a baby blessing is for giving the infant a name on the records of the church and an official father's blessing, much like the blessing Isaac gave Jacob and Esau in the Old Testament of the Bible). Cool stuff.

Four months old and still on the floor - at Omi's house in CA
(Omi is German for grandma)

• Move into our house: We were living in Doug's mom's basement for about a year while we transitioned from South Carolina to Utah. A long year without much light, but that year allowed us to end up in a great house - and we were able to sell our house in South Carolina a whole month before we bought this one!
• Birthday: the crowing achievement for a little girl who has actually survived a year with four siblings. You made it, girl.

More pictures from Sophie's first year:

1 month old

Almost three months old and smiling

Five months old and rolling around

Ten months old and crawling and cruising

Eleven months old and everything goes in the mouth

Someone's having a birthday! She's been practicing standing alone all week...walking isn't too far away!

This has been a busy and difficult year. I am so grateful for this little one and all the joy she has added to our family. Happy birthday, Sophie!

Gardening: the Wishlist for 2012

As a corollary to what I've learned, here is my wishlist for 2012.

• Gloves. Every year, I wear out my current pair. I need very good gloves, because my hands are always getting dirty. 
• We need hardscaping. This actually splits into two parts for me: 1. the fence, which is my number one priority, due to small children; and 2. pathways, which is lower down on the list but still there. If the hardscaping is in, it should be easier to plan and execute the whole landscaping design. 

Fencing: A more modern look? Or...

Should we go more rustic?

I really like this flagstone path...

But this grey paver path is also so sweet.

I love everything about this picture -
maybe we could do the rustic fence above, using these gates,
pebble the drive access and then use pavers or flagstones for the pathways?

• We need a good sprinkler system. Doug spent many weeks making sure that the garden and the new lawn behind the house were watered. Everything else I had to water by lugging around a hose. The more plants I put in, the more laborious this chore became. Next year, this is high on my list.
• A plan. Mentioned in passing above, this is really my biggest wintertime project this year. I need to map out our yard. Unfortunately, this does require a lot of measuring. And plotting. And thinking. But what else am I going to do when it's snowing outside?

This doesn't sound like a lot, but honestly that fence is going to be a killer - budget-wise and labor-wise. Doug wants to put it in himself, and we still can't really agree as to what type of fence we want. Our city also has extensive codes that we need to figure out before we can determine where to put the fence. The codes even dictate what materials can be used. We're not in an HOA (House Owners Association), but our city certainly acts like one sometimes.


So much for a relaxing winter...

Gardening 2011: What I Have Learned

Every year I learn more about gardening as I try new things and improve on older things. Here's my list of good and not-so-good things from this year:

• Peat Pots! This is the first year I've actually had success with seeds. True, amazing success. And I attribute it to peat pots. I have tried Dixie cups, paper towels, egg cartons, you name it. This time it actually worked. 
• Give plants their space - they grow faster than you think they will. When I put in the seedlings, they seemed to have way too much room. And since I'm a lazy gardener, I didn't want them too far apart - too many weeds that way. The good and bad of it is, those plants are very crowded in some places. Especially where the native plants (also grown from seed) are taking over.

The echinacea (coneflower) to the left and the malva zebrina (the striped purple flower in the middle) are being overtaken by the evening primrose (the pink cupped flower to the top left and bottom right). The primrose is a native, so I'm going to let it grow wild...but on its own, not in the middle of my flower bed!

• Buy plants in fall. We were too busy in spring to do much more than put in our seedlings from the peat pots. Which was okay - the seeds did great, and when I got around to buying, I got great deals. We'll have to see how well they overwinter, but I'm guessing it'll turn out okay.
• Wear gloves. I know, Duh. This is a big one when you have puncture vines (aptly named). Even with good gloves, I have a new splinter in my hand every day or so. When I don't wear gloves (this is a daily lesson because I try to pull weeds when I see them instead of running to the garage to get my gloves), I get a sticker in about 1-2 minutes. 
• Watering is not optional. Thank heaven (and also the city) for secondary water. In the "Intermountain West", as the Salt Lake Valley is called, there is no atmospheric water. Establishing plants requires constant watering. 

The weeds (to the top and right) seemed to have enough water,
but the poor eunonymous is about half dead...but still half alive!

We'll find out next year if I've learned any of these lessons.