The Team

Introducing Team Luke.

Team Luke in action:  Calming a melt down.

The Out of Town Grandmother Gigi: holding...and rocking...and loving every minute of it.

The Grandmothers: Mim and Gigi.
Luke was born between our two birthdays.
I'm see a lot of shared birthday parties in our future.

The grandfathers.
(They are tough guys...willing to be involved even during wails!)
No definitive word on what they will go by, as of yet...

The Dad who stayed up with The Baby for hours during a rough night.

 

The team's mascot Cheeto.

Our Head Couch: We all look to Jesus for our game plan.

Together...I think we're going to make a really GREAT team!

With apologies to Cat Stevens...

Yes, the cat's in the cradle in Mim's front room...

Little boy Luke has the cats all a-tune...

"When can Luke come play, Dad?"


"I don't know when, but you'll have a good time then, Tate".

"I know you'll have a good time then".

Typically Bitsy scatters and is not to be seen when we have visitors.
In fact many times people who come over wanting to see our cats never even get to see a single cat whisker in passing.

So of course...just when you would rather the cats be busy doing something else... 

Cat curiosity comes out in force.

Don't you love Bitsy's puzzled expression?

That was a close as Bitsy got...a good sniff and then she went to the end of the room to think about what all this might mean. 

Tate was even more curious than Bitsy was and he got shoved away.
Luke made but the softest of baby sighs during his visit, until it was time for a diaper change.
And like all good newborns, he had to voice a protest to the process.
I thought the cats would surely clear out when the crying began...boy was I ever wrong.
All three cats RACED up to snoopervise as closely as they could....I wound up scooping up Tate and shoving Frenchie aside with my foot while elbowing Bitsy.
I'm sure they had no ill intent in mind, but changing a newborn's diaper is tricky enough without having three four-legged Aunties and Uncles trying to help.

Luke took it all in stride.
He has two cats of his own at home.

"What...are you serious? Mim has THREE cats?
Are you telling me I have a crazy cat lady for a Grandmother?"
(Luke slaps his forehead in disbelief...)

We have decided to wait until he gets a little older before we let him know that we actually have four cats.

We will try to break the news gently, after he has gotten to know us a little better.

Frenchie and Rachel discussed the joys of having a son.
Frenchie said it brought back happy memories of when she was a new mom.
I think the two of them have bonded together in a whole new way.

The Earth Sings...

I've heard it said that the earth sings in flowers.

Right now there is quite a chorus being sung in my garden.

 

Mt. Olympus, as seen from our back yard lawn area.
It is still snow capped.
(OK fine!...actually it was snow COVERED just two days ago...)

The Southern California girl in me is still in awe of Bleeding Heart blooming in my own garden.

I will  be adding the golden leafed white blossoming Bleeding Heart variety to the garden this week when it becomes available at our garden center.

I have found that to really enjoy Bleeding Hearts, I need to be inches away from the blossoms.
The dew that clings to the white dart area astonishes me.

Will you laugh if I tell you this makes me think of two lips?
(Wonder what the tulip would say if it could really speak).

 

 

Paint brush like strokes and pencil sketched lines on tulip petals...my favorite kinds each have those details.

This one is the same variety as the tulip in the next picture.

Yet each is so unique.

 

A litter of tulips...a flock of tulips...a chorus of tulips?
Need to learn the collective noun for tulips. 

 

We planted several dozen more tulips last fall.
Next fall...I think we will double that number again.
That thought is true for all my spring blooming bulbs. 
How can anyone NOT plant spring blooming bulbs???

I took a little drive over to Millcreek Canyon on Sunday afternoon.  Not much going on up in the canyon as of yet...just the slightest breath of green to be seen in the forest.
On the way home I had to pull over.
I spotted this nest in a tree...had to get a picture of course!

Isn't that a messy looking nest?
I am sure it is quite snuggy nice inside...but thought the mother bird might be a bit surprised by the now leafing out branches that anchors the nest.
Spring is in full color every where now.
I'm sure we will still have a rainy days and even some snowy days to come.
But for the most part...it truly is springtime!

How I spent my 58th Birthday.

April 14th...the day of the year that the Titanic sank, Lincoln was shot, the big Icelandic volcanic eruption that shut down European airspace happened, and I was born.
I am pleased that my parents did not consider my birth to be yet another 4/14 disaster!

When I was born, Mom was given a flower arrangement in a sweet little baby buggy shaped vase.
When I  had my babies the vase carried flower of welcome again.
And yesterday...the 58 year old vase was filled once again in order to perform its traditional "Welcoming Baby Home" duties.

Luke was brought home in a sleeper I had given him, one with choo choo trains scattered about.
His great, great Grandfather Albert Kiester worked for the Union Pacific Rail Road...it seemed like an appropriate motif to wear on his travels home.

I had spent the day hoping Luke would come home on my birthday.
A bit of jaundice slowed down his release.
He will be sleeping for a while resting on a blue glowing pad that fixes that common new baby situation.
He looked a bit like a glow worm with the blue light shining from inside his swaddling wrap.

We brought dinner over...it was already well into the evening by the time they got home.
Luke was fed, and is latching on nicely to his pacifier too.

I intend to be a very smart grandmother.
I had read about how often bringing a new baby home can cause jealousy problems with older sibling.

Big Brother Cheeto did look a bit jealous, didn't he?

Yup, definitely has his nose out of joint.
Or what little bit of nose that he has was contorted into a "not amused" expression.
But I had thought ahead and was ready for this.

"Look Cheeto...Mim brought you a balloon with a RIBBON just for you!"
(I happen to know Cheeto just can't resist playing with a ribbon...)

Was I right or was I right?

 

Playing with the ribbon, tasting the ribbon...its all good.
And so was my 58th birthday.
In fact, I would say it was my best birthday ever!