Welcome, Babies!

My two dear friends, Kim & Cherilee, had babies on Tuesday, May 26. Kim had a beautiful baby boy, Dallin. Cher had a cute little girl, Analiese. I am so lucky as to have been able to take their pictures on Wednesday and Thursday. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Dallin, 35 hours old

Analiese, 2 1/2 days old

Milestones

I think it is fitting that I write my 100th post on my baby's 2nd birthday. I started blogging when I was pregnant with him. What an extraordinary time this has been...raising him and recording my family's adventures these past two and a half years. What an opportunity technology gives us to write and to share so easily. Thanks to Kim for inspiring me to start blogging and thanks to Davis for the joy he brings to my life.

I chose these two pictures because they capture the sheer joy and sweetness that this little boy brings to our family every day. He is so bright, so loving, so passionate. How could I be so blessed to be this kid's mom?

To be your mom, Davis, is one of the greatest joys of my life. I just love you too much! Happy Birthday, Big Boy!

P.S. More on the festivities tomorrow...

Manure, Mulch & Topsoil

Here is the boys' garden. They, too, have some potted flowers and a tomato from the store; though, I'm worried about how they planted said potted plants. Jeremiah called some people in our ward who have horses. He assures us all that he got the "aged" poop. On his way home, he stopped at a firehouse, I think, and got ground up Christmas trees that he calls mulch. The topsoil did cost some money, as our yard man put it in last year and I'm sure he charged us for it. So, that's what the boys are gardening in this year. Let it be known that I arranged the rototilling and I usually oversee the watering...if that isn't being a good sport, I don't know what is!? And since it's my blog, I can toot my own horn, too, right?


Don't forget to vote on the side...whose garden will grow the best and produce the most? If you're not sure what you're voting for...read on...the previous post will fill you in!

Garden Contest

My friend, Courtney, introduced me to the Square Foot Gardener this year. Since we don't have a lot of space, he's my kind of gardener! The only drawback to the first year of square foot gardening is the price one pays for "perfect" soil. It's not cheap! I met Jeremiah at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago to look for the ingredients for my perfect soil. Again, did I mention that vermiculite and compost and peat moss are not cheap? Making a long story short...Jeremiah mostly chuckled and said, "I'm going to use manure and mulch 'cause it's for FREE!" Thus, began the Higley Family 2009 Garden Contest. He's sure that he can grow just as good a garden in nothing as I can in my perfect soil. We'll just see about that. Needless to say, when the children caught wind that there was a contest, they immediately chose sides...Jeron went with Dad, of course, and Jadee with Mom, of course. Davis was automatically sent to the boys' side...though he doesn't seem to be too loyal...

Last weekend, Jadee and I mixed our soil, planted our flowers (the SFG says that we'll go to our garden more if there are beautiful flowers to look at), then planted our seeds. Here's our garden spot...4' x 6' x 6" of soil = $60

You can also see the weed mat behind the box...that was Jeremiah's endeavor...he finished the weed mat and rocks around the grow boxes while we were planting. He was also able to procure manure and mulch for FREE and dump that in his boxes. They didn't get to planting, unfortunately, until last night for FHE activity. I'll post pictures of the competition tomorrow...

Here is our garden 10 days after planting:

Of course, the plants are the flowers and tomato plant we planted from pots we bought at the store...

but wait...

if you look just a little more closely...

We have growth!! I think those are beans, zuccinni, and carrots, in that order. Our squash has also popped up, but it looks a lot like the zuccinni.

Come back tomorrow for photos of manure and mulch... I will also try to figure out how to put a poll on here so that everyone can vote on who's garden is going to win...like anyone has any question in their mind...

It Was the Baking Powder

Best if used by Jan 2007...who knew?! I guess that tells everyone out there how much I bake! Next time I will be sure to buy new baking powder before I make yummy Wild Strawberry Cuppies!

My Wild Strawberry Cuppies

I linked from cjane to this blog http://conversationswithacupcake.blogspot.com/ today. Delightful! I just happened to have strawberries that were about to age past their prime, so I made my very own Wild Strawberry Cuppies!I put my own kitchen in the background, lest anyone think that I just copied her lovely picture. These cupcakes are heavenly. I highly recommend them. I just hope to not eat most of them myself...

Here's a question for all you bakers out there: What might cause my cuppies to be heavy and dense, rather than light and fluffy? Did I not mix enough? Is my baking powder bad? They are delicious...I just expected them to poof up a bit more. Any ideas for my next batch would be greatly appreciated.

Elder Higley

Jeron, Elder Higley w/ Davis, Jadee & Elder Fechser

We were so excited last year to find out that Jeremiah's cousin, Eric, had been called to the Nevada Las Vegas West Mission. We have been hoping for a year that he would come to serve in our ward. About a month ago, our hope was made reality and Elder Higley was transferred to the Stead Ward. We had the Elders over for dinner on Sunday. They got to stay a little longer than usual, as Elder Fechser still needed to call home to wish his mom a happy Mother's Day. It is always great to have the missionaries in our home...but having family is even better! We can tell that they are great missionaries, obedient, and hard-working. I had to take a picture. It reminded me of the missionaries in Iceland. Heather, Tim and I were about the same ages as our kids. We had the missionaries over a lot. Missionaries are so great! Thanks, Elders, for your service! Come back soon!

An Elder, President Geslison (President of the Iceland Mission) w/ rolling eyes Heidi,

Sister Geslison, Heather

I think he's BRILLIANT

And now...the rest of the story...

Davis has had a sinus infection and started a couple of weeks ago on some lovely pink pills that he had to chew and swallow. That was okay for a day. Then, he figured out that they really aren't candy and they don't taste that good, either. By the end of those pills, we were doing ANYTHING to get him to chew and swallow...including spraying whipped cream in his mouth...this is a very effective method, as it turns out. Jeremiah was inspired. Well, the pharmacy shorted us ten pills, so we had to go back for more...this time big, oval and white...exactly what was in the bottom of the glass. This happened to be Davis's second to last dose and I gave it to him with his lunch. I figured he'd just leave them on the table until I coerced him to take them. When I turned around and saw that they were gone, I thought, "Yeah! That was easier than I thought it was going to be!" Not so. The little smarty-pants just "hid" them in his milk. Quite brilliant for a 23 month old, no? I tried to get him to drink a bit more of his milk before he went off to play. He tipped the cup oh, so gingerly and took about a half of a swallow. Now I know why...those nasty pills were dissolving in the bottom! Hmmm...sneaky. No worries, I just scooped them out of the glass, reached for the whipped cream, and wa-la...YUM! Gratefully, the pills are gone, and the sinus infection seems to have cleared up, too.

WHAT...

is this?

I was drinking the last of Davis's milk at lunch today...I do that...eat and drink my children's leftovers...this is what I found at the bottom of his glass... I know what it is...do you? Leave your guesses in the comments. I will post the rest of the story soon!