The Constant Gardener

Huzzah! The new apartment owners said I could plant a vegetable garden in an unused planter in our complex.

Here Joy inspects the basil plants for nefarious, leaf-chomping caterpillars. We also have a habanero pepper plant (for Daddy), four bell peppers, two Roma tomatoes, a couple potato plants, and a few little onions.

And as always, we have a bunch of herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, among others) in some containers. The leafy arugula and the mysterious shoots in the circular pots belong to our Korean neighbors upstairs.

The owners did stipulate that they aren't liable if anyone helps themselves to my produce, so I've recruited some attack doves to keep an eye on things.

Of course, they may not have much to guard. These rogue lettuce plants that escaped my pot and grew virtually untended in the planter are doing much better than their buddies who stayed behind in the container. I guess Mother Nature knows a bit more about growing plants than I do.

Helping Out at Earth Day

Today Latter-day Saints contributed service in dozens of cities across California.

Our local congregation lent "Mormon Helping Hands" at Pasadena's annual Earth Day festival. Yellow-vested volunteers handed out festival fliers, assisted at booths, and (in my case) helped sift through trash to retrieve the compostable cups everyone kept tossing because they thought they were plastic. No one said service was glamorous. :)

In addition to helping out, we got to check out some of the interesting displays, like . . .

the Freedom Garden booth (i.e. freedom from pesticides or from dependence on someone else to produce your food), . . .

. . . the electric bike and motorcycle vendor, . . .

. . . and this pre-Columbian earth dance, in honor of Earth Day.

Daniel found the whole experience captivating, as usual.

"Seat!"

A couple days ago, I decided it would be fun to teach Joy to clink our glasses together and say, "Cheers!" She caught on quickly and thought the little ritual was pretty cool, but I soon realized there had been a slight miscommunication.

Joy thought I was saying "Chairs!", so whenever she wanted to play this new game she would raise her little glass of milk and shout "Seat!"

(It's Martinelli's, I swear.)

Follow the Proppy

Meet the "Proppy."

That's Joy's current word for "prophet." She knows he's friends with "Tee-tee" (Jesus), and she was pretty excited when he came on the screen during General Conference this past weekend.

Daniel was somewhat less enthusiastic about the whole business, but his parents enjoyed hearing what the Proppy had to say. President Monson's emphasis on prayer was timely counsel for me. I also enjoyed Elder Bednar's talk about the temple, and Elder Hales message about provident living.

Share and Share Alike

Having a sibling means learning to share. In our family, that currently means Joy gets free rein with all of Daniel's books, toys, etc.

One of Joy's favorite baby toys was Daniel's swing, which we purchased in the fond hope that it would help him doze off and save us from lots of late-night floor trudging. Alas, Daniel wasn't a fan and we ultimately returned it, but during the swing's brief sojourn in our home, Joy loved giving her stuffed animals a ride in it. Note the bunny and pile of bears patiently awaiting their turn in the foreground.

To her credit, Joy sometimes shares with Daniel, too. Today she suggested that we let Daniel hold "White," her favorite bear. I doubt Daniel fully appreciated the gesture, but I thought it was really sweet.

They Grow Up So Fast

Daniel spits up dozens of times each day, but apparently he's still getting some nourishment because he's now wearing three-month sized clothes. At six weeks of age. Woulda thunk?

Here are some of his dramatic poses in his first three-month outfit . . .

"The Thinker"

or

"Dude, Don't Beat Yourself Up About It"

"Drama King"

"Gotta Dance!"

Blessing Day

Daniel received his baby blessing in our ward last Sunday. We were touched to have a lot of family members join us for the occasion. Thanks to the aunts, uncles, and cousins who made the trip, and to others who sent their congratulations. It's nice to be loved. :)

After church we decided to snap a commemorative photo with our immediate family members. Naturally, the picture that turned out the best is the one where we're staring at another camera. Ah well - at least Daniel looks cute.

And on a totally unrelated note, Joy still thinks it's cool to be swaddled. Go figure.