welcoming the vernal equinox

today is the vernal equinox; the first day of spring! the weather greeted us warmly with sunshine and we wanted to spend our day outside enjoying the turning of the seasons. beaz and i packed up our chalk, some toy trucks, his scooter, and our smiles and headed to our driveway with a mission to redesign it's blacktop. i admit, it was mostly me who adorned the tar, but little c did his best to add to my scribblings. he was a bit more concerned about hoarding the chalk than actually using it, but i digress. it was quite perfect, sitting in the sunshine doodling with chalk, a medium i haven't used in far too long. how i went this long without picking up a stick, i can't possibly imagine, as it brought back delights of past art projects and filled me with the whimsy of a young child again. i see many more fun projects like this in our future as our wee wren grows and becomes more skilled in his artistry. what a blissful way to bring spring into 2012!

in like a lion, out like a lamb

march, true to it's lion & lamb reputation, has brought us some unpredictable weather as always. as little c would put it, "rowwwrrr & baaaahhh!!" we began our first few days with 6-8 inches of snow and a week later we find it's all but melted away in the 50 degree sunshine. i, personally, have no bones to pick with march's unpredictability. growing up in maine, i have little complaints about the weather; as the saying here goes: "if you don't like the weather, wait a minute." in this case, a week, but the point still rings clear.

so beaz and i began our month with hats and mittens, sledding in the accumulating snow, and ended up outside in tee shirts, planting our very first seeds to begin our gardening for the year. we have been happily busy, though i cannot say unscathed in this germ season. we all managed to catch a nasty stomach virus, beazy making out better than i, and e ending up sick as a dog, and now i have been suffering a cold that has lasted over a week and shows little signs of letting go any time soon. but we mustn't let illness drag us down, though it may have slowed our roll a bit.

our wee wren has been talking up a storm and oh the things this guy can say to us now! it is quite remarkable, when you first understand the words your child can say, only to have it sink in deeper that not only are these words your child is speaking, but that your child is communicating with you. our sweet boy understands far more than even we grasp at times, until the light bulb moment when we see it in action. he is readily able to identify what he wants and certainly what he doesn't want. i feel lucky that 'no' is usually applied to things such as 'would you like more?' as opposed to it's inevitable progression into direct disobedience. all children must find their way, and i have a solid notion that mine will be a stalwart in all things desired or undesired. stubborn and somehow still sensitive, he's tapped into the best of both worlds and i must love every ounce of him more each day for it.

bruiser, as he should have been named at birth, has proven to us that little ones bounce back much quicker than we who have begun to bid adieu to youth. sunday he managed two black eyes from two separate incidents, and yesterday he nearly stopped my heart as he fell from a chair he is not supposed to stand in, causing me to worry for his first broken arm or leg. after a few minutes of crying and clinging to me, i managed to assess that he was indeed okay and the tears were easily dried with cheddar bunnies, raisins, and juice.

i am having more and more fun by the day, growing and learning right along with my little boy. beazy teaches me more than i could ever learn on my own about what it truly means to be a parent, and the lessons we both provide for each other are ones to keep forever in mind. it's a simple kind of magic, but one that i don't feel can be replicated without becoming a parent yourself. of all the joys i've had in life, this is certainly my greatest. but whether it's the joy of parenting or the joy of traveling, we must all find our bliss in this world. for what is life without it?