We planted a fugi apple tree in honor of Maggie. Michael loves any project outside, so all I had to do was pick out the tree and it was as good as done. By next spring, I'm hoping we'll have some apples Maggie can munch on.With the planting of this tree, it made us look around our house and realize how much work we've done in one year. We've planted lots of trees, including 4 eastern redbuds (courtesy of SMUD and Sacramento Tree Foundation), a meyer lemon, a blood orange, and an October Glory maple (in memory of my Aunt Kris and a housewarming present from my parents).
Other things we've done outside have included getting the lawns in shape, putting in a decomposed granite pathway near the garden, rebuilt fences, spread out tons of mulch, planted pink jasmine, roses, hydrangea, azalea, a rose-scented geranium and a fern in our flower beds, and tore out a ton of vegetation (oleanders and privet trees) in a part of our backyard we used to call "the jungle".
Things on our future "to do" list: get a patio set, build a pergola over the patio, and landscape the back of the house with drought-tolerant natives.
The french sorrel is interesting. I planted it last year and then ignored it until this spring. It was taking over the bed and screaming "Hey, I'm over here. Eat me!" I had to reaquaint myself with it and the more I harvest, the more it grows. We eat it in salads, soups...and experiment with it as a green. Sorrel has a tangy lemony flavor that is pretty yummy. We also have lots of herbs, asparagus planted for next year, rhubarb (which is ready to be harvested and shown below), leeks from last year that are now flowering (shown above), sweet peas and nasturtium for color, and rainbow chard. 
I was really happy when our chives flowered this spring. Big purple blossoms, which I'd always hoped to see in my garden after admiring them so many times in gardening books. Well, all it took was a little patience.
Now that the heat is here, I think our tomatoes will take off. We have one bed full of yellow and red cherry tomatoes and one bed full of large heirloom tomatoes. They are just now getting underway but we also planted later than usual. 
I have been harvesting the spring plants so I have space for more summer plants. I've been keeping my eye on the herb booth at the farmer's market. Their plants are a little pricey, but they are really healthy and always unique. I hope to pick some up there and also do some more scouting at nurseries.
Talk about vision. Welding is one of his newer activities in the garage, which has totally come in handy to fix things around the house. Using the materials mentioned above, he made this custom welding cart to fit under the workbench so that he can take it out into the driveway, where sparks can fly freely, and also have a surface to work from. Good job Mick!
We caught up with lots of friends this weekend, including Erin and Adam, who will soon be moving closer to us. Adam held Maggie for the first time and even enjoyed it I think! He gots lots of smiles and coo's out of her.
For the first time since Maggie's been born, we went on a nice long walk around Lake Natoma as a family. It's really close to our house and it was a nice dose of nature for me since I haven't been able to get my fix through work this past spring. We also made some progress this past week in terms of Maggie's crying outbursts in the car. Wasn't sure how I felt about her taking a pacifier, but when we found out that taking a pacifier=happy baby, I was all for it!
We ended the long weekend by hanging out at the Fishers and having dinner at Ernestos. While Eden munched on her rice and beans, Maggie was peacefully sleeping, giving her parents a break! 
Right around the time I went on maternity leave, at our friends of the library sale I picked up The Quilter's Apprentice. Not until I got to the end of the novel did I realize that it was the beginning of a 13-novel series! I was hooked and immediately started borrowing the follow-up novels from the library. I have been reading them in order and am currently on the 11th one. For the most part, I've loved all of the novels. They are about different women's lives and their families, some present day and some in the past, and they feature some really great characters with true heart that are centered around the art of quilting. I'm not a quilter, but I like crafts, and these novels have definitely developed my appreciation for quilting. I had thought that after reading so much about quilting that I would take a class and try my hand at it, but I recently saw a PBS program on quilting and quickly realized it's not something for me. I just really admire quilts and have been lucky to aquire some with Maggie making her way into the world. One of my favorites is this one.
This quilt is a hand-me-down from my family friend Jenny Engleson, quilted by her mother who has since passed. I keep it on our bed and admire it every day. I love the vintage rose pattern on the back and the stars on the front with all of the different fabrics. I am convinced the star pattern she chose has a formal name but I haven't figured that out yet.
And because this is my first post, I have to show off the new addition to our family, Magdalena Josephine (Maggie or Maggie Jo for short) :-) 
