QUEEN OF THE IRIS

One of many iris beds.

Japaneese Snowball Bush

The yard of Maycell Smith, AKA "Nanny", can not go unmentioned this time of year. I love to walk around her yard in the spring. It is absolutely gorgeous. Over the past year, I have learned that she loves Irises. She not only collects them, she also trades them and hunts for special kinds. I can't begin to name all the different types. I had to show her yard off since in a couple of weeks the color will all be gone. Walker especially loves staying at Nanny and Daddy Ralph's in the spring. He gets to enjoy the outside while they work in the flower beds.

Oh... and they've added a sand box. I need to get a picture of that too. Walker has had tons of fun playing with that but I think the discovery of worms has made it all worth the while. Yes, I said WORMS! This child will play with them all day. He thinks they are funny. Maycell said he puts them in his bucket and totes it around all day. HA!

WALKER UPDATE: I found out some awesome and exciting news yesterday. Walker has been tee-teeing in the potty. Yeah! He even did it for me today. He gets so excited when he does it. Now if we can get him to do that all the time.

Too Early?

We're trying something new. We've converted Walker's crib into the toddler bed. It's sad but we thought he would like to be able to get out and come to our room, verses screaming waiting for us to come to him. After church Sunday and while Walker was taking his nap, Zac and I got to work. I wish I could have filmed Walker when he walked into his room. It was Christmas morning all over. For the next thirty minutes, he jumped in and out of that bed. This made me think, okay, this might work. See... we are trying to get him to want to stay in his room after he wakes up in the middle of the night. My hopes were stamped out that night when we awoke to the sound of a loud thud! I'll let you figure out what that sound was. Our main idea for transitioning into a toddler bed comes from friends who say they go into the room, crawl into bed and stay until they go back asleep. After a while they get use to staying in their bed. Well, this can't happen when the mattress is "crib size." Maybe it was a bad idea to get a convertible crib. I think we should just go get a twin size toddler bed... at least something Zac and I could fit in! I'll keep you posted on this on going project...

Outside Fun

I am so thankful to have warmer weather. I would much rather be outside playing than stuck in the house. We just got Walker his first kite and he LOVES it! After Walker and I flew the kite, we went to visit Hank, the sheep dog. Walker thinks Hank is the greatest. I noticed a few duck eggs lying around, which isn't unusual. The dogs usually find them and enjoy a tasty treat. But Hank for some reason became fond of one of the eggs. He would carefully pick it up in his mouth and carry from spot to spot. He would lay next to it and act as if he was protecting it. At this point I took a picture of this somewhat unusual behavior. Don't let this fool you. He later dropped it next to a hay bale, hiked his leg on it, and had himself a tasty treat. ? Anyways... When I use the word "duck" Walker likes to flash me his duck face. Some of you have been blessed to see this cute sight. It is hilarious!

While I love my son more than life itself, I cherish the moments he is with Zac doing guy stuff. I can't believe the time has come for him to do things with his daddy. I've tried very hard to catch all of Walker's "firsts" in pictures. He went out with Zac to plant some trees in the back pasture. Sure he was covered in mud when he came in the house, but it was well worth it. I love watching those two play and do things together. There is something special about a bond between a father and son. There is no doubt in my mind, Walker is going to be an outside kid. Being a teacher I know several kids who simply don't play outside. Why? How can you not want to run, play, and explore as a kid? What's happening to our society? Everything has changed from when I was a kid. That's not that long ago! Was it? All I'm saying is... AMERICA, shove your kids outside and get them off the couch! While you're at it, teach them some manners!

Sorry. I am now off my soap box.

I'm Jumping on the Blogging Boat!

It's taken me a while to get started, but I feel this will help me keep everyone up to date on what's going on in the Fleming household. Since we are prisoners of "dial up" I don't send out pictures and emails as often as I would like. We are checking out the Verizon Wireless card in hopes that we can ditch the phone line altogether. If anyone out there has one, please let me know what you think of it. Is it faster, does it have a monthly fee, and most importantly, do you like it? We are, for a lack of better words, DESPERATE!