April 15 - More Charlotte, Hanging Around House

Above, going in to change out of those wet clothes (see previous post).
Below, the courtyard, where I love to sit in the sun.

Backyard so green

My parents got a sand and water table for Isaac to play with outside, and it was a huge hit. The first day with the new toy was an exploring day, and Isaac experimented with shoveling the sand and flinging it in every direction to see what happened. Most of the sand had ended up outside of the table by the time we went in for lunch.



Feels nice running down your arm...

Or down your shirt...

What?

Okay, I'll try it your way

but this is more fun. Sand shower?

And this is why Isaac's diaper was full of sand when I changed him later on. It didn't seem to bother him though.



Beautiful day and beautiful setting for playing outside.




Later, taking a walk down the street. I do love Charlotte's canopy of trees.

April 15 - Winghaven

Where I grew up, spring started at the end of February. Denver has some beautiful spring days scattered throughout March and April, but they are often followed by snowstorms. By this point in the year, I'm ready for warmth and sandals, flowers and spring green leaves. It's the perfect time to take Isaac home to NC. Charlotte is a vision of green at this time of year, layers and layers of leaves with sprawling azalea bushes and bursts of color from other flowers. I'd forgotten just how spectacular the southern spring can be until this trip home.
On our first morning in Charlotte, my mom and Isaac and I went to Winghaven, a place in my general neighborhood that I'd always heard about but never seen. It's a historic house with several acres of gardens behind it, built up over the decades by a woman who insisted on dining by candlelight, made friends with wild birds, and loved beauty. When she and her husband moved in, there was a bare yard with a single sapling; under her care, they added to the acreage and left an incredible legacy when they died. Now a foundation keeps up the gardens and anyone can go visit.
Above, you enter from a neighborhood street.
Below, Isaac exploring the paths with my mom.


You'll have to humor me here...lots of flower pictures...I think all the azaleas in the city were blooming last week, and they grow so big.





Bird food below

Wisteria hanging from the trees







Isaac liked the flowers, but all he really wanted was to play in the water. He could have stayed here splashing for hours, and although we gave him lots of time to play, he wasn't happy when we decided to move on.









Isaac had to stop and splash in every fountain, pond and birdbath. My mom used this as incentive to keep him moving. Let's go look for some more water!

A few Easter pictures

Isaac eating his first taste of Easter chocolate. When finished, his first words were "more. choc-lat."

This is what the Easter Bunny left in Isaac's basket: a tick-tock (he loves to wear mine), sunglasses (he loves to wear Adam's), sidewalk chalk (he loves to borrow Ben's, next door), a new shirt, a book called Building a House, and one small chocolate bunny.
The presents were a great success. The book alone would have been enough - we spent the first 10 minutes inspecting each page and discussing what the "man" was doing. When Isaac pulled out the sidewalk chalk, he ran to the door with it, no pants on, and started trying to get outside to play. We had to convince him that it was cold and anyway, there was more in the basket.

Kind of a gloomy Easter day.
Below, Isaac doesn't do much drawing, but he loves chalk. He doesn't draw pictures, only letters. I think he is drawing an I here, but the letters all look the same so far so it's hard to tell.

Mar 26 - 27

I can't really call these blizzard pictures because they are so incomplete. I'd have to include a shot of Isaac and me pushing through a 40-mph wind slamming tiny, sharp snow crystals into our faces, as we walked a block from our car to get some lunch with Megan and Oliver. Isaac was wailing and I was laughing because it was just so unbelievable. I kept thinking of my favorite Little House on the Prairie books and the people who seemed to die or almost die each winter because they got lost between their house and their barn. Now I can understand much better how that could happen. I could still see where we were going, but it was blinding at times. I'd also have to include a picture of Isaac and Ollie running around Chipotle for 2 hours while the wind blew the snow sideways outside, mimicking each other and hanging out side by side against the wall like teenagers. They were hilarious and full of giggles.
Well, instead there is a fuzzy shot of Isaac above in most of his snow gear. He's missing coat, hat, and the mittens that kept falling off, but the snow pants and boots are pretty cute.
And below, 2 pictures of our backyard the day after the blizzard - piles of snow, about 18 inches!