This Week in the Garden...

I really feel blessed to live so close to the botanical gardens. I can't help but blog about our trips there because in many ways because it is a short walk away, its basically our backyard.

This week the trees are still blooming,

Cedric discovered the popup fountains near the cafe,

and was brave enough to go down the rope bridge unassisted. It was so fun!

He Can Be Charming

Cedric can be very charming and I have two stories to share to demonstrate. Both are from this week. Monday we went to the zoo and you just can't visit the zoo without riding the train. Cedric loves trains, which I have mentioned before, so he was entralled and using his best observatory skills to take it all in. When he handed Contuctor Tim our tickets, the conductor kindly asked Cedric if he wanted to assist him. So we got to sit right in front of Conductor Tim and Cedric got to say "all aboard" before the train left each station. Here's what happened the first time.

Tim: holding mic up to Cedric "Say all aboard!"
Cedric: "All aboard!!"
silence
T: "Hmm. Must not be on" fiddles with dials, blows on mic, "Test, test, test. OK Cedric" holds up mic again.
C: blows on mic and says "test, test, test."
T: whispers "Say all aboard."
C: whispers "all aboard."
T: "Louder Cedric."
C: "ALL ABOARD!"

At the grocery store while I'm getting out my wallet and coupons, Cedric strikes up a conversation with the checkout clerk.
C: "I need a sticker for my boo-boo finger." Holds up pointer finger to show the clerk his fictious boo-boo.
Clerk: "Oh you poor thing, of course you need a sticker." Looks for stickers and realizes she is out, goes over two lanes to get more stickers and proceeds to put a sticker on his boo-boo and gives him about 30 extra stickers.
C: "THANK-YOU!"

A Boy and His Grandpa

For Easter this year, we took Cedric to our local park for a community Easter Egg hunt. Cedric's Grandpa escorted him from activity to activity and half-cheered, half-coached him through the "hunt." Grandpa is very special and much loved by my little man and its not hard to see why. Grandpa's house has a riding lawn mower and rabbits. (Thank you Grandpa for not bringing Cedric one for Easter!) But more than what Grandpa has, its what Grandpa does that has this boy smitten. Grandpa never hesitates to play or to show Cedric what's interesting and wonderful in the world around him. It touches something deep inside of me to see the boy I love so much being loved so well by someone as important to his life as his Grandpa. Here are a few pictures from the day.

I know its what you came here for...

"Hunting" for eggs. The ground was almost completely covered with eggs, but Cedric had an eye for the ones around a tree.

Getting his a face painted. Cedric kept turning his face to try and see what she was doing and Grandpa obligied by holding a mirror so Cedric could watch.

Sitting in front of "his waterfall" at the Botanical Gardens.

A happy boy riding on Grandpa's shoulders.