We looked again yesterday, but there's no third baby bird to be found. The other two are doing great and growing fast. You can even see the teeny little feathers on their wings now.




Random pics of Scarlett after her bath today

So Sad

I walked out to check on our baby birds this afternoon, but they weren't there. In fact, the whole nest was missing. I was so upset...I was so looking forward to watching those little guys grow up. I came inside all depressed and told Jon about it. He went out to have a look and found one of the babies on the ground behind the tree where the nest was. The baby seemed to be ok, but the nest was nowhere to be found. I grabbed an old plastic nursery pot and some paper towels, and Jon cut the top off to make it more shallow. We stuffed the paper towels inside and put what little nest material was left on top. Jon secured it to the branches with zip-ties, and we plopped the baby in. We actually found one more baby, but we couldn't find the third. I wathched from the dining room window to see if the parents would come back. They finally did, and it the remaining babies are doing fine.



It's not nearly as good as the one mommy and daddy built, but it's better than the ground.

Here's momma bird feeding them in the new nest...you can barely see her tail sticking out.




Now I just have to find a way to keep whatever animal did it from doing it again. I suspect one of the neighborhood cats... I saw the daddy bird attacking it a couple of days ago.

We didn't do much today...aside from the fact it's my week to work, it was HOT today. I went out to water plants around lunch, and I could actually feel the sun burning my skin like I was in an oven. I did manage to get another pic of our baby birds today - the third egg must have hatched last night. Mama bird has been working her tail off today.

One day old


I tried an experiment with Savy's hair today. She has very thick, heavy, stick-straight hair. I've tried to curl it with a curling iron before, but it didn't hold the curl. Today I cut up some of Jon's old (clean) socks and made some rag-rollers. After her bath, I tied them in her hair.




She got tired of wearing them before her hair dried completely, so it didn't really get curly. But she did have the cutest "mermaid waves" for a while.





Maybe I can do this early in the morning one day so it'll have time to dry...I'd love to see what she looks like with curls.

Dawn and I have been planning a reunion for some time - ever since we reconnected on Facebook several months ago. Well, it finally happened! She and her husband arrived Saturday morning, and they spent Saturday night with us. We really enjoyed having them here. I wish they could have stayed longer - its hard to do 20 years worth of catching up in such a short time. We definitely won't let that long pass before we see each other again!




I was more than a little irritated that I wound up having to work today. Miriam (who works opposite me) started her vacation today. She had someone scheduled to cover for her today, but it just didn't work out. It's not really anyone's fault - just one of those things that couldn't be helped. My visit with Dawn was cut a little short because of that.

On another note, our baby mockingbirds are hatching. Here are two...they don't look much like birds. I wonder if the third egg is going to hatch.

My Big Backyard

Savy and her friend, Maeson, had a playdate today at the botanic gardens. Savy hasn't seen Maeson for several months, and she couldn't wait for today to get here.



We actually got the girls to sit still for a picture.



Scarlett with her little top-knot. Savy said she looks like Pinky Dinky Doo. In case you're wondering, that's a gigantic earthworm in the background.



I still love this trio of little play-houses. The first is music themed with all kinds of things to bang on and make noise with. Savy actually spent the least time in this one - last time I could barely drag her out of there.



The next house has a washtub, washboard, and a little miniature clothesline. There are clothes there to pretend to wash and hang to dry. This one was the favorite today.






The little fairy house is still my favorite.




Then it was time to stop for a snack.



The spider web and spider hanging overhead


Maeson and her mom dressing the scarecrows





Savy's favorite part is still the "thunderstorm" area and the little wading creek.





Notice her blue arm? Jon got that to keep her cast from getting wet during baths...it works pretty well for wading and sprinklers too. When she has that thing on, she kinda reminds me of the guy from the movie District Nine...the one who was turning into an alien.

Our last stop was the koi pond. Savy started feeding the geese that hang around the pond...big mistake. They started chasing her and even got a little aggressive - a couple actually hissed at the kids.



Maeson kept a close eye on the birds after the hissing incident.







They had a great day - can't wait to do it again!

Learning To Fly

Boy was it HOT today! I spent most of the day inside finishing up my last day of work, but Savy and Jon were out for a long time. Jon did yard work while Savy lounged on the patio.



All she needs is a cabana boy and a tiny little umbrella in her drink.

Later I heard Savy and Jon knocking on the front door and calling for me to come out. One of the baby swifts (living on our front porch) had somehow gotten onto the roof and then got stuck in a gutter. Jon saved him...Savannah thought she should keep him as a pet.



He seemed to like Jon...wouldn't get off his hand.




Jon finally got the little guy to let go and went to get the ladder (so he could put him back in the nest). Savy kept him company.



As soon as Jon had the ladder set up and reached down to get him, the little guy started fluttering around. I guess the parents were trying to teach the babies how to fly today. He got back into the nest all by himself. Savy's so disappointed she couldn't keep him as a pet.

I'm almost done with this week, and I'm counting down the days until next weekend! I absolutely can not wait to see Dawn!!!

Savannah is still doing great. She's already tired of the cast, though. I drew a flower on it for her today.

We've been trying to fit some yard work in this week...planting trees, weeding, watering. I found this in one of the bushes in our front garden.



I first thought they were house sparrow eggs, but then I saw the parent in the nest. They're mockingbird eggs...I love mockingbirds :) And our swift babies are getting big under our front porch.

Miss Scarlett is quite mobile now and already following in big sis's footsteps - raiding the pantry!

Jon took Savannah to the ortho doc today, and she got a real cast. She picked her favorite color - RED! She hasn't complained about pain since the cast was put on, and she was bouncing around and playing this afternoon like nothing happened.

My week off goes by way too quickly! Friday was the last day of the pool school session. Savy actually had a private lesson because the other two children in her class didn't show up....nice! She did very well and has graduated to level 4.



Saturday morning, Mimi and Pappi came to visit. We went to lunch, then we went to Wal-Mart to get Savy a new bike (she's definitely outgrown her old one). Mimi and Pappi let her pick the one she wanted, and she was sooooo excited. She had to ride it as soon as we got home.





After Mimi and Pappi left, Savy wanted to ride again. She was doing great, but she turned a little too fast and fell over. There wasn't a scratch or bruise on her (she had on helmet, knee and elbow pads, and gloves), but her arm was really hurting. I was afraid it was broken - Savy's a tough little cookie, and she usually just brushes any boo-boo off (after a little cuddling). We took her to the ER for X-rays...fractured ulna.

She was such a brave girl. The PA and nurse were great too. She got a temporary splint until she's able to see the ortho doc this week.


We didn't get home until almost midnight. She was still in a lot of pain...thank goodness they gave us a prescription for pain meds.

This morning I made her breakfast in bed...chocolate chip pancakes. She's still having pain, but it's a lot better than last night. She spent all morning in bed with the arm elevated.


After the pain medicine kicked in, she decided to get up and move around a little.



Our poor girl! She's not letting it get her down, though...she's already asking when she can ride her bike again.

Catching Up

I've been taking pictures all week, but I never seem to have time to post them. This is what we've been doing since Monday.

Monday - dough.

No, not




Dough...as in pizza dough.



I haven't made pizza from scratch since home ec. class in high school...ohhh, 'bout 20 years ago. I decided I'd give it another try. Since I don't own a stand mixer (did all the kneading by hand), I can truly say this is home-made pizza. And it was delicious...seriously, you have got to try this recipe for Caramelized Onion & Prosciutto Pizza from Pioneer Woman.



Tuesday - Scarlett's 10 month checkup. She's doing just great! He suggested we put her on a liquid multivitamin now, but that's not working out too well so far...she hates it. Also had lunch with Jon at Panera, and I used my free birthday coupon at Sheridan's Frozen Custard.

Wednesday - Scarlett was soooo fussy. She woke up early and I just couldn't do anything to make her happy. I thought a walk might help, so I loaded everyone in the stroller.



It was only about 9 am, so I thought it shouldn't be too hot. Boy, was I wrong! I thought I might have a heat stroke before we made it home, and I had a pounding headache for the rest of the day. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't gone so far...I think we went about 3 miles. And Scarlett was still super fussy anyway.

I forgot which day this was, so I'll just stick it in here. Savy made a mosquito costume (fairy wings and a black straw for the proboscis) and spent an afternoon buzzing around the house and "sucking blood" from everyone.



I have no idea where she got this idea. She tried it on her own leg and gave herself a hickey...that kinda freaked her out.

Thursday (today) - Lunch at Red Robin and sprinkler park with "Aunt" Krista, John, an Spencer. Savy had a ball...the sprinkler park is one of her favorite places.



Krista and Scarlett




I thought Scarlett would enjoy sitting by one of the smaller sprinklers...



...not so much.

Back to the blanket.




John and Spencer demonstrating brotherly love.




Later on, I took Scarlett over to the smaller sprinkler area where there weren't so many people. She played for a couple of minutes before she demanded to be picked back up.





And we ended the day with pool school. That's Savy swimming on her own under the water.



I'm glad we don't have anything planned for tomorrow because I need a day to rest.