A baby, a fence and a tomato

This weekend was a success. It was actually full of multiples successes.

Mike and I had a great date on Friday. We ate sushi and just talked. With the endless house projects, we don't spend much time sitting around. It was a great way to start the weekend.

On Saturday, we got up early and headed to Clarendon Hills to babysit Zach. Angela was in Rhode Island racing hard and David needed to finish up his investor report at work. We had so much fun with Zach. We went on a walk, took a trip to the grocery store, and played hard. Mike and I have always been good partners and it is fun to see how our parenting roles are naturally evolving, as well. While I spent time cuddling (Zach is working on his fifth (or one endless) cold and teething), reading and changing diapers; Mike was all over the place playing with blocks and trucks. My favorite part of the day was when Mike showed Zach his new juggling skills. The sweet little guy would just sit there staring wide eyed and with a full smile. Then, right at the end of each routine as the balls started to fall he would giggle. To top it all off, Mike kept saying, "I'm a clown." Mike and Zach also have this new routine where Mike points at Zach and says "You the man!" Zach then points back at Mike and smiles at himself. David scolded Mike for teaching Zach to point, but I am secretly (except that I am posting this all over the internet) going to encourage it.

On Friday, I made an ambitious to-do list for our weekend. The big project was to remove the chain link fence that runs along the side of our driveway. When we were looking at this house, I said to Mike, "if we buy this place, that is coming out on day one." Well... it may be day 280 (or something like that), but it still feels like quite an accomplishment. I think our neighbors were thrilled as well. All of the posts were sunk in serious concrete (over 18" deep) and covered in some horrible plant. We still need to finish taking out some stumps, but it's an amazing improvement.

And last, a little surprise. As many of you know, I miss farm tomatoes. I tried to grow them last year in pots, but it didn't turn out very well. This year, I picked a spot with good soil and plenty of sun. The plants are thriving. Both have outgrown their cages once and are close to doing so again. (Which is bad news bears since I bought the largest ones I could find.) The plants are covered in buds, so it should be a delicious fall of BLTs!!! And, today the first little tomatoes appeared.