purple rainboots and little cabbages

On nice weather days we practically live in our little courtyard.  After years of upper-floor apartment living I just can't get over how much I love having accessible outdoor space.  We are in and out all day long.  The kids go out by themselves, I can be out with the girls waiting for Isaac to wake, I can run in and out while cooking supper, and on and on and on.

Monday we planted a few vines (to spruce up our fence) and a bush in the corner of our dirt-strip-garden-to-be.  We even sowed some seeds!  Our first attempt at "growing something" is a very common Chinese vegetable. I have no idea what to call it in English, but the translation means "little cabbage"....  though it looks nothing like a head of cabbage.

Anyways, apparently it's pretty fool proof, which is definitely what we are looking for!  So after lots of work preparing the dirt (and one dirt-caked little boy) we tossed out some seeds on Monday afternoon.  Tuesday was the coldest rainiest day we've had in a very long time, and I wonder how our little seeds handled the temps - but Wednesday was so hot and sunny I'm sure some life must have been coaxed out of them!

The girls also purchased strawberry seeds, and after a little wise counsel (from a neighbor) we decided to wait to plant them.  I think our chances of success are pretty slim, but if we manage to grow even one fingernail sized berry the girls will be thrilled.  We are also in the market for a few pumpkin and cucumber seedlings, and Xiao Ren has a few leads on where to buy them, so we hope to get some in the ground soon. 

While we wait for our own flowering vine to produce some buds (one very friendly upstairs neighbor promises we'll see something within a month!) we love gathering up other flowers growing in our complex.

And my snazzy spunky little Lydia?  Well she's been wearing these purple rain boots nonstop for the past three days.  Her fashion sense makes her big sister proud!