Mother's Day Eve

Last year was my first Mother's Day. It was amazing. It might have been my favorite day of the entire year, and that's saying a lot because I had some really amazing days.

Last year James was new to sitting up. We plopped him down anywhere in the garden and he would smile from ear to ear. It was so easy to get fantastic shots of him, he was not mobile and a huge smiler.

Things have changed.

Last year it was almost too easy to get a good photo of James. (Seriously, check out last year's Mother's Day Eve post, so many happy baby photos!)
This year we got a lot of this:
And this:
And ultimately this:
But I'm getting ahead of myself. It really was a wonderful day. I woke up, and just like last year E had planned a wonderful brunch. Because the weather was so nice we decided to eat brunch on the patio. James had a few bites and then was off to play in the gardens, leaving E and I to have a nice leisurely time.

Menu included all my faves: corn flake encrusted french toast, potato and fennel hash, sausage, coffee and OJ.
After James's nap we packed some snacks, sunscreen, a stroller and cameras and headed 30 minutes South to Thanksgiving Point's gardens.

James was only happy if he was able to visit the trees. If a tree that he wanted to say hello to happened to be in the middle of a flowering bed of tulips, and we said no, we got the reaction I posted above.

However, pretty quickly he decided to cheer up. I think all he needed was a good cry and we were good to go.

He loves gardens, like his Mama and Dada, and he was as happy as a clam to explore the paths, look at the huge man-made waterfalls and be outside in the sunshine. He didn't want to sit still for any photos, but with both E and I snapping away, I think we might have a few.

James would not sit on his Dada's lap. He threw a fit (see above), so E had to have this year's photo alone.



Once he was visiting trees he was happy.
The paths are out of this world beautiful. I am in love.
Feels like a fairy land, doesn't it?


This might be the only big grin of the day and I love it.
I love when James gently puts his little hand on our face. Here he is watching the waterfalls, hence the little smile.
One of my favorite shots of the day. Amazing, no?



Back at home we popped an overtired kid into bed and E set to work making another great meal for me. We made one of my favorites, grilled steak sandwiches on homemade flat bread.

As the dusk slowly moved towards night E and I snuggled on the blanket under the tree in the backyard. We sipped wine. We laughed about our "little baby dictator" and watched the stars.

I love Mother's Day Eve. Might be the best holiday of the year.