Be fruitful.

Normally I would say, "Check out the fruits of my labor!!!" before showing you this picture

However, I'm afraid somebody would tattle on me...
My garden would say, "What labor?!"

It's true. I am ashamed to admit.
My faithful garden, though sadly neglected by me all summer, has still come through for me.

Yes, the green beans are fewer and far between

Yes, the raspberries are almost microscopic in comparison to last year, and the large-sized tomatoes are certainly not in abundance

But this faithful garden has still managed to make my mouth water today.
Isn't he a beaut? This is a Black Prince...

And these are a multitude variety of small guys...black prince cherries, yellow pear, grape, cupid and red cherries

And this faithful garden, despite it's disappointment in my neglectful ways, still provided me the means to make this amazing caprice salad...

And now if you'll excuse me while I go devour it. Nummers.

Nine Months

While I have been doing a lot of this lately:

My son, who is approaching his first birthday much more rapidly than I prefer to admit, has been doing a lot of this lately:

Oh, also lots of getting himself into situations he can't get out of yet...like last week when he was afraid to crawl on hardwood floors ...

 Or when he opens drawers

And gets stuck under them

He's finally started babbling, and I must admit I think he has an adorable little voice. In the space of two days' time, he's started saying "ba-ba", "ma-ma", "da-da", and "ta-ta" (are you noticing a variation on a theme here?). Oh, and my parents swear he also said "Opa". Believe what you will.

His top teeth are starting to come in, so he's doing a lot of this...

which is perfectly fine on his plastic-coated crib rail, but slightly more awkward on my friend's daughter's nose.

I will admit I still get a kick out of walking into his bedroom to see this

and this

(Yup, still catching flies with that mouth)

As we've reached this nine-month stage, finger foods have made a much-loved appearance

as has that little-boy-plotting-mischief grin. Ah yes, it is starting to become apparent that this boy is his father's son. This was confirmed to me the other day when I asked my mother what she thinks his little developing personality is like in comparison to other babies. I wish I could say I was surprised when she said, "I see a little bit of a devil in him." Alas...I was not.

However, as devilish as this little boy is going to be, I know there will continue to be moments that make my heart melt, moments when I have to just give pause and thank God for this incredible gift...like when I see him sleeping on his video monitor, surrounded by his furry friends, with his little cloth-diapered bum in the air

And then moments when I just have to laugh at this silly boy...like the other day when I made the mistake of putting him to sleep in nothing but a cloth diaper...with worn-out velcro tabs

Anyways, though this boy is gonna be trouble, and though he's already getting into things and having mini tantrums...at the end of the day, he's still my sweet, happy little William Levi.

And I love him so much.

Return to the Door!

This month my family and I had the wonderful privilege of taking a family vacation! We were able to pack up and head back to Door County, Wisconsin, the place where we vacationed many summers during my childhood. It was a blast getting to stay there again...it felt just like coming home. The fact that the pefect rain-free weather was in the mid-70's all week didn't hurt either...a welcome relief from the 100's Chicago-land was enduring. It was our first family vacation post-baby (i.e. quite an experience, to say the least). Slightly bad timing on Will's part, because he got sick and started crawling while we were there. That combo does not make vacationing easy for parents :) However, it was super fun for the family to spend quality time together. Without further ado, some of my favorite pics:

Can you say awkward family photo?

Wasn't sure how he felt about the sand between his toes

A radom park-bench we found...with some editing help from yours truly :)

A Door County fish boil!

Our rental cottage

View from the cottage

Door County beach view

Happy sick baby in his pack and play

All week long, everybody was fighting for chances to pose with the boy:

Lots of father-son time

Many beach campfires!

One beautiful evening we stopped at an adorable diner in the town of Ephraim. We enjoyed our burgers outside along the bay basking in the picturesque surroundings.

Discovered that 8-month Will does not like Ergo-baby in the middle of July...despite how cute I thought he looked in it.

I of course had to take advantage of some great lighting while waiting for the fish boil

Sisters plus Oma plus the Levi-man

Our little fam

And I will leave you with one more classic family photo, taken at our all-time favorite Door County frozen custard place,

Adeiu!!