Cooper Time! I'm babysitting my almost-one-year-old (!) nephew Cooper today (he's napping as I write this). Little slice of heaven, that Cooper-Doo. He chatted through our trip to Target, lots of "wow" and "uh oh," charming the pants off anyone who walked by us. No one can resist baby talk, especially when the words are recognizable. It's such an accomplishment, everyone wants to celebrate! Including Coop! Very sweet.

He and Sigs had a little moment together gazing out at the deck. They're both thinking they're ready for spring, I can tell. (OK, maybe I'm projecting my thoughts onto them. But probably not.)

So tonight we'll have Mommy Stace here for dinner (when she comes to pick up Cooper), as well as both of our own children, ha. The plan is classic beef stroganoff - pretty hard to top steak and egg pasta as universal favorites in this household. And inspired by the yummy French salad I had at Lucia's last week, I bought a head of butter lettuce to make a simple, tender salad to accompany. Mustard vinaigrette, minced chives, sea salt, cracked fresh pepper, done. NICE!