Spring Scents

I've been really busy, you guys. I'm really trying to finish up this dresser and it's taking all of my naptime to get it done, which means we've been living off frozen food. Don't judge me.

Unrelated, the last few days I've been thinking about how my house smells. Okay, weird. I get it.

We've lived in this house just over 3 years now. When we moved in, I remember walking in to a new scent. It felt like new and that's just what it was (Well, to us. Our house is older than we are.).

Eventually, it became a regular scent and one I associated with us. It was the comfort of home and one we added to over time with new soaps, cleaning, plants, paint, etc.

However, with the weather changing and Chicago seeing temps between 70-80 degree (!), that scent has returned. It smells like it did when we moved in and when I was newly pregnant with Andrew. We've all heard about the sense of smell being among the strongest to connect us with memories. Being pregnant with Andrew, my sense of smell was immensely heightened-- even more than my pregnancy with Benjamin.

Winter was over and spring was in full bloom when we moved in. I fully believe that seasons cause your home to smell differently. I don't know if it's because of the temperature outside and how the sun hits down, but it smells different in the spring. Not just because of pollen in the air and flowers blooming. 

This new home smell makes me think of being pregnant with Andrew so much. 

I miss everything about spring three years ago.

Spring in Illinois

We have had some amazing weather lately. It's been so amazing that I've even broken out the shorts. I know. Incredible, right?

In other news, this weather has brought springtime. Animals are out and flowers are blooming rapidly. Since this is my first real springtime, it's been a real joy to witness the gorgeous landscape as the snow is gone and the bright colors appear. It's also pretty cool owning those beautiful flowers.

Here is some animal fun for you. Can you spot the squirrel in these photos?

Terrible, terrible photo... but the beautiful birds are out, too.

This is basically our backyard. If you take the trail from our backyard about 1/4 mile, you find this (and about 4-5 others within a 5-minute walk. We LOVE this area.

We've also seen quite a few of these critters...

And for the blooming flowers. This tree has massive amounts of red buds on the ends that I love waking up to every morning (taken from the master bedroom window).

A series of lovely flowers on our property... (our deck in the background)

There's proof that I was wearing shorts!

Underneath trees...

Rose bush buds coming out for springtime

Here's a happy little bird. And yes, we have that fire hydrant on our property. Our house will never burn down.

And for Easter... here's our decor outside on that red-blooming tree in our front yard...

Happy Easter!!!