Valentine's Day 2015

You know how some days just don't go according to plan?!? :)  That was our Valentine's this year, but in a really good way. 

We've been wanting a new puppy for awhile.  We knew we couldn't get one while Nellie was still sick, and then we were busy and grieving and it was Christmas and all that.  So just in the last week or two I had contacted a couple of golden retriever breeders, and we'd also been researching a lab rescue group.  Obviously, after our first dog attempt, we were a little scared to get another dog, and I wanted to know exactly what we were getting this time.  I love goldens and felt confident that one would be good with the kids and have a nice, friendly personality.  But we weren't having much luck; it looked like the soonest we could get a puppy would be June.  We decided that was okay though, we could wait.  And then we decided to stop by Petsmart, just to see what they had.  We knew the chances of there being a golden at adoption day were non-existent.  We were super prepped, we even had the kids convinced that we were just going to look at the dogs and visit the fishies and birdies [Petsmart is basically a free zoo].  And you know how that works.  Yep, we have a new pup!

Welcome to the family Maya!!  She's a super sweet bundle of furry joy.  She looks like a black lab and was hanging out in a kennel full of boxer puppies.  Turns out they are all from the same litter and have a terrier mother.  Our Maya is literally the black sheep of the family :)  The pregnant mother was turned over to the humane society, and thus the mother and babies have been raised together.  And actually in one of the volunteer's homes, with her four and two year old kids.  So in theory, we know what she is and what she'll be like!  Super comforting.  I picked her up and held her in my arms and she fell asleep on me.  The kids loved her right away, even Ryan came up and pet her on the head and kept saying hi to her.  So of course, we were hooked.  While it may have been impulsive and emotional, we were all five in on it together, so it's okay! 

She has been amazing.  She is sooo good with the kids.  She sleeps pretty well.  She whimpers when she needs to go out and hasn't had very many accidents at all.  And I'll even take the blame for some - it was freezing rain yesterday and very hard to get outside.  She does great in a crate.  She loves, loves, loves to be outside.  She chases her little tennis balls and chews on sticks.  She isn't great on a leash yet, but we're practicing and hoping she'll like long walks one day soon. 

We love our little furry baby!!  What a blessing and a perfect addition to the family!! 

30 months

Chloe is two and a half!  She had her official checkup with Dr. Bowman.  Everything looks great and no shots were needed, what more could you want?!  :)

She is 36inches tall and weighs 28pounds.  She is steadily increasing on the charts for her weight, woohoo!  I'm guessing she's about 30th percentile for weight now, which after being below the charts for a couple of visits, makes Dr. Bowman and Mommy very happy.  Her head circumference is 19inches and her BMI is 15.19.  Medically speaking, she's good and is all set until she turns three!

Chloe continues in speech therapy with Ms. Shannon [yes, both her preschool teacher and therapist are named Shannon].  Chlo-Chlo drops syllables and doesn't finish words.  But she's making good progress!  She tries hard, and Ms. Shannon is very pleased with her.  She has just started putting two basic words together : "help me," "Abby no," "shoe me," that sort of thing.  Shannon really wants us focusing more on getting the syllables correct though, before we add more words and everything becomes a jumble!  We've got to get the basics down before her speech takes off and it's harder to correct. 

Chloe thinks every color is either yellow or purple.  She loves to eat "noo-noos" [noodles, mac &cheese].  She thinks Abby hung the moon.  The only day the girls are ever really apart is on Wednesdays when Abby is at preschool and Chloe is not.  Chloe must say "Abby??" every fifteen minutes.  I hope Chlo's not devastated when Abs heads off to kindergarten in August.  Chloe thinks she can do everything and very rarely wants any help.  I'm sure this will be a great character trait in the long run, but when we're in a hurry, it'd sure be nice if she would just let me get her dressed!  She is a whiz on the new tablet.  She likes to kick a soccer ball and is super cute when she says "ready?" right before she kicks a ball or slides down the slide.  She likes to pull up a plastic lawn chair and watch Ryan and Abby play in the backyard.  She can "pedal" her bike, as long as Mommy is pushing too. 

We love you sweet Chlo-Chlo!!  Happy two and a half!! 

Planning for the future

I won't get this exactly verbatim, but here's a pretty close recollection of Abby's announcement this morning while at the grocery store...

Totally randomly :  When I grow up, I'm going to be a mommy and I'm going to be a drummer for my work.  And you're going to keep my kids!

Excellent :)

Ryan brought home a progress report that has him reading at a half-way-through-second-grade level.  Excellent!!

Great job Buddy!!  We are super proud of you and how hard you work!!

"yellow!"

Everything, and I'm mean everything, is yellow according to Chloe.  And what's super crazy about that is yellow really should be the last color name she learns what with all those Y's and L's.  But she annunciates it very well and has latched on to it for her answer to everything.  Any color is yellow, any shape is yellow, even letters and numbers can be yellow. 

Merry Christmas 2014!!

Speech Therapy 101

Chloe put two words together!  Abby had rubbed a big raw spot on her ankle last weekend while roller skating.  As she was getting in the tub just now, Chloe pointed to it and clear as day said: "Abby boo-boo!"  And in a super sweet voice to boot.  Go Chloe!!

Ryan!!

Happy 7th Birthday to my Little Man!!!!!!  [alright, yes, it's a little bit late, just a wee bit.  But better late than never.]  We had a great celebration - Mommy came to lunch at school, the bus stop greeted you with noisemakers and hats and cupcakes, dinner at Wendys and dessert at home with the Grandparents, a fun fall party at the birthday party playground.  I know it's cliche, but I just cannot believe you're seven!!  Thanks for being a great kid and an awesome brother and an amazing person!

Ryan's seven year checkup was on October 2nd.  His weight was 49lbs 8oz, just under the 50th percentile curve.  His height was 47.5", again hovering just under 50th percentile.  His height and weight are staying very consistent on the charts. 

heartbreaker

Ryan and Daddy left for boy scouts a couple of minutes ago.  Ryan gave me a hug [at Daddy's prompting], but he had no interest in giving his sisters one.  And they were running late, so out the door they went.  Chloe tried to blow him a kiss as he left, and she burst into tears when the door shut behind them.  The girls were sitting next to each other at the table in their booster seats, and Abby leaned over super sweetly and put her arm on Chloe's shoulder.  In the most sympathetic Abby voice, she told her:
"Chloe, that's just what boys do.  He didn't even give me a hug and I wanted one."

Dawgs and Dirt

Our Abby is a chatterbox.  She's always talking.  She talks out loud, thinks out loud, narrates her life - and the life of her sister - out loud.  She's always mumbling and pretend playing and chatting up her babies or stuffed animals or anything else.  It's fun to eavesdrop and try to figure out what's occupying her thoughts.  Today had two very distinct themes : Todd Gurley and Dirt.  Yup, I'm raising her right! 

If you happen to not be a die-hard Bulldawgs fan, Todd Gurley is our amazing running back.  Abby has latched on to his name.  Todd Gurley this, Todd Gurley that.  She called Chloe by the name Todd Gurley.  I even heard her use his name in vain while doing the Highlights picture search.  "Todd Gurley!  I can't find it!"  Fortunately she doesn't know many true curse words, because this girl has a mouth on her. 

Her other preoccupation has been Dirt.  Dirt is Florida-Georgia Line's current hit single.  And one of Mommy's [and therefore Abby's] current favorite songs.  We listen to it a lot.  She asks for the Dirt song as soon as we get in the car.  She hasn't latched on to any specific lyrics, simply the word "dirt."  Dirt, dirt, dirt.

I love her little, well actually huge, personality :)  She's a mess!  And she's so different from me, there's times I just don't know what to do with her!  She can always make me laugh, and she has the cutest things to say.  She's certainly the most extroverted of the family.  Although, in her old age, I have noticed she seems to be scaling back.  She's not nearly as talkative or comfortable around strangers [not necessarily a bad thing!].  She takes more time to warm up when we get somewhere.  And when she's done, she's done.  She has a blast at playdates or school, but then she needs to come home and chill and regroup [which I think makes her an outgoing introvert instead of a true extrovert.  psychology 101 expert right here.].

I love you my Abby-Girl!!