Sibling Rivalry

My bff Samantha got Princess' brother a few days after we got Princess. All it took was snuggling the fluffy little Princess and Sam knew she wanted one of her own, the trick was convincing her husband. So I brought Princess by her house to meet Erik. After seeing how sweet and cute princess was he couldn't resist. I rode out to no man's land again with Sam to pick up her puppy. That was quite the adventure that you can read about in my other daily doo dads blog.

Anyway Sam got the very last puppy left from the same litter. His name is Gizmo and he is adorable also. She brought him over to play one day and they had a lot of fun attacking each other and being quite rough. But there was a little love shown after they wore themselves out. Gizmo is a little fluffier and has the shih tzu face Princess has more petite features and longer legs.Aren't they sweet?

An Expanding Family

Princess- Our New Puppy

We added a member to the family today. She is an adorable tiny little fluff ball. She is a Pomeranian/ Shih tzu mix also called a Shiranian. She has a very sweet temperament. Princess loves to give puppy kisses and nibble on ear lobes. She is very soft and cuddly and I just love that puppy breath. It was almost an hour drive to the place we had to pick her up from, out in the middle of nowhere. Quite an interesting place a home filled to the brim with birdcages, two litters of puppies and even a pet skunk. We took all the kids with us, but let Sadie pick which puppy we got. They were all so cute, I could have taken them all. But Sadie really wanted a girl puppy and the one she picked is adorable with more of the Pom face and petite features than shih tzu. It actually seemed more like the puppy picked Sadie, she kept running to Sadie and trying to lick and kiss her. When the mommy dog jumped into the little plastic pool all the puppies were kept in they all raced to nurse, except this one that was too gascinated by Sadie. Jose had been waiting outside the house witht he other kids while I had taken Sadie in to look at the puppies, then I went out and told Jose he could go pick which puppy we got. He went in and helped Sadie decide on puppy, with an unanimous vote to hers. So after she got her shots we were on our way with the sweet little baby girl. On the long drive home we talked about names, the boys didn't have any ideas, so we let Addie name her. Addie picked the name Princess... of course that is what she names just about everything these days, but the name is fitting of this little sweetpea. We had to stop at the pet store to buy the necessities, food, treats, a chew toy, a pink collar and leash, a fasionable pink doggie bag and matching cozy blanket were also a must. I resisted the little sweater for now, but I'm sure the cute outfits are in her future. Everyone in the family is just in love with her. I hope it will be a smooth transition, but I know puppies mean a lot of work, especially for mom.

for always

He gives me a big hug for no particular reason, and then says, "Mom we sure do look cute don't we? Maybe you should take our picture so we can remember this for always" So I did. How could I resist? He cracks me up with the funny things he is always saying. I love this boy.

It's All About the Princess

She might truly be royalty. At least she has us convinced. She is happy only when getting exactly what she wants when she wants it. She looks sweet and innocent standing here in her beautiful gown, but don't be fooled by the smile.
Actually she danced for nearly an hour in her sister's old princess dress, it had been sitting in her dress box for years but Addie just noticed it today and realized it was a "real"`princess dress.

"This is mine," she said.

I said "It can be now, it used to be Sadie's but it probably doesn't fit her anymore so you can have it."

"That's because Sadie isn't the Princess, Addie is. It's my pretty dress," said Addie.

Yep.... that's my Addie.

School is Cool

This is a picture of Addie and Carter talking with the school Principal on after their first day of school. They were so excited to be there. Addie even gave Mrs Stuckart a hug.

They are so proud to be wearing their little back packs and walking like big kids down the school hallway. They are a little intimidated at first, but that settles and awe takes over as they look inside each class and see the kids working and all the artwork on the walls. You can see that they feel like they have entered a big kid world and are very proud of themselves. It makes me feel proud too.

I have been so amazed by how much Addie and Carter have liked school. It is really a blessing. They ask every day when they wake up if it is a school day and if they get to take the bus. They show me their art work as soon as they get off the bus and if they happened to be kid of the day that day, their faces are glowing. I'm so glad we have found a fit that really works for them, and helps then feel successful and nurtured while meeting all their special needs. I hope they continue to do this well in school as they get more comfortable with the routine and teachers.

The School Bus

Riding the school bus has been a big highlight for both Addie and Carter. They love getting on the bus in the morning and will stand by the window and watch for the bus for 10 minutes before it comes. The first time they got on the bus I teared up seeing them reach up for the handle bar and take that giant step onto the first stair. But they are so happy that it warms my heart and I know this has been the right decision.

My Baby turns 7 years old

I can't believe my baby turned 7 years old today. Can it seriously have been 7 years ago that I first held her in my arms? First kissed those precious cheeks? First fell in love with being a mom? She has grown up so much. She is amazing, talented, smart, sweet, creative, sensitive and funny. But I can't believe that she is 7. Seven years of smiles that make my day, seven years of tears that break my heart, seven years of hugs that fit better than my favorite pair of jeans, seven years of giggles so contagious that make my toes tingle, seven years of sweet sweet memories and millions more to come. I love you baby girl, Happy Birthday!



Sadie eating her traditional birthday breakfast cake made with waffles, berries and whipcream.

Stormy

Our Bunny

This is a picture of our pet bunny, Stormy Herman Bun-bun. My daughter Sadie named him. She liked Stormy because of his gray color, and because we found him on a windy, stormy night, Herman is after a brave mouse in a book she had just finished reading, and bun-bun is because that is what I called him until she had picked a name.

The story of how we found the little cutie is pretty funny considering Sadie had been begging me for a bunny for the longest time because her cousins have rabbits and she loves them. It was 10 o'clock at night in early fall and a friend was bringing me home from a nice relaxing evening at Starbucks. We were driving down a busy street when we saw what looked at first like a giant squirrel. After a moment of shock we realized it was a bunny, quite out of place in the middle of our downtown. This was no wild little bunny but rather a big, soft, adorable, cold and matted bunny. We pulled a u-turn and went back to wear it had just miraculously crossed the busy road. We jumped out of the car and found the rabbit in the bushes. It hopped out and came right to me as I leaned down to it. Obviously domestic, hungry and in need of a good home, we brought it back to my house, fed it some veggies, gave it a drink of water and helped it get dry. That same night I ran over to my nieces to pick up a spare cage she had, as well as some food, hay and a water bottle. When I got him home again and settled down, I couldn't help but wake up Sadie and show her our cuddly new friend. She was so excited she thought it had been a dream until she woke in the morning and saw him still snuggled in the cage next to her bed.

I have been very impressed with how responsible Sadie has been with our new pet. Sadie does a great job of taking care of Stormy. She feeds him, refills his water bottle, makes sure he has lots of hay and loves to give him healthy treats. Although she is great at those tasks, I still clean out the cage and I can't wait until she can take over that duty.

He is such a sweet little bunny. Everyone in the family just loves him, including my husband who will never admit it out loud. Stormy hops right to you when you open the cage and he loves to hop around the house looking for the perfect cozy place to make his nap nest. He loves cozy little places like under the boys tool bench or up in the doll bed. He is so good at finding these cozy spots that the kids have made a game out of playing hide and seek with the bunny when he is out of his cage. I'm not sure bun-bun finds it a fun game, but the kids sure do. I'm thankful for this sweet little surprise that joined or family on a stormy night.