Amelia feeding Papa a cracker

A photo essay.

We love our ball under the table.

...er...?

We're not sure what happened to Caillou, but we suspect foul play.

Three girls at the zoo.

We didn't realize until now that penguins sat on their heels.

Swannie at the zoo. Just 'cause my mom will like it.

 

Junebuggy at the zoo

 

Junebuggy and a zoo kitty

 

Second attempt at posting this...

Ellie wrote this all by herself.

Big letters

Ellie wrote this...

 

More on Snickers

She came to us from Cincinnati and lived with us in Parma, OH, then to Walton Hills, OH (for a few weeks), then to Lansing, MI, then Jackson, MI, then back here to Cincinnati. All that time she'd ride with us on holiday and weekend trips to wherever we were going. She never complained, never gave us any reason to not want to bring her along. Even one night when the power went out and we had to get a hotel (it was Michigan winter and we didn't want Elizabeth to freeze), she was just straight-up good.

We'd let her out and just say, "stay in the yard." Even the first time in a new house, she never needed to be told where the yard was. She just stayed.

She got along with the cats, my parents' dogs, my mother-in-law's dog, whoever came along. Sometimes she got riled up at some other dogs or cats when I was around, but that was either jealousy or protection, not anything truly aggressive.

Eventually, it was cancer. We weren't terribly surprised about that -- but we were pretty shocked that we didn't have much time to deal with making a decision (well, none, really).

In perspective -- she was a dog. I won't miss cleaning the yard or all the fur all over, that's for sure. But boy, if you didn't know her, you'll never know how good a dog can be.

We'll probably window-shop dogs for a while but I don't think we'll get a new one soon. I need to get over this, and need to wait until I can have another dog that'll be his own dog, not compared to Snicks every time he does something not quite perfect.

Snickers

Snickers -- quite literally, the best dog ever. Always happy, always good, always wanting to be with us. Gentle with the kids, harsh on sticks and paper towels.

She was almost 12 years old -- pretty good for a lab. And just the best ol' girl you could ever want. We lost her yesterday.
As far as I can tell, the one with her by the laundry basket is the last one we took.

We'll miss her.

New tooth

Amelia has a new tooth again. This time on top. I think another one will be here tomorrow or the next day. That explains a couple of sleepless nights.

Cincinnati Museum Center

This was our first trip there but we became members so there will be lots more photos to post later.  I love the pictures of the girls "driving."

If you take one more picture of me, lady...

 

Amelia's favorite snack

We have to put shoes on her or this is what she does.  The socks go in her mouth everytime.

Our little ballerina

Elizabeth's first dance and tumbling class was was a big success. She had a lot of fun and actually did what the other kids were doing!

 

Toofies!

Junebuggy's having a big month. First she crawled, and now... a tooth.
Just a little bumpy ridge on the bottom gum.

--
Soli Deo Gloria

Amelia in her helmet

I put a thick hat on her because she's awfully top-heavy and clunks
her big ol' head a lot when she crawls.

Message from Elizabeth

--

Sola Scriptura - Sola Fide - Sola Gratia - Solus Christus - Soli Deo Gloria

Ellie-bean and June-bug have a new aunt Willow

My parents got a new puppy, so I have a new sister, and my kids have a new aunt. We amuse ourselves with these things. Just bear with it.

But the dog is cute.

She's "Anthem's Little Willow" or just plain Willow. Great name for a dog, huh?

...guess who suggested it...and my dad actually agreed to it. A red-letter day!


--

Sola Scriptura - Sola Fide - Sola Gratia - Solus Christus - Soli Deo Gloria

Amelia crawled today

It's official -- Junebuggy crawled today. A couple of months earlier than Ellie-beaners did. Not that I'm comparing or anything. Now we have to kiddo-proof this house, something we never really had to do for Ellie-beaners, who never seemed to threaten her own safety. We're hoping Junebuggy has that trait as well. They don't really act the same, though, so I'm not expecting it.

Amelia started clapping today

Elizabeth clapped at about 9 months, so I was a little surprised to see Amelia doing it today, at almost 7 months. I guess it's not all that much sooner, but it's sooner. 

Elliebean probably crawled later than Junebuggy will, too. Not that I'm comparing -- just, you know, benchmarking.