hello?

it's been awhile and i won't even attempt to say that i'm back to blogging but i have missed keeping a record of our family's life.  so i'm going to attempt to do just that every once in awhile.  poor ellie has had rather sad documentation of her life compared to avery and while i know she's loved every bit as much i would like to actually have a place to look back on her growing up because i know i sure won't remember it all!  so, here's what's been going on in the past year: 

... ellie is 18 months.  crazy town.  i love this age so much.  she's a running, climbing, following her sister around all day, talking up a storm, crazy toddler.  charlie and i die over how cute she is daily.  she's imitating everything that her 'cool' big sis is doing these days including her newest phrase "knock knock, who's there? pee" that she definitely picked up from avery.  she's also stubborn, brave, and still very much attached to her mama these days.  she knows what she wants and how she wants it and she will let you know exactly what that is.  and (knock on wood) she is finally, finally sleeping in her crib all through the night.  it only took us a year and a half to figure that one out.  she wakes up at the crack of dawn but i can deal with a 5:30 wake up time as long as she's not in my bed thrashing around like a fool for hours each night.  

...  avery is three and a half and growing by the minute.  she is pretty opinionated about things these days too and like most three year olds has zero patience for things like waiting for things she wants, sharing toys with her sister, and picking up after her own giant messes.  she seems so old to me these days and she'll start preschool in the fall.  i'm both excited for her and so sad because how in the world is she old enough to go out into the world without me.  she's a pretty great sister most of the time and over the past 6 months they have started to play with each other a lot more.  i find it pretty adorable and usually waste all the time that they're happily playing sneakily watching them from the other room instead of getting anything done.  

...  we recently put dunkin to sleep, which was the hardest decision i've ever made and thing i've had to do.  charlie and i miss him like crazy.  he was the best and the house seems so empty without him following me around everywhere.  

... i'm so excited that it's finally summer, my very favorite season.  we're busy enjoying things like flip flops, dresses, open windows, fires, grilling, the water table, running around without clothes on (the kids, not me), and growing our first garden.  we don't have a lot of plans this summer and i'm trying to really enjoy the last bit of completely unscheduled time that we have before after starts school.  i know after that we'll "only" have summer's off and i'm really going to miss the freedom of these before-school days.  

...  we took our annual trip back to maryland in june to visit family.  it was really great to see everyone and we even squeezed in some beach time one day but ellie not the chillest traveler during our second leg of the journey and we were all happy to get back home just to get back to our normal routine.  i'm usually complaining about how short those trips are and this one was only a week, compared to the last two years when we've stayed for two weeks, but with ellie being so difficult i was basically counting the days until we got back home.  hopefully she'll be a little more laid back next year.         

dunkin + henry

today avery asked me to take pictures of her with henry and then she insisted that dunkin join them as well.  she is actually not usually this nice to them.  i mean she has her moments but it's not all love.  in fact just earlier today i had to take a bracelet away from her because she was using it to hit henry on the head.  based on that she's pretty lucky that he was willing to stand next to her.  i think that all of the popcorn she fed him right before didn't hurt.  

they are such good dogs.  the best really.  they put up with a lot from her. and keep coming back for more.  or at least don't run away when they see her coming.  i hope she always loves dogs.  i can't imagine not having them around our house and they are the best companions.  i'm so glad that she can at least appreciate them some of the times and i'm so thankful they love her.      

dear dunkin

dunkin's ten, which in lab years is pretty old.  i think recently, maybe in the past year or so, we've started to notice him getting older.   it breaks my heart because really, i know everyone says this, but he's the best dog.  ever.  it's no secret that henry's been my baby.  and if i had to choose between the two i would have picked him.  but dunkin's a better dog.  he's loyal.  he's kind.  he's protective, in a way that doesn't make you nervous when people knock on the door.  he's my constant companion.  he follows me around the house throughout the day.  he waits upstairs outside the door when i'm putting the kids to sleep and won't come down until i do.  he's just a good, good dog.

he was charlie's before he was mine but i always thought of him as my dog long before charlie and i moved in together and he technically became my dog.  charlie has always joked that dunkin is the reason that we got together because i hung out with him just to be with his dog.  when we had kids i never gave a second thought to how dunkin would be with them.  i was a little worried about henry because he can be really grumpy.  and i actually think that he's been a bit depressed since we brought avery home.  at first he was mad, and then when she started crawling and walking and messing with him he started spending his days as far away from her as possible.  the only time he really acts happy is when we take him for a walk and let him chase the geese.  but dunkin didn't have a problem when we brought avery home.  he definitely gets annoyed with her and he'll look at charlie and i like "do i really have to put up with this?" but he does.  always.  and sometimes i think he secretly likes the attention.  

avery goes back and forth about how she feels about him.  sometimes she's all about him, giving him random hugs, telling him she loves him, playing silly games with him.  and other times she gets really annoyed with him.  he's definitely a "velcro dog" and she gets mad that he's always in her face, laying on her toys, or licking her fingers.  she'll get mad and try and push him out of the way sometimes, which is just comical because he's 90 pounds and she's probably 20 or so.  basically she doesn't stand a chance.  and he just looks at her like "yeah, right".  

anyway, as he's gotten older we've started to realize that he probably won't be around forever.  his hips bother him and he has arthritis in one of his front legs that causes him to limp pretty badly.  he can't play ball anymore and although he still loves walks, i've stopped taking him because of how badly he limps when we get back.  i'm so glad that our kids have had a chance to grow up with him because he's the sweetest.  charlie and i are definitely dog people.  i can't imagine our home without a dog, despite the messes and the piles of fur.  but i also think for us that we'll never have another dog like him.  hopefully he's got a few more years of playing ball with avery, barking at people who walk by, and chasing toby around the house because i know we'll miss that dog like crazy when he's no longer around to trip us when we get up from the dinner table.    

lately ...

...  avery and i made some 'art' for the baby's room.  actually, avery did all of the painting on her own and even spilled the water three times all over the paper.  the water turned brown after a bit, as it usually does, and she kept calling it mommy's coffee.  it was pretty cute.  i love watching her discover things.  and i have to say i'm pretty impressed with her water color skills.  she did enjoy painting herself as much as the paper and we took a much needed bath after this to get all of the paint off of her.  thank goodness for washable paint.  

...  we ordered a crib.  i realize this is completely opposite what i said last time, which was that we were moving avery to a twin bed and giving baby the crib.  however, apparently when charlie and i had the discussion about moving avery to a 'big' bed i meant a twin and he meant a toddler bed.  he was pretty adement about her not being ready for a twin and i still think that toddler beds are sort of a waste when you have a crib that can fulfill the same purpose.  so, we ended up ordering a crib for the new baby.  i was planning on putting this off as long as possible because there's no way that the baby will be in that crib right away, but the room is such a mess right now and it's almost impossible to get the room set up without a crib in it because i just can't picture how everything will go.  right now the room is still a serious mess and since we have less than 7 weeks until my due date i figure we should start moving on getting it set up.  also, i'm sure that the last thing that i'll feel like doing after we have a baby is assembling nursery furniture so it's better for us to figure it all out now.

...  speaking of sleeping avery is now putting herself to sleep at night and actually taking naps in her crib.  this is sort of a huge deal for us and i still am actually in disbelief that i have a nap time to get things accomplished.  i used to rock avery to sleep but realized once the baby came that would be impossible on the nights that charlie was traveling.  so after a few nights of putting her in her crib and listening to her cry, she figured out that was our new routine and adjusted just fine to it.  we now do our usual bath and books routine but instead of rocking her to sleep we talk about what we did that day and then she goes in her crib.  it's pretty cute because she'll put her books away and then say goodnight to charlie, her humidifier, and her 'fireplace' (space heater), and then say 'talk about day', and when i say and now it's time for bed she'll say 'crib and blanket' and doesn't cry.  it's been amazing.  i've been putting her down the same way for naps and she's been crying for about a minute or two and then falling asleep.  nap times are hit or miss.  some days it's 40 minutes, which is never enough and then she's in a terrible mood the rest of the day.  other days it's 1.5 to 2 hours, which is not only amazing during naptime but also great since she's happy the rest of the day.  i was planning on also taking the side off of her crib (when we were thinking of switching her to a bed) but now that we're not i'm going to leave it until she decides she's ready to climb out.  

...  avery has been really into dunkin lately.  i know i just wrote an entire post about how she loves to play ball with him but she's been really sweet with him.  she loves to sit with him, give him hugs and kisses, and tells him that she loves him.  he's such a great dog since he puts up with her during her nice times as well as when she's not being so sweet.  henry is the master of avoiding her and even though she's been really nice lately he spends most of his time either in our bedroom our in the basement but dunkin's always hanging out in whatever room we are.  he always comes up to read books with us at night and when i put avery down for her nap he waits for me outside her door.  he's a sweet one.



...  i've been in sort of a cooking rut lately.  last weekend and the beginning of the week i just really didn't feel like cooking at all and we ended up eating things like frozen ravioli because i couldn't seem to motivate myself to actually make a real meal.  but tonight avery and i made a pumpkin cake (our first pumpkin anything this fall) and i made chicken and sausage casserole for dinner.  she actually really loves baking and does a great job with helping.  she dumps everything into the bowl and helps to mix things although she's a little scared of the mixer and asks that i hold her while it's on.  anyway, it was nice to have an actual meal and i think avery agreed because she ate a ton of dinner and then had an entire piece of cake for dessert.

...   we've semi decorated for fall and i've managed to keep mums alive for more than a week.  i would upload a picture of our very minor decorations but flickr won't let me at the moment.  last year i bought one mum plant it it literally went from beautiful and blooming to a brown pile of sticks in 7 days.  but this year i've had one plant for 3 weeks and the other for 2.  they actually are looking pretty terrible but they are still alive and i consider that success.  i'd love to actually plant some in our front yard at some point.  but i have yet to get ambitious enough to plant anything outside of a pot.  it turns out i don't like gardening. 

dunkin + avery.

this girl loves her dogs.  she feeds them, gives them treats, brushes them, reads books to them, and gives them hugs and kisses.  she really loves throwing the ball to dunkin and he's beginning to realize that she's a pretty cool human who is actually fun to have around.  if charlie and i didn't stop her she'd feed him 10 treats a day and well, dunkin's favorite thing is to play ball and lately she's been the one who plays the most with him.  i'm so glad that she's been developing a relationship with him.  he really is such an amazing dog and it makes me so, so sad to watch him get older each year.  he'll be 10 in a few months and he's really starting to show his age a bit.  i can't imagine the day that he's not a part of our lives.  i love that he's around to teach avery about just how wonderful dogs are and i can't think of a better teacher and companion.  we love you, dunk.  thanks for being so sweet to our baby.  

"a dog teaches a [girl] fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down". 

-- robert benchley.    

my favorite picture ever.

i know i've mentioned that avery's a huge fan of ollie and that he's by far her favorite animal of the house. but she's really into all of them, toby aside because he's a cranky cat.  side story: the other day i sat down in the chair near toby and he got up and walked away, not surprising.  i called his name and he stopped, turned his head and looked at me and hissed.  for no reason.  see? mean.

anyway, ollie and the dogs are doing fine with the baby.  henry's gotten over his jealousy from the beginning and both of the dogs will greet her when we come home from places and give her the occasional lick or sniff just to say hi.  she's really into feeling different things right now, the couch! the pillow! the stroller! the blanket! and the animals are a favorite because they're so soft.  occasionally i'll get down on the floor with her next to them and just let her pet them for a bit.  dunkin usually lasts longer because he's dunkin and will do just about anything that charlie or i ask of him.  she was petting him tonight and got tired and decided just to lay her head down on him and rest for a bit.  pretty much the sweetest thing i've ever seen.  

before i was pregnant and before we were even thinking about having kids charlie used to say, 'we have to have kids before dunkin dies'.  i'm pretty sure it's because of moments like this.  he is such a great dog and i hope that avery grows up to have the same appreciation for animals that we do.  as much as i love my baby(and believe me the dogs don't come anywhere close to that) i love the dogs, too, and i can't imagine a home without a dog.  

i really do love this dog.

even when he sleeps on the couch.

although i love him more when he sleeps on the floor.

this always makes me laugh.

he's just stretching.

oh, and in case your wondering i'm thinking of doing the chair and a half in charcoal and the couch in bone. we shall see. it's going to be a while before i save up the money for them anyway. those slipcovers are expensive!

happy 7th birthday to my favorite yellow lab!

and if you could not get any older after this that'd be great. thanks.

i've written a million times about why dunkin is a rockstar.

but it's amazing to me just how much energy he still has even at 7 and i'm not expecting it to disappear any time soon.

the best thing about him would have to be that he is always by my side. literally. he's my permanent shadow around the house or when we're hiking or walking. no leash needed for this pup. i'm forever grateful for the company, especially when i'm stuck spending weekends writing papers or when i come home from a long day at work and he goes bonkers.

dog love is unconditional love. and that's something i'm very grateful for.

thanks dunk! happy birthday. here's to a million more (ok, i'd settle for 6 or 7).

favorites.

lately i've been loving ...

all this rain.

have you not noticed?

spring cupcakes.

baked by my husband with a little bit of resentment.

frosted by me with love.

salads.

this is the ultimate salad.

lettuce (duh) + an egg + cucumbers + carrots + black beans + feta cheese + apples + oil & vinegar.

weekends with charlie and the pups.

they've kept me sane throughout the week.

charlie and dunkin were tired after going for a run.

seriously ... how cute is my dog?

he's upset because he wants a drink of water but is scared to walk in the kitchen.

this is his, "please bring my water to me and i'll love you forever" look.

my other love.

I realize I talk about Henry more than Dunkin. I've definitely been accused of playing favorites. Part of that is because that Henry is such a goofball. He's always doing something amusing. Although, in his case amusing = bad. Yesterday he took a bite out of a bird. Don't worry he only got feathers, unlike the last time ...

Dunkin is much different.

He's older.

Wiser.

He's a rule follower.

He's the dog that waits for me on the trail.

He's my protector when Charlie's out of town.

He's the one that always listens, never runs away, never chases rodents.

He's the dog that sleeps under my desk when I study. (ok, with me on the bed)

We go way back to when Charlie and I were dating, before we lived together. I used to stop by and take him for walks when Charlie was at school.

Charlie has accused me on more than one occasion of loving Dunkin more than him.

[Such a lie.]

But really, he's the best. Maybe not as funny, but just as lovable.