Puppy . . . Love?

This is a hard one for me to write about because I have mixed feelings.

Back in June, we brought home a puppy.  The kids have wanted one forever.  I wanted one forever.  Even though Dan isn't an animal person, he and I felt like it was the right time.  I researched for over a year about breeds and breeders, looking for the right one for our family.  I settled on a mini goldendoodle and put a deposit down last January.  There was a long waitlist for this breeder. (In the end, I regret the breeder.  Long story.)  Anyway, June 13th, Cedar joined our family.

 The kids were uber quiet as they met her so they wouldn't scare her.  She's not a super cuddly pup, she'd rather play.  She's EXTREMELY energetic, though now at 5 months a little calmer. It's been a very rough ride and many times I've regretted buying her.  I'll do an update with pics of her now another time.  She is super cute though.

So if you've been wondering what has kept me so busy I can barely blog anymore . . . now you know.

Alice Turns 2!! (Part 2)

A couple days after Alice's birthday, we had a joint family party with her cousin Gia, the one who is only 2 weeks older than her. 

Gia's family gave Alice a new swimsuit and flipflops so the girls could match.

Elsa was roaming the park so they got a picture with her.  (Weirdest Elsa ever.  Just sayin'.)

 

Alice Turns 2!! (Part 1)

It's raining, cold and very September-y outside.

But back in early June . . .

Alice turned two!  We went to the splash pad that day to celebrate and play.  Alice is hilarious.  She makes all of us laugh with her funny faces and things you don't expect her to say.  She uses full sentences and knows words you don't expect.  Her language development was pretty slow until right before her birthday, then she flew ahead of the curve.  She loves animals, especially dogs and monkeys.  Alice is our best kid at going down for naps and for bed.  She loves to be read to by anyone.  Her favorite foods include fruit snacks, bananas, applesauce, candy, oatmeal, and cheerios.  Oh, and Parmesan from a can.  She'll beg for more on her plate and eat it by itself.

This girl has been so loved since day one by her siblings, it's almost ridiculous.  They adore her.

 We went over for some birthday ice cream at Sip N Swirl.

We opened some presents back home afterwards.

City Festival

Our awesome little city has a Family Festival week every year.  There's a swim night, parade, carnival, fireworks, etc.

My niece was staying with us that week so she got to play with us at all the festivities.

The carnival was 1,000 times better than last year.  I only had one complaint: poor Alice was too short to be allowed on anything, even the kiddie rides!  Kind of ridiculous.  So she was stuck watching everyone else have fun from her stroller.

Alice did get to ride the marry-go-round one time for a few bucks because the guy at the gate wasn't watching very closely for height.  He was the only worker who let things slide.  

 We ate dinner at the park and then stayed for the movie "Big Hero 6."  The girls and I left around 10 PM because they were cold and DONE after 6 hours at the carnival, but Dan and Matty stayed. 

Our city's parade may be small town, but I LOVE it!  

Alice, however does not like loud noises.  So she closed her eyes when the police sirens went off.  Apparently that stops it from being too loud.  LOL!

Jossy's Birthday Part 2

Jossy got more presents from her family that night.

Lacey picked out some goggles for Jossy all on her own and watched with such excitement as she opened them.

That night we let the birthday girl pick where she wanted to go to dinner.  She chose Pizza Pie Cafe.  We had no idea it was "Frozen" night . . . and this lucky Elsa-obsessed girl got to not only meet Elsa and Anna on her birthday, but was SUNG TO by them as well!!  She was bright red!!  Birthday dreams do come true!