Puppy Love

Rusty has become a beloved member of our family...for most of us, that is. The kids can't wait to see him when they wake up in the morning, and squeal excitedly when he comes inside after spending the day in the garage with Nate. They run around with him in the backyard, run around with him inside, and dutifully bring him dog toys when he starts to gnaw on the furniture. Nate's having a great time with his canine companion. They've gone on walks together, played ball in the backyard, and become great pals.

As for me, I am tolerating the puppy. It's hard to see past the accidents, chewing damage, barking and general disorder that seems to have become the new norm. But he seems like a good fit for the kids and for Nate, so if he could become a little better behaved, I think my opinion of him would improve. I hear that happens for dogs around 2 years old... and I've also heard that it will get worse before it gets better. So only 22 months to go!

Rusty bonded with Nate right away.

Reading and napping...

Enjoying an appropriate chew toy.

All tuckered out.

Chewing on a basket...one of the many things he likes to sink his teeth into around the house.

Getting to know his Grandmom.

Rowan investigates the puppy's ears.

He loves to snuggle up next to his human.

Rusty fell asleep one night while Nate was holding him, and
Rowan took the opportunity to examine him with his doctor kit tools.
(Silas is checking the weather on Nate's phone, one of Si's favorite things to do.)

Rowan bundles up for a snowy morning in March.

Rusty's first snow!

Leo has been avoiding Rusty like the plaque, but in the past few days he's gotten slightly bolder.
This is the first time he didn't bolt when he saw Rusty, even through the door. It's made life tricky though, because Leo still needs to be fed and cared for. We found that Rusty likes cat food as much as dog food, leaves, straw, stuffed animals, and everything else he puts in his mouth. So Leo has to be sneaky to get a meal in. But so far we're managing!

A boy and his puppy, playing with the hose. Don't get any better than that!

A Snowy Weekend

The first big snow of the new year was a little late this year, but it came with a vengeance! I think we got about 2 feet of snow from Friday night until Saturday night. The kids were beside themselves with excitement, but it was short-lived because after bundling up and going out in it yesterday, they quickly realized that the cold and wind made it unenjoyable to play in the snow. Our neighbors generously invited us over for brunch yesterday with another young family on our street, and that ended up being the highlight of our day. Sharing a meal and entertaining conversation while the kids played happily with their friends as the snow was falling around us was really neat! (Walking up the hill in the heavy snow afterward was not much fun, especially when we discovered that it had piled up another 4 inches in the few hours we were there!)

Last night Nate and I watched a movie while the snow finally tapered off. It was called "The Age of Adeline", and we both liked it! (This is a rare occurrence, that's why I'm mentioning it!). The movie was clean, no language or funny business, but the plot was suspenseful and the characters captivating.  I would highly recommend it!

Today Silas woke up with a fever, and Rowan has a cold, so they just staying inside. We'll have to save the sledding and snow play for another time. The kids didn't seem to mind––we did a lot of baking instead. Nate, on the other hand, spent many hours outside yesterday and today snowplowing, shoveling and cleaning off the cars multiple times. We're very thankful for his hard work!

Here's some pictures of the snow, and an overview of our first few weeks of 2016:



This was the view when I woke up this morning––the sun was a welcome sight!



Rowan and Allie had some playtime on the porch with Nate yesterday.

We came back from a 5-day trip to Connecticut on New Year's Eve. While we were away, Rowan slept in a twin bed for the first time (with bed rails), and all the kids slept in the same room. Nate thought it would be a good time to move the kids into the same room back at our house too. So in this picture, Rowan is saying goodbye to his crib on New Year's Day. They disassembled the crib and set up the toddler bed in Silas' and Allie's room. I was not prepared for this change, and it took some time to adjust to it. But the kids did great together right from the start!

Rowan taking a nap in his new bed and new room.

My brother Matt and sister-in-law Elise, who live in Boston with their 2-month-old baby Jack, got to watch the kids open their Christmas presents via the iPad. Technology sure changes things!

We had some snow flurries one day, and Rowan was so excited he rushed outside to see them. But once out there, he didn't seem to know what to do, and realized it was actually pretty cold. He came back in shortly after, having learned that watching snow is more enjoyable to watch inside a warm house.

Allie posing with her rods work during school one day. "Playing" (aka learning math concepts) with the rods is one of her favorite school activities.

The kids play games every night after dinner. Silas is the biggest fan of board games, although all 3 of them start out playing together. Rowan is often the first to get bored, and announces to everyone: "I'm done. I'm tired." Sometimes he'll get a blanket and lie with Nate. In this picture Allie was following Rowan's lead. The funny thing is that Silas will keep playing the game, and even taking the other kids' turns for them, until everybody wins.

The kids this morning watching Nate snowplow the driveway––again.

Rowan and Silas, hanging out with the iPad.

Allie got a Christmas gift called "Roominate" where you put together different pieces to make a house and furniture, and she and Rowan are testing out the motor that came with it. 

On a sad note, we had to put Yuri down when we got home from Connecticut. He had gotten injured while we were away. That was hard and sad, at least for me. We got Yuri in September 2006, before Nate and I got married. He was born in Nate's neighbor's yard from a stray, and one day when he was about 4-months old he came running over to me and rubbed against my leg. He let me pick him up and bring him inside, and from then on we decided to keep him. Our neighbor was relieved to have one less stray to feed. Yuri was a sweet cat, but he wasn't crazy about kids. He was mostly an outside cat for the last 6 years, but even then he would join us when we were outside, and even follow us on walks. He was like a dog that way. He loved being outside, catching mice and other critters, climbing, lying on Nate's desk, and chin rubs on his white beard. He was a half brother to our other cat, Leo, and so gentle and patient with him when Leo was a kitten. They were a funny pair. We will definitely miss our Yuri.

Photo Catch Up

Here are some photos from the last month. Read the captions for more detail on each picture. (Rowan is 16 months, Allie is almost 4, and Silas is 6-1/2.)

We celebrated Nate's birthday on a snowy day in February. 

The kids enjoyed making Nate's birthday cake. Here they were using a mixer to make real whipped cream for the icing. Afterwards they got to lick the beaters. Yum!

There were many mornings where Nate was outside snow-blowing and Rowan watched from inside.

Allie's absolute favorite thing these days is drawing. She occupies herself for long periods of time drawing, coloring, cutting and gluing different creations. The other day she cut out various shapes from construction paper and taped them together to make a sailboat, completely by herself! Our playroom wall is filled with her colorful artwork. 

The Awana Grand Prix race is coming up at our church, and Silas and Allie have been preparing their stock cars for the race. The first step here was to paint the cars (each chose their favorite color).

Silas and Rowan chatting over breakfast cereal.

Nate's been into drones ever since he got one for Christmas, and this small one is just perfect for Rowan to help with. He likes to let it lift off from his hand or his head. Below he was getting a turn flying it (with a lot of help!).

Allie sure brings out the sweet in this pepper! (To be fair, Rowan was the one who came up with the idea of putting a sweet pepper on his thumb one night while I was making dinner, then the other kids took a turn.)

Snow Play II

The kids got to have a playful snowball fight with our friends and neighbors down the street during the warmish weather this past Sunday. The kids and Nate had a blast! Even Rowan participated––as a spectator, of course.

Rowan's first ride in the jogging stroller! 

Allie was a lean, pink, snow-balling machine!

It was a free for all, with five kids hurling chunks of snow at each other.

Rowans and I watched the action
from a safe distance away. 

Allie survived unharmed,
but was hungry and cold by the end of the battle.

The short walk up the hill back to our house
was enough to put this little guy out cold.

Snow Play I

Snow is more fun when you can play in it! 

After many, many hours of snow plowing, shoveling and scraping this month, we finally got some decent weather that allowed the kids to go out and experience the snow rather than just watch it from the window. These photos are from last weekend after another freshly-fallen snow (upon many layers of previously-fallen snow).

Silas makes his own path in the snow