Friday, October 25, 2013

Counting!

Dear Kate,
You can count!!!!  You're so smart and you love some hide and seek with Sister! 


Love you!!

WE'RE GETTING A PUPPY!


Dear Kate and Abby,
You asked.  You begged.  You pleaded.  You've proved time and time again, that you do, indeed, want a puppy dog.  So... WE'RE GETTING A PUPPY!  Mommy and Daddy decided a while back that we'd get a puppy for Christmas.  You can't always plan the timing on puppy dog availability, so we will be getting our puppy a couple weeks before Christmas, but nonetheless, this IS a Christmas present from Mommy and Daddy.  We did lots of research and decided a Golden Doodle was the best fit for our family.  We wanted a big puppy, but not huge.  We wanted a smart puppy.  We wanted a VERY friendly puppy, especially with kiddos.  And, of course, we wanted a cute puppy!  Golden Doodle summed it up for us!  So Mommy and Daddy put our name on a local breeder's list and we found out the mommy puppy was having babies.  We were so excited and Daddy was just itching at the seam to tell both of you but I said NO.  Not until we knew absolutely for sure and picked it out.  So we waited, and Mommy yelled at Daddy a couple of times, and finally the lady called us and said we could pick out a puppy!  I told you Daddy had a special surprise for us and that I didn't know so we met Daddy after work and drove to the farm where our puppies were.  Now, keep in mind, Abby, you have BEGGED for a puppy for over a year now.  It's all you say you want for Christmas and every dog we pass, you want to pet and then say "I want one like that".  And Kate, you LOVE petting all puppies, so I just knew this surprise was going to be the ultimate surprise forever!  We pulled up to the farm and I got out my camera to record Daddy telling you two the good news.  I let Daddy do it because he was nice enough to wait until then to tell.  Here's what happened...


I'll say it again - ANTICLIMACTIC.  What in the world??!!  Daddy will never be allowed to handle surprises again.  It's like you two were being sentenced to jail or something.  I was so disappointed in the level of excitement from the 2 of you!  Ha!  To say the least, I put the camera away and explained the situation a little better  and then we actually got to hold the puppies!  NOW WE'RE TALKING!!!
A little hands on action gets everyone excited! 
 Here's the Mommy.  She was so sweet and loved playing fetch with both of you!
 And she loved her babies!
  So did Katie Bug! 

 And we could not get Abby to walk away from the puppy love!

 So sweet!! Mommy cannot wait to get our puppy home!
 So after much debate (not really!) we decided on this puppy.  He's a boy, which seemed to cause a bit of confusion for you, Abby.  I think you wanted a girl, but you quickly changed your mind once you learned we could either get a boy or nothing!

 We got to go outside and throw the ball to the mommy for a bit and talk to the owners and by the time we left, we were all giddy with extreme excitement.  Since then Abby, you have told EVERYONE that you are getting a puppy dog, after halloween and after Thanksgiving.  And Kate always repeats it after you say it!
We will get to go back in a couple of weeks and have a couple play dates with our pup and then the weekend after Thanksgiving we get to take him home!! HOORAY!!!
Now, we have to decide a name.  Abby, you thought Elizabeth, Noodle and Lovey were good names.  Daddy suggested Tee and Mommy thought Knox was a good one.  Right now, Knox is in the lead, but we haven't put a definite name on him yet.   But let's be honest here, we know he will be called Knox :)
YAY!!!! WE'RE GETTING A PUPPY!!!!
I know both of you will love that puppy so much, almost as much as I love both of you!

Ice Cream Party, Dirty Dishes, New Friends and Gentry's Farm

Dear Kate, 
We had a fun week full of activities including a very yummy ice cream birthday party!  It was Cole's birthday and you got to join in on the fun since Sister was invited.  While you were the youngest one there, you hung with the best of them, proving you can eat an ice cream cone like no other!  

You were one hot mess when we left the party, but you enjoyed every single bit of that ice cream cone, including the paper wrapper that I had to take away from you because you were munching on that, too!   
You have taken a liking to washing the dishes, which Mommy hearts.  Well, other than the water you get everywhere, but you are learning with each time how to control that a little better!  For the mean time, you scrub like no other!

  
You also like to help mom cook and if I don't include you whether it's throwing stuff in a crock pot or spraying PAM on the cookie sheet, you have a big fit!  I've learned things you can do and things you cannot do, like pouring sugar.  We need to work on your aim :)
On Friday, we had friends of Daddy's come in town to stay with us for the weekend.  It was Mr. Sanjay (or as we call him, Ghosh) and Miss Shannon and they brought their sweet little girl Annabelle (3 1/2) and little baby boy Oliver (9 months).  We took them straight to Mexican on Friday night and you impressed them (and everyone at Mexican) with your attire.  You INSISTED on wearing your costume to Mexican and if Mommy even made a suggestion on changing, a fit was thrown.  It was 7 before we even made it to Mexican so I knew better and just let you wear it!  I hope this is not a glimpse into the future.  Yes, it's your mermaid costume.  AND, that paci is about to drive Mommy crazy.  As soon as we wrap up potty training (yes, it's in our near future) then we will move onto the paci.  You love some pa-pa though... Anyway, more on that later. 
On Saturday morning, we took our friends to Gentry's Farm and we had so much fun.  We rode hayrides and played on tire swings and just ran around and enjoyed the beautiful (hot) day! 



 Sweet Annabelle loved the tire swing!
 And so did our sweet Kate!!! 

 You and Sister waited so patiently for your turns on the tire swings.
 But then Sister got a great idea to put one on the inside and one on top to make you not have to wait as long!  Brilliant! 
 And of course you had to do it, too!

 You loved climbing in the barn and going down the slide all by yourself and grinning with Sister...


 Look how tall you've gotten!
But that darn Paa's still in your mouth!!
 
 And look who we ran into?! Jakey!!!!
 Such a fun day at Gentry's Farm!

 We headed to Gray's for lunch and FABULOUS is what comes to mind.  Such a yummy new lunch/dinner spot for us!  After lunch, we headed home to nap (or, you and Oliver did) and Daddy grilled us some yummy food!  We hung out most of the evening in the playroom or outside and the kiddos went to bed while the 'dults got to enjoy some time together.
Sunday morning was yet again beautiful, so we headed to the park for a bit.  You loved showing Oliver the swings!

 And the daddies enjoyed pushing you both!

 We had such a fun weekend with Annabelle and hope to go visit them soon!
 A great week all together!! Love you!