New Family Member

Here he is- Samson our new 18 month old yellow lab. We got him on Friday night from a family in Gilroy that didn't feel had enough room for him. We think he's going to be a really good doggie. He's great with the kids and pretty mellow for a lab. The reason I say THINK he's going to be great is that he's got separation anxiety right now- understandable since he's had a major life change. For him that means that he whines and yelps and follows Jeff around constantly. He's also shedding a ton. We're learning how to deal with these issues and it should improve soon. The other big issue is the Kitty Boo relationship. Their introduction went poorly. Kitty ran out pass him when we getting him out of the truck and Samson got really excited. Of course that scared kitty and in the next controlled introduction kitty hissed and tried to scratch. So...kitty comes home less and when he does he sleeps in our room with the door closed. We're hoping that eventually they'll be friends or at least ignore each other. As I write this, Tori is outside with Samson. She's been trying to train him and get him to play ball with her. She is very excited to have a dog. However, on the first night she started crying and said she wanted to take him back to his owner. We assumed she didn't like him. After talking with her we found out that instead she was very upset that her puppy was sad and she thought if we took him back he would be happy again. Complete empathy for her new friend. What a sweetheart.
Samson likes to lick baby Siah and that is fine by him. He thinks Samson is great.
A man and his Dog

So the deal with getting a dog is that he is Jeff's dog. I've got enough to take care of, feed, clean, deal with poop... so here's Jeff giving his woof woof a bath. He also built a great fenced in backyard and he's been getting up with him at night when he barks and whines. Jeff has wanted a dog for years but until we had our own home it wasn't a good fit for us and then with a newborn I wasn't into it. We're excited for him to be apart of our family. Jeff can't wait for him to play fetch and go on hikes... Oh, you can see our new hot tub in the background (Craig's List special). We've still got to get it hooked up.

Hugs

Tori wanted to name him Clifford but since he already had a good name we decided to keep it.

A boy and his dog

Our new Turtle

Here's Squirt our new turtle. Tori wanted to name him Nemo but we agreed that since he's a turtle he needed a turtle name. You've got to hear her pronounce his name, it's sounds more like "Quirt". If you ask where the turtle came from she'll tell you that a nice man in a delivery truck brought him in a box. She thinks the delivery man is great.

Haircuts & Grandma

First Haircut

Here's the BEFORE picture of Baby Siah's beautiful copper hair. As you can see it was getting really long and in his eyes so we decided it was time to cut it. I knew I'd be sad and that he'd look different...he's not a baby anymore. It makes me sad. Since Tori has never had a haircut this is a first for me. He was born with a lot of hair and such a unique color. He did great while Jeff worked on him. He wanted to eat the cord though.
AFTER- Who is this little boy? He's got short blond hair. Don't worry we'll still spike it up- that his style. Yikes, he's growing up sooooo fast. He's a proficient crawler now and he can even pull himself up to standing.

Grandma's Visit

Grandma (Jeff's mom) is getting on the plane right now to fly home to Arizona. We're really sad to see her go. We had a great visit. I loved having the help and company she provided. I truly feel blessed to have a wonderful Mother-in-law.

In this picture Tori and Grandma are eating shave ice at the Farmer's Market. They spent a lot of special time together doing crafts, shopping, and going to lunch.
Cuddles with baby Siah. He's sticking his tongue out. It's a new trick of his. He also likes to make kissing sounds. What a charmer.
Come back soon Grandma. Grandpa too please.

Three- the drama year?

Tori turns 3!

To celebrate we went to Gilroy Gardens on her birthday. Jeff took the day off and Grandma came with us too. It was beautiful and a wonderful way to spend the day. There was drama though- Tori freaked out about most of the rides...and non-rides. The singing veggies sent her running in tears, so did the waterfalls.It's made me wonder...is three going to be filled with DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA. I've heard for some that it is. Yikes, am I ready for that? In the middle of our paddle on the lake she freaked out because I was paddling backwards. However, I was surprised that she even got on the swan in the first place. It turned out to be a nice short paddle. She LOVED the goldfish ride though and rode it at least 3 times. It's how we perked her back up after she was traumatized by the singing veggies and waterfalls.
Then on Sunday we had a pool party at the Mission Springs baby pool (same place for her one and two birthdays). Thanks for all of our friends and family making it extra special. Tori said that she had a fun birthday. You might have thought other wise if you saw her. She pretty much ignored everyone and wouldn't share her whale.
Then the real drama began...we had heard from several friends that the three year old birthday is a great time to discontinue the pacifier and it was suggested to make a presentation of it to a baby. That way she knew that she is now a big girl and she wraps up her pacis and gives them away. We talked about it for months and she was all for it. She was excited to wrap them pretty and talked about how excited baby Kylie would be to get them. So, we thought, let's give it a try. At the party we asked her if she wanted to give them to Kylie. Here she is with the Great Paci Handoff. She seemed really happy about it... until bedtime. Oh My Gosh! The sounds of anguish that came out of her mouth when she realized that the pacis were gone forever. True mourning. It was enough to break our hearts to hear her but we did not give in and give them back. Unfortunately, she ended up with a fever that night and slept in our bed. Jeff wondered if she made herself sick with stress. I don't think so. It was just really bad timing to get sick. Well, we've stuck with it and she's been sick off and on but we haven't given the pacis back. There have been a lot of tears but I think we're going to make it. I have to constantly ask why I'm doing this to her but I know it's important for her teeth. Does she have an addictive personality? When she was crying for her paci a couple nights ago I offered all sorts of toys she could sleep with and she said, "No, I want something I can put in my mouth." I suggested her duckie. That didn't help the situation.
It has definitely been a dramatic start to her third year.