Sometimes wonderful, sometimes wacky weather

We had a lovely family outing at Zilker today. Two parents, two kids, two dogs. Perfect 60 degree, sunny weather. A game of "Duck Duck Goose," although apparently "goose" is replaced by "pink mermaid"--who knew? Lots of fetching for Greta. Roscoe preferred to lounge with me and Weston. All in all, a perfect outing thoroughly enjoyed by all....

David was tapped "pink mermaid" several times...and Roscoe did join in the fun some of the time!


Our spot on the blanket...


...and we learned that a small blanket quickly fills up with our crew nowadays!


So. Is there really a 50 percent chance of snow again tomorrow??? Say it ain't so!

Cuties (the pups, too)!

Some friends stopped by to meet Roscoe today--he was very glad to make their acquaintance--especially since they were 4 darling neighborhood girls who were happy to play with him (and Greta)!

Clara, Reese, Avery (w/ Roscoe) and Grace (sister Ellie took the photo)


Clara, Ellie & Grace's pup, Fish, joins the fun. The girls tried to get Greta in but she was too ball-obsessed to pose.


Reese was very inspired to get on her scooter after the girls left today, since most of them rode over that way. She asked David to help her practice and as soon as they got outside, she said, "We need to catch up to the girls!!!" I'd venture to say she was much more excited than Roscoe. :)

Insanity, confirmed

"Your Honor, the defendant pleads not guilty by reason of sleep-deprived insanity."

But actually....

From definition.com:
"Insanity is a grave, often prolonged condition that prevents a person from being held legally responsible for his or her actions: was judged not guilty for reasons of insanity.
Lunacy often denotes derangement relieved intermittently by periods of clear-mindedness: yelled wildly in a moment of utter lunacy."

I'm afraid lunacy is more accurate in our case. The "yelling wildly" example really hits a little too close to home.

We must hate sleep and rest, and our general well-being. Really, that's the only answer. Because yesterday? We got a new puppy. A 12-wk-old mini (? GvG is 13 pounds at 16 months; he's already 9.5 at 3 months--so the question remains: is he really a mini? Only time will tell...) black Labradoodle named Roscoe. He came crate-trained (ish) and potty trained (so far). He has been deemed the "little brother" and Greta's now "big sister." Guess who came up with that. Hint: not Greta! She's having some adjustment moments, for lack of a better description.

Dueling 'doodles!


Roscoe taking it all in.


Nice to meet you, how do you do?


Roscoe thought highly of his new home until we almost immediately threw him in the bath.


Seriously, humans, why?!


Reesie likes him. And for the record, she does have other nighties.


He's a ball of fur.


Sometimes it's hard to see his face. Also, we're kind of worried we might step on him in the dark at some point--he's such a little ball of black.


Although that "little" part may be changing...
So here we are, with Weston finally sleeping 5 hours stretches the first part of the night. And we go and throw a new pup into the mix. We all slept pretty well until about 3, then Weston was up, the dogs both started whining, and general mayhem (or what seemed like mayhem at 3 a.m.) ensued. It really wasn't all that bad though. And Roscoe seems to have adapted pretty well--he doesn't seem at all stressed and Greta is mainly happy about having a new friend/sibling to play with. And I keep telling myself that someday, someday very soon, we will all be sleeping soundly through the night again....

Smiles & snow

Who's a happy baby?


Seriously--could he be any sweeter? This is when he's not feeling well. He went to see the pediatrician yesterday for congestion he's been experiencing for awhile (that moved into his chest and caused a cough) and hoarseness, and the doctor was amazed at what a sweet disposition Weston has. He didn't cry and sat there smiling for the exam, even though he felt bad. What a boy! He was certainly smiley for us this morning...


Okay, that's enough with the pictures, Mom.


We got a little bit of snow today! There were actually some beautiful snow storms throughout the day, with huge wet snowflakes. It was exciting to see, but maybe not as exciting in a picture! This is as it was beginning...



And then we got a trace of accumulation. Enough to call off school for the rest of today and tomorrow morning. Now it's melting but it's supposed to freeze tonight, so it will be icy again.



We got home and I asked R to put on her jacket so we could get some pictures of her playing in the snow. She told me she didn't want to and that I could "just take some pictures out the window." So maybe the snow isn't as thrilling to some of us as it is to others! The question is: how much more winter weather will we get? It's been a particularly cold winter...the snow is pretty but I'm really ready for spring!

My heart belongs to...

...these two!

Showing off those pearly whites...

Reese has been such a huge help to me lately. She runs all over the house doing small chores and getting things for me or Weston. She & Greta are best buds, too--they are both so sweet to each other.


Of course, R also takes it upon herself to do a few unrequested "chores"....like pulling the barstool into the pantry to help herself to some powdered donuts!


And on that note...R had her first dentist visit (I know, I know, super late) last week. If you're in ATX and need a pediatric dentist, you really ought to check out Dr. Collins at Smiles of Austin. I cannot recommend this office highly enough--what a great first dental experience! Wish there had been a place like this when I was young!

Reese opted to sit on Daddy's lap for her first cleaning.


The water squirter was a little odd. It still is, Reese, it still is....


But she did great, they were all so kind and totally in tune with the needs of a 3-year-old patient. And she got accolades on her oral hygiene thus far (I'll go ahead and accept those, thank you very much).


The office was really great: kids' door, extremely cute "theme" room (we were in the fire truck room, for the record), huge toy area/toy vending machines, nicest staff ever...the list goes on....A+ dental experience!


And in other news...

Weston is giving me some good grins and giving Reese some HUGE smiles now!


Even though she wasn't feeling great yesterday (left school early) and today (stayed home entirely), R has made a great recovery and is doing much better. She was having her usual respiratory problems, along with a cough and runny nose. But now, much better! We had a nice day at home, relaxing, doing some laid back crafts and napping. And here she is a few minute ago in the bath...where she was "burping" her "labradoodles" (which were actually Barbies). What an imagination!


Going back to what I said at the beginning: Reese gave herself a bath (all I had to do was pour the water and shampoo her hair), drained it, got herself out and dried off and changed into her nightie, all on her own. What a huge help that was! Sometimes it shocks me how grown up she is, all the things she can do herself and all of the things we're doing with her now. And how she handles everything--she did better at the dentist than I do! I'm always so proud of her. :)

Aw shucks!

Thanks for all of the sweet comments on the pictures--you should have seen me after that photo session, y'all. Weston pooped on me 3 times, peed on me twice and spit up on me thrice. Seriously, all I was missing was snot. I'm never sure how the session goes with Christi but she always busts out the most amazing pictures--she's really talented.

So...we went to the doc today for a the 2 month check up (happy 2 months, little guy!)...and Weston is:
11 lbs, 11 oz (50%)
22 1/2 inches (30%0
head is 39.5 cm (40%)

That's obviously up from the last visit, but his % all went up as well--BIG BOY! He's doing really well--still congested but everything else is okay.

Will post pics soon....

Preview of coming attractions...

While we are waiting on someone to come out and fix our computer that has decided to randomly stop connecting to the internet (I've been using my work laptop & don't want to download tons of personal pics on it), I wanted to share a link from our portrait session a couple of weeks ago. The pics of the kiddos turned out so incredibly well, we are just thrilled! We love our photographer, Christi from Candid Chic! Enjoy...

Follow this link (may have to copy & paste into your browser: http://ccosper.photobiz.com/viewing/?slideshowID=9057) to see a slideshow of images. Turn music on for added fun :)
Password: weston

Wow!

When did she get to be so big and grown up?! I can't believe it's time for my baby girl to learn to ride a bike!

Snack attack!

Have I mentioned that Weston is a good eater?
Yes, indeed. Such a healthy boy!


Ahem.


Reese loves to "snack." Matter of fact, we call some meals "snacks" to make them more appealing. Here's today's after-school snack (even though she had just had post-nap snack at school). When we got home and she was finished with her smoothie, she asked us for a snack. I'm not kidding.


Snacking with flair!


My good little eater and my precious snacker....

(Aren't they just the cutest?!)

The many faces of Weston

Can't resist sharing--he's such a cute little guy! And getting so expressive these days.... as you can see....





Weston continues to be a great little cuddler, warm and cozy. This is a little difficult during the 2 and 3 a.m. feedings....or really anytime these days, since we're pretty exhausted. David and I joke that he's like a horse tranquilizer--you put him on your chest and BOOM! You're out.


I had both kids on my own this past weekend. Big thanks to my aunts for helping me out. The nights were tiring and the days a little harder but we all managed just fine.
Weston is changing so much every day--so attentive and alert, so expressive. We are getting a few small smiles here and there--but I'm ready for the big gummy grins and belly laughs--they can't be far away. And those will be the ultimate reward for the continuous lack of sleep!