Friday, July 08, 2011

Babies, Dogs and Engagements.....Oh MY!

It's been awhile since I've updated, and we've had a lot going on since then.  All 3 kids finished up with preschool and Peder is getting all prepared for Kindergarten this fall.  Peder is playing both soccer and t-ball this summer and the girls and I spend Monday and Wednesday mornings hanging out with one of their preschool friends and watching Peder play soccer.

In addition to our regularly scheduled summer activities, the following things are going on:

- I have decided to take the summer off of school.  It was all becoming too much and I was missing my family.  We'll be reassessing in the fall to decide whether it's better to start again in the fall or wait until all 3 kids are in school all day and talk about it again then.

- My cousin Chelsea and her husband Josh had their first little boy last month.  That's Great-Grandbaby number 5 on that side of the family, and baby number 3 for our families this year.  I said in January that 2011 was going to be the year of the baby, and it's definitely shaping up that way.  Any baby fever is placated by snuggling with all these little ones joining our family and the families of our friends.

- Jake's brother Nick got engaged earlier this week.  WA-HOO!  Dana really is the perfect fit for him and we can't wait to have her in the family.  Welcome to the family "Auntie Dana!"

- After Jesse's death we really struggled with whether to get another dog.  We just didn't know about getting another dog, especially at this time in our life with the financial responsibility of it.  I hemmed and hawed for quite awhile and then took the plunge and applied to be a foster parent for dogs through Midwest Animal Rescue and Services.  We got our first dog last Friday.  His name is Elmo.  He is an American Bulldog (think Chance from Homeward Bound) and is about a year old.  He was extremely lethargic the first couple of days here, but now he fits right in.  He is very much a puppy still and we're working on teaching him his manners.  I'm actually amazed at how easy he is to train and how well he is doing, especially after how sad he was those first few days.  Here's a picture of the cutie:


 

I think that's all for now.  We're gearing up for a couple of family get-togethers this weekend with Jake's family and the girls turn FOUR tomorrow.  WHAT?  How did this happen?  I'm in disbelief....