sweet home

So, I went and got a dog at the Humane Society today. I loved this little guy from the get-go because he is energetic, yet has a calm side and is small enough that he will not plow the kids over when he is energetic. I always swore I wouldn't own a "small dog" and while he is definitely not a "toy dog" size, he is probably no more than 7 or 8 pounds soaking wet. He gets along fine with Moose now that she has asserted herself by almost eating him whole in a dispute over his puppy food. I am not sure, but he seems to be already house trained because he has so far (knock on wood) only relieved himself outside. His story, per the woman at the shelter, is that he is 5 months old and was taken to the shelter by his owners because they could not afford the pet deposit for their new condo they were moving into. His given name at the shelter was Gunner, and so far I kinda like it. Let me know if you have any other ideas for a name for him. So far, Scooter and Gunner are the two we are deciding between. Oh, and he is a rat terrier which is as close to owning a rodent as we will ever get in this house.

Dear Santa,

For Christmas Aiden would like an American Girl doll, Kit please. Brooks would like a light saber. Cate won't bother to tell me what she wants, so I guess that means she's all set. You already know this, of course, because they told you when they sat on your lap at the church party last weekend. Blah blah blah.

Anyway, what I want for Christmas is to see the sun for once FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. I mean, I know we lived in Connecticut and in our 4 years there we DID see the sun a handful of days, but I've been spoiled here in "sweet home Alabama where the skies are so BLUE". Yes BLUE! So please, all I want for Christmas is to see the sun. (it's been weeks, I swear. Weeks of rain, overcast skies and fog and humidity so bad my toffee was soggy and our doors are swollen). Oh, and I would also like to see my entire extended family (except for Kip who is on a mission) including my aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins. I heard you are going to make that happen and even throw in a few bonus in laws. That is so amazing and wonderful I can hardly even believe it. I can't wait to see them. BUT, Santa, if you could please let the sun peek out for a minute I would be ever so grateful.

Sincerely yours forever and always BFF,
JJ


PS you PROBABLY already know this too, but Lewis would really like a new dog for Christmas. Because I'm SURE he'll be the one doing all the caretaking of this new dog. I know, he's been to the humane society at least 5 times so far and to every pet shop within 25 miles, but just in case you didn't notice, he would love a new puppy. One that can run with him when it gets bigger. Maybe that sweet lab mix with the sweet blue eyes. I promise we would change his name from Lennie to something much better. Thanks.

PPS we opened family presents this morning and Brooks liked his socks!




PPPS here's a bonus shot of Cate just because

Brooks thinks he is luke skywalker. The only problem is that the sword is as long as his leg which makes it hard to walk.

Lewis changed the password for me to get on blogger because he was afraid I was going to embarass him on his birthday. Why would I ever do a thing like that? Maybe because he put a REALLY ugly picture of me on the blog?!?!?!? But don't worry, I won't stoop to his level. Yet.
Anyway, he has been on a rotation in medical school that we really like because they don't care if he comes or not. And when he goes in, it's really boring (except for the days they operate, he really really really likes those days of course). SO, he's been here LOTS more than he has been in the last year and a half or so. It's been nice to have him around. It's nice to have another adult in the house who can wipe a bum or let the dog out or start dinner while I am feeding the baby or doing laundry, etc. I feel less outnumbered when he is around. And he got our house all decked out with lights. For the first time ever. (unless you count the time I rigged up some lights outside our apartment in CT. I put up inside lights outside and had to plug them in inside because there was no outside outlet. Unfortunately, or maybe it was fortunately, the insurance guy just happened to be coming by and wouldn't let us keep them up. Bah humbug.) Step aside, Clark Griswald.

And now, without further rambling, here are some pictures. Mostly from a local Christmas parade. Yes, a Christmas parade, not a Holiday parade. We no longer live in New England, that's for sure! This is the south! You can call it a Christmas parade. I especially liked the Whoville float because it was by an orthodontist and those Whos could really use an orthodontist (or an oral surgeon in some cases).


Brooks mostly enjoyed the candy they threw. It was lots of candy and they had dog treats for Moose too.
We were totally bundled up. I mean, it WAS in the 40's people!! That's about as much cold as we can take these days.


And now the lovely Brooks (who won't stop climbing all over me as usual) would like to "blog wif me"

bbbbbrookksssss abcdefggghijklmnopqrrstuvwxxxyyyyyzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Us in Disneyland a couple of years ago.

Running the NYC marathon. Wayyyyyyyyy faster than Lance.

A tooth pulling machine.

Lew and Cate at the zoo.

Lewis teaching the kids how to sew up faces. On one of my pillows!!

Again, so young.


Us on the beach in Thailand. I was 6-8 weeks pregnant with Aiden.

Can you believe how young we look? Sending Lewis off to Thailand was so sad.

Skateboarding with Paul and Mark

Happy happy birthday Lewis dear! (I think I've posted some of these before, but our scanner is a piece of junk so I'm going the easy route.) If you want to see last year's post, go here
I can hear the kids fighting and it's coming to blows, so I should go. Happy birthday Lewis! We love you!

Just a sneak peek for all of you we'll be seeing in Utah. So you can pick now what cheek you want for dessert. You're welcome. Oh yes, we'll be in Utah for Christmas and would LOVE to see you.

Remember how you wet your pants 3 times today?
Remember how you follow me all around the house and climb on me but mostly when I'm trying to feed Cate?
Remember how you told me in the car today that I can't tell you what to do because I'm only the "little boss. Daddy is the BIG boss".
Remember how you can't stop touching the baby at all times?
Remember how you drive Aiden crazy by "scribble scrabbling" all over her artwork masterpieces?
I do.
But most of all I hope you remember how much we love you messy silly sweet crazy boy.

Here are some family photos that we took with the camera JJ got for Christmas from my parents. I think they bought it so that we would post more pictures on this blog, so I wanted to get right to it!

This time we hiked a little closer to home at a mountain/park. We thoughtfully chose to hike a loop that was only 0.5 miles and we definitely did not regret it. We let the kids go at their own pace, and it was slow by anyone's definition and beat all expectations for necessary rock and stick pick ups, leaf admiration and log walking. All told, we all had a blast and the kids did great. We got a few pics in as well.

This is "Turtle Rock," which the kids (and I) loved climbing on and sliding down.



Kids pics





JJ, just lookin' good (it is only fair as she previously posted a "great," picture of Brooks).



And the whole gang.