We have a DOG!!!!

Well, after dog-sitting my four-legged niece I saw how much Gage missed having a dog around (and me too). I had wanted to wait until Christmas to get the kids a new dog but frequently look on petfinders but really never saw a dog that caught my eye. Well, I went on the site on Tuesday and saw Layla..an american bulldog mix. I've always wanted an american bulldog and she looked so much like my Sophie. It said she was a goof-ball and needed training though so I was not sure about her but called anyways. The lady said she could meet us Wednesday at 5:30pm and that she was headed out of town on Thursday for a week. So, James and I packed up Gage and Autumn and went to check her out. As soon as she walked over to Gage and I she layed on her back for us to rub her belly....and I fell in love. She knocked Gage over when he was going to throw her a tennis ball because she has such massive strength...she's 2 (still a pup) and weighs 85 lbs. He laughed and got back up and continued to play with her. She never jumped on me and let me rub all over her body....even between her toes. I went to get James and Autumn out of the car to come check her out. James liked her as well and she was easy with Autumn and just sniffed her face (which Autumn did not like). So, I filled out the adoption papers and she was ours. Whoo Hoo! We took her home within 30 mins of seeing her....I was not expecting that! Gage and I made an expensive trip to Petsmart to get lots of goodies and the essentials. Layla was a good girl while we were gone. We were warned she LOVES to chew and swallow things. She climbs chain link fences. She LOVES people and she still needs some training which her professional trainer has agreed to come to our house and help us train her more. She's also potty-trained, spayed, micro-chipped, current on all her shots, and heartworm negative. She is a little scared right now of Autumn's equipment and stays away from it. We took her walking and she did great. We even did some training trying to teach her to sit when we open the front door and to not go out until after we give her the command to. She did good. She also got a much needed bath which she did not enjoy..I could nto lift her into the tub so she took one in James' shower. She loves to play with Gage in the backyard with her new frisbee. She's been pure joy so far and makes it really feel like home...I've missed living without a dog around. She does shed some which I have to stay on top of by lots of brushing and sweeping. Today will be our first full day with her so hope all goes well. ;)

This photo was taken AFTER her bath...I was tired and soaked. ;)

Busy, busy, busy

I really wish I had pictures to add with this post but can not find my camera hook-up (so frustrating). We have been busy since my last post. Madison got out of school for the summer so now I have a 6th grader and a kindergartener. Madison made all A's the entire year and got commended on all her TAKS tests and continues to keep her record of never missing a TAKS question in reading EVER! I'm so proud of that girl!

We checked out our community pool and it's really nice...we've been back about 3 times already. We had a family day at a fun place here that has bowling, laser tag, go-carts, and arcade games. It's expensive though so we won't be going often. ;)

I sent Madison away for 2 weeks. She flew to Colorado to spend some time with her dad's dad and his wife. They are then taking a road trip to family reunion in Oregon. Her dad will meet her there and then fly her to San Antonio to spend a couple of days with him and then she will finally be back home. I miss her but I've also enjoyed not hearing her and Gage fighting constantly.

My friend Sarah, her kids (Gabe and Lily), and her mom Becky who use to be our day nurse came to stay with us for 5 days. We had fun going to the Science/Children's Museum which I got to take Autumn with us. Love when we do things where she can come along. We went to a place called surf-n-swim that is a big wave pool. They did shopping while I hit the airport the day Madison left. We also went to the Dallas Zoo....zoo's are my favorite thing EVER! We had a really good time while they were here.

Last night our friends, the Cole family, came over for dinner. It is always nice when we get to see them again. It was fun to see Maggie (who also has SB) and Autumn play together. Maggie army crawls and Autumn would follow her...they looked like 2 turtles slowly making their way around the room. They would sometimes just stop and lay on the floor and stare at each other like "Sheesh, I'm tired. How about you?" It's such a blessing that Autumn has a friend who is like her. I've always seen Autumn around kids who run around and she just lays in the floor watching but to see her interact with Maggie who can not just get up and take off and who takes just as long to get from one place to another was so good for me to watch. I often wonder what Autumn is thinking when kids like her are running around and I never really see the connection she gets with them but I saw a connection with her and Maggie. For her to start following Maggie, it was like she knew Maggie was different like her and she wanted to interact with her. I can't wait to see if they will grow an everlasting friendship together....it would be awesome for them to have someone else who actually gets what they feel and to have someone to talk to about it.

So this week I am looking forward to things slowing down and to get back to our normal routine. Autumn has 3 therapy sessions this week and I hope to have lots of time to just relax with her and Gage this week. I feel like when we stay so busy that I neglect working with Autumn on her goals so it will be nice to get back on track this week. When I find my camera hook-up I will post pics from the week.

Autumn crawling

Here's a video of my AMAZING daughter crawling about 10 feet!!!