Doggonit

So, I know it's been a while since I've posted anything… life has gotten in the way once again. For the past month, my 6 month old seems to think that she should wake up every hour to play and practice standing. If it weren't for the gloriousness of a good cup of coffee (or five) and Winsley's late night giggles as she amazes herself with her new skills, I might have puled all of my hair out already. Winsley is a big trickster - It's hard to get frustrated with a little girl who smiles and giggles so much. Anywho, I'm back! Lots of updates to come, but for now I'll leave you with some cuteness from this past weekend.

We were dog sitting for my little sister and Ellington loved every minute of it. After the first few hours, she acted as if Birdie (the dog) had always lived with us. 

Winsley didn't really notice that Birdie was there most of the weekend. Whenever she did catch Birdie in her eyesight, she giggled and smiled like crazy.

Birdie was rescued from the local animal shelter and I don't think my sister could have found a better dog. She is the sweetest! And she could not have been more gentle around my girls. We spent lots of time outside and I just let her roam around with out a leash on most of the time… well, she didn't really roam. Birdie is the type of dog that would rather stay glued to your side than run off to explore.

Such a blessing to have this sweet little lady join our family for the weekend. I cannot image why anybody would have abandoned her at the shelter, but I'm glad that they did and she found a home with my sister. :)

Missing this little guy right about now...

Kogi  11.24.2004 - 4.6.2012

A Walk in the Park

If you have a toddler who needs to burn off some energy and two parents who need some fresh air, then I would highly recommend taking a little stroll through West Point on the Eno Park.  There are some great places for little photoshoots and tons of space for little ones to run around or explore.

We didn't even cover 1/8th of the park, but we still had a great time.  Ellington loved the bridge!  It took her about 20 minutes to cross because she kept stopping to look at the water below and greet others who were crossing the bridge.

Once we finally got over the bridge, Ellington decided that she need a little rest. Which of course led to...

Finding things on the ground.  Ooooo!  It's a rock. It's a leaf.  No, it's...

 Pollen?!  Take a closer look.  Yuck!  It's everywhere around here.

Oh, you silly girl.

It took a little encouraging to get her to turn around and go back across the bridge, but we made it.

 It's hard to contain a little ball of energy like this girl, so she didn't stay in my arms for very long.

Apparently, Ellington no longer wants to participate in my photoshoots because this is the only good shot I got of her on the wood wall. :(  Does sassiness really start this early?

 John and I both tried to get her to look at the camera and smile, but this is the best she gave us.  Still equals cuteness in my book! :)

Then, we told her it was time to go home... she stopped for a second and turned right back around to run away.  Unfortunately for her, I am much faster than she is.  I guess this means that we will have to go back to the park real soon.

How Much is that Doggie in the Window

My daughter has a tiny obsession with dogs.  Big dogs or little dogs and apparently is doesn't matter if they are real or made of porcelain.  We discovered over the holidays that Elli really (i mean REALLY) likes my mom's staffordshire porcelain dogs.  When no real dogs are in the house, Elli runs up to the fireplace (the porcelain dogs live on the mantel) and signs 'dog' while pointing up at the staffordshire dogs.  She is a very strong willed little girl and won't give up unless you let her pet the fake dogs.

Of course, once one dog is off of the mantel, you must then take down the other dog.  She doesn't like to play favorites.  We had a little fun and put one of the dogs on the back patio.

She looked at us like we were the crazy ones.  I'm just glad that she's an animal lover. :)

UPDATES

After a wonderful weekend in Charlotte to celebrate Mrs. Yi's birthday, we are now trying to regroup and unpack. Going back home is fun and exhausting because I have to keep up with Ellington's busy visitor schedule. We saw almost everyone that we wanted to see and we even had time for a little photoshoot with Aunt Karl Malone.

A few updates:

*Kogi has no more ticks (see this post)! Yay! & we have a visit with the vet later this week & a visit to the groomer. I am excited, but I haven't told him yet because I am positive that he would protest if he knew where we were going.

*I made the Chicken Marsala AGAIN for the birthday celebration and it was a big hit!

*Couponing (see this post) at Harris Teeter this week was a semi-success. It was Triple Coupon Week (ends on Wednesday)! We only have 1 HT, so thing tend to disappear quickly.

*Ellington is off the waitlist at 2 schools... now I just need a J-O-B! Any takers?

"I'd Like to Check You for Ticks"

I always hated that song. The thought of little bugs crawling around makes my skin itch. Unfortunately, my skin has been itching like crazy for the past couple weeks.

It started out with one tick on a certain furry member of the family. Then, I found one on my little girl last week. I cried like a crazy woman and went into webMD induced panic. After much reassurance from family/friends/friends' family and a call to the pediatrician, I calmed down enough to enjoy Pennsylvania and Colonial Beach, VA with a sweet friend.

Since returning home, we have found two ticks on me, two on Kogi and no less than 8 on the floor where Kogi usually hangs out. Ahhhhhh! Needless to say... I am FREAKING OUT! I hate bugs with a passion! If I find a bug in the house, I usually cover it up with a plastic cup and wait for someone else to kill it.

Kogi, poor thing, has been kicked off the bed and no longer is allowed on the furniture. His monthly topical tick medication has done nothing to prevent these little devils from hitching a ride on him. We have now added a tick collar to his everyday outfit, but these bugs are stubborn and we keep finding them around. HELP! John is even picking up flea & tick shampoo today for Kogi. I feel so bad for the little puppy. :( He is itching up a storm and has left clumps of his hair throughout the house.

We purchased chemicals to spray around the house, but we can't spray it until we figure out a good time to get Ellington and Kogi out of the house for a few hours. I have never encountered his problem before. What should we do? I am tempted to move near the city and never step foot in a wooded area again... ticks don't live in the city, right? I may even ban outdoor activities and become the crazy woman who never leaves her house for fear of tick bites. Advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

That's his LIFE!

Before I left this morning, I reminded John to close the shades so that Kogi wouldn't go crazy when the window washers cleaned the outside of our building's windows. Well, I came home to the shades up and a extra dirty window (where Kogi had slobbered all over the window in order to try to get to the window washers).

John's response was, "I couldn't do it. Looking out that window is his whole life!" Sad. :( Is that what my dog looks forward to everyday? We really need to move closer to home. I'm sure Kogi misses his cousin Harrison (Malone's dog) and his grandma.

The King of the House

So, John came home Monday night to this. Kogi had gotten very comfortable in his role as man of the house and was not quite ready to give up his place on the bed. After a few growls and dirty looks, Kogi finally let John sleep in the bed.

Lazy Sunday