Baseball Season

Today was the first day of T-ball at the YMCA. Will was SO EXCITED for baseball, especially because his best buddy, Alex, was also signed up. Alex and Will met at the YMCA and became fast friends, prompting Mommy and Alex's Mom to become friends too. Turns out, we have A LOT in common as families; including our baseball team.



Kylie tried her hand at being a spectator, but she basically has had enough of watching, and, after about 20 minutes, she actually walked half court with Mommy trailing behind her. She tried to run the bases after the kids, too.



The coach was teaching Will how to hit, but he declared, "I know how to do this." And then he nailed the ball across the gym. Three times.

Will's been wearing this Red Sox hat for the last few days. Sometimes, he asks Kylie to wear one, too.

Baseball season: it's coming...after this spring snow storm.

The Dog

We were told that the first 48 hours of bringing a puppy home could be rough, but so far (knock on wood), Tank has really been a very good puppy. We've gated her into the kitchen so she hasn't explored the whole house yet, but the kitchen is quite big and she has spent a great deal of time outside because, well, that's what this family does.



There may have been a few instances already where a certain child's name was mixed up with the dog's name. Hopefully that doesn't have any lasting effects.



Daddy and Will gave Tank her first bath in the kitchen sink, and she was a slippery, squirmy tidal wave.



She also got to experience her first snow as it snowed about an inch on Sunday morning. Will bundled up in his snow suit (which Mommy had already packed away, thank-you-very-much), and played in the snow with Tank until the sun melted it all away.


So far, she's really gentle with the kids, trails along behind us outside, and seems to be doing really well at night for a puppy her age. Will is completely head over heels for her and keeps saying, "I have a DOG!" He told her today, "Tank, you're my best buddy now."

Now Entering: Toddler-hood

In the midst of bringing Tank home yesterday, Kylie decided all this crawling business was for the, well, dog(s). She insisted on walking a lot more yesterday and made it back and forth across the kitchen as well as the living room several times. Even when she fell hard enough for us to gasp and cover our mouths, she giggles like crazy. It's really only a matter of time now before she's running.

Puppy Power

The other night, Josh and Will went out to do a surprise errand. When they came home (with ice cream), Will showed us Tank's new dog tag. He declared, "Look! Tank got bling!"

And today, we got to bring Tank home! Will was beyond excited, starting last night and lasting all morning. He couldn't get swim lessons over with fast enough this morning so we could head up and get Tank. She was the last of the puppies left that was going home today (there are 2 more not adopted yet).

There was a bit of whining on the way home and a lot of squirming. Tank, we think, has never been in a car and has really only been outside a few times in her short 7 week life. That changed drastically today.

She trails behind one of us, right on our heels, and she made the perfect soccer partner for Will in the backyard. If we stop, she stops and sits right at our feet. We hope this behavior sticks.

She had a bit of trouble settling down because she's never slept alone before. The breeder planned to slowly separate the pups until they were sleeping alone the night before going home, but he had a family emergency and had to go out of town this week. It took a bit of cuddling from Will and Daddy before she settled in for a nap.

We are hopeful tonight won't be a rough night for our new family member. We haven't made any plans until Tuesday so we can help her adjust to her new home and family members.

"OUT!"

Mommy, Will and Kylie were playing outside when Daddy got home today. As the boys started in on a project in the backyard, Mommy had to go inside to finish dinner. Poor Kylie had to go inside too, but she spent the entire time Mommy was cooking standing at the window yelling, "OUT!" She cruised back and forth along the windows in the kitchen and along the wall trying to get Daddy's attention.

After dinner, Daddy decided to add some accessories to Kylie's hair. Hair?!! She has enough to hold the bows in now and she actually left them alone.

Get Outside

Will's new philosophy is, "Hey! It's still sunny out there! We can still play outside!" And so, outside we go...almost all day long.



With such a nice big yard and a quiet neighborhood, there's plenty to do and explore. Kylie LOVES going on the bike Will got for his 1st birthday and Will is getting even more confident on his big boy bike (like standing on the seat today). There's a little boy down the road who is 5 and Will and him have hit it off, so they ride bikes and play a lot.

Kylie loves to point at things now, especially dogs. She just LOVES them. We hope she still loves them when one is always in her face next week.

We watched Daddy work on the fence and then helped him climb onto the roof to check something, and Will and Daddy mowed the whole yard while Mommy and Kylie napped. All this after a morning of swim lessons. Phew. Who's ready for bed?

Little Miss Personality

Kylie is just full of personality lately, and she never fails to make us smile or laugh. She's a girl who knows what she wants, though, and she'll point and holler until she gets what she wants. She's been saying, "up, up" for a week or so now, and said "hi" the other night. She waves at everyone and LOVES dogs (good thing, right?). She likes to put hats on and laugh at herself and when she thinks music should be playing, she looks at us and dances and then makes a questioning sound, as if to say, "Well, where's the music?" We can't wait for more of her personality to shine through as she talks more and more.