Baby-Dog-Riddle.

What do you get when you take the front half like this:

And combine it with a back half like this:

????????

Baby-Dog?
Bab-og?
Eliette-Ranger?
Eli-anger?
A Rang-ette?

I don't know....But I know that before this little one could crawl forward, she could back herself into the most precarious of situations:

{Just look at that little face! "Yup. I'm stuck. Again."}
 (Pictures actually are from 12/25/2013.)

August Photos....

Well, here are a BUNCH of photos from August.... Just trying to get caught up with blogging...

 Came home one afternoon, and this is how Memaw had Eliette entertained....

 ...and Ranger certainly doesn't mind napping with Eliette...

 Even Gage wants in on that action....

 He's just the best big brother!

 Sensory overload, you think???

 This is how we would BOTH spend our whole day if we could:

So much fun....she seems to grow and change every day...and I seem to learn her better as each day passes....

Mr. Gagie-Poo-Pants....

Well, that was one of Gage's little nick-names from when he was younger....

This Summer, the pool and hot tub were a BIG hit with Gage. So was his snorkeling gear. {As he was preparing to snorkel on an upcoming vacation. You go, boy!}

Well, clearly, snorkeling makes you hungry for ice cream....

Mmmmm!

....and it's also quite draining and little boys need their sleep! (As do itty-bitty-shitty-dogs!)

How does that child sleep in such chaos? I have no idea. His room is painted in camo. He LOVES it. It just makes me crazy going in there. The 5 different blankets on the bed? Yes, he feels that he needs all of those too. The 8 million stuffed animals? Those are his babies. He needs ALL OF THEM.

I was the exact same way as a child.
I'm sure it drove my mother nuts.

...but that's okay.
:)

So I don't forget...

This blog post is mostly for me...so I don't forget the cuteness....

Hubby sometimes travels for work. In fact, right before Elle was born, he was traveling quite a bit so that when she got here, he was able to stay home for a while. Well, when he finally had to head out of town, it was my first time to solo parent dos ninos.

Gage woke up in the middle of the night and didn't want to be anywhere without me...so he made himself a pallet on floor in the nursery next to the rocker where I was nursing the baby. So cute...

....and this little puffy-cheeked darling? I love my middle of the night feeding with her!

...so when I put the baby back in her crib, I told Gage that he could get back in bed with me. At the next feeding time he woke up with the baby crying, as did I. He said that he would be fine on his own in my bed. When I returned from the 2nd feeding of the night, here's what I found: Gage in bed, with the dog, watching tv and every light in the master area of the house was on. Thank goodness it was Summertime and we didn't have school or anything else going the next morning!

Mother's Day 2013

Well, Mother's Day 2013 was pretty laid back...

Gage started his day with a swim. Ranger and I sat with coffee and watched him... with the breeze blowing, it wasn't all that warm to me. I had a blanket out there!

(Ranger has such a rough life, doesn't he???)

It was finally warm enough for me to swim in the afternoon. The pool heater had the water heated to over 80 degrees, (88, I think) and the wind was blowing, so it was warmer in the water than out.

We got snowcones/shaved ice, and then swam for a bit...

{"Don't harpoon the whale!"} Yes, I'm huge. Yes, I'm very, very white. It's cool. I was weightless in the water...

Memaw even came over and swam with us that day, AND she went down the slide! I was totally going to try it too, but there's a big sticker on there indicating that you should not do it if you're pregnant. Gage was the first to refuse to let me do it. (He loves his Mommy!) Of course, I'm thinking, "what's the worst that could happen? It could throw me into labor??? Bring it!.....but I refrained....)

A while later, Daddy got a migraine and I wanted pasta. I know of no really good Italian restaurants out here in the sticks, so Gage and I just hit the Olive Garden. It hit me as we were driving that this would be our last Mother's Day with just me and him. I told him that and he said, "then we better make it count." I don't know if we made it count or not....but, we enjoyed our time together.
Pics from dinner...

We had fun with the mad-lib portion of the kiddie menu....

After that, we got our take-out for Daddy who was back at home....and we headed to Sweet Frog for some frozen yogurt. I tried the cake batter flavor for a change, and it was delicious!

We took Daddy his Olive Garden take-out and frozen yogurt....and we pretty much called it a night.

I was HOPING that Baby Girl would come on Mother's Day....but, no such luck....
(Who am I kidding? Every.single.day I'm hoping that today is the day!)

Ranger gets a haircut....

Seriously, our itty-bitty-shitty-dog (Shih tzu) doesn't do well at the groomers.... So, Damon is stuck giving the dog his haircut and nail clipping....

We went waaaaay short. He's probably freezing now.... But, he won't need a haircut for a while!
:)

Backyard Update....

So, I have some updates on the backyard, which is starting to come together. Don't get me wrong, we still have a LOT to do, but it seems to be coming together!

Pics from this past Thursday:

There are going to be two sheds that are "lean to" style sheds. They are very narrow and will be attached to the house. The one that is framed out in the above photo will will have shelves for outdoor storage stuff, flower pots, etc. The one on the right is a little smaller and in the above photo, only the slab is poured. It will be a shelf-less storage option for pool floats. Yaaaay, I'm so excited!

The inspiration for the sheds:

So, I'm thinking we'll paint the sheds a darker color with the lighter contrast doors. I want the sheds to be a different color than the house so they'll stand out a bit more. I'm very excited about the sheds. I'm a nerd, I know.

Other things about Thursday: the outside temp was in the 70s I think, and the pool heater had been on, so Gage got to SWIM! {Crazy, I know...}

...and then of course, he had some hot tub time...

...and then back to the pool!

Friday's shed progress:

So, there's a lot of mess in our backyard. There's hardly any grass in our backyard. The patio area closest to the house is where the outdoor kitchen will be, but so far, it's just a work area for saws and materials for other projects. Our garage is 1/2 filled with outdoor kitchen components and materials from the closet renovations and all the other projects going on around here!

For the outdoor kitchen stuff, we've picked out the stone and awning materials. {Yes, we're like 70 year olds who are coveting the Sunsetter Awnings. Why? Because if we don't get an awning to cover the outdoor kitchen area, then poor Hubby's bald head will get fried as he's out there preparing my meals! And then I think about the stainless grill handle being in the hot sun all day and burning your hands when you just try to open it! We're getting an awning also because it's easier and more cost effective than extending the roof to cover a larger area of the patio. Awning it is!}

So, my first choice for the awning is the lighter color to match the decking by the pool....and it most closely matches the house paint color, being so light....So there's that.

The opening of the grill was like Christmas in the garage!

So the outdoor kitchen stuff we selected is a modular system that can be configured a bunch of different ways, and it just seems so much easier to buy the sectional units and....it's just exciting. Though, I must admit: I've told Hubby, I barely want the kitchen I have, and I damn sure don't want two! That's because cooking is just not 100% my thing. I cook because it was part of the deal I made with Hubby so that I could be a stay-at-home-mom.


...and on that note:

 Okay, really....I am getting excited as the backyard comes more and more together. I'm ready for it all to be done and plants to be in. This Spring, oh, I am going to be so excited to get some plants out there!!!!

Searching for patio furniture is giving me fits.
Sometimes I think I'm over thinking it, or being too picky. And then I think: WTF am I doing! Baby Girl needs a crib before I need a chair to sit outside! {Which, really....in the anticipated timeline of things to come is not true, but it's how I feel inside. I want to have her stuff settled before I go finding outdoor furniture... It must be a nesting thing...}

TTFN: TaTaForNow!