Family Photos June 2011

I was a little hesitant to do family photos right now. I gained 40 lbs in the pregnancy and have only lost 20 pounds. Which means I have an extra 20 pounds on my short frame and the weight is distributed in all areas. But I wanted pictures with the Apple young.

As you can imagine it was quite the deal to get 2 adults, 1 baby, and 2 curious border collies who can't sit still, to all look good for one picture.

But of all the photos this one is my favorite. I love the fun angle and just the candidness of it. But because of the angle I don't know if it will work, hmm.


Outtakes:


And so far it's a tie between these two:

Mommyhood in Full Swing

First day at the zoo. We went to the zoo with my friend and her cute baby. It was so much fun. Apple didn't appreciate it as much as I did. It was a beautiful day (a bit hot) but blue skies and sunny, good entertainment, and great company.

Here she is in her animal outfit for the zoo, it only seemed appropriate.

My beautiful friend and equally beautiful daughter.

I like her bright eyes in this one.

I always find it cute when babies love babies.

We dressed up little S in the store.

Baby elephant, makes me want one and then I see the piles of poo.

Me and the babe being mooned by a baboon.

Tuckered out.

After her nice long nap (3 hours and I had to wake her up) I gave her little souvenirs. I named the elephant Horton, and then we read "Horton Hatches an Egg."

Family Reunion (2011)... kind of

It was a bit of an odd year, since the campgrounds were closed, so we camped up the hill, but it wasn't a campground so it was really roughing it (a.k.a the woods were our restroom). But we enjoyed our time in nature and with our family.

Browne Lake is the Disneyland for dogs.

The babe's first camping trip.

My favorite picture. I am so glad I captured this moment.

Dixie was pretty well behaved. Children were running all around her and putting their faces in her face and she did fantastic. However, she still has a problem with Uncle Dave.

The first morning. I later learned from my email newsletters that when you are in nature to put your baby in neutral colors because bright colors attract bees. Luckily, it was still cold so no bees.

BUT there were mosquitoes. I was doing some clean up and the Apple was crying but I just figured she was being fussy then I look over and see a mosquito on her eyebrow sucking my poor helpless baby's blood, cowardly mosquito picking on a baby. I am apparently a very protective Mama, and got Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on the mosquito. However, the head was too small to leave behind to warn the others :)

Here is she is all warm for bed. I LOVE the hat. Andrea was a dear and let me borrow warm clothing the hat included. A big thank you. The babe did fantastic I thought she would wake up multiple times in the night, but nope she only woke up once like her normal schedule.

Our camp.

Every night I thank her

I've watched way too many Lifetime movies. One in particular left a lasting impression. A woman was soaking in the tub, while in the tub someone came into her house and abducted her tiny infant. Now, more than ever that movie haunts me. When I am alone I hate taking a shower or a bath because I am afraid someone will enter my house and take my baby. Tonight, Brad had to work late, but my ankle was hurting me, so I thought a good soak in the tub would be relaxing. While sitting there I kept thinking of the scenes in that movie. Very quickly a relaxing bath turns into an anxiety attack, and I quickly get out and run to my babe. To only find her here:

She is always here now. And I realize how silly I am because nothing is getting past her, and it makes me appreciate her all the more.

She pretends she doesn't really care

But something makes me think otherwise, and I couldn't be happier about it.

One Mystery Solved A hundred to go...

On our trip to St. George we stopped off at a rest stop. There we noticed a man with an unusual, yet beautiful dog. Brad and I were looking at this dog and saying, "It looks just like an Australian shepherd but small." So of course, we have to ask because it's still our kind of dog just a smaller version. The man tells us he is a Shetland sheepdog (makes sense right "miniature" sheepdog). But they are not to be confused with what is known as a Sheltie (although that is a variant of the breed).

In fact, these dogs came before what is now known as the Sheltie. The dogs were originally called Shetland Collies, but once the Rough Collies (now known as the Sheltie) became established it caused controversy among Rough Collie breeders, and the breed's formal name was changed to Shetland Sheepdog (wikipedia).


The man went on to explain there is another variant of the Shetland Sheepdog, but it looks like a border collie and usually all black. He said, "It looks like a small border collie". Our attention was caught. He explained they are small and double coated dog, now we were hooked. THEN he said they are amazing jumpers. Okay, maybe the mystery of Dixie was solved. We knew Dixie was a border collie but we had no idea what she was mixed with. Unlike Sydney, who has the pretty silky and thin border collie coat, Dixie had a double coat that was thick. And we swear the dog's back legs are made of springs. Brad explained her to the man, and he said "I would bet on it she is a Shetland border collie, they are rare." Oh, yeah we know Dixie is one of a kind. He asked how we got her, "we rescued her". He went on to tell us, he paid $900 for his.

Who would have thought this dog was worth $900? Not the owner's who abused that is for sure. Either way, I love this little spaz. She brightens my day with all her quirks.

We did it we took the plunge...

We shaved it all off.
I realize this isn't the best picture, I should have stood on the stair so I was his height. Throughout the years we have been going shorter and shorter and last night we finally did a #1 blade... all over. I think it was harder for me than him. But he is still good lookin' to me.
Ha, I just realized he has more hair on his face now than on his head ;)

She Wore An...

Itsy bisty teenie weenie yellow polka dot baby dress that she wore for the first time today!

Couldn't resist these ones.




Me and my girl.

First Vacation

We took our first family trip over the Memorial Day Weekend. We were celebrating our 6 Year Anniversary (6 years what?). We visited Zion National Park, which was my first time at the park. It was Apple's first hike - Zions not a bad place to have your first hike.

It was a wonderful weekend.


Here is a canyon in St. George. Our first trip with the babe wasn't too shabby. It took us a little longer to get out the door and extra planning but not bad.


I could not believe the beauty of Zions, it was breathtaking. I felt like I was in something Disney created because the colors were so vibrant. The vibrant green against the even more vibrant red rock. Yes, I'm going to use the cliche but it is so true, the pictures do not give the beauty of this park justice.




Here we are. We didn't exactly plan all that well. I looked up trails that were stroller friendly but once I saw the tour buses I realized bringing our honk of stroller on to one was not going to be easy. However, because I planned to have the stroller we didn't have a back pack or our camel backs just water bottles, so we had to become resourceful. We used the diaper bag. However, it was heavier than the babe, so Brad carried that and I carried her. However, on our way up to the Emerald Pools I sprained my ankle so he carried everything - what a man. (Do you know notice Brad's shirt? Warning it is totally geeky. It's of a "killer" whale.)



The squirrels at the park were bold and just like dogs. They would walk right up to you and stand like this and beg for food.