Blowing Bubbles

Lilly has been obsessed with bubbles lately.  And she becomes enraged when bubble-time is over.  So, we've been working on teaching her how to blow her own bubbles; because honestly, ever since I quit band, I just don't have the blowing power I used to...haha.  And since we're being honest, I've got to get Lilly's lung capacity up if she's gonna follow in her Momma's footsteps and be the worlds best Tuba player!

Our 1st Baby; Maggy

We had to make a really hard decision a couple weeks ago.  We had to find our first baby a new home; our puppy dog Maggy.  It was a really hard decision to make, but Maggy was not adjusting well to our move.  We started video taping her, and found that she would pace and pant and scratch and just go crazy for hours while we were gone.  It was starting to make me severely anxious whenever I'd leave the house.  It just broke our hearts that she wasn't happy here.  For those that have had a pet they love and is a part of their family, you'll understand how hard it is to make that choice that your pet would be happier somewhere else.  We were able to find her a home where the owners have other dogs (which she loves!) and they are home more.  Maggy just needs someone with her all the time, she doesn't do well alone.  There were some other reasons as well, but it really came down to me deciding if I was keeping Maggy just so I could be happy, or if Maggy would be happy somewhere else.  I've honestly cried my eyes out, but it was the right choice to make.

We dropped her off at her new home and Maggy walked right in, found a bone, started chewing it and then laid down.  It felt like home and we are at peace with our decision, even if it is still hard and we miss her so much.

Maggy has been the best dog though.  She's had her issues, but I will miss her sleeping on our bed at my feet.  Lilly would roll over her and snuggle up to her.  Lilly would also sneak food to Maggy.  Whenever she was in her highchair, she'd hold her hand out with food in it and say "Maggy?"  Then Maggy would come running over, grab the food and hide somewhere to eat it; she'd hide especially quick because they both knew that we didn't allow her to eat table food.  Those 2 were so sneaky.  Lilly would also try to ride Maggy like a horse and she'd yell "Yeehaw!"  Maggy would only allow this for so long until she'd get mad.  They were a funny pair.

 

Maggy did almost everything with us, she went kayaking, hiking (barely, she never got very far before she decided she was done), swimming.  If she saw a bird, she would be GONE.  One time in Eureka, CA; we were visiting my parents and she saw a bird fly right by us and bolted it into the ocean, she was out in the middle in at least 6 feet of water before I think she realized she was even in the water; at that moment we found out she could swim.  :)

Brandon assures us though, that as soon as we get a house (and some extra income, haha!), we can get another dog; and that way the dog will grow up with our kids.  We've already been talking about how much fun it will be to surprise the kids on Christmas.  We loved how Maggy didn't shed and didn't smell like a dog, so hopefully we will be just as lucky and blessed the next time around.

 Goodbye Maggy;

we love you and 

you'll always be missed.

Exploring Spokane

We visited the Mobius Children's Museum in Spokane this week.  It was really a lot of fun.  After Lilly got over her initial shyness, she was all over the place.  We ended up getting a membership and we'll be able to go all the time now!  They are currently in the process of redoing parts of the museum, so in a couple weeks it'll be even better.  It's nice to finally have somewhere to go like this; definitely something the Tri-Cities is in real need of, in my opinion.  :)

 

 

 

I also took Lilly took McDonald's playland for the first time.  She's still a little young, but the McD's by our house has a little toddler section that's just for the littler kids.  She was just so excited when we were there, her mouth was open the entire time; she was probably just happy to be out of the house, since we've been inside for 3 days with colds.

 

We are teaching Lilly how to say her prayers.  She does really well at sitting and folding her arms and saying "Amen" (most of the time).  Then tonight before bed I said we were going to have prayer, she jumped off the couch and knelt down & folded her arms.  She stayed long enough for me to snap this quick picture on my phone.  She is so sweet!  It's hard not to peek during prayer and just watch her.

 

 

 

 

There is an awesome park a few miles from our apartment, Manito Park.  It's almost 100 acres and has all these different sections, a Rose Garden, Perennial Garden, Lilac Garden, Japanese Garden...etc.  We have been exploring the park these past few weeks and have enjoyed bringing our lunch with us too.  There are a few playgrounds and a huge duck pond too!  There are parks just everywhere here and playgrounds.  It's been really nice!

We've Moved.

We just realized that it's been over 4 months since we last posted on our blog; it has been such a crazy busy couple of months!!!  We moved from Richland, WA to Spokane, WA (about 2.5 hrs north of Richland).  It has been quite the transition.  We lived in the Tri-Cities for the past 6 years, that was where we learned so much about eachother and the only home our daughter has ever known.  Lilly did wonderfully with our move and actually just walked right in to our apartment like she owned the place; it's actually really nice having everything on one level, and even though we left most of our stuff in storage, we are really enjoying being so close to eachother (and not as much to clean!).

We really miss having family around, but with my parents going on a mission for our church to Russia for 2 years, luckily, we can miss them no matter where we live.  :)  We are so grateful for the blessings we have received throughout our marriage.  We are so lucky to have this beautiful daughter.  She is hilarious in everything she does.  She is into everything and has really started to really express to us that she is almost 2 and voices her opinion and everything!  It's really fun though watching her learn an every day is something new.  She is talking up a storm and repeats everything you say.  We are trying so hard to teach her how to be polite and use kind words.  She says "Hi" to everyone we pass and although she is still working on "Please", she has "Thank You" down!  We laugh everyday at the cute and funny things she says.  She is definitely a joy in our lives.