Family Photos!!

Ever since the Things were born, I've wanted to have professional family photos taken. Sure, we've gotten some decent pictures with our cell phone cameras, but I don't want them to grow up and feel like I missed out something. They're changing so much every day, and I want to capture all of it.

Thanks to my sister-in-law, we got our family pictures taken the other day, and I'm so excited to have them!

L to R: Thing 1 likes to fly, the whole family, Happy girl!

In other news: I managed to get in three runs last week! It's been a long time since that's happened, and I think I might have figured out a realistic schedule that will let me keep it up (I've already got two under my belt this week)! It seems like spring might finally be on its way in, and I think the sun and the warmer weather will really help me get out and run more. I've really missed it this winter, and I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. I know I'm slower than I used to be, and I need to build my mileage back up again, but it feels great just to be out there again. I'm looking forward to actually participating in this summer, instead of just watching in envy as everyone else runs past me.

Whew!

I had every intention of posting last week, but things got really busy (and barfy), so that just didn't happen.

The past week plus has been been pretty amazing (mostly). March 7th was our 5th anniversary. I can't believe it's already been 5 years since Hubby and I tied the knot, but so much has happened (especially in the past year), that it also sometimes feels like a lot longer. We didn't celebrate our anniversary the same way we used to, but we still had a good time! We both took the afternoon off from work, and went out to lunch and a movie together, then packed up the Things and drove to visit my family for the weekend.

This was their second trip, and I think they did pretty well! They were completely adorable on Saturday, when we celebrated GG's (my grandmother) birthday. They cuddled anyone and everyone, and even slept pretty well. Then Saturday night rolled around, and Thing 2 woke up crying. We went in to check on her, and she'd thrown up, and was throwing up more as we held her (real throwing up, not baby spit up). It was pretty terrifying to see her obviously suffering and struggling, so we moved her down to be with us, and called the pediatrician on call at our doctor's office. She told us there was a stomach virus going around, and told us what to do and what to watch out for, so we were able to let Thing 2 sleep eventually, and get some rest ourselves. (It turns out Thing 1 got the other end of the virus...that was a fun surprise the next morning...) The babies were pretty much back to themselves Sunday morning, so we were able to head home happy after a great visit. Sunday night, I had my turn with the bug (and so did my parents and sister). Let's just say the babies are GREAT at sharing, and leave it at that.

We love GG!

Monday, the Things turned 6 months!!!!! Yikes! To celebrate, we took them to the doctor and let them get poked with needles! Other than being pissed off about the shots, they're completely perfect, but I already knew that! They're both big enough that they don't need to be on an adjusted age chart anymore, which is a couple of months ahead of schedule, and the doctor is thrilled with their progress. Yay for healthy babies!

So big!

The rest of the week was a whirlwind of St. Patrick's Day concerts (I'm in an Irish choir), preparations for our next opening night at work, followed by the event itself, and recovering from my lovely stomach bug (thanks for that, babies). Oh, and watching Thing 1 learn how to roll over! That was pretty awesome, I have to admit! Though, now he'll sometimes roll over in his sleep and wind up on his tummy, or migrate and end up with his feet through the bars of his crib...he's a talented one!

Puppy Love

It's time to introduce the 5th member of our merry band: our awesome puppy!

I grew up in a dog family. We'd always had one, and it was something that I'd always wanted for myself when I "grew up." Hubby didn't grow up as a dog person, but became one in college (thank goodness!). When we got married, getting a dog was an agreed-upon eventuality, but it took us a while to get the timing right.

Finally, Thanksgiving Weekend 2012 rolled around. My sister-in-law and her boyfriend had been looking to adopt a puppy much more actively than Hubby and I, and they'd found a litter at a shelter they wanted to go check out. Hubby and I decided to tag along, with no thoughts of acquiring a dog at the time; we just really wanted to play with puppies.

We behaved ourselves very well at first. We saw lots of cute puppies, but weren't in love with any of them. Until we saw HER. Hubby and I still disagree over whose idea it was to ask to see her, but we both agree that her complete adorableness won us over. As soon as we held her, it was a done deal. We stayed until they weren't doing any more adoptions that evening, to make sure that no one took her, and then went home to "sleep on it." Yeah, right. We were picking out names on the car ride home.

The next morning, we showed up right when the shelter opened, to be sure we no one got to her before we did. We sat through the informational video on adopting pets, filled out all the paperwork, paid our adoption fee, and then finally got to leave with our puppy in tow! The past few years have had a lot of good days, but this one ranked right up among the best of them.

L to R: Adoption Day, How can you not love that face?

 Mischa has been with us through some bad times, and a lot of really good ones. She's a wonderful big sister to the Things, and we can't wait to see how much fun they'll all have together as the Things grow up. It may have taken a while to get there, but I'm so glad we finally have our dog! Nothing says love like having a dog run to greet you when you get home (and lick your face to show you how much she's missed you).

Can you say photobomb?

Just to give them a shout-out: Wright-Way Rescue is where we found our sweet Mischa. They're a wonderful organization, and we had a great experience with them. Visit them here: http://wright-wayrescue.org/ and then go adopt one of their awesome animals!