Lucy

The boys have wanted a puppy for quite a while now, and we've been waiting on all the conditions to be right before taking the plunge...but then again we're kind of an unpredictable family too, so maybe we weren't 100% ready but close enough.

What set the wheels in motion was a late night visitor who rifled through our vehicles a few weeks back. I told D one of the best security features we could own would be a dog. I didn't think by the end of the day that we'd have one, but that's what happened!

Darius had mentioned the Blue Heeler breed to me before, and I had turned it down because I found out they were a working dog and needed lots and lots of exercise...and let's be honest, we're not the laziest family, but I think we tip the scale in that direction. I didn't think I would be down for giving that type of dog the exercise she would need, but then I got to thinking that maybe she was exactly the kind of breed we needed to give us the motivation to get off our butts and exercise more. She will challenge us, and I see that as a good thing.

We found our new family member from a woman in Garland which is north of Brigham City & Tremonton, and we had a good feeling that that was the right area of the state to get a good healthy Heeler. We all drove up in terrible weather with an address written on a note card but no other directions. Darius called the woman and got directions to a yellow house with a big yellow school bus parked out front. Turns out that the note card I had wrote down the address on was one I had used for the boys schooling. After getting the directions we found the word "yellow" written in yellow marker on the back of the card. We felt it was a good sign that we were in the right place.

Turns out the family selling the puppies knew my Grandpa Harry and my Uncle Leonard, and I considered that to be another good sign. There were two female puppies left in a litter of eight, and D knew right away which one he wanted. It took me a little longer, but I agreed with him and the boys....well after a few minutes of puppy play they were more interested in the house and if there were any toys to play with. We also got to meet the puppies' parents, and after seeing what good looking dogs they were, I felt really good about out decision.

The size difference between Lucy and Ulli is pretty comical, but they're really good with each other. Lucy is (mostly) fearless with him, and Ulli is very patient and gentle with her. They're going to be great friends. :)

We weren't in any hurry to name our little girl, but D did mention the name Lucy at the beginning and even after running down a list of other names, we all agreed that Lucy seemed to fit her best. It's very much like having a potty-training kid all over again, but she's doing so well and really seems to be happy here with us. Her favorite family member is clearly D. She makes the most pitiful sound when he comes home and is so excited to see him that she usually pees herself, and I'm sure it doesn't hurt that he works for a steakhouse and brings her home delicious bones.

We're all in love with her, and I'm looking forward to seeing how her personality develops more as she gets older, and for the dynamic that she'll bring to our family.

Zach at 5 years, 11 months, and 11 days

Last year I wrote up a post about Ben, and I had intended to do a piece on Zach as well, but anytime I'd start to ask him questions he'd blow me off and tell me he didn't want to answer them. The other day he very sweetly sat on my lap and, even after a long interruption, he came back and we picked up where we left off.

Here are some of the answers he gave me about his favorite stuff at the moment, with a mix of my observations about his quirky personality.

Favorite colors:  It's probably pointless to ask Zach what his favorite color is because it changes just about every time I ask him, but this time he answered black.

Favorite foods:  Zach loves peanut butter and chocolate (Nutella) sandwiches. He will likely have a smear of his sandwich contents on either side of his mouth by the time he's done. Zach is also a huge lover of pancakes. It's usually his standard answer when I ask him what he wants for breakfast.

Favorite toys:  Angry Birds. Angry Birds. Angry Birds. I really thought by now he would have moved on to something else, but the people over there at the Angry Bird factory know how to really suck the kiddies in with all their variations of Angry Birds they've come up with. Thanks Joy for introducing Zach to his obsession and my nightmare. :)

Favorite places to go:  This was an easy answer for Zach. He loves going to Grandma and Grandpa's house. I suspect it's not just because he loves them, but because of all his cousins' cool toys that he loves playing with.

Favorite people:  Zach is sweet and loves everybody, but when asked this question he immediately said his cousins: Elisabeth, Jarom, and Brenton. I asked Zach if Ben was one of his favorites (as Ben was standing next to us) and he said no, after which Ben started to poke Zach.  Hmmm can't imagine why Zach would say no!

Favorite game:  Little Big Planet and PBS Kids online games. The boys now have a whopping two PS3 games, the second being LBP which we got the boys for Christmas. It's amazing how good Zach has become at playing the game, and I'm kind of glad we don't have any other games for him to become fixated with. He tends to get sucked into the game and will dance and hop around the room as he throws his arms in all sorts of interesting directions as though his body movements are those of his little sack person in the game.

Favorite movies:  Rio, Star Wars, and Wall-E.  Despite my age, Zach could probably answer more trivia on Star Wars than I could. I think he's learned as much about the movies from various books than he has from the actual movies.

Favorite animals:  Lucy (our new puppy), Ulli dog (Joy & JT's German Shepherd), Skoog (Carrie, Bobby, and Archer's yellow lab), and Max their cat.

Favorite books:  Elephant and Piggie & Pigeon books by Mo Willems, Dr. Seuss books, and the Peter Rabbit stories by Beatrix Potter. Zach also enjoys a book called the Town of Zack by Dava Savel in which a little boy is in search for some piece and quiet from his 3 little sisters (triplets). At the end of reading this story to him, Zach would say how much he wanted 3 little sisters of his own. Amused we asked him what he would name these little sisters of his. He told us he would name them Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail.

Zach has such an outgoing and expressive personality. He's often all over the place, but that's part of what makes him who he is. He has no problem striking up a conversation with anyone. His gift of gab is not always appropriate, but I've learned that it's okay to open up a little more and connect with people. Accompanying that gabbing is Zach's lack of a filter....which has caused me a good deal of head shaking, red faced moments. There's no telling what kind of information he'll share with the world. Usually he'll just start in with whatever is swimming through his head. As I was typing this, Zach came bouncing over to me to tell me what was going down in whatever imaginary game he's playing at the moment...something to do with Zurg, Sparks and Angry Birds bouncing around and winning medals.

In the midst of all Zach's gabbing, he fires off a lot of questions which he'll often answer himself before the person he's asking has a chance to respond, but then he'll continue to ask more questions and even more questions about the answers he gets to his questions. Zach is that kid in the theater who can't sit still and refrain from asking a hundred questions about the movie he's watching (unless he has a mouthful of popcorn).

The way Zach speaks is often as entertaining as some of the random things he says. He has this lip pout action when he's talking and all the while he's talking, you can see the wheels in his head turning while he's thinking about anything and everything and his eyes darting around and taking in his surroundings. His shifty little eyes freak me out a little sometimes and I'm amazed by what he's able to process, especially when we're in the car. He's kind of like a camera with his ability to focus in on details which Darius and I don't see without some searching or will often miss altogether.

Zach has a fantastic imagination when it comes to imaginary play. I like to hear him change up his voice when he's playing several different characters, and his accompanying sound effects are quite impressive. He likes to call his shooting sound effect "puming," since that's the closest word to the sound he makes, so it's a word that he often uses to describe his scenarios.

Zach has a tender heart and loves little babies and he loves girls (all ages)! I don't know how it began, but Zach thinks he needs to find a girlfriend, someone to love him he'll tell me. We were at Subway one night and there were a couple of girls sitting with their dad, and Zach thought they were pretty and told me that he was going over to their table to tell them that, and more or less get one of them to either be his girlfriend or marry him. I told him to go right ahead. He squirreled around a little, hiding behind the chip racks and a cardboard display, and maybe he confessed his love under his breath, but by the time we were all getting ready to leave, he fell apart and started sobbing about how he didn't get a chance to tell them what he needed to and proceeded to tell me that now he would never get a girlfriend and get married and have babies. This was a full blown meltdown with very real tears and a very distraught little boy. Fast forward to an errand after Subway and we come across a young girl in a shopping cart with her mother. I nudged Zach and said that she was a pretty girl, hoping to make him feel a little better. He spoke right up and told this little girl about his debacle at Subway, and that she was pretty but not as pretty as the girl(s) at Subway. Yup...he's got a little bit to learn still about wooing the ladies.

I love this little kid so very much. I love his enthusiasm and how excited he gets over the things he's passionate about. I love his funny facial and body expressions. I love listening to him talk and the interesting vocabulary he'll use. I love his sweet kisses...the ones where he puts his little hands on my cheeks and puckers up his lips (his sweetest kisses he calls them). I love, love, love, his monkey hugs...the kind where he wraps his whole body around you and squeezes tight. I love his sweet little heart and his love and concern for others.

Zach is very much is own person. A few weeks back he woke up and the first thing out of his mouth that he said to Darius was, "I'm unique!" That pretty much sums it up. He's unique and we love him so.

Archer

For the past few weeks Carrie and Archer have been missing their third wheel. Bobby had an opportunity to travel overseas for work, so we had cause for some extra face time with them while he was away.

I get to hear about all the fun stuff Archer does from Carrie, but it's a lot different when you get to see firsthand all the little quirks he has. He is thoroughly entertaining and has such a fun and thoughtful personality.

Archer has been walking now for about a month, and I forgot how fun it is to watch a new walker teeter and totter around a room. He's starting to pick up speed, and it won't be long before he's tearing around.

Archer has such a love for books already. He has favorites and will bring Carrie the books he wants read to him. Even months back when he was at the age that babies will often opt to chew on books, he would instead sit and listen.

When we're visiting at Carrie's house, she is very much an extension of me and has no problem disciplining my boys and keeping them in line. Zach got sent to timeout for something he had done and was feeling pretty sorry for himself. His crying and complaining got Archer's attention, and seeing how upset Zach was, he crawled over to him all concerned and started giving him kisses. It was one of the sweetest things I've seen a little tot his age do.

Zach may not have appreciated Archer's concern for him, but I couldn't get over what a sweet gesture his kisses were.

Archer does this thing right now where he gives everything the thumb test. It's definitely his go-to digit. He's very deliberate in the things he does, and I thought his restraint with an open tub of skin cream was impressive. He'd dip his thumb and return to the same spot on his leg to moisturize while Carrie went about rubbing him down.

Whenever I get an opportunity to watch Archer for any period of time, he always does really well for me. His crazy cousins provide him with good entertainment and a distraction for whenever he realizes that his mommy isn't around. However, if we're all together and Carrie is out of his sight, it's a totally different story. He loves her fiercely and doesn't like it if she goes too far. The mama's boy term doesn't exactly capture their relationship with each other. It's so much more than that.

This is what Archer does whenever Carrie is in the bathroom. No joke, he doesn't like her out of his sight.

I've been asked if Archer (or any other baby) makes me want to have more kids. Ummm yeah, that would be a no. There are times where I find myself missing some of those fun, early stages; but I'm happy to get my baby fill from Archer, and I figure if his cute mug isn't enough to sway me then I'm pretty well decided.

Happy Birthday to You, and You, and You, and You.....

I'm starting to become one of those occasional bloggers...how sad! :( I need a swift kick in the butt my dear friends and family! If you're still seeing the same post after a week+, I give you permission to nag me until something new shows up, and I don't mean casually comment that you haven't seen a new post in a while... I want you to full on nag me until I comply.

Okay, onward!

January may be over, but there are some pretty awesome people that celebrated birthdays this last month that I want to acknowledge. At the start of the month I was thinking that it would be fun to have one big party to celebrate everyone that had a birthday in January, but I'm glad it didn't work out that way. It's much more fun to stretch the fun a little further. Maybe I should be like an ambassador for birthdays or something. I love the opportunity to celebrate how special these people are.

Carrie kicked off the month, and I've decided that I need to add her birthday planning to my list of things to do in December. It always sneaks up on me, and I find myself scrambling at the last minute for her. She's too awesome for last-minute planning!  Regardless of the poor planning, there was still a good handful of Canfields that were able to meet up for a nice visit over lunch, and I got lucky and had some free time to visit with Carrie on her birthday.

I hate to admit to favorites, but in a big family like mine, it's not a huge secret that there are some of us that have closer ties to each other. I still love everyone to bits, but Carrie is one of my favs. Growing up I did my own thing and played with my imaginary friends and missed a great opportunity to connect with the flesh and blood playmates that were always around. It wasn't until I was ready to leave home that it dawned on me what a close bond I had Carrie. It's taken a while, but we're finally living close to each other, and it makes me so incredibly happy. Now when I hang out with her, I don't feel that panic settling in when our visits come to an end, because I know there won't be a gap of months and months that pass before I see her again. I love Carrie so much more than I can express, but I suspect she knows it's always more. ;)

My lovely friend Brandi is next in line on the birthday train. I love that she loves her birthday and goes all out to celebrate it each year. She is an amazing person who I think the world of. I'm in awe of how she juggles all that she does and in the seemingly effortless way that she does it. There should be more designated days to celebrate her. I didn't expect to get any face time with her on her birthday, but I just happened to catch her at the right time, and I enjoyed a long overdue and wonderful visit with her.

Eric's birthday was a day later, and I feel bad that in the past I haven't done more to acknowledge his or my sister Michel's birthdays. I guess in some ways I felt like maybe they didn't want another reminder of their age advancing a notch, so I kept things simple with a phone call, email, card, or text. A birthday marks another year, but I think it should be more about celebrating the person, and the longer these amazing individuals are around to celebrate, the better!

It wasn't very original, but I think it was great that a bunch of us could get together again to celebrate Eric and Michel's birthdays. Eric picked a great Mediterranean Grill that everyone enjoyed, and I'm so glad it's in my neighborhood! We all had a great visit with each other, and it's always a good feeling when so many of us can find a window in our busy schedules to come together.

As an older sibling, especially one to a bunch of young kids, Eric was responsible (in a good way) for shaping us in one way or another. I love to hear every one's different memories about each other and how greatly they vary, but I think all of us would agree that Eric is indeed a gentle giant. He is kind and so much so that I can't think of very many times that I have ever seen him angry over anything. Those Keep Calm quotes that I'm seeing around everywhere lately make me think of Eric. I think Eric's ability to be calm is a great attribute, and when I'm around him I think of how much better a person I could be if I could keep my crazy in check.

Next in line is my niece, Karissa; and nephew, Ian. Karissa is Michel's daughter and Ian is Eric's son. I think it's cool that Karissa and Ian share a birthday in between Michel and Eric's birthdays and that they both happen to be the 3rd child in each family! I may not have a very close relationship with them, but I have loved watching them develop into the people they are and enjoy hearing about what they're up to. 

Michel. What can I say about her? She's got some sort of super-human blood running through her veins. She's constantly on the move with her work and family, and if all that craziness wasn't enough..she's back in school again. Grace under pressure is what she embodies, and I'm always amazed by how much she is able to do. I'm terrified at the thought of going back to school myself, but when I look at Michel and all that she has been able to accomplish, I can't help but feel inspired and encouraged that I too can do more. She's a lovely example of a human being.

Small packages can pack some pretty big punches, and that's exactly what my young friend Emma does. She is a riot and I love the mess of adjectives that only begin to describe her personality...sassy, spunky, sly, sweet. I'm fascinated by her, and how full of life she is. She brings so much joy to those around her, and I know she will be thoroughly entertaining to watch as she grows up!

Finishing up the January birthdays is James. He's in a good place in Idaho, but I wish I got to see him more often! His easygoing and fun personality is a joy to be around. His comic relief on our hike this past summer was a huge motivation for me to keep going when I wanted to stop. James is such a fun and positive person, and you can't help but smile when you're around him.

These lovely people make a cold, long month so much nicer! Cheers to each of them and all the things that make them special and for the happiness they bring to others. I have probably said this before, but I'll say it again... they are a lovely way to start off a new year!

Wrapping up 2013

I think I'll package up the rest of the month/year in one post. If it's anything like my gift-wrapping skills it won't be anything extraordinary, but at least it will get done.

December treated us to a couple weeks of really cold temps, but for the most part it was a bearable month all things considered. We had some decent snow storms, and I will say this...regardless of not being a fan of winter, I do think a blanket of snow helps to boost the seasonal spirits. I grew up with mostly white Christmases, and I love a reminder of those memories. Having a backyard now is great for the boys, and I'm enjoying the freedom of not having to accompany them on every trip outside. :)

I guess in some ways I consider ourselves to be a young family, so I'm still working on what our traditions will be around the holidays. I think we nailed down a couple we want to stick with, but I guess we'll wait until next year to see what others will be a good fit for us.

Christmas Eve we finished up delivering the last bit of our Christmas baked goods, and we had planned on a trip to see Santa afterwards, but after pulling up to the Sugar Shack, we found that we missed him by a day. We ended up heading home with what will continue to be our Christmas Eve dinner tradition of Chinese takeout. We stole that tradition from the Bacon Family! :)

Once bedtime rolled around for the boys, we went to lay down and all of us ended up falling asleep before 9:00! It was a good thing D woke up halfway through the night, or the boys may have been overlooked by Santa. Even on his days off D can rarely sleep in, so he was up early watching a movie when Zach woke up to use the bathroom. Hearing the TV on he went to investigate and saw his stocking and got the rest of us up in a hurry. Starting our morning off at 6:30 AM was definitely not my idea of fun, but the boys' enthusiasm and a cup of coffee were all I needed to get going. They had a great Christmas, and we're very fortunate that we could do for them what we wanted to.

We made pizza last year on Christmas and we decided to do it again. I think that will be our Christmas dinner tradition moving forward. Leave it to us to have the holiday food traditions nailed down before anything else. :) Anytime we make pizza we need help to eat it, so joining us for dinner was Mom, Dad, Joy, and JT. Their company was a lovely way to finish up the day!

The rest of 2013 was mostly uneventful. The boys and I all came down with a nasty case of the flu, and sick is how we spent the rest of the year.

We didn't have the best start to 2013, but D and I both agree that once things turned around, the year ended on a really good note for us, and we're hoping the trend continues throughout 2014.

Cheers to all our family and friends for great things in 2014!