We’ve seen more than a few Pinewood Derby’s in our days, and this year Silas took away the big prize! His sleek, green design took first place and he gets to keep the big trophy that dates back to 1972 in his room for the year. His name is already engraved on it. Way to go, Silas!


  

Something else happened at the end of January. An adorable little French Bulldog nosed her way into our hearts and home. Jonathan and I have been talking for years about the possibility of getting another dog. We knew we wanted something small and cute like Commodus, but that shed less and wasn’t so hard on our allergies. We also knew we wanted to get a dog while our kids were still young, although we thought it was still a year or two off.

Then our neighbor had a litter of French Bulldogs. He asked Jonathan to photograph them for him so he could post an ad. The real problem came when Jonathan opened the door to our home and hollered to me to come out and see these cute little puppies! I said I was busy but he persisted. I came outside and that was pretty much the end of it! There were five puppies – two girls and three boys. We were both instantly drawn to the pied female with the mild temperament who just wanted to snuggle.

Our neighbor told us we could bring her over and keep her for a while, see what we thought. So we did (well, the kids and I did). And she never went back! Meet Phoebe Roomba King:
 

With her sister.

Just look at what a cuddle bug she is!
  

Jonathan was smitten!

Just a little bit excited! Phoebe may have come a little bit sooner than planned, but she has been an amazing addition to our family, teaching the kids responsibility and empathy and providing plenty of humor too. She also keeps our kitchen floors sparkling!

The kitties tolerate her, and they are getting more and more comfortable living together. I think they are cool with being chased a little since Phoebe provides a welcome distraction from the kids.
 

At the beginning of the year we adopted fostered an adorable bearded dragon. Marshawn came into our lives shortly after a high school friend posted pictures of her new beardie on Facebook. I was sitting next to Avery (who’s been asking for a lizard for years) when I scrolled past the picture and paused. He was so cute wrapped in a furry blanket! I showed Avery, and thus began a conversation about possibly looking for one. The following day while walking with my neighbor, who is vet, and I asked about her knowledge of bearded dragons. Two days later a friend of hers, who was moving out of the country, contacted her asking if she knew of anyone who might want a – you guessed it – bearded dragon! They could have it and all the gear for free, she just wanted him to go to a good home. Next thing we knew Avery and I were at her house cuddling with the thing and then loading his tank into the back of our car. You can imagine Jonathan’s face when he walked in the door!

Marshawn was super cute, funny, and overall a pretty cool pet. Avery enjoyed caring for him and didn’t need much prompting to do so. But there were a couple hangups. For one, reptiles can be stinky. Not bad, but just kind of reptilian. And Marshawn’s tank was a few feet from Avery’s bed. Furthermore, they can carry Salmonella, and after a little more research, we started to feel less okay about having him roaming the house with Layla around (children under five can be more severely affected by Salmonella). Then we serendipitously adopted a puppy, (I’ll get into that in my next post) which further complicated our lives and to-do lists.

Fortunately there was an easy solution. Shortly after adopting Marshawn, my friend, Jacqui, came over with Hayden & Brooklyn to meet him. She said Brooklyn had been lobbying for a bearded dragon for years so she was excited to meet him. The stars seemed to align perfectly. When the honeymoon wore off for our family, we knew where he should go, so we asked, and the Lotts took Marshawn in. I’m so happy with the way this all worked out. Avery got to have his fun with the little guy and appreciate the work involved, and then we got to send him on his merry way to a home that would appreciate him even more!

The post that started it all…

The cats were enthralled
     

Even Jonathan got some snuggles

Jacqui & Marshawn