Snow day!

We're having quite the snow event in Western Washington today. Apparently, today's 4-5 inches is just the start of a 3-day snow-smorgasbord. Wednesday is supposed to be the heaviest snowfall, paired with high winds which means BLIZZARD (my favorite Dairy Queen treat)!

The dogs love the snow. Mattie is most in love with it though - she rolls in it, gets herself covered in snowballs then sits at the top of the yard and looks down on her domain (the neighborhood) like the ever-so-watchful sheepdog she is. Nothing gets by that dog. Scott sometimes enjoys chasing Mattie in the snow but usually he plods around, does his business, then hustles back into the house. I think he had his fair share of working in the cold and snow up in Canada as a youngster. In retirement now, he prefers working his chicken flock and retiring each night to his warm dog bed and big screen TV.

I went to visit my parents yesterday and Lucky is doing well. He pretty much runs the place now and has ultimate domain over their sofa and lounge chairs.  He also enjoys an even bigger big screen TV than what Scott has.

Today is Josie's 3-month birthday. My baby is no longer classified as a "new born" (insert frowny face here :-( ).  She is officially an infant now and on her way to "toddler" soon I think. If she is anything like her cousin Nathan, she'll be walking around in just 5-6 more months! I'm not ready for that. 

As one would expect, being my daughter, Josie has an extensive wardrobe of clothes, shoes and hats - a little something for every occasion. So, with the snow means it's snow-suit time. Today, Josie opted for an asymmetrical button-up footed and mittened and hooded velour suit in light pink. She looks so cute in this! Tomorrow perhaps we'll break out the Winnie-the-Pooh suit.

Josie smiled for much of the time she was outside today. I think she liked the bright white snow and also loved seeing the dogs race around acting like total spastics.



Okay, we did take some pictures over the holidays. Here is Josie and I in front of our 2011 Christmas Tree

 
And in early December, Jerill's mom was able to get Josie to hold her own bottle!

Wear's baby??? Well, because I was too confused by the Baby Bjorn carrier (so many straps and every time I tried to get Josie into it, it resulted in cries of fear and panic), I purchased a Serene Sling.  I love, love, love this carrier...

http://serenesling.com/

It's comfortable to wear, easy to put on, easy to put baby into, and baby likes it!!  Josie spent all of New Year's Eve brunch in it.

Shhhhh, baby's sleeping.

Some Firsts

The first super-colorful photo of Miss J (and first time she has worn that onesie)

Josie's first smile caught on camera!

Josie and I went up the Space Needle  (her first time) in Seattle on December 19, 2011

The Space Needle's reflection in the Experience Music Project building

Josie in her first Christmas holiday attire

Josie's first (and only) 2 Month Birthday!

Catching up on Autumn 2011

As Josie naps, I figured it would be a great time to update my blog.
Miss Josephine is now 6 weeks old. I have survived the first 40 days! I have to say, I have a greater appreciation for single mothers now than I ever had. I'm not sure how I could have gotten through the past six weeks without the help of Jerill, his mom (who is living with us for awhile) and my parents.

We celebrated Josie's first Thanksgiving at my sister's house in Redmond, WA. She slept through most of it and when she was awake, she was a delight.  As always, I brought the vegetable dishes to Thanksgiving dinner this year. I made:

• sweet potatoes with maple syrup and pecans
• green beans with slivered almonds and lemon
• roasted root vegetables (parsnips, turnip, sweet potato, rutabaga and carrot)
• orange-cranberry sauce
• roasted red potatoes with rosemary

My sister is an excellent turkey maker and didn't disappoint this year. My mom brought her famous blueberry and apple pies (home made of course) and Jerill's mom put a caramel bread pudding together that was a total hit and will be a new Thanksgiving staple going forward.

Lucky, our 8 year old Maltese/Shih Tzu is still living with my parents but during the times he has come home for a visit he has not involved himself with Josie much at all. He enjoys living with my parents and they enjoy having him. With Lucky (aka 'the barker') out of the picture, we are able to focus on Scott and Mattie, and my mother-in-law's Sheltie Bart, to transition to life with baby. Scott and Mattie have both taken on specific roles in the past 40 days. Scott pretty much ignores Josie, coming around only during feedings to see if anything is spit up that may be worthy of eating. Scott's main job now is to be my "nurse maid." He is my right-hand, er, paw, when it comes to all things dealing with nursing and pumping. Sometimes he will lay on my feet to keep them warm if I am caught off guard and are not wearing socks or slippers. On the other hand, er paw, is Mattie. Mattie is a very engaged participant in all things that happen with the baby. For the first few weeks, Mattie was extremely interested in feedings, diapering, sleepy time, crying time, play time. We have found that Mattie will alert Jerill as to when Josie starts to fuss or wake up from a nap. Mattie also makes sure Bart the Sheltie and our cat GiGi didn't get too close to Josie at first. She has now loosened up a bit about that but I definitely would not want to be a stranger approaching Josie with Mattie on watch! It seems Mattie has taken on a motherly-type role with Josie. Mattie is quite a maternal dog and is very tuned in to Josie's care and well being!

So, if you're wondering about Jude during all this, here's the update on him! The day before I had Josie, we took Jude to Diane's farm to live with her for awhile. She worked him on sheep and honestly, he didn't seem to miss me much at all. Yes, he is a total mama's boy, but in the presence of sheep, he is infatuated with working them. A few weeks later, Jude left with Scott Glen for sheepdog training. So right now, Jude is living in Alberta, Canada for the next few months (all of the winter) at the Alta-Pete Stockdogs training camp. And honestly, I do not believe Jude is missing me all that much  - I am missing him a lot! It's hard for me to compete with sheep lessons every day with one of the best sheepdog trainers and trialers in the world. Plus Jude is up there with a couple other dogs he knows too. Scott's wife sent me an update and a picture of Jude. Things are going well for him!  I am eagerly awaiting him to come home in March 2012.

I've really enjoyed the last 6 weeks with my daughter and being at home with family, my animals (sans Jude). I really don't want to go back to work! I am very thankful that my work schedule is flexible and I will be continuing my weekly routine of telecommuting two days a week. I'm very thankful that Josie's grandmas are helping out for the next 4-6 months too, being our nannies - it's incredibly awesome to have this help and flexibility.




Tonight I'll be going out to sushi with Diane - I haven't had sushi for 10 months and I've missed it! Hmmm, Josie is starting to move... must be time to eat again. Ciao!