The News is Out!

Everyone finally knows that we are expecting our little addition in July! Currently our due date is July 28th, but I already feel fat so we'll see about that! Ben and I found out our exciting news on November 19th when we were only 4 weeks along, then we announced it to our family around Thanksgiving. Everyone is absolutely thrilled and we got the occasional "Well, it's about time you've been married 7 and a half years!" This ultrasound was at 7 weeks, but we've just reached 12 weeks. Ben is force-feeding me healthy food and it was so hard going through the holidays with all of that yummy food thinking that I should be eating an apple when rocky road candy tasted so much better! But don't worry, Ben's making sure that I eat plenty of fruit and yogurt and stay away from sugar. He's convinced that our child will be born with ADD because of his genes and my sweet tooth. However, what he doesn't know won't hurt him!

Playing Hard

Lucy's new best friend is Charlie. Charlie is a King Charles Cavalier that belongs to my brother, Chad. He and Lucy played so hard together that we actually caught them napping in Chad's lap. There weren't too many lulls in doggy laps around the house, but here was one of them. It's just too precious not to post! So sad for Lucy, but now that Charlie has gone home, she is going through doggy depression. She misses her buddy and walks up to Charlie's room looking for him every morning.

Going to the Dogs

Tug-of-War was a holiday favorite at our house this year. Our house went to the dogs as we had a house full of family and 4 little four-legged friends running around. Of course, Lucy was determined to be friends with all of them! Her sense of humor in playing Tug-of-War was a little different from the other dogs, though. She would take a toy to another dog for them to play Tug with her, but Charlie and Tisha had other ideas and wanted to keep it. One great thing worked in her favor, she was the biggest of all...and the one with the most energy. What a shock! They provided all of the entertainment for the rest of us!

I'm the Boss

Alex is telling Lucy how it is! She just follows him around and wants to be wherever he is when he's here. Aren't they adorable together! Lucy and Alex played so hard with Ben that Alex just pooped out.

Christmas is coming!

I know it's a little early, but I love the first signs of Christmas! The stores begin to bring out their decorations and every once in a while, you hear a holiday song on the radio. Since we are going out of town for Thanksgiving and we are hosting our first Christmas dinner the first week after that, I realized that I had to go ahead and put up our decorations or it wouldn't get done. So, after some help from Mom putting up the trees and wrapping the banisters, a Tree Trimming party with the girls while the guys played cards, and a couple of nights working on things by myself, it's FINISHED! Well, almost...it's too early to decorate the yard, so that's not done yet. But, what a relief to see it up and know that I get to enjoy it for the next 6 weeks! Now...the shopping part, that's a different story.

Bring on the Pasta!

Ben has been on a diet for almost 8 weeks now. His dedication to this effort has him getting up at 5:30 in the morning to go to the gym followed by eating only foods that are considered low carb. We have always considered ourselves to be healthly eaters at home because I refuse to fry anything or cook meals that are high in fat. Having said that, we LOVE pasta and that's no man's land in a low carb diet. So, being the supportive (sometimes) wife that I am, I am eating the same things that he eats. Ben is doing a terrific job of sticking with it and has been very successful in shedding unwanted pounds and building muscle. Me...not so much. I haven't gained anything, but I haven't lost anything. If I'm giving up my favorite meals, shouldn't I be getting something out of it? Isn't it funny how men and women are built differently. If that's the case, bring on the pasta!

The Little Rebel

Our little Lucy is experiencing a rebellious streak. The Vizsla breed first appealed to us because they are known for their trainability. We quickly figured out that is the case and were excited at how easily she learned the commands that Ben introduced her to. What we have since figured out is that she is so smart that she can decide for herself when she wants to follow the command issued. Even as we use her command collar to correct her for her stubbornness, she happily wags her tail. This too shall pass!