Standard Thanksgiving Blog Entry

 These girls love to hug. Leah loves to say, "Juliet thinks I'm her Mommy" as they hug. 

 I picked Leah up early from pre-school on Wednesday, and we made Turkey cookies for Turkey Day. They were a hit! Leah did a great job! 

 I love Leah's pose! She is getting really good at taking pictures (when she is in the mood). 

 The best sister shots that I could get. Juliet had just woken up from a nap, and was feeling a little cranky. 

 Sister shot! I look so much better with a tan and blonder hair. 

 Family shot. 

 Young/Lakatos Family 

 Nowaske Family

It was really nice to have everyone over. I was glad to host this year, because the girls just disappeared with their cousins. I didn't have to worry too much about them, because they were in our own, child proof house. It was pretty nice! We got to relax, and have some adult time while the kids kind of entertained (or annoyed, as I'm sure the 4 year old and the 1 year old did to the teenagers). 

Juliet wasn't sure about her dinner. She didn't want to sit with the kids, so she moved in with the adults. She was much happier, but still didn't really eat much.

 Some of us had a little too much adult time. #shame

 Blue berries were the snack of choice at 10:00 pm when I cleaned up. I think the girls did AWESOME for the day. Leah skipped her nap, and Juliet took just 1 nap. They were happy and cheerful until 10:30. Both had brief melt downs, but went to sleep shortly after. 

 We went Black Friday shopping at a Matilda Jane Sample Sale. We scored big time! Leah kept talking about how much she loved her Matilda Jane! 

We Miss Our Friend.

We said goodbye to Ruggie on Friday. It has been rough. It was sad to see his body fail him and watch him in so much pain, but it gave us a chance to spoil him in his last days and tell him how loved he was. It was bittersweet. In the end, he left this earth in his home being hugged and told how good of a boy he was. It has been hard doing things for the first time without our dog. Everything reminds us of him (and it doesn't help that J-boo keeps calling for "doggie"). The house is quieter. It seems colder. Nothing is the same. It seems like the little things are hardest (cleaning up after the girls eat and not having him bark at the doorbell). We miss our dog.

The whole family spent his last night sleeping like "a pack" in our room. And we did it all weekend too. We have spent a lot of time talking about our favorite Rugen memories -- playing in the snow in Brighton, eating batteries in Howell, trying to tell us that Brain escaped (twice), going to the Christmas tree farm and the apple orchard, chasing bunnies, trapping the chipmunk in Brighton, running circles around the apartment in Ann Arbor, rollerblading with K in Howell, when the humane society said he would only be 40 pounds, when I taught him to roll over (for like 6 months), our daily walks, eating loaves of bread and thinking he got away with it until we found the bag ties, how much he loved to cuddle (and how he never figured out he was 100 pounds), when we put candy canes on the tree and he ate each one that wasn't five feet off the ground, when we had to lie about where we lived to take him from the humane society (but the hospital never asked before we took home our babies), when we lied about his weight at Howell and made excuses to avoid having his picture taken, when he warned us about the skunk, and when he was sprayed by a skunk years later, how much he used to hate having his nails cut and the ingenious (and embarrassing) things we did to try and cut them, when he would get locked in the bathroom, when he would stick his head out of the kitty door, but most of all we remember how awesome he was with the girls.             

The girls were so sweet with him the last few weeks. They brought him countless treats and gave him lots of attention. When he stopped eating his food and his bowl was full all day J-boo even started bringing him his food by the handful. Leah seems to be taking it much better than we are. She talks about Ruggie being in "Doggie Heaven" and asks how he can see us through the clouds, but otherwise she seems to be unaffected. It makes us sad that she might not remember what a good dog he was to her, but we will always remember how he was with the girls.    

We miss our dog. We miss our friend. We will never forget him and hope he is chasing bunnies in Doggy Heaven. He was such a good, good boy.

R.I.P. Rugen (April 2003 to November 22, 2013)

Ruggie

We are all doing our best to enjoy as much time with Ruggie as possible. Both girls love giving him treats throughout the day. This weekend Leah was taking care of him by covering him with blankets to keep him warm. We are trying to discourage him from following us around the house (especially up the stairs), but he really wants to stay with us. 

Juliet's Baby

This girl loves her baby. Juliet loves to wrap her baby up, change his diaper (this activity alone can keep her busy for 40 minutes), and take him for rides in the stroller. If she is having a melt down, you can sometimes ask, "Where's your baby?" and she will stop crying and go off in search of her baby. She will walk through an empty, dark house to find him. I know that she will be an excelled Mommy one day! 

Dance Class Watch Week

 Last week was "Watch Week" in Leah's dance. Chris and I both took her. Juliet entertained us for the first 20 minutes with a rousing game of "peek-a-boo". Per usual. 

 Then we got to go in...I wish someone had told me that shoes weren't allowed. I would have worn socks. Gross. 

 We got to watch Leah's recital song! It was so cute! And Leah was such a performer! She was energetic and smiley! I was expecting her to seem a little nervous, but the kid performed with gusto. 

 The she happily posed for me. Best day ever! 

The Real Halloween Post

 On the "real" Halloween, the girls dressed as a bride Rapunzel and a lamb. After talking FOR MONTHS about how she wanted to go trick or treating, and get all different types of candy, we ended up staying home. Leah had the same meltdown she had last year about wearing a shirt under her dress. It was cold, and rainy, and really yucky, so a shirt was absolutely required. 

 Truthfully, I was kinda happy she wanted to stay home. I didn't want  to go out in that weather, either! Leah was in charge of passing out candy. She took her job very seriously and did a really good job. 

 Juliet was a pretty cute lamb, too! We let both girls eat lots and lots of candy. They were thrilled! Both girls are totally chocolate girls! This year, Leah favored Twix bars, and Juliet prefered Kit Kats (but probably because that's the only kind we would give her).