Meet Ollie

 Meet Ollie, our new pup.

Leah, Juliet, and I have been really missing having a dog lately. We've been visiting the Humane Society for over a year, casually in search of the perfect dog. In all these times, we've only ever want to actually visit with 2 dogs. Neither one we actually did because there ended up being issues with the dogs that weren't documented on their intake sheet. Leah has been getting more and more frustrated with these visits to the shelter. She wanted a dog, but understood that we couldn't have one that was an aggressive breed, too big, too loud, to jumpy, too old, or too white, small, and yippy (those were Daddy's conditions). She also knew that getting a dog is a family decision, and that her Daddy was going to be a hard sell. 

We went early last week, and didn't find any that spoke to us. A nice lady told us that the "dog wagon" was coming up on Wednesday and we should check back on Thursday. Leah replied, "Thursday is my BIRTHDAY!" and the lady answered, "Well, maybe you'll get a dog for your birthday!" At this point, we couldn't NOT take Leah back on her birthday. After lots of reminders that, "there may not be any dog there that we connect with...and, Daddy doesn't want a dog yet.....and, dogs are family decisions" We went back. I was trying to prepare the house and food for Leah's party, so I was imagining a quick in and out trip. We walked by "Theo's" (his shelter name) kennel and Leah immediately started asking about him. She knows that she can't ask about any dog that barks when you walk by, and Theo was perfectly quiet and still. His coloring and body shape was so similar to Ruggies that it started sparking memories for us. We asked the shelter lady to tell us about the breed, and she went on and on about what a great breed it is for families.

We took him in a visiting room, and he was so calm. He let Leah lay all over him. He was so gentle with Juliet. We texted Daddy a picture and apparently he looked at it and said, "Damn it". He came to the shelter and agreed that he was the perfect dog. He didn't mind being picked up, his paws touched, his mouth opened, or anything of the such. We took him on a walk and he didn't pull at other dogs or bark at them. Daddy was kept shaking his head, but knew that he was ours. 

 We put Ollie on hold, since it was Leah's birthday party, and that would not be a optimal condition to bring him home to. We went to get him yesterday and brought him home. He is a happy, mellow pooch (except for when he decided he wanted a play date with the neighbors dogs--good news is he literally just wanted to play--not to bite or wrestle). He is a great dog. He has had one accident, but has gone outside every other time. Brain is unsure about him, but he is so mellow that he doesn't overwhelm Brain the way other animals can. Brain sulked in the basement over night,  but has been out today sniffing him.

We named him Olsen, in honor of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen (Leah's favorite--and in honor of Full House--a show we watch almost every night), and also a nod to Molson Canadian beer (it's a Lode family tradition that we name our animals after alcohol). We call him Ollie, though. 

Ollie is 8 months old and from Mississippi. He weighs 38 pounds. He is some sort of Leopard Hound mix. 

 Ollie's first night was pretty good. He slept in his kennel with minimal protest. There were a few barks and moans, but he went to sleep and slept through the night. We are keeping him close to us and he seems to be accepting us. We've even seen his tail wag several times. 

Leah has been drawing pictures of him like crazy. 

Welcome to our family, Ollie! 

Birthday Party Outakes

 All the sisters/aunties together. 

 There's a glimpse of that tween attitude from Miss Leah 

 Leah got lots of American Girl stuff. She's been wearing Caroline's nightgown, and keeping Caroline in the matching one. She also got Garnet which she sometimes insists on calling "Barnet"

 The doll chair was a big hit. Juliet disappears into Leah's room every day to play with it. She loves to do hair. 

To the Birthday Girl

Leah Bean,

You are 6. I am in such denial. I wouldn't let you say you were 6 until 9:30 at night, when you were actually born. 6 seems so big. You wanted to pick your own poses for your birthday. You are becoming more and more independent in these matters.

You are starting All Day Kindergarten in a little more than a week, and are so excited. You love when we pass by your new school. You say, "There's my school. I'm going to be there AAALLL DDDAAYY next year!" Sometimes you feel a little nervous about starting a new school, but you are definitely more excited than not.

You are still such an old soul. You just "get" things. Very rarely do you have a tantrum or cry for a silly reason (except for when you are really over tired and Daddy teases you. You do not like to be teased). When someone else is upset, you always want to explain to them why everything will be okay, or why things are happening the way they are. You love to read, and you often stay up until 11 at night, in your bed, reading chapter books. Your favorite books currently are the Mary Kate and Ashley mystery books. You also like the American Girl books and books about fairies and princesses. You are a very advanced reader. This summer I had to officially test your reading level for a class I took, and you were reading at an end of third grade level.

 You love animals and were so excited that you got a dog on your birthday. You have been making "secret wishes" for a few weeks now. Yesterday you told me that one of your wishes was for a dog, and the other was for a birthday fairy to appear and give you lots of candy and cake in your bed. You love Ollie and hug him and kiss him often. You often remind him that he'll never have to go back to the silly shelter.

 You still have a borderline obsession with TV and need a pretty regimented schedule to keep it in check. If you are super busy (like we have been over the past few weeks), then you start to forget. Otherwise, you need some strict rules. Your favorite shows are: Doc McStuffins (you are playing Pet Vet with Ollie right now), Odd Squad, and Full House. However, you will watch just about anything. You look forward to movie nights. Recently we've watched Beethoven, Problem Child, and The Brady Bunch movies. You've loved them all. You like to sit between Daddy and I when you watch movies, and get pretty annoyed if Juliet dares to take your spot.

 You are a great big sister. You are starting to show signs of a 'tween attitude at times, now, which we've had to have some talks about. Despite the fact that you sometimes make Juliet cry by telling her things like, "I'll always be older than you. I'll always get to do things first." Juliet loves you and often tells you, "You my -est wriend" And don't worry too much about making Juliet cry. She just screams at the top of her lungs back at you until you are both equally upset.

You love to be busy. You've never joined an activity that you've regretted. You are currently in swim class (and advanced to the next level--we are SO proud of you!) and gymnastics. You want to continue on with Cheer, but I don't think we can make it work. You will return to dance in the fall (ballet and tap) and probably join the Daisies at your new school. You love to practice flips, handstands, and cartwheels wherever you feel that there is enough space for you to do so.

You love to cuddle. For the past few weeks you've been coming into bed with me around 7 each morning, and falling back asleep until 9ish. I love cuddling with you and can't even fathom the day you might not want to do this.

You love to color, paint, and do anything art related. You love your American Girls. You still love dresses and feel that shirts should only be reserved for extraordinary conditions. You are a great helper and always want to "help" everyone by doing as much as you can (aka, what you perceive to be the fun part). You can't wait until you are a grown up. But, you promised me you will still live in our neighborhood. You are sure you want to be a Mommy (but you will only consider adoption--the thought of pushing a baby out scares you), but also are considering being a teacher, a baker, someone who works in a warehouse that ships out toys, or someone who knows how "everything works".

I don't think we will top this birthday for you. You got a vacation, a family party (complete with a bounce house), and you've been promised a friend party when school starts up as well. I think it's a special day because it's the first time you've needed 2 hands to show your age. We perused "easy" cakes on Pinterest and agreed on this cake for your birthday. We tweaked it a little by making the frosting blue. The inside was rainbow, and you loved it. Rainbows are one of your favorite things to draw.

We love you so much, Leah Bean! Happy 6th Birthday!

Mama, Dada, and J Boo

Detroit Zoo Adventures

 I love this picture of the cousins waiting for the train. What Leah started had to be copied by each girl. All the kids really liked the train. When we went through the tunnel it was so dark that I was silently freaking out because I couldn't see Juliet at all. I blindly grabbed her dress and leg and held on with all my might. 

 Juliet thought the train was awesome. 

 That's the only picture I have of Lucia because we got separated from them going into the Arctic circle, and then they had to go back home. Leah was a little bummed that they didn't get to see much. We continued on with Aunt Renee and Hannah and had lots of fun. 

 The girls thought the Arctic Circle was pretty cool, but were bummed that there were no polar bears.

 Of course we had to ride the Merry-go-Round. Man, was I missing Chris at this point. I am too old for Merry-go-Rounds.  

 This was my favorite part of the trip. The pictures are hard to see because I was taking them through glass. This little chimp came up to the window. At this point it was only me and Juliet at this particular window. He started to lean against the glass and jump up and down. At this point, a large crowd started to form behind me and Juliet. We were thinking he was really cute, and then he started THROWING himself against the glass, right at Juliet. Juliet FREAKED OUT and was crying hysterically. The crowd behind us was like 6 people deep and we couldn't get out. Then the chimp felt bad, looked at Juliet, and started stroking the glass right where she was. Juliet kept saying, "Him sorry, now, Mommy!" It was so cute. Then he went over to these other chimps that were also at the window grooming each other. He stuck his finger up the other chimp's butt (which was mighty dirty, as you can see) and licked his finger. Juliet and I were so disturbed. He went to do it again, and Juliet was like, "I don't want to see him eat a poop Popsicle finger". So we pushed our way out. 

 The girls really liked the butterfly house. Leah tried so hard to get a butterfly to land on her finger, but to no avail. Both  girls were getting a little tired here. They really liked this large butterfly. He was injured and couldn't fly. Leah knew the rules of not touching the butterflies, and tried to tell other kids. They didn't listen and then they got yelled at. Leah was like, "I tried to tell you!"

 A fun zoo day!

Going Home, The Field Museum

 We stayed at the Warwick Allerton. I booked it through Priceline. Typically, I have a little better luck, but it was still a good hotel. The room was pretty spacious by city standards, and I liked that it had a couch/table area. It had a great location. The only thing it was really lacking was a view (which I really appreciate while on vacation). I had my fingers crossed for a Lake Michigan view, but that's okay. We were hardly in the room except for night time anyway. 

 I love this picture of Leah because you can see her missing tooth. 

 We went to The Field Museum on the way out of the city. I think the museum was a little over their heads, but they had fun running all around. Chris and I wished we had the opportunity to actually read about some of the exhibits, but it was still okay. Leah's favorite part was the hall of (taxidermy) birds. It was so disturbing for me to be in room after room of stuffed birds, so I told her the exhibit was over prematurely.

They were excited to see dinosaur bones, but didn't care much once they were in the exhibit. All they wanted to do was press the buttons that start the recordings. They didn't want to watch the little videos, just press the buttons. Over and over again. And fight loudly about whose turn it was to press the next button. And complain if someone else was actually watching a video. I love them, though. I think they would have been happier to just go to a playground. 

Juliet did like standing in the dinosaur footprint and acting like a dinosaur.  

 This was a recreation of "Lucy". Juliet walked up to it and was looking all over for it's "peanut". She got behind the case and was looking up it's booty. Then she loudly declared, "Him have no peanut. Him a GIRL!" She got a pretty good reaction from the people around her. She loves an audience. 

On the way home, we had to pay the tolls twice because Juliet really had to use the bathroom and couldn't wait another minute. The ramp we got off was not an easy on/easy off. Google maps said we could turn around before the toll, but that was a lie. We got home at 9 at night and discovered our air conditioning had broke. Arg!

All and all, it was a really fun trip. I felt like the girls "broke" Daddy a few times. It was clear that they felt the trip was for them and there should be no rules. Leah kept saying, "We do whatever I want, because this is my trip." There were many times that Chris and I had to put on our serious voices and put the girls in check. Still, it was a really fun experience and the ONLY trip we've ever taken with just the 4 of us. We're not really "city" people, but it is fun to see new things and provide the girls with some different experiences. We will be back! 

Beach and Dinner

 We went to the beach. The Blue Angels were practicing. It was really cool. I was pretty anti-airshows, but seeing them perform over Lake Michigan and the city skyline was pretty cool.

 We had a lot of fun at the lake. The water was so blue and pretty. Leah found an impressive amount of sea glass for her Mama. They had a lot of fun playing in the water and eating ice cream. 

 On the way back, it was melt down central. I forgot to pack my phone charger, and we kind of needed it since the parking app was on my phone. So, Chris had to go into Walgreens to track one down for me. We had the giant stroller and a ton of gear from the beach, so we waited outside. Leah and Juliet started arguing and being bratty about wanting to go back to the American Girl store. I was so fed up and done and it was taking Chris forever since there was a lot of people in the store. A homeless man started talking to me about how he had no shoes, and I needed to not judge him and to give from the heart. I didn't really know what to say, and both kids were crying and whining and I was ready to poke my eyes out. I think Juliet could sense my level of "doneness" and was hamming it up. I love this picture. 

 We went to Ginos for dinner. It was kind of a lot to manage them and the paint and their level of sassiness, but it was good. We told them that the rules of the restaurant were that you couldn't paint after the food came, and that worked well. Also, the three glasses of Rose I drank with dinner were also pretty helpful. :)

Sear's Tower

 Apparently Sear's Tower is no longer called Sear's Tower, but I'm not having it. We went to check it out. We rode a subway there. This was very exciting to the kids. 

We had to wait in some lines, but they thought it was pretty cool once we were on top. 

 The airplanes were practicing for the next days show. It was really cool to watch them from so high up. 

 Leah saw a hipster do a handstand on the overlook, so she wanted to do it to. We didn't dress for the challenge though. 

 Leah thought it was really cool and showed us all of the "tiny ant" people. 

 This was the best picture I could get. I got really nervous every time I looked down.