The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Just finished this novel, and it was wonderful. I don't always like Oprah's selections although I usually give them a try but this is one that lived up to the hype. I'm not going to spoil the ending for you but I will say that when the book jacket says it's a tragedy it means it. It really reminded me of Where the Red Fern Grows. As a former English teacher I found that it was beautifully written and yet was full of suspense. If you do decide to pick it up, I strongly recomend you start by reading the sparknotes version of Hamlet since it is loosely based on that Shakespearean play.

Go Cougs!

Yesterday we took Delaney to her first Cougar Football Game. She was all dressed up in her Cougar Cheerleader outfit ( courtesy of grammie and grandpa). We got to see my brothers new apartment and all the changes they've made to the campus. For the most part Laney was a good sport, her favorite part of the day was tailgating because she got to walk around and show off her outfit while scoping out all the doggies in the area.

In her cheerleading outfit- so cute!

With two of her new friends, I can't believe how much this kid loves dogs, these two were particulary patient with her.

The stadium...
Watching the game with Grandpa.

We had a good time but were all exhausted by the end of the day (I found out that my cougar calves have atrophied since college and almost died of exhaustion from all the walking with Laney). The Cougs had a terrible game, but we got to see some friends from California (hi Lisa and Ryan) and Laney got a good taste of her future.

Where's Delaney

Hmmm... guess we missed a cupboard when we were child proofing our house.

In The Last 12 hours...

1. Laney got the top off a bottle of infant motrin - had to call poison control.

2. We lost no less than 3 binki's in the middle of the night.

3. Laney has had her own personal pajama party beginning at 5:15.

4. At 6 am she decided that she wanted to invite her friends over for said pajama party and dialed my parents house on my cell phone.

5. She and her daddy had a head on collision resulting in 10 minutes of crying (Laney, not Ryan) and a lot of snot.

6. I have not yet had breakfast or caffiene...

...can't wait to see what the next 12 hours brings....

Cousins

At some point during the party yesterday Laney, Gracee and Papa Mike ended up out in the pasture. Laney was trying to love on her cousin but I think Gracee was trying to run away... I especially like when Laney is trying to pat Gracee on the head ( can you tell we need to spend less time around dogs and more around people?)

Gracee's 1st Birthday Party

Yesterday was our niece Gracee's 1st birthday party. We had a great time eating cake- and Delaney was happy to help Gracee break in her new toys..

Here are all of the little kids "helping" unwrap Gracee's presents... This is also the most social interaction my child has ever had- she wasn't so sure what to do with all of the other kids around.

We didn't bring Laney's stroller so she had to substitute this car and one of Gracee's dolls.

Then she decided that it was WAY more fun to push her cousin around...

Things I enjoy...

Okay- so upon rereading my previous post I realized that I may have sounded a bit bitter (okay maybe a lot bitter- in my defense I was going for witty and sardonic- and we'd had a long day) anyhoo... I thought I'd try to balance it out with a few things that bring me joy.

* DVR- I can record all the bad tv I love to watch and then, get this, fast forward through the commercials- it's heaven I tell you!

* All Memoirs Jen Lancaster- she is so funny, I highly recommend picking up one of her books, if I could write I'd want to write like that!

* My new green polka dot (it's not as ugly as it sounds) bathrobe- all fuzzy and warm, mmmm.

* Getting my hair done- especially colored, it makes me feel good no matter what.

* Barnes and Noble, shelves and shelves of books with a starbucks right in the center- 'nuff said.

* Watching my kid try to run- she pretty much just hops in place until she trips, quite entertaining!

See, now didn't that lighten the mood a little?

Things I Wonder About...

1. Why are there never more than 4 checkers open at Walmart? There are 35 check stands but they can't ever seem to open more than 5, I know the other employees aren't busy cleaning the store- so send 'em up front and get the show on the road.

2. Why do vaccinations ( Laney got hers today- 50% for weight, 65% for height, 90% for the Charlie Brown head) have to come in the form of shots? (she had to have 4 today- we're both tramatized) Seriously, if we can clone a sheep why can't we find a way to make the MMR into a grape popcicle? Prioritize people!!!

3. Why is it that I lose socks, my cell phone, my watch, and various other important items but the only thing that I ever find again are those damn 5 lbs? (could be all the coffee heath bar crunch ice cream- hard to say)

4. On the subject of shots- why is the chicken pox vaccine now required? What if I want my kid to have the chicken pox? What if I'm trying to reduce their immunizations? I'm the mommy, I think I should get a say....

5. Why can my 13 month old kid drive a stroller better than I can? (for those of you who have read my previous posts about my inability to drive a stroller)

(note: this was after the dog water incident yesterday so her clothes were in the dryer-not to worry we do dress her occasionally)

6. Why do I have to wait 40 minutes for the doctor (or pictures at JC Pennys) ? Listen, I get there on time, my kid is rested, fed, clean and happy. Waiting for almost an hour in a poorly decorated waiting room the size of my shower does not help her temperment (or mine), deal with us at your own risk.

Getting Her Feet Wet

Right now Laney Bug is into EVERYTHING! She seems to be particulary fond of anything with water. When things start to get quiet around my house it usually means that she has made it through our defenses and is either splashing in the toilet (seriously- why can't boys learn to PUT THE SEAT DOWN!!!???) or in the dogs water dish (when I forget to close the door to the laundry room.) So today while I was unloading groceries Delaney was doing this....

She found the cup for the laundry soap and was dipping it into the dogs water...

Then drinking from it... wrong in so many ways...

And when that got boring, she decided to drink from the cup while standing in the water....

Fall Festival

On Saturday we went to the Connell Fall Festival and Livestock Show. The day started with the parade- and Laney was very unsure about all those people and noises- she takes a little while to warm up to new people and places.

Here she is clinging for dear life to her daddy with Jess and Gracelynn.

However, it didn't take her long to find her grampa and sucker him into feeding her candy throughout the entire parade!

Checking out the sheep- she didn't want to be anywhere near the sheep and looked terrified when Ryan tried to put her down.

Here's Emersyn wondering why Laney's such a scaredy cat.

Once we were away from all the animals she wanted to run around everywhere- we finally had to leave the sale barn and go out on the grass because she wanted to play with the big kids in all the dirt.

Gracee and Delaney doing what they do best- stealing each other's binky's!

Mmmm, Raspberries

The picture pretty much says it all doesn't it?

Desert Dental

It's finally official, as of last Monday Ryan is the new owner of Desert Dental. He's finished his first week of work (it all went smoothly) and is working out all the kinks. He had to go into the office yesterday for awhile so Delaney and I went with him to check out his new digs. Here are some pictures from the office- his new sign, Delaney in the garden out back, Laney Bug in one of the dental chairs and with her daddy at his new desk. I guess it really is Dr. Wieseler now (he has the embroidered coats to prove it). So now its time for you all to do your part, drink some sugary pop and forget the dental floss- we've got loan payments to make!