A Girl and Her Dog

They LOVE each other, and HATE each other!!! One second she is telling him that she loves him, etc, etc and the next he nips her and she smacks him. (last pic, that's what just happened and they both turned around to see what I was gonna say!)

 (first pic) Naughty dog! She is screaming! (If you are inclined to hate this dog, please remember he is still a puppy even though he is big.) (second pic) having a nice chat. (third pic) seconds later he decides it's time to hug it out! (more Screaming!!)  Have you ever seen a dog use his front paws like hands/arms!?! he does this a lot! hanging onto your arm or wherever he can get hold of you to handicap you!
(p.s. No, we do not allow the behavior in the first or last pic!!!, He was thoroughly scolded! if anyone has any tips on dog training, let me know.)

 (first pic) he bit her handlebars and she is screaming. (Second pic) they are racing back and forth. I laughed so hard! If he wasn't ready or wandered off when she was ready to race, she'd holler for him to come race!

(first Pic) checking out the puddles together (second pic) totally into the puddles and both getting very muddy! (third pic) He's challenging her to a race. Such a playful dog!


P.S. Please excuse the wearing of last years coat. I was pretty sure the end result was gonna be muddy, so told her to wear that one so we have a clean one for tomorrow.
Also, the poor dog's chopped hair on his face. I took a scissors to it because there was soo much hair over his eyes I could barely find his eyes and he wasn't able to track the toys I threw for him to fetch anymore. Needless to say, I don't plan to open a pet salon anytime soon!

Life on the farm

Oh, my! So much has happened since I updated this blog!!! Looks overwhelming to type everything that I want to remember about life here on the farm (we moved) with my little girl.
 So, this may be a bit rambling. So be it. I'm just gonna write what I'm remembering. Bear with me.

Today, G wanted to wear her blue dress. Blue is her favorite color. What you need to understand is this dress is about 2 times too big for her! It's a jumper that reaches her toes, which delights her even more. I cannot take my child in public looking homeless! So, this morning I said no. She may not wear her blue dress. She needed to go with me to work today and we needed to go to the chiropractor too. part way through the day, she told me that when she sees the angels, Jesus will come to her and say, 'here is a blue dress for you!' and she will be so happy and say, "oh! Thank you Jesus!!!"
Made me laugh. I think I need to get her a blue dress that she can wear anywhere.

We have a very naughty puppy! He jumps up on us and if I'm not there to protect G, he will jump up and nip her. He is not little anymore, so he can reach her face. We can get quite frustrated just getting to the car! Getting there without muddy paw prints over us can be a job!

a few weeks ago G's best friend's (Z) daddy went on a business trip, so his mommy and Z came to stay with us for a few days. A few days were spent at the beach in NJ and one day was spent doing fun fall activities together. A hay ride, a pumpkin patch, a maze and a playground. G couldn't believe her good fortune that she could play with Z that long!

ahhhh!! the corn box! Sensory overload going on here.

If you live on a farm, it's a requirment to have a swing
hanging from a tree, correct? We live on a farm. :)

SOOOO proud! First time ever that she helped with
something hot on the stove!

cautiously playing with Masha. Every now and then he
calms down enough that she isn't scared of him.

Z, pulling her back from the pumpkin patch. She was sure she wanted to
pull on the way back, but it was harder than she thought.

She is in love with her 'click clack princess shoes'!

an evening at the mall

So proud of their matching dresses!

She now loves sitting and looking at books. I love when she does it!

Something very odd and unfortunate happened to her bowl
of yogurt! I still don't know why she did it. She was very
happy to have her yogurt! in her triumph, she raised her bowl....

AND DUMPED IT OVER HER BACK!!!!!! LOL

One of her favorite games. hide me under pillows. No she did not fall asleep.
She is pretending. 

Helping mommy make cookies. 

the best part.

Babysitter's mother brought her home one day. She bribed her
into happiness by giving her an ice cream sandwich to eat on
the way.   :)

G and her best friend 'livia'.

Just one of the many sleeping shots I take. Does everyone think their child is
absolutely adorable while sleeping?

Every once in a blue moon, we go to a local buffet for supper.
G loves it because of all the sprinkles and toppings they have
for the soft chocolate icing.

Monday's are often her day to go to work with me. For her
it basically means that she gets to hide out in a little 'cubby hole'
and watch videos on the ipad.  This is great, cause it's
pretty much the only time she gets videos.

She stuffed him in the seat beside her and had me laughing soo hard!

One of the good things about an old porch with no rain gutters,
you get a fun summer shower if you want! 

Chicken Pox!

G loves cozy spaces!

headed out for church. The usual scenario of escape the dog.

Babies In Bellies

So, a while ago G found out that babies grow in their mommy's bellies. This has been very intriguing to her and tonight totally cracked me up.
Selina and G and I went to Ice Shack and were sitting outside eating when a lady come up, orders and sits down close to us to wait for her food. G walks up to her and ask what the tattoos on her feet were. She was very discreet and just said someone wrote on her foot. G declares she wants it on her feet too. She then notices the ladies necklace and tells the lady her shirt is down low!! Then she proceeds to ask her if she has any babies in her belly. The lady tries not to snort at all these questions and replies in a very motherly and sweet way. She said she doesn't but she did already. G declares she has lots of babies in her own belly! Then she thinks a bit and says she also has lots of cribs in there for the babies. And lots of bottles, and blankets, and nooks. lots and lots of them she says quite confidently!

She is understanding a lot more and catching everything that goes on around her and its a bit scary what she is all catching!

We are working at fixing up an old farmhouse that we hope to move to in the next month when its done. We have been renting the house we are in now and it is being sold since the owner passed away. G is struggling a bit with the changes. She loves the new house, but at the same time, when she cries about something she will often say she doesn't want to go to the new house. I feel so bad making her go through this big change and hope she can transition smoothly.

Little things to Celebrate

So many little things that can be forgotten so quickly, but they make me happy! SO they should be celebrated and remembered.

Today, My Little G, (almost 4!) tasted a orange mango smoothie and like it!! Up until now, applesauce, and a mild strawberry yogurt have been the only fruit flavors she enjoyed in anything, candy included. Every small victory in taste tolerance is a joy to me, hoping it will soon expand to allow summer fruits like watermelon!!

I've cut back in work for the summer and it has done some good things for G! She no longer wakes with a start and hops up almost in a panic to come find me. I hear her stirring and stretching and often she will settle down for just a few more minutes or more to doze. To me this speaks of security and makes this momma happy.

Her vocabulary, understanding, and ability to express herself keeps expanding daily. This can create quite the interesting (and sometimes embarrassing) situations! From declaring loudly that "that lady has a mustache!" (she didn't see it as a bad thing, just interesting, since she had just learned the word) but nonetheless, not a nice thing for the poor lady.
Or, asking loudly in church, "is that man Jesus?!!" or the same question about the man with lots of tattoos behind us in line at the local McDonalds. Thankfully he found it amusing.
Speaking of expressing herself better, the other day I asked her to do something she did NOT want to do. When I asked her again she went but said, "Mommy, this makes me very angry!"
Yeah, we've got work to do, but she continues to improve...

She has started to entertain herself much better than she used to! I am trying to get some work time in at home since I am cutting back my hours at work and she is doing sooo much better than she used to!

Funny Girl

Well, this past week, My DD who will be 4 in Aug asked about a pic where my friend is preg. She wondered where her daughter is (not born yet) I told her babies grow in their mommy's bellies. She was amazed. The only thing she knows about people being inside a belly is the story of Jonah and the whale! She asked in amazement if my friend swallowed her little girl!!! So we talked a bit more that babies grow when they are just tiny inside till they are big enough then they can come out and we can hold them! She has a huge imagination and can't wait to go see her friend. I'm a bit scared what she will say to her. I know she wants to get a good look at this amazing child who came from her mommies belly!! After we talked a bit, she informed me that she was in my belly too! I reminded her she was born in Russia and I came to get her when she was just little. Well, then she thought maybe she could crawl in my belly now. But after inspecting my mouth she decided her head was too big to get in there. lol

Her first prayer

Today at lunch, I told her to pray all by herself. I didn't really think she would, as I had asked before. But today, she squeezed her eyes shut tight (something else she rarely does) and said, "Dear God, thank you keeping us safe. mumble, mumble, mumble, Thank you loving us, mumble, mumble, mumble, Jesus name, Amen."
I was very impressed! and no, I don't model mumbling in prayers! I think she was trying to fill the space till she thought of something else to say. So proud of my little 'honey bunch pumpkin' as she likes to say.

Church Bullitan

It's my turn to do the church bulletin board. I asked my pastors wife if I should go with a trendy theme, like "Keep Calm and Trust the Lord" or do something about orphans that I'm passionate about. She said go with passion. I am going with PASSION. Here it is. Do you see your child?