Whose filthy kids are these??

Well here we are again, half clothed and filthy- 

In my opinion, the sign of a good day.  :) 

 Anytime anyone leaves our house, the kids walk them out and then insist on playing in the front yard. And why wouldn't they? A long sidewalk for running on, a slanted driveway for racing, a wall for climbing, etc. That's a yard full of fun, right there!

 Filthy Ethan

Dirty Colton

Raggedy Hunter

 Well one thing's for sure. If the amount of fun one has is correlated to the amount of dirt on one's body, then my kids are like fun freaks!!

 I love these monkey feet. 

And I love these pictures of Piper. I was just noting the other day how few pictures I've taken of her lately. She deserves some photos for sure! Piper is the most amazing dog ever for these kids. She tolerates more than she should have to and is just so gentle even when the trio are not. 

Colton and Piper

 Hunter and Piper

Ethan and Piper

 Piper..."she's a good ol' girl," the kids will say. 

Finally, I can think of about a hundred good places to throw a tantrum. 

Lying face down in the rocks is NOT one of them. 

(Isn't that kind of like punishing yourself??)

Random pigeon feather. (This poor pigeon met its demise about a week ago, in the form of a 

'Massacre by Hawk' in our front yard). The feathers continue to blow around our yard. Because as if piegeons themselves aren't nuisance enough, their feathers littering your yard for a week after is just awesome. 

And on that note, it IS the season premiere of the Bachelorette and I must go watch! 

Goodnight! 

And they called it Puppy Love....

I know you all thought Colton was our first-born child, but you're wrong. Our first born child was our black lab, Piper. :) We got her when she was just a new-born pup! Let's just say Brian was the victim of cute puppy syndrome. When we lived in Queen Creek, he was still a motorcycle officer. Well, he was cleaning his motorcycle out in the open garage one day when some neighbors came by wondering "would you like a puppy?"

Well, as if all the stars aligned, the puppy they had to offer was a FEMALE, BLACK LAB. Understand that those were literally the 3 criteria Brian had for ever owning a dog for our family. And what's more, she was the RUNT which was even better! So Mr. Softie comes into the house where I believe I was making Shepherd's Pie and says, "Honey...? Can we get a puppy?" Well, even if I had tried to resist, once I was escorted down the street into a house full of brand new lab puppies and shown "the little black one", I was doomed.

And so, that is how we got our first born child, Piper. She was little, she was fiesty & she was DIS-O-BEDIENT!! . I'm recalling a carpeted house full of muddy puppy paw prints, and a entire house covered with a roll of shredded toilet paper. I also recall that my arms and legs being permanently marked from puppy bites and scratches....Trust me when I say this- there were days I wanted to give her back.

But, she outgrew that puppy phase and has grown into the most loyal dog you can imagine. She was my sidekick during my pregnancy and I knew she'd come to love our babies as much as we would. She used to sit on the couch beside me and rest her chin on my giant belly. :)

And now, our babies are here, and Piper is the best big furry sister they could have hoped for. She is calm (99% of the time), she's gentle and only occasionally howls with the crying babies signifying her annoyance with the noise once in a blue moon! When I wake up with one of the babies in the night, she always joins me in the nursery while we rock back to sleep, or even joins me downstairs. I take the big couch, she takes the small couch. Sometimes I am jealous of Piper because she simply has to walk past any one of the babies and they erupt in giggles! They love her dearly. Often, she stays downstairs with the babies if I have to run upstairs to do something. I know that she is watching over her babies.

What's more, she is already tolerating having her tail pulled and her gums tugged...Our family is perfect. I love that someday (30 years from now), we'll all look back at photos of "our first dog, Piper" and remember what a wonderful dog she was!

So I couldn't help myself. I was upstairs making laundry piles with Ethan on my bed. Well Piper came up and politely asked if she could also hop up on our bed. So I, of course, let her and just watched them interact. Too darn cute not to run downstairs for the camera! :)

So this is the story of Ethan...

and Piper...
and Ethan...

and Piper.

Best Friends

No worries, that was a yawn not a bark!

Tired of saying "cheese"

Paws-itively adorable!

My other three babies :)

Those 4 legged babies of ours are normally so fast footed that capturing them on film is nearly impossible. (Ok, that statement really only applies to the 2 cats. Piper is the most photo-cooperative dog you could imagine.)

However, lately they are more and more "present" even when they hear the tell-tale "chime" signaling that the camera has been turned on...perhaps they know that their lives are about to change dramatically and are savoring the last few moments of animal solitude in the Bunch House....just about everywhere I go, right behind me, my brood of beloved pets follows. Brian affectionately refers to my followers as my "wild kingdom." "There goes mommy and her wild kingdom!" he'll chirp, especially in the morning when we all wake up for the first time!

They're good pets and I'll do my darndest to make sure they continue to receive lots of love even after their babies arrive! So in honor of them, I thought I'd post some pictures of my 2 kitties, Jag and Gracie and my good ol' lab, Piper in their spoiled domain! :)

This is Jaguar (Jag), our overweight, and overlovable black kitty

This is princess Gracie, who can be found just about anytime of day, lounging on my bathroom counter awaiting anyone with thumbs who will turn on the faucet to a drip so she can drink from the sink! Spoiled? Yeah. I'd say so!

And then there's Piper...the true definition of loyalty. She does not leave my side all day long and has become very protective of mommy and her babies.

The cat hangout... If Gracie is not on the bathroom counter, then she's belly up somewhere else in the house! She's a cat who knows how to relax! Jag is steadfast howeverin his relaxation spot. If he's not beside me on the couch or bed, then he's perched on one of the stairway landings!
And Piper, thinking that she really is a human, has made it no secret that she feels she belongs on the opposite end of whatever couch I currently occupy. Poor Brian got pushed to the small couch so that Piper and I could share the big one.

A Car Seat Fiesta!

Ok, so we realize that we still have at least a little time left before the three little munchkins make their appearance, BUT, we are running out of room in our house what with all the baby stuff times THREE everywhere!! So today, Brian (and Piper) decided to put together the car seats and then...(cross your fingers) test them to see if we could even FIT three car seats in my Durango!

Now I have to say, I have long found myself to be pretty handy and pretty good at reading directions and putting things together, (I got that from my "Jack of All Trades Mother") but Brian is equally capable and actually ENJOYS doing these sorts of things. Lately, I have been thanking my lucky stars for that! Maybe it's the pregnancy brain drain (or maybe that's just my excuse) :) but I am happy to stand back, with the camera of course and simply watch the magic happen! Brian is absolutely AMAZING (ABC's The Bachelor is back on...what can I say? We have to use the word "amazing" at least 8 times in a day!) Those who are watchers know what I'm talking about... :)

But seriously, I've seen some people reduced to frustration and tears just putting one baby item together, and in all honesty, I don't discount their feelings! I myself find one to be enough. But I sit and watch in awe as he finishes one car seat, then sets it aside, then the 2nd and sets it aside, and then the third! With the same patience and good nature as he had when he put together three cribs, and hung three name plaques, etc. It's surreal really when you really stop to think about it. I'm so proud of him and so glad that he looks forward to being the "dad" of our three babies. And folks, I just wish you could have seen his face light up when he finished assembling the two boys' car seats and then ended with his little girl's pink one. :) She's not even born yet and already she can make her dad's heart melt. Life has a funny way of working itself out. Our perfect little family is almost here. And I couldn't be happier!

Away he goes! Car seat #1...

Car Seat #2.....

Piper is being a big helper. Can you tell? She's bringing him all the right pieces!

And Car Seat #3!
I'm very proud of them both!

So here they are, waiting by the front door...ready for the babies!

And....YES! They fit! They fit! And we still have the third row and the back trunk area to accommodate strollers, bags, the dog, etc. :)