Just walkin' the dog...

It really is the cutest thing you could see...

Our Puppy Announcement

A little over-the-top, I know... just going out to a few close friends and a couple of select family members who are dog lovers too!

More photos of Riley and "us"!

Riley is HOME!

Riley is home! She is such a good puppy. She is just 7 weeks old, but she slept through the night, all night, last night! Camille is absolutely thrilled with her (it was tough to get Camille to go to bed last night.) Here are the most recent photos. The breeder made the toy bone (in addition to a blanket which is not show) for each of the puppies... Baxter, Lady Ann, Grace and Riley. Too cute!

To give you some idea of Riley's size, here is Riley sitting in my hat...

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone luck and prosperity...

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR 4705 - THE YEAR OF THE PIG!

(Some photos from last year's FCC party...)

Buddy, Mooney & Rah

I know a lot of kids have a favorite stuffed toy. I had a bear named "Merrill" (at the suggestion of my Grandfather) that I was very attached to for years. Camille has quite a collection of stuffed toys, but 3 seem to have special importants. These 3 have names (rather than just being called "bear" or "dog" like most of her other stuffed toys). They all seem to have equal importants, that is she is as happy with one as the other and she doesn't ever seem to want or need all 3. She named these animals herself. I really don't know where the names came from, except for "Rah", the lion cub. Camille was playing with Rah and I said, "What do you have, Camille?" Camille answered "Kitty" and held up the toy. I said, "Oh, Camille, that's the lion cub from Aunt Rhonda (who brought the toy back from a trip to Africa in 2005) and Camille then roared like a lion. I said "That's right!" and that's how Rah, got his name. The dog is something Daddy bought while we were still paperchasing. His name is Buddy. Camille has always called him that. And the bear is something Camille picked out for her second birthday at Build-a-Bear Workshop, as far as I know, he's always been "Mooney".

Friday Family FotoFun Challange - Bad Photos

Wow... There are so many to choose from. These were chosen only from our trip to China in July 2005...

I saw a cool idea for an adoption announcement on a website. Hold the new baby up in the air with a traditional building in the background. The website had a smiling baby boy in front of a traditional Russian building. this was the result of my attempt with poor Camille... needless to say, this photo was not included in the announcement...

Here are two failed attempts at getting a family photo while we were in China... (we never did get a good picture of all three of us...

This photo was taken using the time on our camera while propped on the TV in the hotel room:

This phot was taken by a member of our travel group on the famous "Red Couch":

Here's the cream of the crop of bad photos from China... I managed to break a couple of toes while we were traveling... There was really nothing that could be done and I was well on my way to healing by time we returned to the states.

Getting ready for Riley...

We're getting ready to bring Riley home next Monday, February 19th. She will be 7 weeks old. We are all very excited. We have acquired a puppy "play pen" and bought a few toys. We'll have a blanket and newspapers in the pen and this is where Riley will stay when we are not home.

I also found the cutest Shabby Chic dog bed at Target, so I just had to buy it. I know Riley won't be ready for it for several months, so for now it will probably stay in our closet. But I just thought it was adorable!

We have a travel crate. We left it along with a leash and collar at Mimi's house since she will be visiting the breeder next Monday to pick up Riley. The breeder is sending some dog food home with Riley, but I will need to get a bag of the new puppy food and a shallow feeding dish. I also need to pick up a soft brush so Riley can get used to being "groomed". I have Barron's "The Complete Guide to the Shih Tzu", so I think I am getting pretty well educated on the subject matter. We are all very excited and can't wait to bring Riley home!!!

Friday Family FotoFun Challenge - Wild Card!

Cold outside? Let's visit those lazy, hazy crazy days of SUMMER!

Friday Family FotoFun Challange - Sleeping Babies

This has to be my favorite sleeping photo...

First night with us in China... we imagined she stretched out because it was the first time she had her own crib.

A nap on the couch at home.

Our dalmatian, Rockie, was a great napping buddy.

Unfortunately, she passed in July 2006. We miss her dearly.

These are all special photos... we are quite fond of them.

Working from home

Cami Rose and I worked from home today. She's been battling a nasty cold and I had too much work to do to simply take the day off. So, it was our first official "Work from Home" day. It was important that Cami stayed occupied so Mommy could actually get some work done. We recently acquired a My First Leap Pad from a friend who said her daughter had no interest in it (Thanks, Deb!). Cami, who is almost 2 1/2 years old, absolutely LOVES the Leap Pad. Once I taught her how to turn it on and touch the green 'go' circle with the pen, she was hooked! It's a really neat learning toy. It has volume control and even a place where we can put headphones later on.

So, between the Leap Pad and a nice long afternoon nap, I actually got a lot of work done today!

(As a side note, Cami's feet look huge because she is wearing Hannah's old cowgirl boots (Thanks again, Deb!) They are still a couple of sizes too big, but she loves to wear them anyway!)

New Photo of Riley

FOUR WEEKS OLD