My Latest, All Too Infrequent, Post

I know that I'm a barely getting a post every two weeks, but that is that best I am able to do during the transition to Canada. I have a series of posts that I think I'll be able to put up over this week, including this one, as well as a bunch of pictures from a sitting Shelley took the girls to at Kiddie Kandids. We also just got a thumb drive with all of the pictures from the girls at daycare. Their last day was a week ago, so they gave us a bunch of pictures from the last year, or six months for Harper.

Overall, everyone is well. Shelley is transitioning to being with the girls full-time. So far, the transition is going well . . . she hasn't really even started to need to drink medicinally yet. Finley continues to talk up a storm with quite a good vocabulary. At the same time, given that she is fully immersed in her terrible twos, that only means she is better able to articulate all of the way she is unhappy or how she isn't getting what she wants - RIGHT NOW!!!

Harper continues to grow and grow. She's about 17 pounds and has her first two teeth on the bottom. Her top two look like they will break through at any moment. Harper continues to be very happy and she loves the mornings, as she gets the family up around 6:00 most days. She is constantly smiling a loves to be held, but is also very content to play by herself, esp. if she can get by without Finley seeing her play with any of her sister's toys. And at 2, Finley thinks they are ALL her toys.

The pictures below are from the last few weeks since the baptism. Most of the pictures are from Shelley being home with the girls, as I've been in Toronto most weekdays, but I did take a few. I apologize in advance for any typos you see in this post -- I am trying to get this up as quickly as possible, as the girls are out walking the dogs and Finley likes to read the blog, but doesn't have any time for me to actually update it!

Here is Finley holding her towel before she gets into the bath. She hates taking baths, until she gets in. Then, there is no getting her out until we drain the water. She has no desire to get into the real bathtub, so she still is in the baby/toddler tub on the kitchen counter.

Shelley said that with all of my travel, I should teach her how to use the riding lawnmower. Here she is during her inaugural ride and, well, she hasn't been on it since. She looks like a natural though, no?

Finley helping Shelley make my favorite childhood birthday treat - blue cake with blue frosting. In this case, they were blue cupcakes, but they were even better with Finley's help.

She is putting the finishing touches on -- the sprinkles.

Shelley's friend Kendell came and visited with her daughters. Here is Finley and Lauren, who is four, playing together on the sit and spin.

As I said, Harper is not only getting big, but this is her usual facial expression. She is very, very happy. Next up for her, a couple more teeth and crawling.

Straight out of the bath. Look at those chunky thighs. Not quite like her cousin Teddy's, but I don't think we really need a daughter with thighs like Teddy's.

Harper loves the water, too. She really enjoys being carried around the swimming pool, too.

Harper splashing.

I'll get more into why Jack is wearing a donut in a minute, but poor Shelley just is trying to sneak away to pump a bit and all of a sudden I look over and she has several helpers.

Finley does a pretty nice job of playing with her sister. Harper loves to watch her, so I hope this continues into the teenage years.

Sisters. . ..

So a couple of weeks ago, we had a growth removed from Jack's flank. It seemed like it had started growing recently, although we'd been monitoring it for about a year. Well, I'm glad we did, as it turned out to be malignant. However, it is a hard spot to keep clean and tight, as the skin is taunt there. This is the "after" picture after his 3rd procedure to help it heal. After the first surgery, he pulled his stitches and it was becoming infected, which required more surgery to remove the dying flesh.

Here you can see the wound, but also the tubing they put in to help it heal. Today, it looks much better, and is almost fully closed. It has been a hard three weeks for him, but it seems like he is in the home stretch. The vets also felt like they removed all of the tumor, so that makes us feel much better, too.

He did have an e-collar on, but he figured out that if he tried to go through the dog door hard enough, it would eventually come off. This inflatable donut is hooked through his collar, so no such luck. He doesn't really like it, of course, and he looks like one of those people on an airplane with a neck pillow.

Harper really likes to wave now, as you can see.

Finley still loves to play with her dolls, named Harper, Amy, and Lucy (after a girl at school).

Daddy and his girls.

Since Harper is teething, she chews on everything and anything.

So, Finley loves to mimic what Momma does, which in this case, is nursing Cousin Baby Amy. Yep, not really sure what to make of this one.

We've always said Dixie is the most mellow of the dogs. The other two would have immediately run when Finley approached with the sunglasses in her hand. But not Dixie. The regret is written across her face, though.

Grandma Susie came to visit the week after the baptism. She was a huge help, as I was out of town that whole week. They just enjoying the fresh air on the deck.

Finley still loves her books and she will get anyone to read to her for as long as they can stand it. The same books over. . . and over . . and over again.

That's all for now, but I do have the other pictures that I PROMISE I will get posted sometime over the next week. Enjoy and I appreciate your patience. Once we get moved, I hope to get back to a weekly routine.