Man's Best Friend

We adopted our beagle Lady in September of 2007. We adopted her from Kay's animal shelter in Arlington Heights. She was very frail and overly submissive, we knew she had been abused but couldn't bare to place her shaking body back into her cage. She was the only dog standing in her cage shaking and trembling. We took Lady home that day with high hopes and pure ignorance about what was in store for us. In the first few days we discovered she had kennel cough and was infested with flees. We also discovered we had absolutely no idea how to train this dog. She was a year and half and had already been through so much that we questioned if the typical training techniques applied to her. In the following 9-10 months we made a ton of mistakes. Without re-writing the book Marley & Me let me just say during that time Lady had endless accidents in the house, we took training classes but they really didn't seem to help much because we weren't consistent, she tore up ironing board cords, books, pillows, bit through the bottom of her crate, would pee and poop in her crate on a daily basis, chewed our wall base board, and overall had major anxiety. She was deathly afraid of Tony and would run into a corner with her head hanging low every time she heard him come home at night.

Here we are two years later and I can finally say she's turned into a great dog. She's not perfect and still has some issues but we're not perfect dog owners either. There are days after picking up throw up and cleaning the endless amount of shedding of hair that I wonder if it's worth all this work. However, we have undoubtedly fallen in love with her and she's become a part of our

family. I always said she was a good luck charm because we got pregnant with Mallory a month after we got Lady. Mallory loves her and it's so fun to see her get excited to pet her "La La". As we prepare to bring home the newest member of our family I'm excited to see them all grow up together. I once heard someone say shelter dogs DO know that you saved them and helped them...somehow they know. In many ways Lady has helped us to make our house more of a home.

Be Mine...

It was Mallory's 2nd Valentines Day! It's hard to believe it was a year ago that she was wearing her "My First Valentines Day" outfit and not even 7 months old! This year she had fun enjoying all her treats from Papa & Grammy and Grandma Montesano. She received books, a balloon, crayons and markers! Valentines Day is also Grandma Montesano's birthday so in the afternoon Mallory had fun playing with her cousins and celebrating grandma's birthday in Arlington Heights!

I had fun with the camera capturing pieces of the day at the Montesano home....

The Joy of Crayons

Mallory received jumbo crayons in her Christmas stocking but it wasn't until recently that we pulled them out for her. She absolutely loves them! She gets so excited when I ask her if she want me to get her crayons and she takes each one out of the bin and colors a line or scribble onto the paper. Actually the "onto the paper" part we're currently working on....on occasion she's attempted to color on the rug and her clothes but I'm well aware this is all part of the discovery process.

As I watched her hone her artistic skills it occurred to me that one of the best parts of being a parent is getting to relive the wonders and joy of your own childhood through your child. Who doesn't remember the feeling of possibilities and pure bliss from a box of new crayons and paper!

Did I mention that not only is she scribbling but Daddy taught her some algebra as well.....she caught on pretty quickly....:)

Welcome to Toddlerhood.....

It's official we have a full fledged toddler in our home! Although technically they're considered toddlers when they turn a year Mallory just started walking this past month so reaching this milestone seems to have moved her that much further away from babyhood and straight on into being a toddler.

Mallory started taking steps on her own just after Christmas, at 17 months. She was very unsteady at first and was very hesitant but we knew it was just a matter of time before she took off for good. Now at 18 months she's officially walking everywhere and we love seeing her go! We knew she would master this milestone in her own time and she's proven us right!

Everyday we count our blessings and we know how lucky we are to have such a fairly easy going kid. Although I'm bracing myself for the terrible twos, I'm also relishing my time with her in all her early toddler ways: her ever growing vocabulary, her developing sense of humor, her huge belly laugh, her love for books, and the overall joy she shows as she learns all about her little world!

Some of her first steps

It's A Girl

We've known for awhile (about a month and a half) but with the Holidays almost over I've finally had time to write a new post! I realize there's about 2 people who actually read these posts but I love the idea of blogging simply to preserve family memories and events. I've heard many people who turn their blogs into books as a keepsake. So I hope to chronicle more events in 2010 and to keep up with the blogging, knowing full well it's really just for my own family! :)

So yes, it's a girl!! We were sooo excited because we both really wanted a girl. Not because we didn't want a boy but we just really wanted Mallory to have a sister and since they'll be so close in age it'll be fun to have them be the same gender, not to mention all the cute clothes we get to reuse!

I think we've finally picked a name that Tony and I both agree on but we aren't revealing it until the baby is born, we wanted something to be a surprise!

Mallory often points to Mommy's growing belly and we told her that a baby is in there and it's her little sister. So now if you ask her where Mama's baby is she points right to my belly! We realize she doesn't really "get it" but it's the best preparation we can do for her at the age of 17 months!