Cherished Childhood Memories & Using your Imagination

Today as I played with my daughter I was reminded of my childhood and a few of my most cherished memories come from using my imagination with my siblings. Kyle and I both agree that the toys Brielle will own must provide her with a variety of ways to develop a vivid imagination. In order to develop that imagination we know that we must steer clear from a ton of TV time and allow time for building, pretending, reading, and outside time.

My most cherished memories come from reading series like Little House on the Prairie with my mom, building Lego Towns with my siblings, building roads in the dirt for our Hot Wheel cars, playing house with the wooden refrigerator and stove top my grandpa made me, dressing up and playing "old timey" with my sisters, picking outfits and decorating the Barbie house, turning the park into a water park with buckets of water we carried from our yard to the slide, riding our bikes through the dirt bike trails over and over again... none of these memories revolve around what movie or TV show we watched on a daily basis. Our TV time was every Saturday morning when we watched Loony Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Roadrunner, and Little House on the Prairie.

I do not plan on plopping my daughter in front of the television in order to occupy her time. Even now when she's awake I get out her tub of toys and we make noises, read books, smile and coo. I'm beyond excited for each milestone and part of the joy of being a parent is to be able to PLAY AGAIN! :)

I am so excited to share in the joy of everything I did as a child with my own child....

I am so excited to be able to get out a tub of Lego's and build houses, cars, and towns.

I am so excited to "eat" the "food" my daughter prepares for me on my grandpa's homemade stove top.

I am so excited to build towers with building blocks.

I am so excited to watch her excitement grow as we turn pages in a book.

I am so excited to share in the joy of the outdoors - camping, hiking, playing in the sprinkler, going swimming, climbing, swinging....

I am so excited to open the suitcase full of play jewelry, goofy hats, and silly dresses and take pictures of the outfits she creates.

I am so excited to color, paint and create projects with her.

I am so excited to teacher her how to make cookies and enjoy the dough and cookies with milk.

I am so excited to take her to a zoo.

I am so excited to take her to a children's museum.

I am so excited to dress up and fix the hair of her little dolls.

I am so excited to teach her to ride a bike.

I am so excited to see who can swing the highest and how fast we can go down a slide.

I am so excited for tea parties.

My excitement grows as I think of all the things we're going to do!

Hopefully her imagination and excitement will grow as she develops a love for playing AND learning. So parents I challenge you, as I too take on this challenge, to provide opportunities galore where your children USE THEIR IMAGINATION! It will help them far beyond what you could possibly imagine.

How will it benefit them?

As a teacher I notice a HUGE difference between the students whose parents spent time doing things with them, or providing opportunities to use their imagination, and reading with them, etc. versus the kids who spent the majority of their childhood in front of the TV or playing video games. Take the challenge, your kids will thank you some day!

I know I thank my parents when I look back on my childhood memories....

7 MORE Mommy BFF's

I wrote about 7 items that became my "best friends" after being a brand new mommy for 7 days. (Here's the link if you don't remember or didn't see that blog: 7 New Mom BFF's) Now that I've been a mommy for almost 100 days (99 to be exact) I have a few more items to add to that list!

1. iPhone - Now I know this sounds crazy, but I'm dead serious. I do not know what I would do without it. To keep me from boredom while breast feeding I cruise through Pinterest, Facebook, my Food Network app, play a game or two... it helps pass the time there. Plus, I set alarms reminding myself to wash the disposable diapers, or check the bread as it's rising (it's so easy to get distracted as you take care of your little one).  She LOVES the PlayTales app and I play the "Crazy Farm" book over and over again. She'll start smiling and kicking her feet once she figures out where all those noises (barn yard animal sounds!) are coming from. I also keep a lullaby mix I made from iTunes on my music which I'll play in the vehicle or as I'm rocking her and I'll hum along. The ability to take pictures and video's is just a click away since it's always near me and I'm pleasantly surprised at the quality! Instagram is also a new favorite because I can share those pictures of her beautiful little face with family and friends. My mom and Aunt Sydnie seem to be her biggest fans. :) If I have a concern I search webmd, babycenter, or any number of websites out there that offer advice on Gripe, gas drops, fever, etc. Plus my mom and fellow mommy's are only a text away if I need a question answered. There's so many reasons I love having a smart phone as a new mommy.
2. Mobile - My sister gave me her mobile that plays music, lights up, and has animals that move around and she LOVES it. If she's grumpy and rubbing her eyes, I put her in her crib, turn on this mobile, and it's an instant smile, cooing, and kicking around.
3. Bath Sponge - She quickly out grew her bathtub that fit in the sink. So we fill the tub and use this bath sponge (found at Kmart for only $6).
4. Hooded Towels - I'm not talking about the dinky one's that are tiny and thin. I'm talking a regular sized towel with a hood to wrap them up in. I've had a few that were home made by a talented seamstress, but there are places that sell quality hooded towels. Find them. It's worth it.
5. Grow-an-Inch Onsies - Kmart sells these onsies that have two sets of snap buttons, so the onsies actually fit a rapidly growing baby for more than one month!
6. Vix (cool, no filter) Humidifier - They are kinda noisy (which I hated at first) until I realized that it was excellent white noise. It's easy to fill and the vix pads work amazingly well. She's had a stuffy nose for the last 3 days and I truly believe it's helped her breath easier.
7. Bobby Pillow - I love it to help her in sitting up (which she's insisting on doing lately) and she can't do it on her own just yet. And I use it to wrap around my waist as I feed her - she's getting heavier and heavier, so this helps support her weight without being exhausting on my arms.

8-14 Weeks & MORE Firsts!

Time flies.

Everyone told me it would and I believed them, but I cannot believe that my Baby Girl is already 14 weeks old. She's getting so big and doing so much! I'm soaking it all up, enjoying every last cuddle time, because I know it won't last.

I absolutely love being a mommy! Even when she keeps me up late, wakes me up early, or spits up all over me. I'm loving every minute of it.

A dear friend gave me a baby calendar and I'm so thankful to have it. I keep a pen attached to it using it to write down her firsts and in the blank spaces I write, "This month you...." I'm realizing that I'm forgetting little things ALREADY. So this helps me to remember things I don't ever want to forget.

During the month of November she...

• ... discovered her knuckles. She loves to suck on them. In fact, she sucks on them so vigorously that she gags herself occasionally.
• ... began to smile directly at mommy and daddy, melting our hearts.
• ... experienced her first Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She loved the attention from Aunt Sydnie and Grandma Tammy, who "fought" over who was going to change her diaper, or hold her, or cuddle with her as she caught some zzzzz's....
• ... weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 10 oz. and measured 20" in length. She's still so tiny! In the lower percentile for her age. She's definitely taking after her mommy here.

During the month of December she...

• ... began to squeal when she's excited! So absolutely adorable.
• ... coo's along when I sing to her. I showed Poppy during FaceTime one afternoon, he seemed so proud.
• ... grabs things - anything - blankets, clothing, hair, jewelry, etc. and guess what she does with it? Yup. Instantly brings it to her mouth.
• ... was already pushing herself from her tummy to her back at 11 weeks!
• ... turned 12 weeks the week of 12-12-12! Cool!
• ... giggled for the first time on Christmas Eve. Such a wonderful present! It was the highlight of the holiday. Melted my heart ten times over.

Of course, I took a few pictures and captured a few moments on video these last few weeks....

She always has that silly tongue out!

One of my absolute favorites.

Another one of my favorites...



Always has those hands in her face...

Always in motion.



Such chubby cheeks!



Like I said, always in motion!

Again with the tongue...

Look at that chunky monkey!

Marley cuddled up next to her - all by himself! Now he'll go and check on her after every noise she makes, it's so cute!

Quigley puts his head on her lap when their in the vehicle and stares at her face. She loves it!

She loves to sit up with the help of her boppy pillow and take in her surroundings. Watching the dogs is a favorite...

Sleeping beauty....

When we were at grandma and grandpa's house we watched daddy ride their horse. She was fascinated with all the barnyard animals, and was as sung as a bug in a rug and fell fast asleep!

Her tights were so big on her! I do not understand why they make 0-9 month tights with the weight range of 5-18 pounds. Could you imagine a 5 lb baby in these?! LOL

Cousin Alexi LOVED holding her!

Christmas dress from Grandma!

Cousin Alexi was dressed to match. So Cute!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!

Kyle started calling her Briella Bean after her first few weeks of life, then one day out of the blue he asked her a question and ended it with, "Huh? Bean Dip?" Now that one has stuck as well! Poor thing!

Canceled Debt

Yesterday I finished reading the story of the woman who kissed Jesus' feet and washed his feet with her hair, in Luke 7:36 to the end of the chapter. I've heard this story countless times and yesterday after reading it I couldn't stop thinking about why she did it.

Jesus explains it all, but I have never, in all the years of knowing this story understood her reasoning or paid that much attention to what JESUS SAID. (Perhaps I ignored that part?) But, in the past I wondered, why on earth would you kiss someone's feet? Or wash them with your own hair?

To show your gratefulness! In those days washing someone's feet was an act of a servant. This simple act of washing His feet was the ultimate form of "thankful" worship! The story is now one of my absolute favorites because I can relate to this woman on SO MANY LEVELS.

The Pharisee that invited Jesus to his home made a comment that I had never noticed before,

"If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." (Luke 7:39)

That woman would've been me. I think back to my years in high school, college and even the years after college where I rejected God and His teaching and was more interested in the party life, just hearing His name made my gut turn. I'll never forget that feeling! It literally makes me sick! The Pharisee's would've been saying that about me! "If this man were truly a prophet, he would know what sort of woman Becky really is, for she is a sinner." It makes me cringe, if I would've heard that being said in front of Jesus, I'd be shaking in my boots. I might have wet my pants a little....

BUT, I absolutely LOVE Jesus' response, (Luke 7:40-50)

"Simon, I have something to say to you."

And he answered, "Say it, Teacher."

"A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly." Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Wow. She was more appreciative of God's grace because He saved her from her GREAT sin. Although she didn't deserve it, Jesus saved her because of her faith! There isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank God for his mercy. He saved a worthless sinner = me. I don't deserve it. I don't even deserve to wash or kiss his feet. But, like this woman, I will glorify Him daily. I will thank Him for what He did on the cross! I will love Him with every ounce of my being, because when I deserved love the least, He gave the ultimate sacrifice. Like this woman I am extra grateful, because he canceled ALL of my debts, which are MANY.

So don't think for a minute that God won't save a sinner "like me;" He draws sinners extra close to Himself because we are more grateful for His sacrifice. Without HIM, we know we deserve to die, so we give glory to HIM ALONE, knowing we had nothing to do with it. Proclaim HIM daily!

I happened across this picture many months after writing this, but I think the picture accurately depicts what it might have been like for this woman. See all the gossip going on? The judgmental thoughts... the gasps... the horrors... nothing has changed in today's society. We still have Pharisee's. 

My Nephews are SILLY

I am a proud Auntie of two little nephews who, as I FaceTime with my sister, offer laughs GALORE. I giggle about their antics even as I write this...

I ask my nephew Gary, "I hear you like to play Lego's with your brother?"

"Yeah, and train tracks, and trains, and freight cars too!"

Gary wanted to show me the Christmas tree he "helped" decorate. He begins pulling all the ornaments off the tree and showing them to me, telling me what they are and that he, "likes this one."

Occasionally he'd pull one off, show it to me, and say, "This one is... Mom, what's this one?"

Hunter joined in the action and would tap the phone with the ornament making little, "Eh, Uh, Eh" noises.

One time his klutzy, adorable little self fell as he reached for one, taking in a mouthful of Christmas tree. Mel giggled as she literally pulled pine needles out of his mouth. He honestly didn't seem to mind.

The Christmas tree was being stripped bare, until Mel finally had to tell them that I'd seen enough ornaments. Mel's smart. She commented later that all the breakable ornaments were strategically located at the top of the tree, making them untouchable for little fingers.

After the boys finished showing off their tree, my sister and I sat down for a conversation about everything, but nothing in particular. In the middle of the conversation my sister yelled, "Ow! Stop biting my knee!"

And, "Boys! The couch is NOT your chew toy!"

Then she looked at me and said, "This is my life."

What a life. I love every minute of being a small part of it. I still laugh out loud. Never a dull moment in their household!

I wonder, what was it like to be Jesus' mother?

I've been reading through the Gospels and I finished Mark just in time to start Luke this Christmas season. How "ironic!" =)

There is one tiny verse that I read today that I heard in church the other morning that blows me away,

"(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also)" (2:35)

Let me explain why. There was a righteous man, Simeon, who was told that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ, and as Mary and Joseph brought baby Jesus into the temple Simeon blessed them and told Mary that a "sword will pierce her soul" because of what this child came on earth to accomplish and how it will be accomplished. I've been thinking of that from a new mommy's perspective. Especially today as I prepare to take her for her first shots. I've been dreading this day, knowing that it's going to hurt her. But shots are nothing compared to what Mary had to watch her son endure! I cannot imagine the agony Mary went through as Jesus hung on the cross and reading that verse makes me admire her for her faith in God's plan and her willingness to endure the love of a child - knowing she was going to have to watch him die for the sins of the world. And not just any death! A torturous, long, horrific death! Mom's can you imagine?! My heart goes out to Mary.

I was telling Kyle last night that I can totally understand why people become hermits, living in their home never loving anyone, because losing someone you love would be so incredibly painful. I'm sure Mary felt that "loving someone so much it hurts" kind of love. I can't wait to give her a monster hug in heaven and tell her how much I admire her as a mother!

Stay-at-Home Mom Benefits

Having a stay-at-home mom job doesn't make you rich, add to your savings, checking, and retirement accounts, or provide insurance and cash holiday bonuses, but it has it's fair share of benefits and rewards. I truly feel this is what I was meant to do at this point in my life. It was so hard giving up my teaching job, but now I can't even begin to imagine leaving her for someone else to take care of 8 hours a day. I'd miss SO much! Not everyone is able to do this, but the only thing that was really holding us back was a worry over finances and that I loved my job. Well... God tells us we shouldn't worry about clothes, or food, or what tomorrow my bring because He promised that He will take care of us.

"Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you..." Psalm 55:22

"It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sheep." Psalm 127:2

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Matthew 6:25-26

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

Granted I can't say the worry isn't there. We are struggling with unexpectedly high medical bills and giving that worry over to the Lord isn't easy. I will walk through the fire if He so pushes me into it, but I can't say that I'm enjoying it or that I'm finding it easy to trust in Him. Is my faith growing? Absolutely! Do I doubt our decision? Absolutely not.

As far teaching, I know that when my children are all in school, I can pick it back up and have the same hours as they do. I'm looking forward to that day, however, I'm most looking forward to teaching my daughter her ABC's, colors, shapes, the joy of books, the art of craft making, putting together puzzles, playing with toys, EVERY DAY, and not be stressed about getting dinner on the table, keeping my house clean and organized, and enjoying every minute I have with my precious daughter. I read what one working mom said about the home and children, "you can't expect perfection." Well, when I do something it's all or nothing. I'm passionate. I dive in head first. I would expect perfection and knowing myself I would've been stressed out with all the time I didn't have with her. I mean I'd be at school from 7:30 to 4 every day. That's 8 1/2 hours I miss with her (x5) and that's 42 1/2 hours during the week I'm missing. Before bed time I'd get, what, about 4 hours? That's about 20 hours I'd get with her during the week! When I sat down and did the math, it was totally not worth it to me. Time goes by so fast, so I'm not going to waste it by thinking I need to earn more money. The only stuff from this earth I can take with me to heaven are the one's that believe in Jesus as their savior and my memories. So I'm going to make tons of them and thank God for the blessings he bestows on us daily. Besides GOD gives and He takes away, who knows what He has in store for us, even if we did have two incomes, so I'm going to follow what I believe is the right thing to do for our family and raising Godly children. Those things happen at home with mom and dad. I truly do not believe that a teacher, pastor, family member, etc. are responsible for teaching my child the values of upright and Godly living. It takes a community of teachers, pastors, and family members to REINFORCE what's already taught at home every minute of every day.

There. That's my soap box.

Lastly, Kyle made my decision easy because he felt like it was what we needed to do and he told me, "Becky, you can always go back to teaching, but you'll never have these first years of our daughters life back." My hubby is wise. :)

Now that I've been doing it for a couple of months, focusing only on my recovery and my baby girl, I've found that the benefits are WAY better than I ever imagined. So what are they?

Here are a few of my Stay-at-Home Mom Benefits:

1. Her first smile was in the middle of the day. She rolled from her tummy to her back during the middle of the day. She started cooing on a weekday, yup, in the middle of the day. (I won't miss her firstS!)
2. Her fussy time is usually in the evenings and at night. I would've been getting home around 4 just in time for that. It's easy to handle her fussy time when I get beautiful smiles and play time during the day, but if that's all I saw of her during the week. Ugh, no fun.
3. She has this weird sleep habit that we've been working on (setting up a schedule during the day, finding out what's giving her gas, etc.) where she fights sleep from 10 pm till about 1-4 in the morning. She's stayed up screaming until 5 am one night. It was exhausting, especially when this happened multiple times during the week. I would NOT have survived JH students and I would not have been able to use the day trying to get her in a schedule or understanding the difference between day and night. That would not have been a fair task to ask of a day care provider who has many other children to care for as well. Plus it took at least 3 or 4 days to get this down, I could not have done it in a weekend. And just when I thought we were getting a routine down, she up and decides to spend every night this week awake between 10 and 1 am. Grrr... starting over! It's hard enough with out a job. So I can't imagine doing it with one! 
4. I would not have been able to handle baby (late nights, grumpy times, etc.), laundry, house cleaning/remodeling, recovery from 2 surgery's AND a full time job. Um, those who know me know I'm not that organized to handle it all at once without losing my mind in all the chaos. Thankfully I have an amazing hubby that would help with all of that, but still....
5. I do not have to wake her up at 6 am to feed her, get her dressed, me showered, and out the door to be to school by 7:30 every morning. I have a hard enough time getting myself out the door.
6. I do not have to hide in a corner at school to pump.
7. I can give her full one-on-one attention all day, which is virtually impossible for a busy day care provider. In fact, I wouldn't expect them to give that kind of attention to MY CHILD, ALL DAY. How selfish does that sound?
8. I don't have to worry about taking time off or preparing for a sub last minute if my child happens to get sick.
9. Every teacher has work to take home. It's impossible to get everything done during a short planning period. Especially when you encourage students to come in for help before and after school, or have meetings, or practices for basketball and track, etc. Life as a teacher is CRAZY.
10. Then when Kyle and I decide to add another child to our life, I don't have a hubby, 2 children, AND a job to worry about. Life is much simpler.
11. One day care provider told me that she spends time every day teaching one of her kiddo's that she is not his mommy. The moment she told me that, it reinforced the fact that I was making the best decision. That would break my heart.

If you're on the fence, trying to decide what to do I'd definitely advise staying at home. If you're a single parent, there's nothing you can do about it, so do NOT feel guilty. If you seriously cannot afford to stay home, believe me, I understand. The last thing I want to do is say that you're doing the wrong thing by being a working mom or dad. I do not know your situation, I cannot make your financial decisions, I know nothing of the conversation between you and your spouse. This was our decision based on SO MUCH prayer, debate, discussion, and advice from trusted family and friends. It was not an easy one to make by any means.

Despite the difficulties, the benefits of being a stay-at-home mommy for our family far outweigh what money can provide and I'm so glad we made the decision we made.

CraaAaaAzzzzy Quigley

Kyle came home one evening telling me that some friends of ours in town had a puppy randomly show up in their back yard with no intentions of leaving. They have two dogs of their own, a three year old and a newborn, so they had their hands plenty full already. They called the police hoping someone had reported a missing dog... nada. They called the pound hoping they'd have more success finding someone to adopt this adorable pup, but pounds are overflowing and their policy is that if the owner does not claim the dog within three days he would be euthinized. That yanked at our heart strings and we decided to give this dog a home. We took him wondering if this was going to work out. After all, we have a needy dog of our own. Marley's a spoiled rotten brat. AND we have a two month old. Kyle was worried if I'd be ok taking care of a newborn and training a new puppy. So we made no promises in keeping him around. Plus, we're trying to get rid of expenses not tack them on! We know this dog is going to be BIG so we guessed we'd be plunking down at least $50 a month for food, not to mention vet expenses (he definitely needs to get those balls chopped off... poor guy), and shots, etc. etc. There were a lot of big "IF's"...

However, that all changed once we got to know this silly dog! He's so laid back and sensitive. So far he's been a breeze to train, only having a few accidents in the house. I laughed so hard one night because he was sprinting as fast as he could to the back door, with his legs spread apart, crying and dribbling the entire way. He gobbles down the water so it's no wonder he barely made it, and when he does pee its his own small pond. He's getting it.

He thinks he's a lap dog. If I'm on the floor, he's right there wanting to be in my lap.

If I'm sitting down, he's right there wanting to play. Placing his head on my lap, nudging the book, licking, licking, licking, grunting, crying, bringing a toy (hint! hint!), trying to steal my slippers... it's all really irritating until I look down into his sweet little puppy eyes.

We had to teach him NOT to lick Brielle. If Brielle's on my lap, he wants to be RIGHT there checking her out. If she's in her swing he puts his big head right in her lap and just stares. He sat in the back of the truck with her on the way to Kyle's parent's house for Thanksgiving and we look back to see Quigley's head on her car seat, watching her like a hawk. He constantly wants to lick her hands (which she wants to put in her mouth all the time) so that had to be stopped immediately. But it was reassuring to see him being so gentle with her!

He chases Marley around the house. Marley is NOT a fan. He hides where ever he finds a spot Quigley cannot or will not go. Like behind doors or down the stairs.

He's scared to death of the stairs. I can totally understand why since he biffed it going up the one step onto our porch. He seriously landed flat on his face. My neighbors probably heard me giggling over that one.

He's still rather clumsy, constantly tripping over his enormous paws!

He doesn't seem to mind cats. I took him to a farm where he met them (I think for the first time). He's so curious about everything, so he was doubly curious about these silly looking creatures.

The thing is, we learned all this stuff within the first week of knowing him and we were hooked. We still hadn't named him (for fear of getting really attached) but he was beginning to respond to "PUPPY!" so we picked a name. We were randomly calling out names, trying to decide what fit and what we both agreed on.... here was our  "potential" list:

Moose (cause he seriously looks like a gangly moose!)
Thor (cause we know he's going to be BIG and his bark LOUD)
Quigley (cause we guessed that he had been on some kind of adventure, like Quigley Down Under!)
Shiloh (cause we both like the book, lol)
Optimus (to go along with Gorgatron - Marley's weird nickname given by Kyle's friends!)

I really liked Moose, but Kyle thought it was "okay". Thankfully we both really liked Quigley. Plus, it just fits his crazy, laid back personality.

He already has a stocking that I can't wait to fill with all kinds of toys to chew. He can definitely entertain himself as long as he has a chew toy. So far he's a fan of ropes. Those seem to be his favorite, especially when Kyle and I play tug of war with him.

We can't leave anything on the floor. He's already destroyed a hair clip, rattle, one of Kyle's slippers (eeek!), and a blanket (just the tag).... The baskets that are on the floor, under the coffee table, used to have neatly tied bows on them. He decided he didn't like that too much. No more bows.

As far as what type of dog he is we're not sure. We're guessing he's a mix of lab and bulldog. We've even thrown around lab and boxer. He has a pit bull face, so maybe lab and pitbull? We don't know, but we have an appointment with the vet this week so hopefully he'll be able to be more precise. We know he's lab and something. Whatever he is, he's a keeper. I don't think Marley agree's just yet, but yesterday he did play with him for a whole five seconds, until he realized I was watching.... ;) I have a feeling they'll be best buds someday. It may take a while (cause Marley's super stubborn) but Quigley already worships the ground Marley walks on - doing EVERYTHING he does (goodie) - and knowing Marley's personality I think he'll appreciate having him around, just like we do! He brightens up my day with his goofy, nutty personality. He fits right in!

I can't wait to see what life has in store for this crazy dog. I'm almost 100% positive I'll have stories to share and things to write about the crazy stuff Quigley does.