This little guy was completely out when I went to get him from his nap this afternoon. He was so cute and cuddly.

Happiest of Birthdays my love! We sure are lucky to have you :)

Kristen and I have wanted to make a printable family tree for a while and what better motivation than Christmas gifts? We looked at a few ideas and the inspiration for the design we ultimately landed on is now nowhere to be found so we can’t link to them. Anyway, below are the three family “trees” that we created. And by “we” I mean that Kristen did all the design concept work and I clicked the mouse a few times in a graphics program with her supervision. We gave these to the grandparents and any other family members whose names we happened to draw and we’re happy to print more for other family members.

I will also point out that my very compulsive wife insisted that all photos be chronological by birth. Whether the aesthetics worked best clockwise or counter-clockwise, the second generation is in age order and then the third generation is in age order while staying within the bounds of their parents, etc.

Unfortunately, we didn’t do a circle for Kristen’s Dad’s family, the Westlakes. We don’t get to see that extended family often and obtaining all the required pictures would have been exceedingly difficult.

Just a quick note to say “Thank You” to our vets at Tuskawilla Oaks Animal Hospital and the veterinary specialists at AVS for helping us provide Dolce with the care he needed to live 6 more months with us. We wish his time hadn’t been cut so short, but we are thankful for the time that we had. (Except for the first few weeks of recovery, you wouldn’t have known that he had been through major surgery.) The compassion shown by both offices is very much appreciated.

Dolce cared for us long before we had to care for him. When Kristen was pregnant with Jay (August 2009), Dolce made sure she took it easy and stayed warm

And later, when both Jamie and Jay were sick (June 2011), Dolce was there to make sure we got better

When Dolce returned from the Vet (September 2011), he had a little sweater on to hold a feeding tube in place, but he still wanted to be where everyone was, a part of the action

And even though he wasn’t back to 100% himself, he kept Jay company when Jay wasn’t feeling well, cuddling up next to him while Jay watched a movie

Piper felt left out yesterday… so here she is looking as pitiful as ever :-)  That face can make me melt, so much so that I took her for a walk this afternoon- what can I say I am a sucker for puppy dog eyes…

A few pictures of some random preparations…

We have had the nursery done for quite some time but I haven’t posted any complete pictures so here you go…

rest assured the pictures have been ordered for that frame and they are on their way- it won’t hang empty on the wall for much longer

Car Seat Installation:

Probably the most notable thing that we have done recently was to put the car seat in the car this past weekend. Both of us were rather surprised on how easy it was to install; it honestly is pretty dummy-proof. It is kind of odd to drive around with it in the car: whenever I get out and walk away without it I wonder if people think that I am leaving a child in the car…

Here is a picture of it in the car which shows off the new cover that Mimi (Jamie’s mom) made for it; she did a fantastic job- it looks professionally made and I love the puppy dog print!!

I resolved myself months ago to the fact that I wouldn’t know exactly when this little bambino would enter the world; however, the “hurry up and wait” game has become not as fun as I thought it to be originally. I have NEVER claimed to be a patient person so as you can probably tell this has not been easy for me; which means that it has pushed Jamie closer to Sainthood for dealing with me :-) I would just like to meet my little one, hold him and cuddle him- is that too much to ask? I don’t think so…