Nori's 4 week photos!

Nori is 4 weeks old! She has just been introduced to a little wet food and is doing really well. She went outside to play yesterday but had to come in because she doesn't like the wind!

Nori's three week update

The breeder wrote yesterday and said Nori is doing really well. It's still really hard to see her clearly because she's all black! Can't wait to bring our pup home!

Snowpocalypse 2014

Here we are again.... snowed in.  I can't believe we've had two rounds of this crazy weather!  Last time a storm this severe came through, I was in middle school!  A lot of people from northern or colder parts of the country have been making fun of us for our unpreparedness during winter weather.  Pictures like this keep popping up:

But what I think a lot of people fail to understand is this isn't normal for us!  We don't have chains for our tires or enough snow plows to keep up.  We don't own a snow shovel, or blower, or even a SLED!  So when the rest of the country is laughing at us I can't help but be a little angry...  areas hit with tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes get national sympathies, red cross donations, and prayers.  We get made fun of.  Well, people have died, some are in shelters because they don't have power or can't get home, and structures have been destroyed by ice and falling trees.  And this picture (taken very near my childhood home)...

... IS REAL!

Anyway, now that my rant is over, I'll share some cute pictures from the past few days.

It begins.

While waiting on the storm to hit, Nick decided to pretend he was a cat.

This is the first layer of snow.  We had intermittent layers of snow/ice for nearly 72 hours.

Chase has made good use of his time while we've been snowed in, he painted our bathroom last week and started on Natalie's last night.  Because the walls were still wet, the kids had to bathe in our tub.  They were in love!

Check out those cheeks peaking through the bubbles!

Natalie said "I love this swimming pool!"

 Other than painting the house we've really had nothing else to do but eat.  And eat and eat and eat.

 Here are pictures after the storm.  I think it looks like a scene from Narnia.  The pictures really don't do it any justice.

My dogwood.  I can't wait to see it in full bloom this spring.  Gerry, our neighbor, told me the HOA had to step in to save it because the builder was going to level it.  Even though the tree was saved, they for some reason still cut off several lower limbs, sad.  He said it's such a beautiful tree it was worth the fight and that he has enjoyed it every spring.

Gerry's blackberry bushes.  They are right on our property line, I really hope he doesn't inventory the fruit!  Maybe a few homemade cobblers would be a nice way to say thank you for saving our tree.

Santa brought the kiddos an easel this year.  This is the first time we've let them break out the paint.  Totally worth the clean up!

Yay for snow days!!!

Nori's Two Week Pictures

We're all really excited about Nori's arrival in our home, we talk about her a lot and Natalie has even included her in her prayers already.  We've been using our time waiting for her to talk about how important it is to be gentle with her and how scared she's going to be coming into a new environment.  If she's anything like the rest of the Blanton's she'll be large and in charge in no time.  She hasn't opened her eyes yet, but the breeder says the rest of the litter is beginning to so she shouldn't be too far behind.  Here are her two week old pictures:

Nori

The Blanton's are expecting again!  It's not what you're thinking, though.  We're expecting a fur baby in March or early April!  She was born on January 27, 2014 and her name is Nori.  Nori Elizabeth, to be exact, according to Natalie.  Nori is a standard godlendoodle and will get to be the size of a standard poodle or small golden retriever.  She is an F1b breed, which means her mother is a first generation goldendoodle and her father is a pure bred standard poodle.  F1b's are less likely to shed, so that's why we went with a goldendoodle that's mostly doodle.  The breeder seems to be very sweet and reliable, she's a stay at home mom who breeds for the love of it only.  She has two males and two females, and each female has only one litter a year.  Most reputable breeders do up to four, I liked that she gives her mamas a good, long break.  The breeder sends weekly pictures of Nori, and this is our first update.  She's still so tiny, her eyes aren't open yet!

I'm sure you're wondering about Andi.  Poor Andi.  When Natalie was almost two, just before Nick was born, we made the tough decision to let Andi go live my Mom.  Andi was starting to exhibit some aggression toward Natalie and we knew, with Nick's pending arrival, I'd have a much harder time trying to referee all my children, furry ones included.  Andi spent most of her days in a small room, behind a doggy gate, with little view of the outside world.  She had no yard to romp in and was only allowed any freedom when I took her to Mom's house.  So, we packed Andi up and sent her to Grandma's, with the understanding that once the children were old enough, we had a new house with a yard, and were ready... Andi would come home.  Well, here we are, in a new house, planning to fence our large yard, the kids are old enough, but Andi isn't coming home.  As it turns out, Andi is the world's most neurotic dog.  She is on anti-anxiety meds and heartburn pills to help her with her nervous tummy and her nerves in general.  She gets really weird when the kids are around, she can't handle their constant boisterousness.  She always loved Mom with all her puppy soul, anyway.  She merely tolerated me.  Andi is happy.

It's that boisterousness that led me to decide on a goldendoodle.  I knew I wanted a doodle mix, and I knew I wanted a large, sturdy dog.  In my research I found that both lab and golden mixes are children friendly, but that golden mixes, in particular, CRAVE the rowdiness of children.  They're incredible pack oriented, loyal, and mild mannered.  They love children flopping on them and wrestling with them, apparently more so than most large breeds.  Sold.  It doesn't hurt that two of the smartest breeds of dogs, arguably the two smartest breeds, are poodles and golden retrievers.  Hopefully, training won't be too hard.

So that brings me to timing.  Why now?  Well, Natalie has been having some nighttime issues and we think the dog might help ease her fears, especially when she grows to her adult size.  Also, Natalie is having an incredibly hard time preparing for Chase's impending trip.  No, I won't get her a dog every time he deploys, but I do think that now, having just moved and with her nighttime anxieties, the pain of her father's absence might be eased by the distraction of a puppy to love and nurture.  The next time he leaves, she'll be almost 6, and hopefully will have better coping skills.  If not, then at least she'll still have Nori!  Chase was worried that Nori might not get a chance to bond with him if we got her too close to his departure date, but this way, getting her in March or April, should give her at least a small amount of time for her to get to know Chase.

Stay tuned, I'll be posting pictures of our new, sweet pup as I get them from the breeder.  We love her already and feel an emptiness that she's not here yet!  It's funny, I feel like I'm nesting again.  At the grocery store yesterday I turned down the pet care aisle, one I haven't visited in two years.  The kids and I looked at treats and food and talked about what it meant to take care of a living being.  We're all so excited!