Bubbles

As is the case with most three year olds, Quin loves to play with bubbles. We can spend hours in the back yard, taking turns blowing bubbles. He likes to blow them and have me chase them, but of course he loves it when I blow the bubbles and he gets to chase them.

I did not have any idea, however, that Talisker would enjoy bubbles so much. Quin thought it was wonderful to blow the bubbles and watch the dog chase them. It was pretty funny.

See for yourself in this video:

The puppy within...

Talisker is only 7 months old, so perhaps that could have something to do with the recent naughtiness, but he has still caused a great deal of frustration in the past few weeks. I am sure that he is feeling a bit neglected since Isla was born, but doesn't he know that I am trying my best to give him lots of attention?!

It started when he ate Isla's car seat. Quin was at preschool a few weeks ago, Isla was sleeping, and I was trying to get some work done. Nothing unusual there, except for the fact that I was working upstairs and not watching the dog. That was mistake #1. Talisker was tempted by spit up on Isla's car seat straps, so could you really blame the puppy for chewing threw one side of her chest restraint? Seeing as I didn't catch him in the act, I couldn't punish him! The biggest problem was that I figured it out as I was putting Isla in her seat to leave to pick Quin up from school, 15 minutes before he was supposed to get out! I immediately called Tim at work and asked him if he could go get him. 30 minutes later, Quin was back home and new straps were on the way from the car seat company. $15 for the replacement straps and $18 for shipping. Good thing we have two of the big car seats for Quin, otherwise we would have been stuck at home!

The following week, Tim went to put Quin's shoes on so we could all go out and he discovered that the Velcro strap that secures the shoe to Quin's foot was missing! The dog had decided to chew it off the evening before! If they had been cheap shoes, I am sure I wouldn't have cared as much, but they were Merrells! To top it off, they were Quin's only pair of shoes! Consequently, our first stop was find Quin new shoes. I am not sure what caused him to do that, other than boredom, but again, we didn't catch him in the act! Even though Talisker wasn't directly punished for his misbehavior, he did earn himself a lot of kennel and outside time. Now, if we can't watch him, he isn't trusted (at least until he outgrows this crazy puppy behavior).

I really hope that he grows out of this destructive phase soon!

Talisker

As we expected, Talisker loves Isla and is wonderful with her. Of course, he is very curious about her and constantly wants to say hi, but he is very gentle. I knew we made a great choice in picking a golden!

Quin still chases him around and loves to play with him, so consequently Quin is the one person who routinely makes Talisker crazy. All the screaming might have something to do with it. Some days, when both Talisker and Quin are crazy, I feel like I have two 3 year olds! Insanity!

For now, Isla doesn't think much of him, but I have no doubt that will change as Isla grows up. I am sure she will love him just as much as we all do.

Merry Christmas

Quin (and I suppose Isla) had a blast on Christmas! Santa brought Quin the two things he asked for, a clock and a transformer that talks. He was beyond ecstatic! His favorite present was a mixing keyboard. He played with that thing for hours! His other favorite toy of Chistmas was what Santa brought me, a Wii! I'll post pictures when I get them unloaded. Merry Christmas!

Quin with Santa

While Tim and I were in the hospital having Isla, Quin had his first visit with Santa! From what I understand, Quin got to sit with him and have a rather lengthy chat about what he wanted for Christmas. Quin's one wish: A Transformer that talks! For now, only Santa knows if Quin has been naughty or nice. We shall see!

New photos of Quin and Isla

We've had a couple of chances to head up to the studio since Isla was born and get some photos of our own family. Isla was just two weeks old when we took these photos while my mom was in from California.

Here's our baby girl, with Elizabeth and me holding her. Thanks mom for taking the photo.

Here is our new favorite photo of our two kids. This one is going to get blown up real big and put on our living room wall at home. We absolutely adore this shot of our pride and joy.


Me and my two kiddos. I went to the studio expecting to take some shots of grandma and her grandbabies, but decided at the last minute to jump in, despite the t-shirt and hat.


Elizabeth on the other hand was ready to go to be in front of the camera. Here are my three favorite people in the whole world. Aren't they gorgeous?



Isn't my boy a goober? Many people hate it when kids don't cooperate for a photo. I love it, it shows Quin's personality. That's what I want to remember, not the cheesy smile.

Quin Loves Isla!

Quin has been a wonderful big brother! We weren't sure how Quin was going to react to having to share our time and attention, but he has pleasantly surprised us! He loves his little sister more than I ever could have guessed. Multiple times a day, he begs us to let him hold Isla. He climbs up on the couch and assumes the position (squished into the corner with his arms out to support her), waiting patiently. Whenever Isla cries, he rushes to her side and gently pats her head and tells her that everything is okay. More often than not, he calms her down! He loves to snuggle in the chairs with us whenever he has the chance. He is definitely the proud big brother!

Welcome Isla Skye Solley!

Our little Isla was born November 21, 2009 at 12:28 am, just 28 minutes past her due date. She weighed 8 lbs. 6 ozs. and was 20 inches long. After ten days, she's healthy and happy after a case of jaundice. Our little girl matched the pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving day!

Here she is just a few hours after her birth, after we got to the recovery unit and things calmed down.


Proud mom about a week before Isla arrived. She is our early Christmas gift!


Mom and her new girl about a half hour after birth. Elizabeth did awesome!


More photos of Isla taken her first morning around the time the sun came up.