Leo knows the hiding places

It has been three days since Tori and Leo have been here and they have figured out a few things in those days (Leo especially). You'll see that he knows were his treats are kept in the kitchen. And just in case I didn't notice that he wanted me to get him some (which I already had, I promise Mom) He thought maybe if he got a little closer to them I would figure out what he needed.

Even better than treats are Bella's toy balls. Everything round that may bounce got put away within minutes of Leo entering the house. He so desperately wants to play with them that he sticks his nose up to the closet door. Sniffs in and out with so much force that you'd think he was trying to suck the toys out through that crack at the bottom of the door. Bella does not understand that if Leo plays with her balls they will be ruined. She is so sympathetic to his whining she is always asking "Mommy can I give Leo...?" Even this morning at 5am Bella was up chipper as can be talking to the dogs. She says things like, "Hi Leo Baby" and "No don't put her outside" But you can bet that at 5am I was putting them outside so that I could get at least another hour or two of sleep.

I LOVE Puppy Milk!

Bella is in heaven! And NO she is NOT nursing from the dog! Grandma brought the dogs today so that they could spend the week with us. I told her two days ago that Grandma was coming and bringing Tori and Leo. So this morning I asked who was coming today and she knew the answer without prompting. As we got back from church Grandma's car was in front of the house and she extatically announced, "MY grandma's here!" She ran in to greet them without concern for the 80lb pair of German Shepards that bounce all around her and lick her in the face.
Once Grandma left everyone settled into a lazy Sunday afternoon mode. As you can see Bella found the perfect place to rest her head. And surprisingly she hardly woke Tori from her nap.
So far everyone is having fun. The dogs are tolerating Bella, and Paul is tolerating the dogs, even though it only took 10 minutes of them being here for him to step in a pile of poop. Tomorrow there will be a walk around the neighborhood and some cooling off in the sprinkler if it gets too hot.


Right now there is a sleeping girl with a very well behaved Tori sleeping next to her. The true test of Bella's excitment will be in the morning. We'll see who she gets up and looks for first, Mommy or Tori.

It's Popsicle Season

Though the heat wave of mid-July has ended we still live in a desert that someone built houses on top of. So what do you do with a 2+ year old to keep from going crazy in the heat? Buy popsicles. Our freezer has a few colors and varieties these days. But of course she is only two, so she has not quite perfected the eating off a stick thing. Like any good mom, I make her eat them outside. With the blazing heat that frozen stick quickly liquifies and Bella can only lick so fast. Neadless to say we always end with a colorful sticky kid who gets stripped and put in the bath or under the hose shortly after she is done eating. But this week she didn't just get dirty, she gave her immune system a workout too.

She was intensly sucking the stick while holding it horizontally, when gravity finally won and half the remaining frozen clump hit the cement. Bella was not about to let her precious treat go, so she got on her hands and knees and licked it off the patio. I was mortified, Dad couldn't stop laughing. Needless to say we haven't had anymore popsicles this week. I just want her little body to get rid of all the dirt, ants and bacteria it took in before I introduce more next time.