Life Lately

Have I mentioned we have the laziest puppy in history? He is also the most snuggly puppy. We wouldn't change him for a minute, but let's be clear...this boy can sleep. He wants to be snuggled in as close as possible to a human body and preferably under as many layers of covers as he can. At night, he sleeps with Abby, but most mornings before the sun comes up, he comes to my side of the bed and wakes me up. For most dogs, this would mean that he wants to go out. For Oliver, this means he wants to get in bed with us. I let him up and he burrows in for another round of deep sleep where he stays long after we both get out of bed. Joe has to literally convince Oliver to get up, so he can take him out before work some mornings. He really is the sweetest little baby puppy.

Two little girls who weren't feeling well + daylight savings time + that totally non spooky Curious George Halloween episode that Abby keeps having dreams about = a full bed. This is not a norm for us, which is why it's pretty hysterical.

This night, Abby came in first. We were so exhausted that we let her crawl in at the end of the bed. Being the faithful puppy lover that she is (even at 3 a.m.), she carried Ollie in and plopped him on the bed because she didn't want to leave him alone. Two hours later, Ella woke up super early for the day (thanks time change!) and the only way to convince her that it wasn't time to wake up yet was by putting her in bed with us. Before I knew it, my alarm was going off and I was falling off the bed. This is the picture I snapped when I got out of the shower:

 

Don't worry. Ollie is holding down the fort! Where did Joe and I even fit?

Abby's school hosted a literacy night last week. The event celebrated the author, Eric Carle, and all of his books. The students had spent the weeks leading up to the event reading his books and making beautiful themed artwork to decorate the halls of the school. Abby came home each day sharing fun facts she learned about the author and listing off his books titles we have yet to read. One afternoon, she went through her entire bookshelf to find all of the books we owned by him. Abby has loved many of his books since before she was big enough to remember. I've loved many of his books since Kindergarten myself. To say she is excited about Eric Carle is an understatement.

Did you know that Eric Carle made his book illustrations using tissue paper? Or that he was born in Syracuse? Abby taught me that too! :)  The best is that every time we read a book now, she wants to know the author's name. I love seeing her knowledge and love for books continue to increase more and more.

Abby and I made a special evening out of it. We both needed some quality time with each other. We had dinner together at the place of her choice...(drumroll please)...Panera. We chatted and chatted until it was time for us to head to the school. She's my little buddy! Sometimes we have such good conversation that I forget I'm hanging out with my four year old.  At one point, when I looked up at her, I was struck by how mature she looked.

I love this sweet girl!

Literacy Night was a ton of fun. We spent time with Abby's classmates, participated in a bunch of activities together and finished off the night with some Eric Carle inspired treats.

Abby's artwork

The beautiful Hungry Little Caterpillar cake

One another note...
One night, Ella couldn't fall asleep and was eating up the quality time with mommy and daddy on the couch. She picked up one of our phones and started asking us to Facetime everybody. This girl was ready for the spotlight. Thankfully, we got a hold of a few family members that night.