mini, minitou amp; blackDog

Silly girl Helps Out

2009-04-07T04:45:00.000-07:00

Construction manager had a few too many before work today...

just plain suspicious

whoa I think this sidewalk is sloped

rolling grass is the new gardening craze?

Dr. Suess week at school "Inside Out & Backwards" day

2009-04-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

The other days were much less exciting... wear your favorite color, wear your favorite hat...this day was the best! Sierra walked around with stuff in her front hood all day.

crying, limes & Shorts

2009-02-27T09:26:00.000-08:00

Sam's B-day, stickers & cookie night

2009-02-13T05:44:00.000-08:00

Sam is one! We had a great time at his party. He was such a good sport about the cupcake. The frosting was blue & yellow...so he made it into green. Hugh & Liz also made some houses out of cardboard boxes. Clearly the hit of the party. We need to dig out a wardrobe box and do the same. No matter what toys you buy, it's the free stuff that is the most fascinating.

We had Valentines Day cookie night in Lieu of Christmas cookie night this year. There are always too many cookies...next year we making rules, like one dozen cookies per person. It should be less about the cookie decorations and more about the cocktails!

Young's Dairy

2009-02-13T05:05:00.000-08:00

We met Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma & Great Grandpa for lunch & also got to see a few of the animals. Sierra loved the baby goats, they are just like puppies...always in motion. So cute though.

Winter

2009-02-04T12:39:00.000-08:00

Lots to cover!

living room project

2009-02-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

Latest project. Living room walls. Create subtle pattern & repaint fireplace wall sassy red/brown color. Much better.

my cool hats

2008-12-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

Family Pix

2008-12-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

2008-12-09T13:57:00.000-08:00

We hosted our first Thanksgiving for 20+ people. Surprisingly no chaos, it was great! Just a tiny mashed potato catastrophe when the peppermill broke while the stirring was occurring and all the whole peppers landed in the potatoes. At one point I saw Sierra walking around in her tights and onesie...and her dress was gone? Where did it go I wondered?

back at COSI

2008-11-17T16:05:00.000-08:00

It's been about 5 years since either Brian or I have been back to Cosi. It was really nice to bring Sierra to Little Kidspace where we both worked on building the exhibits - very fun!

check it out!

2008-11-17T15:24:00.000-08:00

Little Pumpkin

2008-11-10T14:46:00.000-08:00

The parents were invited to the Halloween party at daycare...so I went to see what it was all about. Sierra has about 7 kids in her class and 3 of them were bumble bees, 2 girls and one boy. The boy had the same costume as one of the girls. I was surprised there were no other pumpkins. Oh to be 14 months old again:) Milk, snacks, naps & lots of love.

Our first trick or treat night at the new house was slow, which was nice. Sierra stole Mimi's lollipop and managed to get 1 stick of a kitkat, the poor girl never gets sugar...she was wired & running around with her pink princess car in the massively overstuffed costume I made. Check out the video and picts. Oh and all of the videos are sideways b/c I am too cheap to get a full version of quicktime!!! just tilt your head:)

Visiting June 2008

2008-07-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

June was a great month. We went to NH with Mimi (my mom) to see Alli graduate & visit with family. Played in the pool, checkup revealed that Sierra's hips & knees are in good shape, are fascinated with keys, found out that the reusable grocery bags hold children well, went to the zoo, hung with Auntie Freeman, had Big Smiles for grandpa & went to Comfest for the first time! Here are a slew of photos.

Baptism, swim, play & greenery

2008-05-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted for such a long time! Sierra is keeping us busy. We have had a baptism, started swim lessons, have been practicing balance & took a trip to the conservatory for mother's day. In between all that stuff play play play! So long story short Sierra doesn't mind being "dunked". She is a good sport about cold water (which is a huge surprise since she screamed bloody murder the first 4 months of her life at bathtime:) I don'tknow what we did but Sierra FINALLY has a standard bedtime of 8:15...I don't know why that specific time since we aren't very rigid about schedules, but she must eat at 6:30 and go to bed at 8:15...or else the grunting starts. Grunting = sleepy.

2008-03-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

This has been a busy few weeks of firsts. Not that all weeks aren't busy - but we have had a visit from Grandma Garrison, learned to sit up pretty much all the time and have been so much fun to play with! We have tried all solid fruits and vegetables and cereals that we can & definitly like the oatmeal and peaches the best. Sierra is truly a very happy girl and dare I say I think we have be spoiled with such an easy first child.

Blizzard

2008-03-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

Okay so Ohio never gets snow - let alone 20"of snow. Here is what we did over the weekend...or rather what Brian did since I was pretty sick and couch bound. He brought the snowman to Sierra since she doesn't really have the ability to "play"in the snow yet. He also made a running path for Maya since she is too short to jump snowbanks and needs low places to poop. My contribution was picking up the glow ball as Sierra kept smacking it so it would roll off of her swing...

March Madness

2008-03-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

Lots of events, lots of photos. Besides trying new foods Sierra has gone hiking, had her first (2) overnight stays, rolled over and nobody but the dog saw her do it(:(), and has been pleasantly entertaining as she is perfecting her laugh as we play peekaboo and other silly games.

If you notice that Sierra doesn't smile for photos it's b/c she is mesmerized by the flashing light and stops all smiling to stare at it.

Brian, Shorty, Daddy

2008-02-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

Dad has this new thing for covering Sierra's head with wash cloths, burp cloths...she looks kind of holy with the (clean) burp cloth on her head.

Crafting again....apparently all red

2008-02-14T09:50:00.001-08:00

Made this bag for Sierra's teacher Mrs. Sylvia for Valentines day & the bib for Brilee Rose. This is a first for me to add the gathered ribbon...gives me a whole slew of ideas for new things to make!

Welcome mini Sam!

2008-02-14T09:45:00.000-08:00

And lets give a shout out to Baby Sam Hugh Ralston born this past Monday Feb 11th!! So happy for Hugh & Liz...and for Sierra to have a camping buddy that she can play in the dirt and go fishing with!

Happy Valentines Day!!

2008-02-14T09:33:00.001-08:00

We dressed for the occasion today in the Christmas/Valentines day dress Mimi got, the leggins from BFF Brilee Rose, the cashmere booties from Aunties Sarah & Choppa and the Valentines bear from Grandma & Grandpa Short. When we got to daycare everyone was gushing over Sierra:)

Cutie Patooties

2008-02-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

left to right - Audra Sue, Gabby & Sierra
no explanation needed!

Cereal, sitting and blackdog b-day

2008-02-04T19:13:00.000-08:00

Okay so Sierra REALLY likes to eat, rice cereal not so much in the mouth as you can tell - but funny. She blows raspberries with a mouth full of her cereal so it splatters all over her face, the highchair & me. Then she just laughs. Can't wait for the really good stuff like peas and squash:) Of course when babies start eating foods they should have better trunk control...and be at least close to sitting up. She is not quite there but getting pretty good at it.

Of course we had to have a special b-day event for Maya so we got another stuffed squeaky toy for her to tear the fluff out of. This toy actually lasted a few days. Amazing.

A lot of firsts this week!

2008-01-17T05:59:00.000-08:00

Sierra is now starting to hold her own bottle - yipeeee! She also didn't cry in the bathtub this week. This may sound absolutely so silly but no matter what they tell you, you just need to make the water a little warmer than you think you should. Bingo,4 months later bath time isn't so bad! Oh yeah uncle Hugh is trying to teach her to read too:)

Adorable Bibmania

2008-01-17T05:39:00.000-08:00

A very adorable pregnant Liz is expecting Valentines day and her shower is this weekend. I wanted to make something cute so I found a simple pattern for these bibs...I got the idea from aunt Choppa - she got Sierra one of these Kunklebaby bibs. It is by far the best one I have, it's large,absorbent & adorbale: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5155896.

December Photo Bonanza

2008-01-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

We've been slacking with the photo uploads so there is a bit of everything from December to new years in here. We have cookie making, maya squirrel hunting, christmas fun & new years day. Enjoy!

What a big Girl!

2007-12-19T07:56:00.000-08:00

Busy busy last month! I was enjoying every last drop of spending time with Sierra before going back to work and bringing her to daycare. I don't care how strong you are & how well you think you can hold it together - it is the hardest thing in the world dropping off your child for the first time for someone else to take care of them. I have no problems leaving her with Brian, or her wonderful grandparents - it's the permanence of not spending time together like we had the past 3 months. I never understood until now how this little person could turn my world upside down with such a pure love. You just have to go through it to understand.

I lasted until I turned down the road to the daycare center...and then I lost it. I waited until I stopped crying but as soon as I walked into the building I started again and knew it wouldn't stop until I left and got back to the car. I'm sure they see it all the time, I knew Sierra was fine - it was me who wasn't quite sure or prepared. I didn't think I could bring her back the next day, I was ready to call Brian and talk to him about staying home. By the end of the day I was fine. It has been a week and 1/2 and we have gotten used to the new routine & people in our lives. We do miss our weekly routine visiting with Grandpa, shopping/lunching with Amy & Brilee, spending time with Grandma Garrison & being home to spend time with puppy Maya.

We are all adjusting very well & Sierra has such a wonderful teacher Mrs. Sylvia at school. All of the teachers are great but I really like Mrs. Sylvia. Apparently they make crafts and sing songs and read. I was a little skeptical about how a 3 month old Sierra could actually "craft" something. One day daddy picked her up and she came home with paint in the crevices of her finger and toenails, dying to see what they are doing over there!

We will start posting more often - just got caught up with enjoying life...no posting and no cleaning. Time to start doing both again!

Weeks 4-7 Social Butterfly

2007-11-06T17:27:00.000-08:00

It has been an exciting adventure the past few weeks - Sierra started smiling @ exactly one month and has only gotten more alert and funny. She coo's & giggles and is just the light of our lives. Enjoy the picts!

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

We went to the Circle S Farm to get our fall festivity fix with Aunt Beth & Felix. We were confused by the petting zoo since all that was there to pet were chicken/roosters and goats. The scary goats were as wide as they were tall and for obvious reasons we avoided the fowl...but the haybarn made up for it and Beth took a wild ride on the slide. Very good place some serious people watching. We were highly entertained.

My dad

2007-10-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

I knew this was coming...Brian was looking at these online one night and I knew it was just a matter of time before they came in the mail. I have to admit they are pretty creepy.

Magic Sling

2007-10-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

We visited my parents last weekend and I brought the sling along to have my mom try it out. Sierra slept the whole time she was in it. I highly recommend one of these. They are great for getting a few things done around the house, shopping and pretty much anytime your arms need a break. Wearing your baby is natural and really can turn a fussy day into peace & quiet. My friend Julianne raves about hers (which she got @ kangarookorner.com), I got a sling for both Brian & I at www.hotslings.com. There are many out there - if you want to find out more, try google-ing "wearing your baby" or "baby slings" to find out more about this very old tradition that makes ALOT of sense.

These are great if you have a dog to walk also...keeps 2 hands free for holding leash & picking up poo.

Sierra smiles

2007-09-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

Day 8
Sometimes you get lucky and catch a smile. This time we did.

My first 2 weeks in the C-Bus

2007-09-29T08:16:00.001-07:00

Name: Sierra Jean Short
Born: September 15th 2007 @ 3:07am
Weight: 7 lbs. 15 oz.
Height: 20 1/2"

Sierra Jean Short is now 2 weeks old and we are finally getting around to posting photos & info on this website. It has been an incredible journey up to this point and we are just starting to get into our daily routines. Maya has been so well behaved with Sierra - we couldn't ask for a better dog. The only challenge is keeping the dog from licking the baby. Sniffing is allowed...but what is it about poop that is so fascinating to dogs?

For those of you who don't know Sierra was born with hyperextension in both of her legs. It looked worse than it is - her legs were bent at the knee upwards and pointing toward her head...long story short the orthopedic doc is optimistic that a few weeks in her brace will be all that is needed to correct the problem (really just precautionary). So when you see the photos of the brace don't be alarmed. It doesn't hurt her at all, it just makes changing diapers a little more difficult.

Thank you to everyone for all of your support & casseroles. We may have starved by now without them!

To add this website to your bookmarks:
You can scroll to the bottom of this web page and click on Subscribe: Posts(Atom) text and this will add a bookmark to your browser so you can go to the website for updates really easily. You can also add this website by adding this bookmark from your browser menu. If you want any of the photos in the slideshow...click icon in lower left and that will take you to the Picasa web site which has larger & clearer versions of all the photos.

2007-08-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome to mini & blackDog.
We thought this would be a great way to post photo's & updates for our family and friends. Check back in the coming weeks as we are anxiously awaiting for the "mini" part of the Short family to arrive!