The Other McCalley

Someone recently mentioned to me that Bella has not appeared on the blog in far too long, so here is a post dedicated just to Bella.....Bella came to us via Sage and Jack, as a rescue pup all the way from Mississippi the summer before Will and I got married in 2008.

She is a mix breed of Pit Bull and Vizsla, and she really is the sweetest dog ever.  She has a fairly distinct "pit" face and a bark that terrifies people who come to our house.....however, she is terrified of thunder, mice, flies, falling leaves, doors shutting too loudly, people cheering during a football game, etc etc.  Bella spends her day on her couch in our living room (i.e., she's real lazy); you may notice a trend in pictures of her lounging or snuggled with blankets.  She will hang outside briefly a few times a day, but really she prefers to just sit inside where it is safe.  She loves riding in the car, and prefers the front seat or the floor.

Bella's just a big ole baby who needs A LOT of tlc.  She takes Prozac daily and wears a Thundershirt (don't know what that is? click here) during storms and when life just seems a little too overwhelming.

Bella and Frances are BFFs.  Bella really looks out for Frances, and likes to accompany us in the mornings when we go get Frances out of bed.  Likewise, when Frances hears Bella's collar jingling she starts calling "doggie woo woo."

We love this quirky and anxious dog!

Easter in Oxford

Irene, Brooks, Anna, Frances

It was a most wonderful Easter weekend over in Mississippi with Meme, Grump, and the Nichols clan (although we missed the rest of the fam).  Frances is still worn out from all the playing she did with the triplets- it is pretty wild and busy when you have 4 munchkins in one house, and those girls played nonstop!

Brooks

Frances showing a little attitude with Brooks

Entertained by the dogs in the backyard

4 wild girls in the tub!

Post-bath playtime

They were just a little hyped up!

Birthday dinner for Jack

Sweet Fran....we love Sage's porch and her swing!

On Sunday morning, we claimed the back row in the church with 6 adults and all 4 babies.  Amazingly no one had to make an exit during the service (not even Grump)!  We had a nice lunch at Sage's house after church, then had somewhat of an Easter Egg Hunt on the porch....I use the word "hunt" very loosely.  It is so much fun to watch Frances with her cousins; they sure are going to have some good times growing up together!

Checking out goodies from the Easter Bunny

Frances and Irene

Easter lunch

Fun hunting eggs!

Fun Being A Big Girl!

Life with Frances at age 2 is keeping us busy!  She is taking off in all directions with her development, and she is into everything.  She loves playing outside- especially swinging and trying to boss this big kids at the Tot Lot.  She is doing pretty well feeding herself with a spoon....and I'll admit she'd probably be even better if her mommy would let her do it more often:)  She continues to love to eat any food we give her.  Brussel sprouts is the one food she hasn't liked, and I can't really blame her for that one!

Frances continues to progress with her walking and she thinks its fun to walk holding our hands now too.  We do our "endurance" training when we go to the library and the gym- she walks from the parking lot to our destination (with a few stops to socialize, of course).  She is also getting pretty good at trying to stand up from my lap and she will stand for a second or two all by herself!  I would say talking and socializing are two of Frances' best skills.  She talks and signs for most things she wants/needs, and will attempt to imitate pretty much any word that you say to her.  We are working on getting her to put 2 words together now and she is doing really well with that too.  I know I'm a little biased, but I think she's pretty dang smart!

Play date with our friend Ethan

Reading at my new table!

Distance training at the gym

She is also being a very very typical 2 year old....we have had our share of good throw down fits lately. I'm learning a whole lot about what battles are worth fighting :) The fits are usually pretty short-lived, but it's made for a few interesting trips to Publix. Frances can be very opinionated about what she wants and is quick to tell us "No," and she will now turn her back to us and do a big "humph."  It's pretty cute (sometimes) and I'll admit it's hard not to laugh. Probably our biggest battle right now is standing up in the bathtub.  She knows she's not supposed to do it, and she LOVES the bath. Telling to sit or she has to get out has worked until last night she decided she was fine with getting out, which really wasn't ok because she hadn't actually gotten bathed yet.  Well that idea doesn't work anymore!  Frances is also really into hugging right now- and she's quick to ask for a "cuh" after she's been a little rotten.

Playing at the library

Sneaking (thru the doggie door) into the kitchen

Helping mommy with laundry

Frances and I had so much fun last week during Spring Break- I absolutely love getting to spend my days with her when I can. We went to our first "big kid" Story Time at the library and she loved it! We plan on doing a lot of that during the summer.  I am SO looking forward to having the summer off from work to play with my girl!

So much fun dancing at story time

Ready for Spring!

We finally had some nice weather this past Sunday and played outside all afternoon! We took a ride in the wagon, went to the Tot Lot, and played out in the yard.  Frances is loving being able to explore, climb, and really get around the playground.  Looking forward to all the warm Spring weather!

Wagon ride

Climbing

Lots of bear crawling these days!

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February Fun in Oxford

A few weeks ago, we took a little girls trip over to MS for the weekend to visit the triplets.  It was a fun weekend, and the girls played and played nonstop.  On Saturday, I ran the Run For Hope half-marathon while Jack ran the 5k, and Sage and Meme rallied through the 5k pushing all the babies in the strollers.  Here are a few pictures from our fun visit:

After the race!

4 munchkins cheering on the runners: Fran, Irene, Brooks, Anna

Rub-a-dub-dub, 4 crazy babies in the tub

Naked play time after a bath is always fun

Frances getting some good snuggle time with Aunt Sage

Enjoying the sunshine!