Libby gets her pup-pup

Friday night, at 10:00 p.m. daddy and mama embarked upon a 5.5 hour drive to bring home libby's pup-pup. An ice storm moved in right about the same time, and we safely arrived back at home Saturday night around 7:30 p.m. We had planned to spend Friday night in a hotel, so it wasn't THAT bad. But, needless to say, we were glad to get home.

The pictures below are in order from most to least recent. Libby and Barnabas have become good pals. She goes back and forth between completely ignorning him and giggling at his silliness (like scratching his collar area). When she interacts with him she's so gentle and kind. She's had practice with her other favorite doggie, Izzy.

Having Barnabas at home is much like bringing home a baby. Mama is taking him outside every few hours through the night, he can never be out of my sight, and I'm constantly wondering, "does he have to go now? does that mean he needs out?" clearly my biggest concern is my carpet. :) not entirely, but since he's otherwise healthy, my carpet is right up there on the list of concerns.

Enjoy the pics of our babies. It's incredible how much Barns has grown already. You may be able to tell from the pics of him here with libby on down. We have noticed a difference in the 6 days we've had him! Not a good sign for someone who is hoping for a small fully grown doodle! But, with his sweet personality (he loves to cuddle and play with his toys, and doesn't like his shadow when he's trying to eat) and intelligence (he wakes mama up by whining when he has to go outside in the night and he's starting to learn how we feel about some no-no behaviors) we'll keep him nonetheless. Plus, he's our first son!

mama mops the floor and her two little messmakers make quite the audience (libby is wearing her new outfit from aunt sarah - thanks aunt sarah! and, you should know that this morning when she woke up, the first thing libby said was, "sah-sah!" aunt sarah babysat last night and libby was disappointed she wasn't here to get her out of bed. so were daddy and mama. :)

barnabas creeps over to lay on libby's lap, completely on his own. he'd rather cuddle with her than play with his toys. (barnabas is sporting his new leash and harness. the harness is still a bit big for him, but not for long. it's great because it allows him to be buckled into the car! he's already gone on his first outing buckled in safely!)

 

when we got home with barnabas it was after 9 p.m. and libby's time to play with him was pretty limited. but, the next morning we posed the two of them together for some pictures. he looks so big on her lap, but you'll see below how little he looks when outside next to daddy.

libby and barnabas immediately hit it off. she and he are both incredibly gentle with one another. he pretty much takes whatever she gives him, but all she gives him are cuddles and kisses and gentle pets. she was so happy to have him sit up on her lap in these pictures.

here you can see how carefully she's considering her actions as she pets him on his back. he's so fleecy and soft!

libby offers her canned smile for the photo

she is so sweet with him. barnabas is looking at daddy and wondering what on earth he's talking about.

 

an emergency stop because little barnabas was whining and squirming! mama stays in the comfort of the van for warmth.


daddy gives barnabas his first bath at home. daddy's face says, "take a quick pic, i want to get to bed." it's been a long day at this point, and we're all exhausted.
now mama gets to pose with the wee little thing, who weighs in at 8 pounds. he loves when mama cuddles him.


... as you can see, he loves when mama cuddles him. he bonded with us easily, and grew very fond of nuzzling his little face into mama's neck. here, i even get a kiss!

 

Bar-bas, come.

New posts are more challenging these days,
since we no longer have our camera.
Unfortnately, a great weekend getaway in Chicago ended with the realization that unpacking our bag would go quickly, since most of our belongings had been stolen out of it. Yes, the camera included. So, boo United Airlines and boo Chicago O'Hare. In the meantime, I received these 2 updated pictures of Barnabas, referred to as Bar-bas by Libby. Yesterday she requested, "Barbas, come. Barbas, home." Barnabas will be coming home on Saturday, and hopefully we'll find a way to get pictures of his homecoming! Libby is ready for him, with toys and treats and his new bed. He is already very loved!

And missing are the photos of our family Christmas that took place last Wednesday evening (no photos were taken, sadly...). We had a great time exchanging another round of gifts and enjoying a family gathering with everyone included. Libby and fam got to meet Aunt Lucy's fiance, and for the first time tried to negotiate a gathering with two Uncle Daniels. Libby got some great gifts, once again, including adorable new clothes, fingerpuppets with a book, and her very own housekeeping set. One morning we will wake up to the house spic-and-span, we are confident. Libby really loves to clean.

Libby also loves to play, and mama is getting left out of the fun, so that's all for now!