good morning!(even though it's almost not morning anymore)

 sam(my parents dog) is at the end of his days.  we're babysitting him right now while my parents are away at a family funeral, and i come down in the morning and watch to make sure he's still breathing before i get him up and help him go out.  i'm going to miss him when he's gone.  he's been a good dog.  he was definitely my shoulder to cry on over boys in high school and he kept my feet warm when my room was cold.  also, he pulled me across our yard with his leash wrapped around my leg, and french kissed my friend nicole running down the stairs to greet her.  long story short, he has made our lives a lot more entertaining than they would otherwise have been.  hang in there old man... there's a certain young man in marine corp boot camp right now who's hoping to see you when he gets home.

 grandpa reading Are You My Mother?... a major favorite read around these parts

 nonna getting in some gideon snuggles

 isaac drew this by himself, showed it to me, and then pointed to where we live.  

where the heck does he learn these things??

 

ezra, needing to stay competitive with his brother, drew space...

which meant isaac had to draw space too.

gideon loves to be in the slings(we have a moby and a maya at the moment and he loves both)

visit with aunt rosemary and uncle mike

 bis nonna(great nonna, my nonna), the baby charmer

 moments with her are few and precious

ezra suckered her into reading Tawny Scrawny Lion (Little Golden Book)

sorry this picture is awful.  i had to use the flash because the banshees wouldn't sit still long enough to take a non-flash picture...

our awesome friends bought a baby hammock for gideon AND HE LOVES IT(thank you!)

 

adam built a hammock stand for it, and it is perfect!  his brothers have been strictly instructed to push him with only one finger.

 

andrea is going to start making and selling(on etsy) some big butt baby pants and gideon was one of the first recipients! 

 he's also going to be her model.

and they're reversible!!

 i'm so impressed.  she says they take her 30 minutes per pair!

in the words of ezra, "you're a chubby, spitty boy gideon"