THE Christmas Card

Just so you know, the following pictures about killed this pregnant woman!
Getting these pictures, these 3 pictures, took longer than anything I've done in my life! (Well, it felt like it.)
77 pictures later we ended up with exactly 3 pictures that I would let be published. Craziness I tell you-this may be the last year of the Venable-do-it-yourself-at-home-Christmas-card
This one almost didn't make it, then I rotated it and found it acceptable.

I wish upon a star that this was a real live shot-but it was totally scripted. Don't be bummed-it's still cute. :)
I'm sure she'll have the same face Christmas morning-just different outfit and hairstyle.

Surprisingly the dogs cooperated-for dogs that is. She said some funny things while we were posing them. "Des boys are too big." was one I remember.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE VENABLES!

Jackson!

So a new hero has moved into town...Jackson! I taught Jackson in 2nd grade (he's a rising 5th grader now) and he recently moved across the street from us. Sidney Kate loooooves Jackson, his brother, Ben and their parents! Jackson came over one day to play with SKV; he's so sweet he plays whatever she's wanting to play.

Time with the boys, throwing frisbee.

She was frequently heard saying, "Come on!" I can imagine it now-"Here are my rocks, there is my grass."

And she loves that he can put her in the swing and swing her to..."the MOON!"

Whoa! Blog Backlog!

I am so behind on blogging, please forgive me. Life is a little busy with a two year old. Shew!
She went to coloring one day and Indy walked right over to watch. He just wants to be around his family...he really wants to be rubbed, but he'll take quality time too!

The Freemans came over for a cookout and this happened. I think they had the most fun piling on top of each other. What a pile of "youngins"!

Indy and Buster...no loving while company was here. (Insert theme song: "Lean on Me" here)

Relaxing Around the Castle

So after a hard day, SKV and I decided to take in the sun and watch the staff do some chores.

You thought that was the sun shining? Nope! It was Momma's legs! How do you like the drive-by lick from Indy?

Peace!

What were we watching you wonder? Daddy's puppy washing duties! "You missed a spot!"

Indy's Spring Break Wishes

Indy has been dropping some hints about where he wants to travel on his Spring Break.
See if you can figure it out...

Pretty pathetic huh?

Buster Love

Buster might not admit this, but he likes that little girl.

He still runs from her when she is chasing him and yelling, "Horsey!" but he did pretty good here.

"Horsey! Horsey!"

Sidney Kate loves some 'Horsey!" This involves her, your leg and a lot of muscle work! She has killed almost all the horseys in this house...except two. But I don't think they're buying.

Sweet Puppy Love

Sidney Kate thought Buster might enjoy wearing her hat. He was a good sport; although it's Carolina blue it does have NC State on the front. (Kinda looks like a true 'dawg' doesn't he?)

She loves her Indy!

Say "Cheese" Indy!

Random Girl Life Part 3

She does love those cowboy boots. No pants needed.

Houston: We have another potty moment! Here she is flushing away. Still not a regular thing but there is some interest now and again.

Ahhh sweet Puppy Love! She is becoming very fond of Indy and Buster (even though she calls both of them Indy.) I am 100% sure Indy has finally learned there is a purpose for another little being in this house-to give him love and affection! He eats up some Sidney Kate rubbing!

Here she is letting Buster in on the action. Sweet boys! How could you ever banish your first babies (puppies) from the house because you have a child? That is a bond that can never be re-created! Such sweet stuff!

Sunday Night with GG

Sunday, December 27 was the date. It was a cold, sad day in the Venable household...not really-just trying to set the scene. :)
We started the day with church and Daddy dressed Sidney Kate in her new, adorable outfit from Grandma Mary and Papa. I asked him to get a good picture of her in it...this is what I got. Not sure what face that is, but we'll take it. :)

Later that day, around 4:13:08 PM, GG arrived to take my precious child to her house. After SKV and I awoke from our nap we decided that she didn't need/want to go, but they (being GG and Daddy) made her go anyway.
Isn't this just a pitiful picture, she looks all lonely and lost, about to leave Momma-oh! (I wonder where she gets her drama from?)

Looks real painful doesn't it. She had her Abbey movie going in GG's car and GG said she didn't make one bit of conversation all the way there. Those crazy DVDs suck kids in!

This was her second night away from us, her first was with Papa and Grandma Mary (not sure if I posted pictures from that-I will go back and see.)

Turns out that SKV had a blast because Kaylee was there when she arrived. The girls played till 8:00 or so then she continued to play with GG and Papa Bill until after 11:00 (yeah, kinda late huh?!) Anyway, she slept well and had a big time. The next day we ran some errands around town and went to pick her up. It wasn't completely horrible but I really like having her with us. :)
Here is what the other children did. Rejoice in their attention...poor guys!

Final Fun at Uncle Keith's

Kevin skiing on a golf course-haha.

He's up! He totally fell down the first hill and my camera was off-doh!

Someone made an igloo-how fun!?

Our first babies have a blast in the snow!

Angels Everywhere!

Mommy's Snow Angel.
(I had to show her what to do.)

Sidney Kate's Snow Angel.
I literally put her on her back and moved her legs and arms for her-she wasn't a huge fan, but hey-we're making memories here! haha

Whoa-whoa!

Oh our boys aren't forgotten! They haven't had a snow like this ever! They spent their outdoor time chasing each other like they were puppies again! We're not sure how indy got so covered...like you would see it on buster anyway!

The Puppies

I'm sure many of you are wondering what the puppies are doing while we're having all this fun...chewing sticks.

Buster has managed to chew 1/2 of the railings up the stairs to our deck. He's so proud; at this rate he'll tear the deck down for us by Easter.
Indy on the other hand just waits patiently for us to let him back in.

Our First Baby

indy will always be our first baby! He came along in March of 2004. His first name was Dunlop and he belonged to a family in King. He was their replacement dog when their black lab of 11 years was stolen. They soon discovered it wasn't the same and needed to find him a new home. We had just bought this house and Kevin was so wanting to have a dog again. It was perfect!
Here he is in the 'good ol days', as he calls them, when he had an entire chair to himself! It wasn't intended to be his chair, but one day he laid his chin on it and looked at us. It was over from there. Once he got use to his chair he would come running into the room and jump into it, making it slide into the wall. Pretty funny and slightly damaging to our wall.

indy...all alone, enjoying the space of his chair!

This is indy and mugsy. We rescued mugsy after church one day. He stayed with us a bit and indy was determined to let him know who was boss. This picture makes it look like he was eating his head...he probably wanted to, just to have the place to himself again!

Tough life back then! He had one other chair he was allowed in, the LazBoy in the computer room. We would all get up there and snooze together. He sure loved (and still does) to be cuddled with!