Birthdays and Pets

Wyatt turned 4 just 2 days after we moved into our new house last month, so we held off his bday party for a few weeks until we were more settled in and ready to entertain guests for his party. I told him he was able to invite 4 friends, but one of those friends had to be his brother :-) My mom was also able to come since she was in SC helping my sister w/ her newborn baby. This was the first birthday party for Wyatt that she has been able to come too, so it was really special! She has taught 4 yr old Sunday School for years and was a great help w/ the party games that we were trying to get 4 yr olds to play :-) My cousin Andrew was also able to come and spend the weekend away from Bob Jones University.
This year was the first year that Wyatt was really excited and "all about" his birthday party. He has since asked me if he can start inviting people to his 5th Birthday Party, and tells me that he is going to be 5 soon! ha!
Lightening McQueen from Disney's movie, "Cars" was the theme, and we had tons of fun w/ different racing-type games! One very creative guest even gave him a Lightening McQueen slip and slide (which I get asked every day now if it's hot enough outside to use his new present!)
My sister wasn't able to come w/ her 2 little boys b/c we had just gotten over the flu a few days earlier and she did not want to risk her newborn catching anything right before they went on the road with their Sports Evangelism ministry (National Goals) We missed them, but I was able to go stay w/ her a few weekends later.

Here is my handsome 4 year old!! Where has the time gone?? (sniff, sniff)

Here is my handsome ALMOST 3 year old and Wyatt and Levi's friend, Judah.

The pictures below were taken at the house we just moved out of. The boys did not know this, but we were planning on leaving Dixie with our neighbor when we moved. It's a "love/hate" relationship with Dixie...first off, let me say that I never had a dog growing up, so I am not a true dog-lover. Seriously, I doubt I would own a dog other than the Cockapoo breed. I mean what other type of dog does not shed and is hypo-allergenic?? I do NOT do dog hair on my floors and furniture! So, I love Dixie b/c she is sweet and loving, does not shed, doesn't make me sneeze, and rarely smells. Plus we've had her for 6 years, so I love the memories of her before we had kids and how she was our "baby" and my friend for all the late nights during bball season in FL. But I hate that I get stressed out by the extra responsibility that she is now that I have kids. I hate that I have to juggle taking her out to do her business while my young kids are left unattended and often get into trouble. Nothing like coming in from taking Dixie out to find my (then) toddler eating dog food, or unrolling the toilet paper into the toilet. Or on the flip-side of that scenario...not paying attention to the dog b/c I am taking care of my children and keeping them from making messes, or changing a diaper, or feeding them, or just something semi-important for totally dependent children under school-age...then finding that the dog has had an accident b/c I did not take her out. Now to clean up the dog's accident...then while cleaning up the dog's accident, finding my recently potty-trained child has also had an accident...you get the idea...etc, etc. I am not a naturally laid back person, so all of these situations really get me stressed out and I was finding myself loosing my cool w/ my kids due to the extra responsibility of the dog. (I'm sure there are times that are not dog-related that I lose it too, but you get the idea)...all that to say that we were going give Dixie to our dog-loving neighbors when we moved. We did not think it would be an issue of sadness w/ our kids b/c they have never paid Dixie a ton of attention and were too little to help w/ the different dog responsibilities in the past. But of course just days b4 we are set to move (and simultaneously leave Dixie w/ the neighbors and pass it off as "Dixie couldn't come to the new house")...just then, both boys start being really loving toward Dixie. Wyatt asked me to take his picture w/ his "friend" when Dixie was sitting him one day. Then the next day, Levi did the same (prob. just b/c Wyatt had done it, but still none-the-less makes you feel guilty that you are about to give your household pet away). I knew that I could not handle going thru house training another dog at this time in our lives, so I figured we might as well keep the house-trained, 6 yr old dog we already had (and had spent a good deal of money on as well). Alot of the things that annoy me about her probably could really be changed w/ some good training...I need The Dog Whisperer...