Hello Again!

Hello out there! 

It's been a minute or two since I last blogged, and I keep telling myself I should get back into the habit so that I can try to record lots of upcoming moments.  So, in the spirit of trying, I will do so.  I'm just not the most exciting person leading the most exciting life, so I guess my blogging fell to the wayside.  But we have some more exciting, more blogworthy things happening in our lives, which will be post-worthy.

I'm sure you know, because if you read my blog, then you're my friend :), that Josh and I are expectant parents.  Nolan Exum (after Josh's grandfather's family name) will make his debut this summer, probably around the end of June.  I felt his first kicks this morning and I must say--they scared me half to death.  I immediately emailed my good friend Jennifer to make sure I wasn't imagining things. 

Today also marks the halfway point in the pregnancy, and I think that's pretty darn exciting.

Well, I realize I never did introduce everyone to our newest family member, who came to us during a moment of my personal weakness at an animal shelter back in October.  My mom and I went to the SPCA to donate doggy food and I ended up leaving with this little girl. Her name is Shelby, but based on her quirky personality, we started (and continue) calling her Beaker.  She is Sadie's best friend and they are attached at the hip.  She is the sweetest, most perceptive little puppy, we think part miniature greyhound and part border collie.   This is a photo of her first playtime!  She is super leash-scared, so she really just lies down when you put one on her.  She does love to run around in circles in the yard and her favorite hobby, when not biting the ears of her big sister or pawing Josh or me in the face, is to sit and watch birds flying around in the air.

I can't wait until it is warm enough to start working in the garden, putting up hanging baskets of flowers and ferns, planting our veggies and staining our deck.  We're trying to get Nolan's nursery all finished before it gets to be warm outside so that we can spend the warm months as much outside as possible.  Hopefully I'll have some pictures up soon.  We'll be having lots of visitors this summer so we plan to make the most of the porch and deck that my sFIL built.  Cleveland summers are mild and relatively dry (especially compared to Alabama summers) and almost make up for the snow in the wintertime. :)