Introducing....Beckham!

I am over the moon excited to announce our newest addition to our family....Beckham!  After losing Spencer, I mourned him and then just mourned the change to our family without a pet.  Our house was so much quieter, there was no one barking at the front door when I came home, no poop to pick up in the yard, no slobber on my glass doors to wash, and no one to snuggle with when Steve was away traveling.  Many of these things were not appealing to Steve, and he did not want the "burden" of another pet, especially with the baby coming.  But my heart and mind felt differently.

Shortly after we lost Spence, Steve started "the talks" about how we are not getting another dog.  He was really worried that he would be away on a business trip, and he would come home to a new dog.  I tried to explain that I would never change our family like that without discussing it with him first, but I guess he didn't believe me.  We went weeks without a dog, but I just couldn't get over the changes.  So I started browsing the web for local breeders, even completed an application to adopt a weimaraner from the southeast weim rescue, but nothing panned out.

I finally found a couple of litters that were due to go home in the Fall, so I thought I would readdress the topic with Steve.  I explained that he married me when I owned two weims, and he couldn't expect me to go without a dog for a year or two.  Then I rationalized how if we got a puppy now (prior to the baby's arrival), we could get it crate trained and a little older (and hopefully better behaved).  I promised to be the caretaker, and fortunately had two small cheerleaders backing my decision.  He ultimately caved!

Before I sent off any deposits, I did more research.  I guess it was meant to be because the chips fell into place, and I found a breeder an hour away with a litter that was ready to go home late July.  So I packed up the kids one afternoon and we drove over to inspect the mom and dad and puppies.  They were only 4 weeks old, and we fell in love with several.  It was a tough choice, but we finally selected a little male with a white marking on his chest.

He came from a huge litter, and they really all looked the same, but his white marking reminded me of a previous weim I had, Palmer, and he was easy to distinguish from the rest.  Though we could have picked him up at 6 weeks, we knew we were heading to the beach for a week, so the breeder offered to keep him until we returned.

We put a deposit down on him, and drove home discussing names.  We ultimately decided to keep his purchase a secret, as we were afraid everyone would think we were crazy for getting a puppy so soon, and with the baby coming.  The kids did great, and really kept it to themselves.  Over dinner for the next couple of weeks, we discussed potential names.  It was down to Cooper and Beckham, and Pres was adamant about the latter.  Though the surprise was ruined at the beach (thanks to Pres)....it worked out perfectly.



When we departed the beach on Saturday, we drove straight to Tuscaloosa to pick him up.  He was the last puppy there, and looked pitiful in the pen by himself.  We immediately kissed him and Bennett was anxious to hold him on the way home.  I didn't want to fight my own daughter to hold him, but believe me....I wanted too.

Once we got home, we played with him in the backyard and let him inspect his new home.  He was introduced to a few folks, and then we got settled into a new routine.  The first night was rough, as he didn't like his kennel, nor being left by himself in the laundry room.  But once we moved his kennel into our bedroom, he began sleeping better. 

We are almost at a week now, and he has learned to enjoy his kennel, well maybe not "enjoy," but he doesn't whine when he is in there like he did initially.  He does awesome holding it at night, only getting up once.  Now if we can just get him into a similar routine for the day....

Pres cuddling him on his dog bed

Unfortunately, Beckham hasn't learned to fully empty his bladder when he is let out.  He will go a little EVERY time we let him out, even if it is every 30 minutes.  We thought about keeping him inside for longer stretches, but then accidents were happening.  Frustrated, but I knew this would happen, so I am trying to be patient.  Supposedly, puppies can only hold it for as many months that they are, plus one...so three hours for him currently.  He is definitely doing that at night, so perhaps when he is active....it just takes more time.

Bennett has been a GREAT help with him.  She takes him out right when she wakes up, watches him closely so he doesn't potty inside, and takes over whenever I am doing something else.  Preston, on the other hand, doesn't like any responsibility. 

Even Steve fell in love with the little guy

He is definitely feeling more comfortable here though, and has won all of our hearts.  We now look forward to getting through the next two months, when he will be fully vaccinated and we can take him on walks to burn off this energy.



One Last Beach Trip

The kids LOVED the private pool!

Our family has had an awesome year, traveling to the beach several times so far, but we had one last hurrah planned with my family!  It was a trip that we had been looking forward to all summer long.  We were going with my brother and his family, as well as my parents.  Though we were going much later in the summer than I would choose, it was my parents first real trip to panhandle and we wanted to make sure they had a fabulous time.

Brian and Lucy doing the "linebacker"

Steve and I researched homes all along 30A, and ultimately selected a home one street away from Rosemary Beach (our favorite area).  It was about 1.5 blocks off the beach, so an easy walk for all of us and was a very short bike ride to all of our favorite restaurants, bars, parks and activities!  The house had four bedrooms, all with attached baths, two living spaces, a huge wrap around deck and a private pool....so it worked out perfectly for our growing family.

Unfortunately, it has been a very wet summer, so we didn't know what to expect from a weather aspect.  However, mother nature spared us, and it only rained a half a day and sprinkled a little a couple other days.  In addition, the water was awesome all week, with the exception of one day.

Brian holding one of our crabs

Kids crabbing...catching little ones with their hands!



We started our trip with an awesome shrimp boil!  We even had special guests....my matron of honor, Kris Viguerie, and her family.  It was awesome to see her after several years, and for us to meet each other's children.

Kris and me with our kids

The best part of our trip is just being together and watching all of the kids together.  They really love each other.  As they get older, I see more and more similarities between them too.  Pres and Christian are such competitive, active little boys.  And Bennett and Henley couldn't be more different from them.  They are both more dramatic, and little caregivers to each other and Lucy.



The kids at the Sugar Shak!

Two cuties!

Fun on the Beach...notice the mermaid tales?

Splash pad!

Nighttime fun!

Steve, my engineer, loves to build sand castles with the kids

Playing games on the iPads

The girls...two peas in a pod

Nene and Poppy with their grandchildren

Steve's goal was to hold Lucy without her crying

Showing me their tongues after snow cones

Body surfing

Date night at Caliza

Inspecting the hermit crabs we caught

Last night, family dinner

We started most days with a morning bike ride, and then headed to the beach.  The kids alternated between the pool and beach, but it never was a problem since we had so many adults.  We visited area parks, went crabbing, hunted shells, built sand castles, road waves, did a lot of swimming, played games, went out to eat a few nights and visited sno-balls, the sugar shak and cool candy...the kid's favorite dessert hangouts.  We packed a lot in for seven days, and our kids were exhausted when they came home.

Thank you to my parents for an awesome trip!

our only family pic, not good, but it will do



Summer Fun

Midway through the summer, and we have been successful knocking out items on our wish list of activities.  Between camps, we have tried to have fun, and here are a few photos to prove it!

Sleepover with cousin Henley

Fun with friends

Hanging out with Poppy

Jumping on new trampoline

Baking me a birthday cake

Goofing off

Fun at the zoo!

Visiting traveling dino exhibit at zoo

Swimming with friends

Fishing with Daddy

Watch and read for more to come....

A Rainy Independence Day Weekend

As the long 4th of July weekend approached, we kept reading the weather forecast about scattered showers.  We knew there was potential for bad weather (which makes enjoying the lake tough), but it is rare for us to go to the Mizerany's lake house and have everyone up there.  So we went ahead and packed for the long weekend, and decided to play it by ear.  Everyone trickled in Wednesday like we expected.  The kids were able to get in the lake and swim some, and then we had a great dinner.

The festivities and fun started for all of the adults right away (everyone but me, of course).  However, the rain started shortly after.  It then continued to rain about 15 inches of rain over the next day and a half!  There were short periods of time where we got a break, and the kids took advantage of them...swimming, fishing, catching frogs...but they never lasted long enough.

frog catching!

Pres getting ready to fish

Beer Pong....yes, Pres learned how to play

After two days of rain, Bennett and I decided to head back to Birmingham.  As much as I love family, I can't stand being cooped up and feeling trapped.  At least back home, I could knock out little chores, eat out and run errands.  Fortunately, the weather back home was better, so Bennett and I attended a post-Independence day get together with friends and watched them light a bunch of fireworks.  We also enjoyed dinner out, just the two of us.  We snuggled each night, and slept in until 9am both mornings.  It was glorious having a quiet house and a little alone time with my girl.

Bennett with a sparkler

Dinner out with just the girls!

Meanwhile, the boys stayed back and had a great time hanging out with cousins.  Mimi doted on them and they were spoiled in their own kind of way....not cooking nor doing any chores (Steve's perfect weekend). Fortunately for them, the weather cleared up some so they had a ball too.

Pres ninja kicking into the lake

Father-Son bonding!

Overall I think we all had a wonderful weekend, even if we weren't together the entire time.  Here is a pic we took of all of the cousins.