These Two

My dog Micah just loves to lick..aka kissing. He has a beard and if he is in the right spot with his kissing and the beard tickers you can't help but smile or laugh.
I just love seeing your older lo

My baby girl is now three, and her big brothers (9 and 5) are as protective as ever too. She has them wrapped around her finger (and knows it!) I love watching them together when they are in 'love you' mode. ('Get out of my room and don't touch my stuff' mode? not so much!) Enjoy your babies!

I agree with Simon and the licking thing. That's what makes me a cat person, not a dog person. Well actually just one of the reasons, barking would be #2.

That is so sweet! We have a black lab that just turned 2 in August. And our baby is 4 months today. He is also a licker! So far he has done well around the baby, but we don't think he knows how big he is.

I'm so with Simon! I don't like being licked (eewwww gross). Or jumped on. Or barked at. Which would explain why we have two cats and no dogs.
Love the old layout - now will there be a new one that chronicles the change in Lily with the second born?

Dear Ali,
I love your Blog and check it often. Today was a heart breaker as we just lost our wonderful, Black Lab, Hunter after 12 years. They are the best dogs!!!!! Your Lily looks so dear and fun to see her. And your Anna and Simon are adorable!!!! I am a retired Kindergarten teacher so kids are the love of my life and I have no grandchildren. Thanks for sharing your sweet family,
Irene Talaasen

I am so sorry to read about the loss of Hunter. I so know how hard it is to lose a pet (I have had three that have passed on in my life).

I so love the photo of Anna and Lily. I'm so glad they get on so well. We have a dog as well and she loves our son and he loves her tremendously. It's wonderful to see that bond between child and pet. It's so cute of Simon to be so protective. What a wonderful big brother, Anna is a lucky girl.
Have a great day and thanks for sharing bits and pieces of your life with us.
Take care,
Paola

love this post ali! i am a dog lover all the way! i have tons of photos with my daughter and our cocker spaniel, and i'm looking forward to the photos i will have when we are able to have our second.

thats so sweet, Anna & Lily. the names together sound pretty as well.
looking forward for my last chance at winning a spot in the yesterday & today class! :)
a

Oh, my gosh! These pics are so precious!! Hey what's wrong with paper strips?? lol
Jeanne in Denver

What a great moment you captured. Pets and kids are always cute subjects! Thank you for sharing and as always, inspiring!

Wow, is Anna going to be a 'redhead'? That top photo sure looks like it. I am one myself and am quite partial. I was wondering if you still had Lily, because I hadn't seen her in your layouts in awhile. Labs are the best!
Amber Osburn

I had been wondering about your dog since I had not seen her in a photo for awhile. So was happy to see her in the corner of your Wii photo.
Just this last Spring and Summer we had to put down both our 13 and 16 year old Brittany's.
My 11 year old daughter took it the hardest as she said, "Mom, I don't know life without them."
Keep enjoying Lily.

Ali, I can relate to so much in today's post. We have an old black lab (Quest, almost 14) and Sadie, only 2 years old. Quest has been the best dog on the plant, so it's been hard to adjust to Sadie's puppiness, licking, exhuberance, etc. Quest was not a licker, but she definitely is! We had a 3-year-old houseguest 3 weeks ago and she (the lab) was nutso. Just her height and very reactive, in contrast to dear old Quest, who's so mellow. But he still has so much heart, dying to play even though he's crippled up with arthritis, and craving attention from whoever will give him a kind pet. Gosh, I'm not sure what qualifies me for the contest to win a seat in your class, but I'd be overwhelmed with joy! I'm taking C. Zielske's right now and loving it.

Sounds a lot like my two golden retrievers. UPS truck included! Gotta love the relationship between small kids and their dogs.

I laughed out loud at the wand thing. He so wants that wand to really, really work!
You aren't the only one who loves your little brood, Ali!
Thanks for sharing so much!

Cuteness. Our baby and cat are the exact same way. Archimedes (the cat) will let Eden pull on his tail, essentially tackle him to try and pet him, and he just sits there and purrs. He adores Eden. It is absolutely darling that Simon is trying to protect Anna from Lily. What a good brother. :)

She is such a beautiful dog :) We just got a female black lab named Sissy that we hope will be our daughter's Autism Dog. :) thank you for sharing Lily with us!

You were so sweet to reply!! That was so touching to me. Thank you. Enjoy your family and your sweet Lily.. You are so good about thankfulness and living in the moment and I love that.
Irene