The Reverend

(details to come... Abby's up from her nap! no time to write! enjoy the photos)

Sit, Sit, Sit...

We've been working on sitting lately. Abby can now sit on her own for a few seconds, sometimes longer. As long as nothing catches her eye that she wants to grab, she does pretty well.

... "Oh, What's that?"... Topple!

Hello, My Friend

You've got to wonder what they both are thinking...

Apparently Abby is thrilled, Molly... less than amused.

We're friends now, right? Good. That means I can eat your tail.

On a Roll

With Collin in the house, the dogs are everywhere... so poor Abby hasn't been getting much floor time. This morning I locked them up with Welford (who is in quarantine with the flu), vacuumed, and set up for Abby. We had a great time.

Working on sitting was not on the top of Abby's list to do. However eating the giraffe was.

Woohoo! Abby's off of her elbows! She's getting so strong!

Weekly Wonders

A few pics from this past week.

Nothing on the baby gym is as interesting or as fun as Molly!

What a group. 3 dogs, a cat, and a baby.

Collin is not a fan of Abby kicking him in the head. He was laying down, but picked his head up moments before this snapshot because Abby touched him. Molly will just lay there and let Abby kick away, but Collin does not want to be touched, even if Abby hits his paw. It's the funniest thing how different the dogs are around Abby.

Speaking of funny... dressing Abby now, or even changing a diaper, is now comparable to wrangling a greasy pig. There's so much to do, so much to see, so much to stick in a mouth!

Meanwhile, Molly has found new companionship in Gumby. Apparently we are not giving her enough attention with Collin around. That, or Gumby was just on the floor and seemed like a great pillow at the time.... and you thought he was just made of clay.

Calamity Collin

Don't let this cute face fool you... Collin is a glutton for punishment! Or perhaps just a glutton. We have the honor of watching Collin while his owners, my folks, are on a two week cruise. Somehow, I think we got the wrong end of the deal. You have never met such a food motivated dog before. He takes dog proofing to the next level in the Orrock house. We have to ensure that all food is off of counter tops (did I mention he's a big, tall dog?), the pantry door is LATCHED and not just closed, yes this dog can open doors if they are not completely latched, and all trashcans must be put away behind a latched door if there might be something in it worth eating... a diaper, a tissue, etc.. We're just hoping he doesn't teach Molly how to open doors while he's here. Just as Patrick taught Collin how to open doors, it will be Abby's job to teach Molly.


Don't get me wrong, I love this dog. He is our gentle giant. I've known him since he was a few months old. Now, at 8.5 years old Collin weighs over 100 lbs and will do anything for food.

--2x the size of Molly!--

Within 18 hours of having him, Collin managed to completely destroy our trash. We think trying to get to chicken goodness in the bottom. As a bonus, he found many other tasty items. Poor Alice came to our house and found the mess! She yelled at Collin and laughed at Molly who was running around the house with an ice cream carton in her mouth (clearly not the culprit). Molly is opportunistic to say the least. A few days later, Collin got into the trash again! This time while Welford and I were both home! Crazy dog! So I dug out our dog proof trash can, and we are now using that for the remainder of his stay. I am sure Collin's hooligan behavior gave Molly a new found boldness.... she darted past me twice this week and ran away. Something never attempted in over a year.

Abby doesn't seem to mind him, and in fact has really taken to him. Even when he's sharing her blanket. She does get a kick out of him, especially when he plays with Molly. Boy does she laugh!!! :D And it provides double the entertainment for her on our walks.

We can certainly say we won't miss the big lug when he's gone, but we're certain Molly will mope around for a day or two.

Morning Memories

Oh, what a delightful morning walk we had today! Welford is out of town on a middle school youth retreat, so I have Abby, Molly, and Collin to care for all by myself. Which is going pretty well if you disregard Molly running away twice. Fun times.

This morning, all of us were taking a stroll and on our way home. A firetruck siren was approaching causing Collin to go on high alert. Molly could have cared less about the noise. When the truck got closer, and became increasingly louder, Collin started to "Woo, wooooo" at the sound. At this point in time, Molly runs to Collin from the bush she was sniffing to see why he was making such a commotion. Simultaneously, a noise emerges from my chest..... "Wooo, wooo, wooooo"!!!! I look down at Abby, and laugh hysterically! Collin continues to "Wooo, woooo" as the firetruck comes and goes. He stops when he can no longer hear the siren. Molly finds there is nothing going on to make such a ruckus about and goes about her business sniffing around. Abby, however, continues to "Woooooo, wooooo" the rest of the way home! And I just cherish the hilariousness of my walking companions, wishing Welford were home to hear his precious daughter mimic Collin!

Who's your Daddy?!

Evening Excursions

Now that the weather is cooler, we all go on an evening walk together. On Sundays & Wednesdays Abby, Molly, and I go without Welford, but still manage to have a wonderful time. I am sure that if Abby could talk, she would let you know that this is by far her favorite activity. She loves to explore the area around our townhouse... the trees, bushes, clouds, buildings, Molly, etc. It is a wonder to watch her take it all in and observe her surroundings. Not only does it let Abby explore, but it wears her out before bedtime... also a huge plus!

I Can't Live

With or without you.


October 1, 2009 - U2 concert in Charlottesville, VA

Wow, what an evening! Lila, Welford's awesome sister, gave us U2 tickets for our Christmas/Birthday present this year. Amazing! She's so great. And so was the night.

The first thing you noticed, was the spaceship stage. Very big, and very neat. Then the light show began. It was so spectacularly beautiful throughout the concert. These photos don't do it justice at all.

Alex & Alice
The wonderful Irish dinner party and parking hosts extraordinaire. And concert seat mates!

25!

On September 23, 2009 Welford turned, you guessed it, 25! The quarter of a century mark!
This momentous occasion fell on a Wednesday, so Welford was gone most of the day. He did come home that night to a streamer filled house and a funfetti cake. His favorite! And as a bonus, with the good frosting where the sprinkles are mixed in! (Jenn Duncan, let me know if you need some... we know where to find it in VA!) What more could a guy ask for other than a square double decker funfetti cake?!

The youth that night threw him a small bash and Rob & Laura dropped by that evening, so I'd say he had a pretty fantastic 25th.

Playtime 360

Miss Josey has outgrown her ExcerSaucer and is graciously letting Abby borrow it.
As you can see, Abby loves her playtime in it. Her favorite part is when the children laugh on the bus, she laughs right along with them. :D (seen below...the bus has the green button on top)

Although she's usually eating parts of the gym, Abby has gotten the hang of most buttons and still explores new parts on a regular basis.

A fun time indeed!

Bumper Baby Blues

Well, a quick sewing. Not so pretty, but highly functional fulfilling its duty. On Wednesday morning this week, we heard Abby playing in her crib. All of a sudden she screamed, so Welford went and found her leg sticking out of the bars where her bumper was too short to cover. That afternoon Abby and I went to a local quilting store we found the previous weekend with Alice (an awesome fabric store!) to buy some padding and fabric to fix the five inch gap.

I don't know where the day went, all of a sudden it was 5pm and we were planning on going to Wee Praise at church at 6:30 that evening. So I tried to quickly fix Abby's bed, but sadly we didn't make it to Wee Praise that evening. However, I did finish the bumper, installed it, and walked the dogs (Collin & Molly) with Abby before Abby's bedtime! A productive evening.