Sleepover party

 Last weekend we were lucky enough to have a four-legged house guest. He goes by the name of Bowie McGee and is the "child" of our good friends Amy and Mike. I awoke bright and early Saturday morning to a text message by Amy telling me our little friend was waiting downstairs and Ella and I rushed to greet her. Now, I have always been a dog person,and this is by far the longest period of time that I have ever gone without a dog in my life. It hurts a little bit to know that Ella doesn't have a dog of her own, mostly because I always thought our beloved pitbull/bulldog, Niko, would be her childhood pet. When Niko passed away, I figured we would get a new dog eventually, but on most days the truth is that I don't want another dog, I just want Niko back, and so our house remains pawless, and Ella remains petless.

Enter Miss Bowie into our lives for one short weekend and the toddler/beagle magic began to work its charms. Ella could not have been more excited and did not leave Bowie alone for one second of her visit. She pretended as if Bowie was just another friend who would want to play with her.

"Bowie, I'm gonna take your temperature." (That one made me pause and take a look).

"Does Bowie like headbands?" (Answer: No). 

"Bowie, let's play hide and seek. You hide first!"

"Bowie, watch me ride my bike."

And just as we all get annoyed when our friends don't listen to us, the love affair between Bowie and Ella had its problems, too.

"She's not hiding!"

"She's not watching me ride my bike."

Trying to explain to a two-year-old why a dog won't follow her orders is like trying to explain anything to a two-year-old. It doesn't work. But overall, they had a great time together. Bowie is the most patient toddler toy I have ever seen and she was handsomely rewarded with snuggles and chicken after Ella went to sleep. Just don't tell Amy about the chicken.

Overall, it definitely got those dog ideas swirling in our minds, but no progress yet. For now, I am only responsible for cleaning up one creatures poop, and that's fine with me. Mike's dad brought over two fish a few weeks ago, so we'll start there and see where it takes us. Who knows, maybe next week we'll get a hermit crab.

Play dates, pools, and corn on the cob

Summer continues over at the Bonaldo house. Over the weekend we picked up our new grill and I haven’t turned on the stove since. Okay, that’s not true, but you get the idea. On Sunday, Nene and Pop Pop came over for a little barbecue and Beezer enjoyed her first corn on the cob. I guess that means she’s a real kid now. I also went to a craft fair in Milford with my mom and Kristy and we bought this really cute bird house that is all set up out in the yard, so if there are any robins out there who read my blog, we have a beautiful house all ready for you to move in to. Just sayin'.

The past two days have been full of play dates and pools. Yesterday, we were lucky enough to host a little get together with the lovely Miss Loreli Elizabeth and her equally lovely mother, Christina. Ella B was kind enough to take a two hour nap so I could visit with the gals sans toddler, attention-seeking behavior and then woke up happy as a peach and super excited to see the “baby, baby, baby.” We blew some bubbles, played in our “pool” (okay, it’s a lobster pot, but Ella B doesn’t know that), and I did my best to keep Beezer’s fingers out of Loreli’s eyeballs. So, basically it was a great visit for everyone and I was so excited I forgot to take any pictures of Loreli for posterity or the blog. Sorry.

Next, we ventured over to Jessica’s house for some pool time. We swam, we played with rubber duckies, or “quack quacks” as Beezer calls them, ate some cheese and crackers, and met a really awesome Portuguese water dog named Body.

Today we had a little play date with Gina and Bella. Well, we mostly had a play date with Gina as Bella and Ella do not realize that synchronizing their napping schedules would make things a lot more convenient for their mothers. Actually, it probably worked out for the best because two fifteen-month-old girls arguing over baby dolls can only go on for so long before something’s gotta give (namely, mine and Gina’s patience). But it sure is cute to see those little girls together, especially when they kissed each other goodbye. So adorable! I felt like quite the oddball with all the Italian blood running through that house today. So many tan legs, I felt translucent!

And yes, this was the best picture I could get of them. Those little monsters never stand still! At least you can see how adorable Bella's outfit is.

So, the week is shaping up nicely. Thanks to all my ladies for making it a good one so far! And a special thanks to my mother who dropped off a real baby pool today. So, Christina, you can stop laughing at me now.