puppy life, a birthday lunch, outside lights

 last monday marked 1 week with winnie, and she turned 9 weeks old. she celebrated with lots of naps, lots of chewing, and a record number of potty accidents inside. :/ but we love her so much and she'll get the hang of things eventually. it was my first full day at home with her because thatcher went into the office.

it was also our nephew telemachus' 4th birthday, so we facetimed him to wish him a happy birthday. in the evening, thatcher went out for dinner with his friend jeff and the kids and i hung out at home. 

tuesday thatcher worked from home, so i was able to escape to the gym in the morning and the grocery store in the afternoon. we still feel like we can't leave winnie home alone yet, she gets too upset. i also got my first 'ho ho mint mocha' in a good 8-9 years, which was very exciting to me because it's my favorite holiday coffee drink and reminds me of home. 

i know this picture looks almost the same as the one from the day before, but she's just so funny and cute, i can't resist. 

ashford had zoom piano in the evening. then i took azalea to a cast party for her production that just finished. it was hosted by one of the student directors. i had my own event this night too - a book club meetup in our old neighborhood that i was invited to by my friend caitlin. everyone was so nice and welcoming, i'm looking forward to next month's meet up.

wednesday afternoon durant and cheryl came over to watch winnie for me so i could run some errands. it felt like when you have a new baby and you get to escape the house for a couple hours - ha! 

i stopped into total wine when i was out because a local brewery of which i knew the owners had shut down earlier in 2025, has been re-opened under new ownership (the old owners are still involved), so i wanted to support them. 

in the evening, we picked up a different, smaller crate from durant and cheryl to put next to our bed. sleep has been the hardest part with winnie, so we were hopeful that putting her next to our bed would help. and it did...sort of. she seemed a little bit happier in this crate and having us nearby, but she still woke up crying a ton and wanted to get up for the day at 5:15. sighhh. someday we'll sleep again. 

thursday thatcher worked from home, so i could go to a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. winnie has started to be a bit more rebellious. peeing inside after refusing to go outside, barking when she wants things, trying to launch herself from our arms. whew! haha. ashford got his hair cut in the evening. night #2 in the bedside crate showed some improvement. but she wanted to get up for the day at 5:15 again. 

friday thatcher worked from home again so i could go out for lunch at "good earth" for my friend kirstyn's birthday. our friend jackie joined too. they were going to see 'wicked" after but i couldn't be gone for that many hours. 

we had a cozy night at home. we made ribs for dinner and winnie and i sat by the fire and read my book (when she wasn't being a little terror). 

saturday morning we had some snuggle time in the chair. 

then i met up with my friend em for coffee + a walk around centennial lakes. after that, i headed to a high school to see my college roomate heidi and her mom at their christmas wreath booth at a craft fair. i hadn't seen heidi in at least 3 years. the kids and i went to target to get some lights and decorations for the outside of our house then got to work putting the lights up since it was in the 50s out and likely the last warm weekend. ashford was my little elf helper and it made me so happy to do this with him. 

it got dark and chilly, so we decided to finish the rest on sunday. that night winnie had her best sleep yet. a five hour stretch (still sounding like i have a newborn over here) followed by two potty trips in 90 mins and then she slept til 7:50. woo hoo! we felt like new people. 

sunday morning thatcher made eggs and biscuits for breakfast, then i headed to my mom's to help her with some projects and do a little thanksgiving shopping. ashford got some snuggle time in while i was gone.

ashford and i finished the outside lights. we decided to give winnie her first bath because she was getting quite dirty. our poor little girl absolutely hated it. she was shaking and crying the entire time. but she was so fresh and so clean afterward :) 

then azalea and i went to see 'wicked for good' in the theater. it was so good, we both loved it. after dinner we had a little lighting ceremony outside. we may add some more lights over the next few weeks, but this is how it looks as of now: 

i can't believe it's thanksgiving week! weee!