Fidophile Giveaway

My dog Carolyn has three loves in life; her treats, her toys, and her family.  She eats, sleeps, and breathes treats.  I can assure you that when she's awake she's plotting of how to get more yummies, and when she's sleeping she's dreaming of them.  Carolyn is a very much a member of our family and there are photos of her displayed around my house.  My daughter likes to point to them when she seems them, she loves her Lynnie!

If you didn't already know, July 11th is a very special day.  This day marks All American Pet Photo Day.  On the same note, Fidophile is also launching their new personalized pet photo framing business across the country.  Fidophile is a simply, easy to use, way to celebrate and honor your beloved furry friend.  

Once you logon to the website and upload a photo of your choosing, you can then choose the breed of your dog and one of six beautiful wooden framing options.  Within days your personalized photo frame will arrive ready to hang on your wall.  You'll absolutely love seeing your furry child on the wall every time you walk by!

A personalized pet photo makes a wonderful gift for yourself or a new pet owner too. On the other hand, if you know someone who recently lost a beloved pooch Fidophile is a great way to honor that late pet too.  If you have free wall space in your home, it's time to fill it with a wonderful photo of your furry baby.  You'll surely cherish it for years to come.

Make sure to celebrate the special day by treating your dog or cat to some treats.  After all, without them All American Pet Photo Day wouldn't exist in your home!

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Scarlett 18 Months Update

Can you believe Scarlett is 18 months old now? Also, in just a few short days she'll be 19 months! Time is really flying by, and it's hard to believe that in 5 months she'll be 2!

Scarlett is very interested in Sesame Street and Elmo.  I have Sesame Street DVR'd, so we watch it everyday.  She gets so excited and stands up on the couch and points and screams at the TV whenever it comes on.  Every time Elmo is on screen too she starts wildly pointing! Scarlett has a love affair with Elmo and we have lots of new Elmo things in our house including slippers, dolls, DVD's, pajamas and more.  Anytime you show her a book with Elmo she just keeps pointing at him non-stop.  It's true love!

Scarlett went to camp for the first time last week.  This was also a big deal because I had never dropped her off anywhere before.  She's been with me her entire life.  When I dropped her off she was a little shy with the teachers, but started playing right away.  The entire week she didn't cry when I left her, and I was told she didn't cry the whole time she was there either! When I picked her up she looked like she could care less that I was there! I'm glad she handled it well as I'm teaching her to be independent.  It's an important life skill that I take seriously.

Another new development is that Scarlett is starting preschool in September.  She'll be going 1 day week and then after she's 2, we'll move it to 2 days a week.  While she won't be learning to read or write obviously in preschool, they teach key social, physical, and emotional skills that are important in  development for young children.  They also learn through messy play which she'll absolutely love.

Scarlett is still not talking yet, but she really understands everything.  You can tell her to do something and she usually does it.  Of course she has her moments where she doesn't listen to you, but every kid has those.  We were playing with her toy kitchen yesterday and she brought me one of the fake cups from it.  When we were done playing, I said can you please put the cup back? She walked across the room and put it back where it belonged.  

I still get surprised when she completes a request because it shows me that she understands what I'm saying! This is especially true when I ask her to do something for the first time too.  Scarlett now loves to get her bubbles herself for her bath at night, and likes to try to open the fridge door to get her milk as well.

Responsibility is something that I've been working on teaching.  When we're done playing with toys I say can you please help clean up? I want her to know and understand that if you take out 15 toys, you're responsible for them.  You made a mess that you need to clean up.  Of course I help her clean up too but I want her to know that she has to help as well.  When all of the balls spill out of her ballpit, she loves to help clean them up.  I tell her good job for helping and thank you continuously as she helps to clean up so she feels important.

We're working on trying to slowly take away the pacifier too.  Scarlett's still really attached to it and wants it a lot.  She's getting too old for it, so we're slowly trying to take it away during the day.  She needs it to sleep, so getting rid of it at night too will eventually need to happen too.  She had a couple meltdowns yesterday and the only thing she really wanted was the pacifier.  My husband and I used other methods of distractions to calm her down. We read her favorite book to her and that helped.  Parenting isn't easy!

Since it's warm out, we've been really active outdoors.  We go to the beach, pool, and splash pad.  We're going to Grandma's for a few weeks soon too.  I know Scarlett will have a great time there!

Make Your Taste Buds Happy this July 4th

I'm sure everyone's finalizing their 4th of July BBQ menu at this point. Are you looking for a delicious and patriotic dessert everyone will love? I have a great and easy one that will make your party a hit!

Ingredients:

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

2 quarts strawberries, halved and divided

2 quarts blueberries, divided

Steps:

1. In a large bow, beat cream cheese, sugar and extracts until fluffy.  Fold in whipped cream.  Place a third of the mixture in a 4 quart bowl.  Reserve 20 strawberry halves and 1/2 cup blueberries for garnish

2.  Layer half of the remaining strawberries and blueberries over cream mixture.  Top with another third of the cream mixture and the remaining berries.  Spread the remaining cream mixture on top.  Use the reserved strawberries and blueberries to make a "flag" on top. 

Not only is this dessert adorable, but it packs a big taste too.  Maybe it'll be your new go-to dessert to make each July 4th?

*Recipe taken from Taste of Home*