He's a "Sheep-zu"

A few posts ago I wrote about a dog breed analysis test that we were doing for Winston. Well, now we are even more stumped about his background, as is the vet. It could not detect dominant breeds in his background, but did identify two breeds that are somewhere in his genetics. (As a side note for my biology friends out there, it looks for SNP variants between breeds.) So, based on the results, Winston's background says he is part Shitzu and part Old English Sheepdog! We hadn't even imagined that he could have either of these backgrounds, so we were totally surprised. Here are pictures from Wikipedia of each:

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While I have to admit that the Shitzu part threw me off (I mean, they're nice and all...they're just yippy and little), I know that Winston is still the coolest dog in the world. So, it's likely that he has other breeds in his background that the test didn't identify....a true mutt. While this doesn't completely stop the speculation of his background, friends have enjoyed trying to picture a 10-lb Shitzu running off with a 75-lb Old English Sheepdog.

Mary-Mitchell takes Tucson

I wanted to post a few pictures from our visit with John's sister Mary-Mitchell. We haven't seen her since the summer we moved to Tucson, so it was wonderful having her here. And, MM brought her great friend Heather, who we've been lucky enough to know for several years. We ate lots of Mexican food, visited the Desert Museum, and took a road trip to the Grand Canyon. All four of us (plus Winston) drove up there and went to bed early, planning on waking up nice and early to watch the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. As residents of Tucson, we're accustomed to not relying on the weather forecast, so we were surprised to wake up to several inches of snow. After waiting a few hours for visibility to improve, we finally did make it to see the amazing view. And, Clark Griswold-style, we got back in the car and drove back. We did stop in Sedona, which is absolutely beautiful, for some lunch, coffee, fudge, and sunshine. It was great to see MM, and we can't wait to see her again!!

Yes, John wore shorts. Raise your hand if you're surprised. Anyone? Anyone?

Baby love!

Hi everyone!!

By now everyone around us has heard, but I will announce it here on the blog anyway....we are having a baby! John and I are completely over the moon and excited about our little peanut. I am in my 16th week, and feeling wonderful. In the first trimester I was queasy at times and extremely exhausted...I seem to be in the lucky minority of women who don't have to live with their heads in the toilet. I have managed to sprout a wee Buddha belly, and am wearing it proudly. John is also feeling wonderful (I'm sure you were wondering), and keeping pace with my voracious reading of pregnancy- and baby-related books. Winston is of course clueless, but will no doubt have the shock of his little life when he realizes (1) that he has to share attention, and (2) that he was adopted (ha!). The baby has already been exposed to all sorts of Demon Deacon sports, as well as cell biology from a big meeting in San Francisco that I attended. The holidays in NC were fantastic, and it was really touching to see how excited our families are for the first grand-baby on either side.

I'll be posting some pictures from the past few weeks soon, but in the meantime, below is a picture of a baby at 16 weeks. I'd like to think it is from a webcam installed in my uterus, but that baby doesn't look like a ginger to me (you'll have see John's very cute baby pictures).