I have Survived....

having a pet for one week. And we're both still here.

Things I like about having a dog:

The walks, the tail wagging when he sees us, my kids playing with him, my kids getting over any fear they had of dogs, petting, loyalty, crazy antics in the backyard when he doesn't know I'm watching

Things I DON'T like about having a dog:
The wet smell, the shedding, the one-more-thing-to-think-about on my daily list, the dog not being crate trained and wanting to sleep on my couch

I have survived.....
another bought of Strep Throat....we think. If my swab tests positive it will be #3 in 6 weeks. Yuck. So my wonderful doc gave me different drugs and a bunch of blood work. He's testing my thyroid, liver, and for mono. Yep, mono. Gross. So hoping that one doesn't come back positive. Drugs are making me feel pretty good but by the end of the day throat is still a little sore. Hot lemonade with honey is my friend.

I have survived.....
Brock starting to crawl. It's army crawling but he's crawling and moving fast. He's pretty determined to get under the table where Vato lives when he's inside and I'm just as determined to keep him out of there.

I have survived.....
multiple years of no sleep and no end in sight to sleepless nights. Sigh.

I have survived. And grown. And learned. And come out smiling....mostly.

Adding to the Family....

No - we're not pregnant. You can start breathing again. We've added a four legged member of the family.....

Introducing Voto (va-toe). He's 10 months old and has been answering to this name for that long so we figured we'd keep it. Zane was pretty keen on naming him Anakin but we convinced him that Voto was a cool enough name. So, here's his story. He's a Rottie-Jack Russel cross and was given to a family's son by his girlfriend and he's not home enough for a dog so he took him out to the farm for mom and the grandparents to look after. But they already had 2 HUGE dogs (as big as Rhett - seriously) and one more was just too much. So they advertised on Kijji, Cliff saw the add, we've been going back and forth for the last couple of days and today we brought him home. He's neutered and has his puppy shots so we don't have that head ache. He's great with other dogs and kids - been exposed lots to little ones. And he comes, sits, learns fast, doesn't bark, isn't hyper, doesn't jump up and loves to chase cats. If I had to describe a perfect dog all of those things would be on the list. He hasn't tried to chew anything, listens to me great and is just so mellow. So far a great addition to our family.

And although some think this choice is completely random and sudden for our family, Cliff and I have always talked about having a dog. I never had a pet at all growing up and Cliff usually did so we come from different perspectives. But there are lots of things that a pet can provide for a family and for kids and we decided that now was a good time. Zane's already pretty confidant around him - Voto sat in the back of the van next to him for the ride home and kept getting closer and closer to Zane. Zane was thrilled "mom, I think he likes me!" And 5 minutes after getting home even Rhett was cautiously patting him on the head. Brock is politely disinterested right now.

So here's to our new adventure!

8 Months!

OK, so he was 8 months a week ago.... Life is busy!

But Brock at 8 months is soooo much fun! Things he's up to:

- loves to stand up against anything

- starting to shuffle along things

- pulled himself up in his crib from sitting

- goes from his tummy to his bum when it suits him

- scoots but doesn't crawl

- loves paper, cords etc - anything that he shouldn't have

- blows raspberries ALL the time!

- loves to give the baby in the mirror kisses

- doesn't make strange

- reaches his arms to go to mom or dad

- thinks that Rhett and Zane are the BEST

- makes a funny clicking sound

- has 3 teeth cut and almost a 4th

- won't hold his own bottle - makes for good cuddles

- still has poof hair

- is a screecher

- usually has 2 good naps a day

- still doesn't like travelling for more than an hour

- is 19.6 lbs and about 28 inches....hard to measure a squirmy little person!

- likes most everything I've given him to eat

- says da da da all the time

- is usually up once or twice a night

- loves baths - especially if he gets one all by himself

- loves to walk all over the place if you hold his hands

- is a happy happy little boy

Reward

This is my new hair....well, old hair but new color and freshened up cut. I hit my 20lb mark last week and decided to reward my self with a non-edible reward. So today I got it foiled and cut. And I'm going to try and repress how much it cost because I LOVE it.

So, 20 down, lots to go!