The nurse at the hospital told us that kids are either exactly like one parent or a perfect blend of both and all their siblings will fit the same mould. I’ll let you be the judge of which we got.
Baylor’s 1st Day
Auggie’s 1st Day
Baylor’s crabby face
Auggie’s crabby face
Tree Frog Baylor
Tree Frog Auggie
Baylor starting to smile
Auggie making me work reeeaaalllyy hard for not a frown
Sweet cheeks Baylor
Sweet Cheeks Augg
I think I can finally write this without tears streaming down my face…ok, without a lot of tears streaming down my face.
Two weeks ago we unexpectedly had to say good bye to Bear. Honestly it had been coming and we knew that, but no one was willing to make the decision so he made it for us. He had what we think was a stroke and the vet told us it was probably one of more to come and that he wouldn’t make it through the night.
It was so sudden and unexpected – Peter and I couldn’t look at each other without crying. Bear started out as my mom, sister and my dog 13 years ago. When PW and I got married and moved to DC, both Bear and Travis came with us and that was 7 years ago so Bear was as much his as mine. And in a lot of respects, he was Peter’s because Bear chose Peter – litereally. He should have been named Judus because as soon as we were marrried, it was like all the love, feeding and caring for him that I had done didn’t mater, now he had a man to hang out with.
After several long cries, the gallows humor started. Growing up in my house my mom taught us that it’s good to cry, but sometimes you need to laugh instead of cry because there just aren’t any tears left. Peter and I laughed through tears saying that Bear was probably in purgatory watching films of all the terrible things he had done throughout his life; stealing tissues out of the trash and shreading them, peeing on the rug repeatedly despite the open dog door, tearing into bags of trash and slinking away just as his brother Travis discovered the treasure and thus making it look like he did it, wagging his tail on approach to another dog and then trying to bite their ear off, stealing baby toys, willing Baylor to drop him food, snarling through baths, learning how to open the gate to our back yard and taking himself for a walk…the list goes on. We always said he was such a smart dog, he just chose to use his brain for evil rather than good.
But despite his flaws, he was a faithful friend who was always quick with an ear kiss, a crazy welcome, a paw to shake (but only if you had a treat) a black nose to kiss and big brown eyes that let you know that there was a lot more going on in his furry head than he was willing to let you know.
Sweet Baylor crushed me that night by asking me through sobs where Bear’s bed in heaven was. She was incredibly upset about where he would sleep since his bed was still in our room. I let her know that he had a big, fluffy bed next to Travis and Mamie. She asked if his room was close to Jesus’s and when I said yes, she calmed down and drifted off to sleep.
I still catch myself saying good bye when we leave, throwing an ice cube on the floor for him, and calling for him when I drop a carrot on the floor. I miss him when the house is quiet and he would sit in the office with me and work. I miss the clip of his nails on the tile and the jingle of his collar. How he shnuffled and stretched each morning and “combed” his hair by rubbing his face repeatedly on the bed skirt. 
B and Bear didn’t agree on much – except treats, tents and tea parties
Always the perfect tea party guest
Cotton-y fur and snow never mixed…
Add “drinking from the ice bucket” to the list of things he’s watching in purgatory
Peter and I never text each other so when we do, I come across old messages – like way old. I saw one the other day from our annual San Diego trip. We had been enjoying the beach until PW was stung by a stingray (or a creature as B calls it) and went back to the room to boil his foot (no joke, that’s what takes the pain away) and a beer.
Because really, who doesn’t love a reference to a Snoop Dogg rap when discussing their unborn child?
Also? Ignore the shnicklfritz comment (too much to explain) and the Big Momma is my mom (personality really, not size) – people tend to frown on women 8 months pregnant drinking on the beach…
Whew. Where did the last three weeks go? Auggie is three weeks old today and I think everyone is finally settling into life with two kids – including the two kids.
We discovered the first night Auggie was here that he is a talking. Like a big time talker. He grunts, grumbles, moans, hums and whistles in his sleep. LOUDLY. Like can hear him over the sound machine loud. And because he and his sister share (or will share) a room, there’s no putting him in his own room to avoid being kept up by the racket. So PW and I decided we would try putting him in the bathroom over night to see if helped. It turned out to be perfect – we hear him cry, but not all the noise and his crying doesn’t wake up Bay. And before you get all “I’m calling CPS” on me, he has a very lovely bassinet to sleep in in our larger than average bathroom – it’s pretty nice actually. At the very least, it will make for great material in therapy some day.
And a few new pics of the crew:
I love when they start waking up!
Bedtime stories are now a family affair. Auggie already loving Curious George.
I’m excited, nervous, anxious, ready and not ready to meet our little guy today! Details and stats to come!
One last look at the belly – looking mighty big if I do say so….who is the jerk who puts horizontal stripes on a maternity shirt?! I know I’m the dumb dumb who bought it, but I was desperate for something that covered everything!!
Since B has been sleeping in a big girl bed, we’ve started the nightly routine of laying in bed and chatting for a few minutes before bed time. Peter swears it’s the most information he gets out of her all day because she wants you to stay so she keeps talking. It’s so funny to hear what’s on her mind while snuggling.
Peter explained what college was to her a few weeks ago. Since then I’ve made a habit of grabbing her and screaming “don’t leave meee!!!” periodically. To which she always responds “I HAVE to go to college, Mommy!”. It cracks me up that we even have this conversation at three years old. These exchanges flowed into bed time the other night and this is the conversation we had:
“I love you big girl – sweet dreams.”
“Mommy, I think you’re being kind of funny about college.”
“Oh really? How so?”
“Well, I have to go to college. I just do.”
“But I will miss you!!!”
“I will miss you too. So why don’t you come with me?”
“Come to college with you?”
“Yes.”
“Do I have to go to class or just be there with you?”
“Just be there with me.”
“Done and done. Mommy was a big fan of college the first time around so I think a second round would be splendid.”
“Good. So now you can stop being funny about it.”
Which completes my funny business about college. God help me if she goes somewhere that doesn’t have a decent bar….
Peter ordered this for after his hunting trip:
I have no words…
If you are a fan of deer and elk meat, please message me so I can get you a BIG package. I support the hunting. I do not support me eating the spoils. Picking buck shot out of my teeth is not on my bucket list, FYI Peter.
I was desperate for an hour’s worth of work time late yesterday. I asked B if she could work on her computer too so I could get a few things done. She agreed so I dialed in and tuned out anything that wasn’t a “I’ve critically injured myself!!” scream.
An hour of work, dinner, bath, dinner for PW and I, another 1.5 hours of work and I caught a glimpse of this in the mirror:
I knew she had been playing with my shirt, I just didn’t know I was a canvas for her new stickers. And I like that PW never asked why I had 100+ stickers across my back. When I pointed out this fact his response was “it’s impressive how straight she made the line”.
One of our favorite restaurants, Orange Table, constantly features local artists work. Most of the time we love what is on display, but it’s out of our price range or we can’t figure out where it would hang. But this past month, we found the perfect combination of great art, great price and a location desperate for something great.
The artist for August was John Arvizu from Trapdoor Studio. He featured several screen prints that almost had a pop art feel to them. I love this look, but this is not the style of our house and I was afraid they would look strange…but Peter’s office is totally devoid of actual art (except for the awesome oil painting of the Georgetown Law archway I had done as a graduation gift – awesome, yet lacking in funkiness). PW agreed that the cowboy print was perfect for his office.
When contacting John about picking up the print, I asked him about another picture on his website. He told me that it was already sold, but that he would talk to the owner to see if they would be willing to switch for a similar print. Thankfully they were willing to trade so Ralphie the Buffalo came home too:
John has a great video on his website that shows the process that each print goes through from drawing the stencil, cutting it and then creating layers and layers of color, dimension and interest swipe by swipe of the screen. Be sure to check out the store section of his website – his prices are great for a one of a kind piece!
I have been dying for a chevron stripped table runner. I love the pattern and needed a way to incorporate it into my life and a table runner was the best and easiest way I could think of doing it. But what color?? And where to get it??
I sat down last Sunday and strategically avoided doing acual, paying work by doing some googling. I came across an Etsy shop called I Need it Homemade. Such cute and simple chevron patterned pillows, purses and of course, table runners. But the best part, all of her runners are reversible with the buyers choice of colors. Perfect!! And they had they gray I wanted for fall and the teal I wanted for summer. Best yet, she was willing to make a custom listing for me of an extra long runner to fit our extra long table. AND for an amazing price. As if that wasn’t all I needed, Melissa the owner was wildly quick to respond to my emails. I ordered on Sunday 16th and got it yesterday the 20th. How’s that for turn around time?
And look how cute it looks with some fall decor
So if you’re hankering for some chevron or other cute goodies (she does everything from sugar scrubs to baby onsies – I’ve got my eye on the tie onsie for Mr.Man) head on over to I Need It Homemade (http://www.etsy.com/shop/ineedithomemade) and get to shopping!
The Goon Room 