Tag: kids
Dopplegangers
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
Fur Face
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
Bathroom Baby
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.
Pillow Talk
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….
My Assistant
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”.
The Big Reveal
It’s finally done! Bay’s room has successfully been transformed into a his and her room – now we just need the baby to go in the crib and we’re set! Check out the pictures on Scottsdale Moms Blog today along with all the other hilarious posts from Pregnancy Week.
And a HUGE thank you to Ashley Hall for all her help with the cut outs for the mobile. Mr. Man will have something fun to look at thanks to you!!
Mini Horse Hands
A few months ago I got a flyer from the Zoo about their equestrian programs. They have a class called Mini Horse Hands and it’s designed for 3-5 year olds. The stables at the zoo are really nice and the price was right so Peter and Bay ventured to the zoo every Saturday morning in July to the class.
The good news is that she LOVED IT. She was an amazing listener, brave and had a great time. The bad news is that most of the kids (and their parents oddly) were terrified of horses (please let me know if you understand why someone would sign their kids up for horse class if the kids and they are terrified of horses – because I cannot for the life of me figure out why). So there was a lot of standing around waiting for the other kiddos to warm up to take their turn. Needless to say, we won’t be signing up for another round of classes, but we will definitely be looking for a stable for her to take some more lessons!
Grooming “Rolly” Neapolitan
Feeding Midnight
Ready to ride!
Ridding Penny
First Day of School
Last week marked Baylor’s second year at preschool. I can’t believe how much bigger she is this year than last year! She landed in a great classroom with several of her buddies including the infamous Ms. Morgan. She has three teachers, two who have been been teaching since forever and one who is only a few years out of college – it’s the perfect mix!
August 9th, 2012
Baylorisms – Part 5
I keep saying that I need to keep a list of the funny things B says – because by the time I get to my computer, I forget half of them! She is now at the point where she knows she’s not saying something right and has begun to say “Do you know what I’m talking bout? Does that make sense??” trying to convey her thoughts. Such a crack up and getting smarter by the minute.
Zanya – The name she gives a lot of her stuffed animals. I have no idea where it came from or what it means.
Nayday – Her horse’s name, the only one not named Zanya.
Hanitizer – The combination of Hand Sanitizer
Rondry room – Laundry room. She can say L’s, but for some reason that doesn’t translate to the laundry room.
Loyal-ler – Lawyer. As in “you don’t look like a loyal-ler when you where cowboy boots to work, Daddy”. Jury is still out on whether this is a good or bad thing.
Scoops – the arm motion that goes along with freestyle swim stroke. While watching the Olympics, she announce “oooh, look at her scoops!!”.
The Goon Room 