Dog Wednesday

So, since my dogs give me lots of good stories, I'm going to try to share one every Wednesday. They make for good laughs! Anyway, Suzzy has decided that when I'm not around that she should be the mommy. And not just the mommy to Ellie, but also to Blake. I'm aware that this is not good and we have fixed it mostly, but it's funny to watch. While Blake is crawling around on the floor, Suzzy proceeds to follow him. If he gets too close to the outlet (which is covered) or something on the floor, she tries to nudge him away. And yes, nudge. Without teeth or violence, for those who are worried. However, she's not too fond of sharing her water bowl or her dog dish with Blake. Blake doesn't care if she's not into sharing because he figures that since he has to share his puffs with her then she can share her food.

Raun came to the bathroom on Monday, while I was getting ready, so he could ask a question. It was quiet, which is never a good sign. Raun came out to check on him and all I hear is "no, no, no." I came out, concerned, and to my dismay I see Raun pulling out a handful of dog food. Disgusting! Apparently Blake likes it and Suzzy particularly likes it once it's been in Blake's mouth. I, however, don't like it. We were thankful he didn't choke on it. Since then, I've had to move the dog food because it's so tempting. He is learning "no" and thankfully we haven't had anymore episodes. The water in the water bowl is an entirely different story. He likes to measure the water on his arm. He's a good indicator to remind me when to fill up the bowl for the dogs because it's running low. I know if there's not much water on the floor, then it's time to refill.

He still laughs so hard when he sees the pups. He loves to play tug-of-war with them and they love it, too. Suzzy likes it when he has the bone and she can play with him.

I babysat Kayden on Saturday night so Kelsey could go to graduation and it was so much fun. I'll share stories and pictures on him in a later post. But I said that to say that Suzzy protected Kayden from Ellie and Blake. She would sit by his seat and if anyone go a little too hyper, she would bark. She was fine with us picking him up and playing with him, but wanted to make sure that he didn't get hurt. It's amazing how dogs know so much. Especially her. Ellie is completely different, and usually oblivious to things going on around her. Suzzy is much more in tune with things and is incredibly smart.

That's the dog post for the day! I'll try to post pictures and a few more updates during the rest of the week in between moving furniture and finishing up laying down the floor (which Raun is doing, not me!).

Signing Video

Sunny Day...

"More"

For those who know me well, you know how adamant I am about my children learning to sign ASAP. I have always loved sign language ever since my mother and I took classes during my school years, followed by the classes in college, and then the use of them with my deaf clients, autistic clients, and any child with speech impairments such as stuttering. I absolutely love the deaf community and if Tech would have had a sign degree, I probably would have minored or double majored with it. However, they did not but I still use it all the time. Nessa, I can still sign our "I Got You Babe" duet that we did in sign class! Aren't you impressed. And yes, I was Sonny and Ness got to be Cher. We had a lot of laughs at that one. Anyway, back on topic. I am teaching a Kindermusik class called Sign and Sing. It's awesome and so much fun. Raun is even taking it this semester so he can interact with Blake and learn the different signs. I mean, with all the research about how it improves speech and encourages early language development, and the added plus of them learning a second language that you can use when you need to communicate with them in silence, why not teach them? It lessens tantrums because they can communicate with you and tell you what they want or where they hurt. It's just incredible and we have been working with Blake on a few simple ones, such as "milk," "eat," "more," "ball," "play," and I add "silly" when Daddy comes around. So why am I telling you this? Because....our son communicated with us for the first time using sign this week! I was feeding him on Monday and he kept clapping his hands together, which is a common way for babies to sign more. I got really excited and encouraged him, but I wasn't for sure he knew what it meant. Well....here comes Kindermusik on Tuesday. Raun was feeding him puffs and Blake started signing "more." Raun wasn't paying attention so Blake got a little vocal to prove his point. I told Raun to watch him and he did it as soon as the puff hit his mouth in hopes that Raun would go ahead and put another one in there since he asked so nicely. Raun broke out in a HUGE grin! He was so excited to see that Blake had just spoken to him. I'm so thankful that Raun is willing to learn these signs. He has definitely seen a difference between the children that sign and the ones that don't with a few friends of ours that have babies that sign. He can't believe how much they can communicate and how fast they learn it. Not for sure which sign Blake will pick up next, but something tells me it will be either "milk" or "eat." Or will it be "Mommy?" Who knows! But he LOVES the sign for "bear!" That's the quickest way to make him laugh.

In Kayden news, he got to come home today. I ran by the hospital to give a base to Kelsey and they were so excited to be bringing him home. I can't wait to see that little man. I'll keep posting pictures when I get them...and I'm sure I'll have lots on Sunday to post! Welcome home, baby Kayden!

In sad news, Kayleigh (read previous post) passed away Monday. I know that she's in a much better place and all, but my heart hurts for her family. They were hoping to bring her home so she could pass away at home in her nursery instead of in the hospital. Please pray for them as they are also being foreclosed on and are having to move. If you missed the last post, click on their blog at the top of my page that has a picture of a baby with a wedding band on her arm.

We are going to be experiencing how to put down laminate flooring in the next couple of weeks. In anyone has any tips on this, feel free to share. We are really excited because then the downstairs will be finished, minus the bathroom which we hope to start later in the year. Then, we get to rip up the flooring upstairs and lay it down there. I'm so happy to be getting rid of the carpet and vinyl, but am not too enthused to be doing this project with a baby that just wants to crawl EVERYWHERE and get into EVERYTHING. Hopefully I won't stress out too much during all of this! I'll try to post some pictures in my next post. I have lots, I promise.

The Bath

Okay, so you know how I mentioned that Blake loved playing in the big tub and thankfully had yet to notice the shower curtain? Scratch that! That lasted only a few times. He has found it, drug it into the shower and I, not realizing that it was dumped in the water, pulled it out and put water all over the floor. I think it's time to invest in more bath toys so that he will stay distracted.

Just a quick note....tivo, record, or watch The Doctors on Wednesday. They are having the family on that have a 10-1/2 month old baby that has never left the hospital. Her name is Kayleigh and her link to my blog is to the right of this post. She was born at 1 pound and very little ounces. She is not doing well now and her brain is swelling and the doctors aren't being very positive. They are a Christian family and really love the Lord and trust in God's will with their children. They are over 2 million dollars in medical debt because they have both lost their jobs in the market and the businesses they have tried to start up have not gone so well because of their constantly needing to be at the hospital with their daughter. Anyway, check out their blog because the whole story is on it. They will also be sharing their story on The Doctors. Amazing family and going through things I pray we never have to go through.

I'll update more hopefully during the week, including pictures. Check back over the next few days!

Did I forget to mention?

I don't think I mentioned that Blake now has his first tooth. It came in last week and it's that bottom tooth. I think he's got more on the way, as well as a cold that I'm praying doesn't turn into another ear infection. Anyway, that was update for today.

I have to highly recommend a book that I'm reading. It's really informative and has made me aware of so much that I put into my body. Read it and let me know your opinion! And I'm not reading it just because The Biggest Loser is one of my FAVORITE shows!

1-1/2 week old Kayden

So good news! Kayden MAY get to come home this week, depending on how he does this week with his feeding. I hear that Kelsey is doing great and is being a wonderful mom and Justin is being a wonderful dad. Here are some pictures of Kayden that Mike sent me.

Growing up...

I think I've chosen the best crawling video I have, so here is the much requested video of Blake cruising around the house. Is he not just so adorable?!
This week marked the first time that Blake has played in the big tub for at least 10 minutes. He used to just sit there and hold the toys, but now he's standing, crawling, splashing, and pulling everything down. It's so much fun! I've had to remove all of the shampoo and soap so he wouldn't pull them on his head and so far he hasn't noticed the shower curtain, thank goodness. I love bath time now. It's almost as good as nap time because he's in one spot and won't go anywhere. And then there's the added bonus that he smells so good and LOVES to snuggle afterwards. I, of course, love to snuggle so I don't mind at all.


We now have lights downstairs. We are in the process of picking out our floors. Dad and Raun did all of the electrical work downstairs about two weeks ago. It looks great. As soon as I get a chance, I'll run downstairs and take some pictures. Once the floors are laid, we can move everything to its rightful place and I can finally have my house back after almost a year! I can't wait!

Blake now has his first set of golf clubs. Who cares if they are only plastic! Raun went to Wal-Mart yesterday to get milk and came home with milk and golf clubs. I just laughed and he started defending himself and saying "well...I had to buy it for our son before someone else did."


We walked into Blake's room the other day to get him and this is what we saw:



Finally, I will leave you with the cutest picture of our hungry boy. He just loves to eat, but is beginning to let his personality shine through in this area too. Oh boy!

Getting caught up!

So, I'm sure you have noticed my absence in posting during this past week. We were incredibly busy and now I am even more so because Blake has decided to master two milestones in one week and to add one more to the list of developmental characteristics. He has his first bottom tooth now, and yes, I have been bitten. However, I have done what the the Le Leche League says to do when nursing a baby with teeth and it works. I haven't been bitten since, thank goodness. The tooth finally came in last Thursday. He doesn't know what to think about it. He keeps putting his fingers in his mouth. He's got several more behind that tooth, so we're awaiting the arrival of the next one. Poor boy needs a break already!

First milestone completed this week was crawling. He's mastered it now. I've tried to get some good video of it and I will try to post it either tonight or tomorrow. He can go pretty fast and this is the main hinderance to my blogging. He's into everything! Nothing is off limits. His favorite toys? Dog toys. His favorite food, you may ask? Dog food. I think we've caught him every time he gets into it, but we'll never know!

He is also pulling up on everything. My mom is convinced that he'll be crawling at 9 months, like my brother and me. I'm hoping she's wrong. I mean, crawling is wearing me out! Thank goodness, he wears himself out enough already that he has to take two naps just to make it through the day...and sometimes the morning! I've given up cleaning the house at this point. I'm just trying to make sure the floor is clean. So if you come to my house, get down on all fours and crawl around. It will be spotless. Just be sure not to look up!



His other milestone is going from laying down to sitting up. It's kind of nice to not have to come running when he is screaming because he fell down. I LOVE this stage so much better because he can play and his personality is coming through and he does so much more. However, it's also harder because his personality is coming through, which has led us to the beginning of discipline. He understands the word "no" now so when he gives us that second glance and proceeds anyway, we've had to start letting him no that it's wrong. I would much rather do it now than later. I have asked so many people at what point you are supposed to start disciplining and everyone has said, "You'll just know. They will give you that look when you say it and then they will cautiously proceed with their agenda." Boy was everyone correct! Anyway, I do love this stage that we are at, but I do miss the baby things...like him being so little, eating out wherever we wanted without having to rush, and going to the theater. But I wouldn't trade where I am now at all. There will always be the next baby!

Update on Kayden

Kayden, Kelsey and Justin's little baby, is now off his oxygen! Yea!!! How exciting for them. They finally get to hold him, bathe him, and change those wonderful, fun-filled diapers all by themselves. Please do keep praying for him to continue doing as well as he is so he can be discharged soon. I'll post some new pictures of him as soon as I get them so all can see. I can't wait to see him again. They aren't letting anyone in to see him except the parents because of the swine flu so all we get are pictures. I can't wait to see the real thing again!