wednesday, july 30 entry here are the promised pictures below. please do not be impatient with the downloading. they are worth the wait.
owen at swimming lessons. he is the most beautiful and fearless baby to ever hit the YMCA.
our son, the nakey. you will see in one picture, he is even trying to grab a diaper to clothe himself.
owen in his new "big boy" carseat. he looks so small in it!
one of owen's favorite activities, emptying the entertainment center. here he is rearranging daddy's game controllers.
and finally, a parting shot of my brother kyle and gabriel.
could it be that i owe mankind an apology for #788 (see below entry)?
our dogs were returned last night. i got a call around 8PM from a very nice girl (teenager, actually) who said, "are you missing dogs?" i said yes, and she said, "we have them." simple as that. they were still in our subdivision, but were several blocks and streets over. i met them on a main road and followed them to their house, where a boy, probably 10 or 12 years old, was holding gabriel. he told me that he was worried about them, because he was afraid they weren't eating, so he was feeding and watering them until he could find their owner. gabriel had come right to him, and would eat, but dante' would only stay in their yard, and he wouldn't eat. he stayed in the yard so he wouldn't be separated from gabe, but i think he knew he needed to get home to us. once the boy handed me gabriel, we had to get out of the car and call dante' because he wouldn't come to the boy or his mother. when i called him, dante' ran right over, and was so excited his tail about wagged off. the funniest part was watching owen - he started flapping his arms up and down and squealing, and he even dropped his binky from smiling. when we got everyone home, owen chased gabriel around the living room to show him how much he missed him.
i told that boy if i had my wallet, i would have given him money as a thank you. he said, "oh no ma'am, i am just glad to take care of them, and i'm glad we found you." apparently the dogs had only been with this family for a couple of days, not the entire week they'd been missing.
i asked the mother, out of curiousity, how she found us. she said the poster on the stopsign at the end of our street. i am so thankful for our civil disobedience in not taking them down when the police called. take that, lawmakers!
so this morning, when i awoke, all was right in my world once more.
the end.
p.s. everybody from home, call my mom on her cell and cheer her up. that's an order!
tuesday, july 29 entry and go see this. please. reason #787 and reason #788 why i have lost all faith in mankind:
#787 - some ignorant jerk called the police and complained about our lost dog posters. we got a call from the local police department that we had to take them down. all of them. immediately. screw the fact that we haven't found the dogs yet. what kind of cruel person does that?
#788 - somebody has our dogs and won't give them back. we've scoured the streets of this town, and it's small, so it's easy to do, and no dogs. somebody has them. in their fence, in their house. they have to see the ads in both papers, or the fliers all over town (but not for much longer), and just won't return them. freaking jerks.
some days i just wish i was a cusser, and boy i'd let it fly. yesterday was one of those days. i had to sit at the WIC office for 2 hours, and was still late to my dentist appointment, during which it started to pour buckets from the sky. i ran to my car in the rain, only to find that i was locked out, so i ran back in and had to wait the 35 minutes for keith to come help me out. i was soaking wet, like the kind where you can see through your clothes and your eye makeup runs. then i visited the shelter one more time to look for the dogs, and of course it poured on me again, and no dogs. just a sucky day in general.
once i got home, though, all was well. keith was home yesterday, so we actually ate dinner together while owen napped, and when he woke up, he was fresh and fun. he chased me around and around the couch, laughed, kissed, and just generally made me happy. i took some pictures which i really need to post, because they are so beautiful and i'm behind on posting pictures. will try to get to that sometime in the next year.
wednesday, july 23 entry tonight is the second night that i'm spending without the dogs. two nights now they have been out there in the dark and rain, missing, lost. are they scared, hungry, thirsty? did someone pick them up, or are they hurt? why aren't they home yet? they have never stayed away this long.
they got out yesterday, tuesday, around 1PM. i drove all over the neighborhood yesterday when i got home, around 4PM. i called and called for them all evening. i drove to the county shelter to see if they had been picked up by animal control. keith drove all around the neighborhood today. i put up some posters on stop signs around our house. no news yet. i drive each road by our house with great trepidation, and check every blown semi tire or pile of dried grass clippings with one eye open and one closed. what if they are hurt, or suffering?
i have always had a special connection with both of my dogs. before we had owen, they were my babies. we've had dante' for five years, and gabriel for four. when we lived in florida, and keith was going to school literally all day and all night long, they were my only friends, my constant companions. dante' was the great protector, and gabriel was the cuddler.
some people mock, or say i'm stupid to treat them like members of the family. but that's what they are to me. i love them. owen loves them. i know he's probably wondering where they are. me too, baby.
they have done this before - gotten out the front door, or out of our hands while we weren't paying attention. but they come back. they always come back. especially dante'. he always comes back. what's happening to them? i don't know.
i had forgotten what it's like to come home to an empty, quiet house. i'm so used to having two squealing, writhing energy balls meeting me at the door. that's what dogs are good for, you know, unconditional love. man, do our dogs love us. even when they get in trouble, they can't help but love us. it's like an automated response, love. dogs are crazy like that.
where are mine?
thursday, july 17 entry owen had his 9-month check-up on tuesday. he had to get one shot this time, plus a finger stick to test for anemia. he weighs 22 pounds and 10 ounces, and is 28.5 inches tall. that puts him in the 80th percentile for weight, and the 60th percentile for height, plus the 70th percentile for head circumference. so it's confirmed, he's a tank. nothing i didn't already know. the doctor was impressed with his motor skills, and after watching him pull up and furniture-cruise around the office, told me that he was advanced for his age. i was so proud. she made the usual comments about his beautiful eyes, and soothed a few worries i had about his eating habits (he eats double per meal what she had suggested at his 6-month appointment, but she said that was fine due to his size), and confirmed that we can now put him in his booster seat, facing forward! i couldn't be happier. he officially hates the carseat, and now screams his head off anytime we go anywhere in the car. so i'm really looking forward to strapping in the new seat. other than that, she basically said he's totally healthy and adorable, and i knew that already.
my parents and brother arrived last night around 830PM. i tried to keep owen awake and happy so he could see them last night, but he wasn't doing so good by 830PM. once they got there, he got into all the commotion and was fine. he even went down super easy around 900PM. i had expected a fight, because when something's going on, he just has to be a part of it. but it was no trouble, and he only got up once last night. can i just say thanks to whoever returned my good baby, and took away the monster that's been hanging around for the past week or so?!
keith's first class is almost over. i believe he has 2 weeks left of accounting I. he has such a full plate; i don't know how he does it! between owen (and keith really is the primary care giver at this point), work, and self-study classes, i'd be exhausted. and i think he is a lot of the time, but he's so great. he has a very high A in his class, so i know he's busting his butt. i'm proud of him.
looks like the plan for tonight is pf chang's. that makes me very happy. surrounded by family and eating great chinese food. ain't life grand.
sunday, july 13
entry
i'm back! and hopefully i'll stay here for a little while this time. just a few days after returning from california, i spent two days in chicago on business. i arrived home friday night, and i think that will be the end of my business traveling, at least for a few months.
i arrived home, however, to a sick baby. owen has his first cold. and at this point, i think it has turned into an ear infection. it is so miserable for all of us when he is sick, because he won't sleep, and cries all day long. i hate not being able to help him. i'll try to get him into the doctor tomorrow first thing.
even with his cold, he seemed to really enjoy his first swimming lesson yesterday (also his 9-month day!). he loves the water. keith and i both got in with him, and we made circles with the other babies and parents, and sang songs and played games. the only concepts we worked on yesterday were teaching your child to stay on the edge and not jump in without your okay, and being comfortable floating on the back. both concepts were a little over his head, but he splashed and yelled and enjoyed himself none the less.
last week we finally put together his table and chair that my parents purchased for him back in may. it is made to look like pencils, and it looks cute in his room. i posted a few pictures below.
and even though we had a really rough day today, i did manage to get a quick smile out of him while he was "helping" me do laundry.
hopefully he will be better by the time meme and poppy and uncle kyle come to visit this week.
i have a new color scheme up my sleeve for this page, and i promise to update more regularly in the near future. but for now i am running on fumes. i swear i am living in complete exhaustion, and since i can't find any one part of my life to sacrifice, i guess time on the page will be the first to suffer. time on the job reallly isn't an option, and i'm not willing to spend less time with owen. cleaning the house is a necessary evil, as well as sleeping (and don't be fooled into thinking i do much of that). right now, nothing gives. but eventually, it all will. then, watch out!
and finally, i would be remiss if i didn't mention the great loss that all in my family and realm of close friends experienced this last week. to louise, the woman who taught me something about everything, from the trivial matters of manners and tea parties, to the miraculous lessons in faith and strength, i love you.
monday, july 07
entry
we're home! we made it in saturday night, shortly before midnight. we saw a million things and took a zillion pictures. we started off in san diego, where we stayed with keith's grandparents. we went to a huge swap meet where we got some fabulous new luggage, bright red, very cool. we also saw coronado and the famous hotel de coronado while we were there. also in san diego we visited balboa park, seaport village, the gaslamp district, walked along the beach, played in the water, and so on. i love san diego. i really liked california in general, but i love san diego. weather is unbelievable, scenery is beautiful. really nice. i spent monday through thursday meeting with agents both in san diego and los angeles, and a few places in between. while in los angeles i made my way to hollywood boulevard, where i saw the walk of fame, the chinese theatre, the kodak theatre (where the oscars are held), the hollywood sign, and other recognizable hollywood icons. we spent the fourth at home with keith's grandparents, a nice quiet evening with no traffic and no people. owen adjusted relatively quickly to the time difference, and adjusted even better coming back. both flights were great going there, although coming home on our connecting flight, from dallas to nashville, we had The Screaming Baby On An Airplane. sorry to our fellow passengers.
all in all a very good time, although too much to describe in full detail. i have included some pictures below, and will include more at a later date. california was a great place to visit. there's just something about the warm air, the ocean, that made me do weird things, like drive with my windows down, and yell things like "whoo!" and "cali!" at intervals while driving in my rented SUV down I5 by the coast. oh yeah, what about nashville? do we really have to go back? bummer.
at this time, my almost-walking, almost-talking, cutting-two-teeth little baby boy needs me. he is trying to sort daddy's record collection, something i'm sure daddy wouldn't approve of. continue below for pictures.
the day we arrived, taken at the san diego airport.
our little family, at the big swap meet.
a semi-grouchy baby, also at the swap meet.
in coronado. the most beautiful place!
taking a night swim at the rancho bernardo inn.
enjoying the san diego waterfront. owen loved the beach!
the hollywood sign in los angeles.
i snapped this shot of the (in)famous melrose sign while at a stoplight.
keith took this... so pretty. i love california.
