These next pictures were taken at a different time. They show little AJ in action - including sitting at the piano by himself! Just try to imagine listening to "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik."
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Daddy and Future Mozart
These next pictures were taken at a different time. They show little AJ in action - including sitting at the piano by himself! Just try to imagine listening to "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik."
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
More Pumpkin Patch
The whole family went to a pumpkin patch last weekend. Careful, he's so cute he should come with a warning!
Link to photos
Link to photos
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Happy Birthday, Dear Nerve
Last week was Minerva's 3rd birthday, so I thought I would celebrate with a little post. Seems like it was only yesterday that we brought her home from Guide Dogs two days before Christmas with a satellite dish on her head. To briefly recap her life thus far....Minerva was born in the Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) nonprofit organization. As volunteer puppy raisers, Andy and I took Minerva into our home at 9 weeks old and began training her under the leadership of a GDB club leader, our friend Cindy. Minerva had to get a little stitch on her eyelid before we took her home, hence her first car trip with the satellite dish.
She made friends in the Guide Dogs program and outside of it, including the Rhyne Black Dog club (pictured here: Minerva, Molson and Tye).
She went on fun trips like Tahoe for snow...
...and camping for summer.
As she got older, it became clear that Minerva was not cut out to be a guide dog--far too easily distracted and self-centered. So we were given the option to adopt her as a pet and of course now she is a permanent member of our family. She enjoyed about two months of luxury (the occasional snuggle on our bed, weekly trips to the dog park) before we learned that Alton was on the way and Minerva began her migration to second-class citizen.
Before you have a baby, people are constantly telling you (some smugly, some defensively) that you might think of the dog as your "baby" now, but once your child is born the dog will become just a dog. As much as I knew this intellectually, I didn't understand how it would play out until Alton came along. Minerva's life has begun to closely resemble that of Lady from Disney's Lady and the Tramp. "Stop that racket; you'll wake the baby!" I try not to be too hard on her, but there are times that after rocking, nursing, cuddling, cajoling Alton off to sleep, Minerva barking at the UPS guy/someone walking their dog two streets away/nothing becomes less "ha-ha" funny and more "I'm going to kill you with a rusty spoon" funny.
But a lot of people have asked how the Nerve does with the baby, and aside from me giving her dirty looks and pouncing on her when she makes noise during his naps, Minerva does very well with the new man in her life.
She is not allowed into his playroom (so that at least one room in the house is not completely covered in dog hair, which is probably a bigger beef to me than her making noise) and so she sits at the door of the playroom looking forlorn as he scrambles around and pulls books off the shelf. But she is very, very patient with him as he smacks her head, pulls her jowls and grabs her toes. She just sits there letting him batter her (as loyal dogs do) and waits until I'm not looking to sneak in the occasional lick to his head, hands and face.
The only time that jealousy reared its ugly head was when we had houseguests for most of July...houseguests who were very interested in the baby and not as interested in Minerva. But even then her naughtiness ran mostly to stealing flip flops and ensconcing them downstairs to later use as chew toys.
So all in all, not too many complaints on either her side or ours about the new family dynamic. I think her biggest problem is that the number of pictures of Alton instead of her is way out of hand, hence why she sidles into so many pictures of him when he's on the floor. And don't feel too sorry for her. Remember, you are sitting at your computer reading this blog when you should be writing a deposition/teaching small children/paying your bills online, and Minerva spends about 9/10ths of her day like this:
Happy birthday, Minerva. You're a good dog.
She is not allowed into his playroom (so that at least one room in the house is not completely covered in dog hair, which is probably a bigger beef to me than her making noise) and so she sits at the door of the playroom looking forlorn as he scrambles around and pulls books off the shelf. But she is very, very patient with him as he smacks her head, pulls her jowls and grabs her toes. She just sits there letting him batter her (as loyal dogs do) and waits until I'm not looking to sneak in the occasional lick to his head, hands and face.
The only time that jealousy reared its ugly head was when we had houseguests for most of July...houseguests who were very interested in the baby and not as interested in Minerva. But even then her naughtiness ran mostly to stealing flip flops and ensconcing them downstairs to later use as chew toys.
So all in all, not too many complaints on either her side or ours about the new family dynamic. I think her biggest problem is that the number of pictures of Alton instead of her is way out of hand, hence why she sidles into so many pictures of him when he's on the floor. And don't feel too sorry for her. Remember, you are sitting at your computer reading this blog when you should be writing a deposition/teaching small children/paying your bills online, and Minerva spends about 9/10ths of her day like this:
Happy birthday, Minerva. You're a good dog.Friday, October 17, 2008
So I Creep, Yeah, I Just Keep It On the Downlow...
Alton has graduated from "belly crawling" to CREEPING: crawling along on all fours with tummy up and off the floor. Check out his "bear" bottom.
Who is he?
Part John Deere, part 80s punk rocker, part cherub...Alton is a guy who doesn't ascribe to one particular fashion trend. You decide who he reminds you of most in the poll to the right.
Cribbage
Alton pulled himself up for the first time several weeks ago, then it took him another few days to realize that he could pull himself up in his crib. Luckily at that point, Dada had already lowered the mattress...final shot is all Steve.
The Yolk's On You
Alton's first taste of egg yolk. Despite the faces, he actually ate some, solid food hata' that he is!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Apple-Saucy!!!
Alton has a different food experience every day. Either he's deciding he likes food he didn't yesterday, not liking food he liked yesterday or trying something completely new. This particular time, applesauce was definitely in. He loved it!Make sure you click on each picture to see the big, saucy version of each one!
It's a Walk in the Park - by Andy
This past Saturday, Katie was taking a 6-hour course for peer-to-peer counseling for nursing mothers. She's really quite a good teacher and really enjoys her nursing relationship with Alton. She wanted to help other mothers feel the same way and thus signed up for this course. This left Alton with Daddy and we had the day to ourselves. We mostly hung out near by Katie's class location in Portland (due to Alton's hunger needs) and therefore spent some time at a nearby park. These pictures are a few I took while we were at that park. Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
A New Project
As Andy mentioned in his post above, this winter I am going to begin volunteering for a local nonprofit organization: the Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon. Among other things, the group provides free breastfeeding support over the phone from nursing mothers like myself. I am currently attending training 
sessions that cover things like telephone counseling techniques, common questions and concerns, and when to refer a mother to a lactation consultant or healthcare professional. It's a cause that is near and dear to my heart since I have been nursing Alton since his birth, and I am eager to help other new moms with their breastfeeding relationships with their babies. Breastmilk is the most nutritionally ideal food for newborn babies, and I think that all moms who want to breastfeed need and deserve the support from their friends, family and the community to make that happen. The Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon allows me to be part of that community support system for new breastfeeding families in addition to volunteering locally and giving back to Oregon. I feel very lucky to have had support all through Alton's life as I breastfed him from my loving husband Andy, our parents, our families and our friends. Check out the international symbol for breastfeeding! Off to go add that to my Facebook profile....
sessions that cover things like telephone counseling techniques, common questions and concerns, and when to refer a mother to a lactation consultant or healthcare professional. It's a cause that is near and dear to my heart since I have been nursing Alton since his birth, and I am eager to help other new moms with their breastfeeding relationships with their babies. Breastmilk is the most nutritionally ideal food for newborn babies, and I think that all moms who want to breastfeed need and deserve the support from their friends, family and the community to make that happen. The Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon allows me to be part of that community support system for new breastfeeding families in addition to volunteering locally and giving back to Oregon. I feel very lucky to have had support all through Alton's life as I breastfed him from my loving husband Andy, our parents, our families and our friends. Check out the international symbol for breastfeeding! Off to go add that to my Facebook profile....Thursday, October 2, 2008
Minerva's New House - by Andy
So Minerva's new house has been finished for some time now. Matt helped me move it in place about 2 or 3 weeks ago. The last touch will be the little name plate over the door labeling it as Minerva's, but that will be a ways out. The roof needed a little modification to fit, but nothing too major. I'm surprised how well it matches the house and Minerva, as expected, completely ignores it. She'll go in it just fine when we tell her to, but we haven't seen any evidence of her going in on her own. We'll just need to work on that.... At any rate, here are some pics of the final construction.
Her house in it's new location. That's not HER air conditioner, no matter how much she wants it to be.
The interior. The foyer is on the right, carpeted with a piece of office carpet from work (yes, that's the carpet they make us live with at work). Her room is on the left, with her "kitty-cat bed." She's even got pink stripes for her little slumber party room.
It's hard to see it, but her little face is in that window somewhere... Proof that she's actually using it.
And finally , her using the door. As proof that I didn't just photoshop her face into the last picture. She's actually quite fluent at going in and out of her little door.
Thanks for reading,
Andy
Her house in it's new location. That's not HER air conditioner, no matter how much she wants it to be.
The interior. The foyer is on the right, carpeted with a piece of office carpet from work (yes, that's the carpet they make us live with at work). Her room is on the left, with her "kitty-cat bed." She's even got pink stripes for her little slumber party room.
It's hard to see it, but her little face is in that window somewhere... Proof that she's actually using it.
And finally , her using the door. As proof that I didn't just photoshop her face into the last picture. She's actually quite fluent at going in and out of her little door.
Thanks for reading,
Andy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)