Wayne is a Plumber...

So last night we had the pleasure of watching Bret and Brenna while Annie was home winning "Mom of the Year" award for Morgen's killer birthday party. We sat down at the table for dinner, and a funny conversation ensued:

Bret: What's that? (pointing to the breast pump at the end of the table)

Wayne: It's a pump.

Bret: To pump water? 

Wayne: Umm, yeah, kind of.

Bret: Oh, so you're a plumber too, huh?

SO FUNNY! Anyone who knows Bret can just HEAR the matter of fact way he said this. Love that kid. It totally made my day. I was laughing to myself on and off all evening. I had a hard time brushing my teeth because I was laughing about it again. And then I kept giggling as we were laying in bed trying to fall asleep. I'm sure Wayne loved that. 

Oh, Bret, I wish we had a daughter for you to marry. :)

My First Night on the Couch...

It's true. I slept on the couch last night. Hard to believe, I know. You may find yourself asking, "But Jenna, WHY? You and Wayne have such a perfect marriage!" To which I would reply, "Why, yes we do." (Haha.)  Well, it's simple really. 

The dog was lonely. 

Normally when we put Cheiko in her kennel, she curls up and goes to sleep. No big deal. Well, a few nights ago she whined ALL NIGHT LONG. Wayne took her out to do her business at least 4 times during the night, but she had no business to do! Lucky for me, I gave Wayne permission to get a dog with a set of Terms and Conditions attached, one of which was that he would be responsible for her in times like these. So, even though I heard her whining all night, I ignored it and tried to keep sleeping while Wayne got up to take care of her. (Hmm...sounds like the reverse of the early baby days!) Well, the result was an exhausted husband who is already working way too many hours and doing way too many things.  

Unfortunately, last night when we put Cheiko in her kennel, the same thing happened. She whined for a few minutes, we scolded her, she quieted for a few minutes, then she whined again. And yelped. And barked. What on earth could be wrong with that silly dog? She had already done all the business any dog can do, she had eaten, had plenty of water, a soft blanket...what more could she want? 

WAIT!!! It's finally dark out at night, and we've started closing the blinds in the evening so we aren't the entertainment for all the passers-by. THAT'S IT!!! Cheiko must be scared of the dark! So, I opened the blinds to let in the street lights, and even went so far as to turn on the office light and leave the door open. I crawled back in bed and closed my eyes...only to open them seconds later as Cheiko began whining again. And yelping. And barking. Meanwhile, the baby is beginning to stir in the next room and my dear husband is threatening to shoot the poor dog. HIS poor dog, I might add. 

 

I decided to go sit on the couch for a few minutes so that I could scold her repeatedly...she would get the message eventually, I was sure. Well shortly after I sat down Cheiko finally curled up in her kennel. I waited a few minutes, and hearing no more whining, I got up to go to bed. No sooner had I crawled into bed, the whining began again. Seriously? SERIOUSLY???

Yes, seriously. The dog was just lonely. 

So yes, Grandma, in answer to your question, Cheiko is well integrated as a member of the family. I slept on the couch just to keep her company. :)

Allelujah!

It's finally snowing! It's the beginning of the end of the MUD, and I am soooooo happy about that. Of course we'll miss the "warm" weather, but cleaning the dog up after her walks in the mud is getting old. I mean REALLY OLD. So welcome, snow! We hope you stick around for a while. 

(Stay tuned for a post in a few months bemoaning the difficulties of taking the dog out in the windy, snowy, freezing, endless months of winter. I'm sure it's coming. :)

Baby #2

Everyone keeps asking to see the "puppy" again...well, here she is. 

This is Cheiko mid-July (about 3 months old)

I find this humorous...our living room floor is strewn with dog toys. Not baby toys, dog toys. And this is a cleaner day than most. This puppy has more toys than any dog I know. We keep them all in a box next to her kennel...when she wants one she goes and pulls one out. And then another one, and another one, and another one. I guess she gets bored easily. Such a high maintenance dog. :)

While we're getting moved in, we have Chase's crib and mattress and a bunch of stuff stacked up behind the couch. Cheiko has decided it's the perfect little hideout for her. I find her back here all the time chewing on things she's not supposed to chew on. Like Chase's pacifiers. Crazy dog. 

Unlike Chase, Cheiko tends to pose quite nicely for the camera. Now if only she could get housebreaking down...  :)

Such a cute face!

And she certainly doesn't look like a puppy anymore! This is mid-August. It's crazy how much she has grown this last month!

How can you say no to that face?!? It's hard, but I do it all the time. :)

She likes to sleep with her head pushed up against something. Her cousin Jacob does the same thing...maybe it's genetic. :)

Cheiko's "Superman" pose. She's like 4+ feet long when she does this. Doesn't look that comfortable to me, but she seems quite content!

Cheiko doens't like her kennel. She actually really hates it. When we say, "Cheiko, kennel" she gets up and runs away. We then begin a 10 minute game of "catch me if you can" with the dog. Eventually we get ahold of her collar and pull her into the kennel. Sometimes we just do it like this.

She's giving me that "don't you dare touch my bone" look.

One of Wayne's coworkers brought Cheiko a fresh caribou hip to chew on. She LOVED it! She spent 3 hours one evening chewing this bone, and she seriously growled and barked at Wayne every time he even walked by! She was extremely possessive of this one. When we brought her in she whined by the door for close to an hour, which can be quite confusing when you're working on housebreaking. We took her out a few times to go to the bathroom, but she just wanted her bone. She was totally working the system. Darn dog.

Baby #1

Just some random shots of Chase:

Napping in his new crib...but you can't see the crib.

He's all smiles these days, it's so cute!

This is the look I get in 80% of Chase's pictures. The camera has this orange light that comes on when it's ready to take the photo, and this is Chase's reaction to it. Without fail. 

Just waking up in the morning...he's a really happy baby. So fun.

Hanging out with Dad.

Chase ADORES Wayne. Wayne can get him to smile now matter how upset he is.

Pondering the meaning of life...or maybe what's for lunch.

I asked him how much he loved me and this is what he did! :)

I love baby sneezes...

I love this one...my little rock star. 

Confessions of a Melted Heart...

I LOVE MY BABY!!!  

Seriously. I guess every parent in the world feels the same way about THEIR children, but it's hard to believe. I mean I REALLY love him. Is it really possible that every other mother feels exactly like I do? Like you can't stop kissing your baby because you don't know how else to express the love you feel? Like you're almost crazy enough to wake him up in the middle of a nap because you can't wait to see him smile again? Like you say "Love you, baby" two million times a day because that's all you can think about when you look at him? Like you hate putting him to bed at night because you don't want to wait eight hours to hold him again? Like you desperately hope that your little one can feel the overwhelming love you have for him because as hard as you try you just can't seem to share it adequately? Like there's so much love in your heart you don't know what to do with it all? 

Melting...

I can't stop kissing Chase. I'm sure he wishes I would, but I just can't! And I can't stop saying, "Love you, baby." The poor kid is probably wondering if I know any other words. I haven't actually woken him from a nap, but I've been tempted. And it takes me at least ten minutes to say goodnight because I can't pull myself away from his crib. It is absolutely incredible how much love I have for this little boy. I seriously don't know what to do with it all. 

I need an outlet. :)

Melting...

Every veteran parent tries to tell every new parent-to-be about the radical change your heart will go through, and it's not that you don't believe them, you just simply can't feel it until you feel it. Well now I know what they mean. No one ever explained it right, and probably no one ever will. It can't be explained, there really are no words. It's exhilarating yet terrifying--exhilarating to love so completely, yet terrifying to realize how fragile your heart has become. Hearts that feel joy this deep feel pain just as deeply. 

MELTED.

What a wonderful gift God has given us to be parents. I love being a mom. I wish it on everyone. To think that he trusts us with these precious little spirits. Every day I thank the Lord for sending this sweet little boy to us, and every night I pray for another day together. 

And yes, the possibility of feeling pain equal to my joy is truly terrifying...

...yet so worth it. 

Fish Camp

My family has a little fish camp on the Copper River, so we took Chase on his first camping trip when the Henrie's were in town. He was two weeks old and he loved it! It's important to start 'em young. :)  We only spent one night, but we had a lot of fun! We caught 4 salmon in the fish wheel, one of which was a king!

We LOVE Alaska! It's so beautiful!

This is how we found Dad when we pulled in to fish camp...classic! I love it!

Dad taught Curt and Wayne how to filet the salmon. We brought it home and had it for dinner that week...fresh salmon is sooo good. 

 

Hot dogs and s'mores around the campfire...THIS is the LIFE!

There's the king! You can see the fish wheel in the background. Basically, the current of the water turns the wheel. The fish swim upstream and run into the wire basket, which scoops them up and drops them into a bucket on the side of the wheel. All you have to do is pull the fish out of the bucket with a net!  

Chase was really getting into the campfire conversation...

Love those eyes!

There's Chase in his bouncer chair in the bus-turned-camper. We LOVE fish camp. The only thing missing this trip was grandma and grandpa. It's just not the same when they aren't here, but Grandpa was too sick to come this time. I have some very special memories with Grandpa here at fish camp, and I treasure them even more now that he's gone. We will miss you every time we come to Camp Arcadia, Grandpa, but the memory of you reciting "The Cremation of Sam McGee" around the campfire will always bring a smile to my face.