All Dogs Go To Heaven

This weekend

I could have expected lots of things.

Like maybe a post about my sweet baby AndrewAnd how he is growing and changing.
Or maybe a post about our trip to Great Wolf Lodge,

an indoor/outdoor waterpark in Dallas

and how darling Andy was in his frog suit

and how I couldn't get a decent picture of TJ

because he wouldn't get out of the pool and stop moving

for long enough for the flash to go off

But life gets pretty unexpected

I never expected to be posting about a dog.

Chasqui

July 5, 2004- August 27, 2011

We adopted Chasqui from MSGAO in August of 2007

and he's just BEEN there ever since
I'm so used to him, I don't even think about it.

A hip-height shadow

that follows me through my day

room to room:

Lays by me while I fold the laundry

Joins us on the floor of TJ's room every night for prayer

The house is strange to me without the sound of dog tags

TJ has loved him from day one

I think he liked having another creature at his eye level

they've spent thousands of hours this close together

foreground or background

he's just been there

the family dog

I Google'd "dog poems"

they were all cheesy and terrible

and Chasqui may have been a doofus,

but never cheesy or stupid.

Nothing really expressed how I felt.

So I gave it up.

Robert Frost's "Fire and Ice" kept coming to mind:

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Not that it has anything to do with dogs.

It doesn't.

But it does have to do with passion.

So maybe that's why.

I think we always knew we'd lose Chasqui in some bizarre accident

I just always thought it would involve food

after all the near misses:

the stolen turkey

the two batches of chocolate cookies

and the ever famous Christmas rolls

(yes, you may laugh)

The bizarre accident was all heat and running.

So I guess what killed him was doing what he loved,

even if it's not how he died.

I'm not sure what to tell TJ when he says,

"Chasqui, again?"

or, "Mommy, get a NEW Chasqui?"

"Chasqui" was what the King's messengers were called

on the Inca Trail.

They were elite sprinters.

We always thought it fitting.

If I have a regret it's that we didn't get to tell him "goodbye"

Kristen, I'm so grateful you sat with him.

No dog should leave alone.

Run swift, buddy

You were a good dog

and will be missed

Laundry Days

TJ has been so fun lately. He's really growing up right now. I love the phase he's in. Some days I want to tear my hair out because he is SUCH a two-year-old, but he can also be wonderfully charming and sweet and clever. Lately he has learned to say his own prayers. It's so darling, my heart melts; and his "prayer voice" is hysterical.

Last Fall we worked with him on getting potty trained. He did really well for a while, and then it just petered off and he decided he wasn't all that interested in it. He's so strong-willed, I decided not to fight him. This summer, he has decided for himself that he wants to wear underwear. It's the funniest thing. He has a collection of red briefs, and he is really motivated to keep them clean and dry. He still asks to wear diapers sometimes, but not very often. This is one time when his stubborn independence has worked FOR me. Not so much so when he decides to pour his own cup of milk. Yikes.

The red obsession has not abated. If anything it has intensified (the red briefs and his desire to keep them clean is another example of how his stubborn idiosyncrasies can work for me). I do entire loads of red laundry. When sorting dirty clothes, my piles are: whites, darks, mediums, and reds. It thrills TJ to no end when other people wear red as well, so Rob, Andy and I all have more red shirts than we used to.

I took a picture of TJ's closet after I did laundry this weekend:

He also really likes pink and salmon. He calls it "light red". In fact, the second shirt from the left is one of his favorites. It has a picture of a lobster on it, and the caption "Snappy". I like to put it one him on his grumpy days. For some reason I get a kick out of seeing him throw major temper tantrums while wearing it.

Andy turned 3 months old 2 weeks ago. I did take lots of pictures that day, but could never get one without his hands crammed in his mouth. The kid is a little turkey. The pediatrician told me he is definitely a high-needs baby. The vindication has made me feel a whole lot better about life. It hasn't changed anything, but knowing that it's not all in my head makes me feel like less of a failure. Just the same, I can't wait for him to get a little older.

Long HOT Summer Days

We've been really busy, but not with blog-worthy things. Mostly we're just trying to keep cool. We've had 23 days in a row of 100plus degree days; it actually rained this week and broke the streak--one day stayed in the 90s--but now we're right back up in the over 100 degree days again. Last Saturday Rob's work had an outdoor party to welcome the new residents; it was 111 degrees (with humidity!) that day; some welcome, huh? It's been really hard on TJ to not be able to play outside much. We've been going to the pool tons, but he really misses just being able to run in the yard. Some days he still tries. I love this picture, because it's so easy to see just how HOT he is.
I took a photography class some time ago, and have been tinkering around with cameras and lenses and reading photography books while I nurse. Not to mention I have such cute little subjects to photograph... I've been reading alot about the technical aspect of making photos, and playing around with it. I'm rather pleased with some of the effects that can be achieved through aperture adjustments.
And I've been busy stalking Andy in an attempt to capture one of his elusive, darling smiles. He's been smiling for more than a month now, and this is the best I've managed yet:
It's hard to get a picture of a smile, because he only smiles at people, not at mechanical objects like cameras. And I have to say, that when we're sitting and having a smiles session, I'm loath to interrupt it with a camera. I love this shot of his pretty eyes:

And aren't my men handsome? I'm so happy Rob has some sons in his life. He's such a good daddy.

Andy keeps getting cuter and cuter. He's relapsed in a horrible way this week: he had been sleeping through night, and this week he stopped. It's actually been pretty rough, he's been up way too much wanting to eat and party and socialize. His smiles are so darling, but not between the hours of 1 and 5AM. Unfortunately, I've been seeing way too many of them, though.

Gotta love those eyes. A set of chocolate ones, and it looks like a set of blue ones, wouldn't you say?

Yes, he's still here.

Today I mopped the floors. TJ figured if I was doing it, it MUST be fun. He kept asking for the mop, and saying "TJ have a turn, TJ turn?". I gave him the mop when I was finished, and he "mopped" for the next hour!!! Now, can I teach him to effectively clean toilets? When does it stop being fun? How can I harness this wonderful energy?

Please note the outfit. He dressed himself today. Okay, he dresses himself most days. All-red days are particularly funny to me; he tends to insist on a red shirt most days, and he loves these silly red socks. But he'll usually allow me to temper the look with, say, denim or khaki shorts. Not today. Pick your battles, eh?

4th of July

This year was our first 4th of July in Oklahoma. We mostly just took it pretty easy and hung around the house, watched a movie, and caught our breath; life has been hectic lately. I didn't want to keep TJ up late enough to see the real firework show (it started at 10, and TJ's usual bed-time is 7:30), so we invited some friends over for for a swim at the neighborhood pool and little fireworks in the front yard. The pool ended up closing early due to "weather" (ha ha, only it wasn't so funny), so we just let the kids run in the backyard with the kiddie pool and the hose as the adults bemoaned the heat.

Fireworks were fun. TJ was timid and wanted to stay close to dad, but overall liked the fireworks. Particularly the red ones. Last year fireworks just made him cry at first, and I'm not sure if he ever really warmed up to them, so he's definitely come a ways from last years' reaction: although he still didn't want to hold a sparkler (this actually does surprise me, he's such a spunky kid).

2 Months Old

Andy turned 2 months old this weekend. He has made alot of progress during the past month, and we are all getting more sleep. In fact, his night-sleep has made leaps and bounds, and he is sleeping through the night 75% of the time; when he does wake up, he generally eats and goes back to sleep. Bliss. Life is looking so much better than it did four weeks ago. He's also gotten really smiley this month. I STILL haven't gotten a really good picture of a smile, despite numerous attempts; although some of these are definitely happy faces, and you can see the echo of a smile contained therein.

He's gotten more aware of the world, and is looking around and interested. He can push his torso up to an up-dog (or push-up) position easily, and is ridiculously strong. He has rolled from his tummy to his back many times now, although I believe it's always been an accident and has scared him (this usually happens in the middle of the night, and is contributing to the 25% of NOT sleeping through the night). But the biggest acheivement of all is that he went from being a really difficult baby, to a really nice baby. He overcame his illnesses and ailments, started on reflux medication, and it has really helped him. Now that he's feeling better, he has really calmed down and is settling into his own skin and adjusting to the world and being alive.

The rudiments of a schedule are starting to take place: he is starting to wake up roughly the same time every morning (between 6:30-7:40), and he is ready for bed about the same time every night (8pm or so). I'm also seeing daytime sleep just beginning to organize. It's really bothered me not having a schedule; in fact, I think the hardest thing about a new baby for me is the lack of structure and a schedule. It makes me realize just how structured I have become.

One night just before I went into labor, I sat down and wrote out TJ's schedule, such that a stranger could have taken care of him easily-- the point is that TJ had a set schedule; he gets up the same time, eats the same time, naps the same time, has similar activites at a set time every day. And that's the way I like it. Infants have no such set routine until the parent helps them form one. I'm in that process with Andy, and life is definitely getting better. He is a really pleasant little chap.