My Dotty

In early October 2004, my sister Aubrey and I made a "girls only" road trip to Utah to see my friend Julie's first baby. It was the first time I'd ever driven the entire 12 hours by myself. While up there, we stayed with my in-laws in Morgan. Their Shi-tzu Lizzie had just had her second litter of puppies (Shi-Poms because they were mixed with a pomeranian). Brad and I had just moved to Surprise, AZ in August, he had started medical school, we had two cats, and weren't in the market for a dog... but I fell in love with this little dark brindled pup named Dotty. Brad's sister Heidi had named her for the white dot on the tip of her dark tail. She was so sweet and cuddly already, even though only a few weeks old. Too young for me to take home, we waited a few more weeks for her to wean. Then we drove all the way to ST. George, UT (about 8 hours) to pick her up from Brad's grandparents who drove her down there to his aunt and uncle's home. She was my 24th birthday gift...

Dotty immediately became our "baby." From cute t-shirts, to designer puppy diapers that my mom sewed, we adored her. She slept in our bed and we learned patience in potty training. I think she literally paved the way for us as parents, lol. She was super smart, and stubborn at the same time. She learned to sit, roll over and dance. She got to the point that she would roll and roll and roll if she even thought you would give her a treat or a handout. She loved us so much that she had terrible seperation anxiety and would chew up carpet, baseboards and furniture while we were gone. She even had the odd habit of dunking her face in her food and her water bowl over and over when she'd hear us come up the drive. When she was six months old, we brought home her blonde sister Daisy (full sister but from the next litter) for Brad's 26th birthday. She and Daisy were inseperable, which really helped her anxiety. Dotty and Daisy made countless trips to Tucson and Utah with us... Daisy always got nervous and threw up but Dotty was a natural traveler.

When Eli was born, of course the poor babies got kicked out of our bed and took a step down on the priority list. But Dotty especially never let got of being "the baby." She would inevitably end up on our laps if we were holding or rocking Eli, and often even when I was nursing him. She thought the nursing pillow was her bed. She and Daisy both were often found by his side. One of the toughest things though was the barking - Dotty liked to bark at anyone or anything that might go by our window. She and Daisy would sit on the chair and watch out the window for anything that moved. It was frutrating because she always seemed to find something to bark at as soon as I got Eli down for a nap.

We had Dotty for nearly 4 years and Daisy for 3 1/2 when we found out we'd be moving to Pittsfield. It was difficult to find housing that took pets, and with two moves coming up in a year and another baby on the way we thought it would be best to find the dogs a new home. We gave them to a wonderful family we'd known since living in Surprise who went to church with us and the husband to school with Brad (he was doing residency in Phoenix so they didn't have to move). The dogs fit in well there and loved their kids..... I know they had a good home with them but I have missed them (mostly my Dotty) still the same.

Sadly, this weekend while visiting Surprise, we found out from our friends that Dotty was killed a few months ago. She had a bad habit of racing out the front door whenever she got the chance (she did this at our house too) and one unfortunate day she was hit by a car after escaping. Their hearts were broken having to go through that, and I have to say so was mine when I heard. I cried halfway back to Tucson. I had been dreaming of Dotty and fantasizing that I could have her back, and now she's really gone...and I'm just now starting to grieve. It makes me feel really bad that she was probably so confused about why I suddenly gave her away one day. At least it is comforting to know she was so loved in her new home. Thankfully my parents saved all the old pictures I had emailed over time so I was able to find a few pics of her to post, though I wish I had some of her as a puppy. It makes me bawl again just looking at them.... I Love you and miss you Dotty Dots!!!!







**These are all baby pictures of Eli, since Owen never met the dogs.

Family Pictures

My sister in law Ashley took our family pictures while we were in Utah. She's just getting started with photography, but I think she did an awesome job! Thanks so much Ash! And thanks to Skyler for freezing his hands off throwing snowballs so Eli would look at the camera =).

It's a long slideshow, it was hard narrowing down my favorites... Eli is two years and Owen two months in these pictures. Brad and I are 20-somethings!

Four in the Bed

There were four in the bed

when the little one said,

"Roll over. Roll over."

So they all rolled over

and one fell out....

Do you remember this little diddy? Well I'm afraid that it's ending up a nursery rhyme about our family! Eli slept with Brad and I until he was 18 months - we transitioned him to his own bed and room when we moved to Pittsfield this summer. Mainly because we wanted to avoid the above scenario with our second on the way. Well, starting a few weeks before Owen was born, Eli started waking up a lot more in the night again - either due to some sinus issues, nightmares, or having grandma as a roommate for a while, or all the above. This continued after Owen was born, and since Owen now sleeps in our bed so I can nurse him in the night, it became Brad's responsibility to put Eli to bed and keep him there.... even if he had to sleep in his room now and then. Then we left on our trip and the change of scenery - including all four of us in one room - didn't help the sleeping issues, so Brad ended up sleeping with Eli on his little bed the entire time we were in Utah. Now in AZ for whatever reason, Eli won't go near the little bed set up for him on the floor, and the "he and daddy" sleeping arrangement has moved into the big bed with Mommy and Owen. Yep, count that - four people in one bed! Luckily there is a King for us down here... let's just hope that the above nursery rhyme doesn't ring too true and that no one falls out! And at least Eli cuddles Daddy on his side until he gets up for work ... then I end up with Eli wedged in my back and Owen snuggled up to my front until we all get up. Hopefully we can get things all straightened out (ie. Eli back in his OWN bed and sleeping through the night) when we get home. =)

**Side note - I'm having issues with my parents' internet - I'm unable to comment on other blogs so please know I'm not ignoring any of you!** =)

Ring in the New Year with Love

On Dec 3oth we attended my sister's sealing to Dale Slabbert in the Bountiful Temple. It was a beautiful ceremony, and my sister was breathtaking! Dale was looking pretty handsome too. It's wonderful to see my sister so happy, and it was fun to meet Dale's family - they are from South Africa and in addition to being sweethearts, they all have the coolest accents! Aub and Dale's reception was a blast on New Year's Eve. Instead of a "line" they mixed and mingled for the first hour, and then had a really neat program lined up for the rest of the evening including salsa dance lessons, the traditional dances, toasts, cake cutting and flower and garter toss. They had a DJ for the night, and a live singer for their wedding dance (I'll Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie). Aubrey even signed a romantic song (Lucky) for Dale. We all got a glimpse of their love for each other and their spunky personalities really shined through. Eli had a blast salsa dancing, and Brad and I even got to shake a leg on the dance floor for a while. What a great way to ring in the new year! The new Mr. and Mrs. Slabbert will be living in Spanish Fork while Aub finishes her student teaching and Dale continues on in Psychology at BYU. Norton the hearing dog is making his home with them as well. I love you AUBS!

(I forgot to mention my mom made the boys' suits - isn't she awesome?!)

PS - We made the 15 hour drive to AZ this weekend with both kids in a sweet rental car - it actually went really well (thank goodness for those portable dvd players)! Now Brad is doing a neurology rotation down here for a month....

Christmas Joy and Baby Blessing

Can I just say how wonderful it is to be around family again?! The 3 weeks we spent in Utah sure flew by! I'm sure all the shopping, Christmas preparations and celebration, Owen's blessing, and Aubrey's wedding had something to do with it. We spent the first week getting errands done and nursing the kids back to health. They both came down with colds (poor little owen especially) right before we left. It made packing a real nightmare, but thanks to baby motrin the plane trip went just fine. And can I say, it is SNOWY and COLD in Utah! We entered a winter wonderland when we got out here. Thanks to my sister in law, I have some of our trip's photos on CD so I'm able to upload them and catch up a little!

First, Christmas. I just love how my mother in law decorates for Christmas! The house is so festive and the tree is always perfect! Thankfully, Eli didn't go overboard with ornament rearrangement. We were able to attend the Goodrich family Christmas party the Sunday before Christmas, which we've missed the last few years. It was great to see how much all the kids are growing up, and how the young families are growing! On Christmas Eve we went to Applebees for a nice family meal (thanks Dad B.!), my sister came out for a visit, and then we enjoyed some card games and watched Fred Clause late into the evening. We all slept in on Christmas, then enjoyed a fatty fantastic breakfast of croissant-egg-cheese sandwiches (thanks Mom B.!). Then the gifts! It was so fun watching Eli get into opening presents, though he is not yet greedy like the rest of us and gets heavily involved in playing with whatever his first toy is, and forgets about opening the rest. One thing I regret is forgetting to bring Eli's felt board nativity to go over with him - darn it! We'll have to do it when we get back home, even if it's a month late.


Eli got some matchbox cars that he has really enjoyed, as well as a digger, a baby remote control car, more animal figures, and some signing time videos. He has been watching signing time non-stop and has learned 20 or so new signs already - zoo and farm animals! He got some dinosaurs from Aunt Aubrey and likes those too... though his favorite toys are still his two whales! He takes them everywhere, and even sleeps with them. What a character. Owen got some stylin new clothes to get him through the winter.


It was fun to see Eli and his cousin Kenadee (14 months) finally warming up to each other. Eli's quotable quotes from the season are "big guy" which he calls everyone - his uncles and his grandparents - and "ow, guy!" everytime someone looks at him and he's feeling shy. Also, non-stop talk about the whales. And everything is "BIG". When Brad or I enter the room it's "oh the big mama" or "oh the big dada." We went bowling and the balls were "big mama whale balls!"

The Sunday after Christmas we had Owen's baby blessing in the Benson home. My parents were able to be there, as well as my sister. Also Grandma and Grandpa Goodrich, Aunt Nancy, and all of Brad's siblings except Kris (who was working). We had Grandpa Kramer and Grandpa Benson, Great Grandpa Goodrich, and Uncle Skyler in the circle, as well as two members of the Bishopric from the Benson's ward. We had a little program with a prayer, a message from Grandpa Benson about when the Savior visited the Nephites and blessed the children, and we sang I am a Child of God. We're just all about doing things at home with this baby =). It was a very sweet experience and Brad and I were both tearful! I always feel like my babies are "growing up" once they've had their blessing. I don't know why.

Thankful

It's never too late to be thankful! I realized that in the busy aftermath of having a baby, I forgot to write about Thanksgiving. Our initial plan was just to go out to eat somewhere. Just two weeks post partum I didn't quite feel like whipping up a Thanksgiving meal. Luckily we were invited to celebrate with some other families from the ward. There ended up being 8 adults and 5 kids in attendance so it was a lot of fun. Our two boys were both cranky and crying all morning, and both sacked out in the car on the way to dinner! We ended up letting Eli nap in the car for a while, and carried Owen inside in his carseat asleep, so we actually sat down to the meal kidless! After we stuffed ourselves and brought Eli in to watch a movie and play with the other kids, Brad and the guys played some chilly football out in the street. Eli got to watch Finding Nemo on the family's big screen TV - to him it was like being in the movie theater because he only gets to watch dvd's on his little tiny auto dvd player. It was a nice day, and I'm so glad we had good friends to share it with. Before we ate, we all went around the table and said a few things we were thankful for. The first thing that came to my mind was of course my family - my two beautiful boys and my recent amazing birth experience, and my wonderful hubby who is really my best friend and greatest support. I didn't list them all at dinner, but I'm also thankful for my parents who sacrificed greatly so my mom could be out here for Owen's birth, and for my sister whom I adore and miss, for our warm and welcoming ward and great friends out here, the unique niche we have found for ourselves and the experiences we've had out here, Brad's job, a warm and inviting home, this country of choice that we live in, and the light of the Gospel in our lives.

I'm also thankful that we are heading out West for the holidays! We will be in Utah on Monday and will be there through the new year. We'll be celebrating Christmas with the Bensons, and then my sister's wedding (yay Aubrey and Dale!)! We'll be in AZ with my parents after that until the end of January while Brad does a visiting rotation out there. So if my blogging drops off for a while, that's what we are up to. If you are going to be in Utah the week before Christmas and want to get together let us know (or in AZ after New Year's)!

Chunkalicious

That's Owen! At his one month check today he weighed in at 13 pounds 1 oz and is 23 1/2 inches long. So he's gained 3 pounds and an entire inch in TWO WEEKS. He is "off the charts" for percentiles. He fills out his 3-6 month clothes, so I am going to be packing only 6-9 month outfits when we leave on our trip next week. And I thought Eli was a big baby... Owen is on his way to outdoing him by far. Oh well, at least fat rolls are cute on babies. He can hold his head up like a pro, is giving us some heart-melting true smiles, and is starting to have longer awake periods during the day. Last night I think he slept for a four hour stretch too, but I practically nurse him in my sleep and rarely check the time. So far he is still sleeping tucked right next to me... apparently he feels that being swaddled and laid in the co-sleeper is a much inferior setup.

I've been trying some natural light photography with my new camera (Kodak Easy Share, oh baby!) and I'm not very good at it so far, but here are a few shots from Owen's one month photo shoot.

Happy Birthday Eli!

Dear Eli,

I can't believe you are already two! It seems like just yesterday that I held you for the first time ... these two years have really flown by. Your second year of life on earth has been full of adventure and change. This year you have learned to walk, run, climb, shoot a basket, talk, tantrum, drink from a sippy, eat solid food (but you haven't learned to like it yet), sleep in your own bed, sleep through the night (most of the time), kiss and hug, brush your teeth, color, pretend, play with other kids, the alphabet, how to work a dvd player, and countless other amazing things.

This year you faced the challenges with us of saying goodbye to our dogs Dotty and Daisy, our first home, our yard, our family and friends. You bravely put up with a sick pregnant mommy, packing up our house, and a 5 day cross-country drive to move from Surprise, AZ to Pittsfield, MA and took having a new home and room in stride. You've seen a lot of neat things along the way that you probably won't remember, but that I hope have somehow shaped your mind and heart. You surprised us all when you walked right in to nursery for the first time on your first Sunday here in Pittsfield - like you owned the place. You haven't always been comfortable staying in there since, but we are proud of the progress you are making in warming up to other people. It's definitely ok with us that Mom and Dad are your number one friends!

A month ago you became a big brother, and so far have shown potential to be a great one! Though giving up your role as the baby was not your choice, and has been pretty tough at times, you are very loving and sweet towards Owen and like to hold him and play with him. If I don't remember to give you enough love and attention of your own, you are quick to remind me with a tantrum, or a fake "ow!". You are tender-hearted and Dad and I treasure the shower of hugs, kisses, and attention you give us. We can tell that you are super intelligent, and we get a kick out of the "intelectual" activities that you enjoy - watching Planet Earth documentaries, playing with toy animals, testing out your peripheral vision, identifying letters in the alphabet, organizing things (our shoes, my wallet, the bathroom cabinet), reading books, and practicing your sign language- though you also enjoy some good old fashioned rough-housing and hide-and-seek! You still have to be cuddled to sleep most nights (though you let Daddy do it most of the time now), and I still let you nurse a little here and there because it has been so hard for you to give up - especially with a new baby around. I'm not always so patient with you lately, but I treasure the closeness we have shared the past two years, and am so proud of the little boy you are becoming. You bring so much joy to us and to all who know you. Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Love, Mom



Your Celebration

We celebrated your birthday all weekend and made some fun memories. On Saturday we took a train ride from Lenox to Lee and Santa Claus was there! He said hello to you and gave you and Owen a gift bag. You don't quite understand who he is yet, but you enjoyed the freezing train ride. Our good friends the Woodwards came with us, and we went for Pizza at Hot Tomatoes afterwards. Yesterday, your actual birthday, you and I and Owen stayed home from church. It snowed all day and was freezing outside! Owen slept most of the morning so you and I had a lot of one-on-one playtime. We played with your puppets, your alphabet puzzle, and your whales. We also read books and cuddled. You helped me make your cupcakes and sweep the floors. Then just before Dad got home, you fell asleep with Owen on my lap in the rocking chair. You took a 3 1/2 hour nap (because you woke up 3 times in the night)! Then you opened presents - more plastic animals, a fire truck, a shape sorter, the Planet Earth movies and a signing time movie. You also got a Mr. Potato head, 2 felt board kits, and a coloring book from Grandma K (she gave you the whales and birds early when she was here) and a fun book from Aunt Aubrey about a birthday box. The Woodwards and the missionaries (Elder Walkey and Falke) came over and you and Stewart played for a couple of hours. Grandpa Benson also flew in for a business trip and got to our house in time for cake and ice cream. Even though we practiced, you didn't want to blow out your candles or eat your cake. You stuck your finger in one candle and said "ow!" though. Before bed, you got gifts from Grandpa - 2 airplanes, a sweat suit, and some bathtub crayons. It was a super fun day and you went to bed tired!

Your Favorites at Two

Toys: Whales! And other plastic animals; stuffed birds that chirp; matchbox cars, trucks, planes.

Food: You are VERY picky. Right now you love bread with nothing on it, Lindt chocolate balls, and tortillas. Sometimes I can get you to eat cheese, bananas, apples, raisins, or cereal. We stopped buying goldfish crackers because you wanted to live on them.

TV: Super Why, Clifford, Sesame Street
DVDs: Signing Time, Planet Earth documentary (the one with whales and the ocean), Cars, Finding Nemo

Books: You LOVE books and your favorites change often. Anything with birds or trucks is a hit. Current favorites include The Little Engine that Could, Where is My Cat, Are You My Mother, The Eye Book, The Very Quiet Cricket, Tip Tip Dig Dig.

Play: Hide and Seek or chasing games with Dad, Me'am and OhOh (cat and dog puppets), Alphabet Puzzle, Dancing to "the cow song" on the Raffi CD, flying airplanes around and swimming with the whales, playdoh, rocking Owen vigorously in his carseat.

Places: Stewart's house, Whitney Farms petting zoo, our house, Lindt chocolate store at the mall

Best Friends: Mom and Dad, Stewart Woodward, Grandma Kramer

Most used Words: Big, There, Mama, DadaDaddy, Ow!, Nononononono!, yeah!, EAT!, way-o (whale), ah duh and ah gah (all done and all gone), bye bye

Songs: Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Whales in the Ocean (a song we made up to the tune of Wheels on the bus), Old MacDonald (you call it E-I).

Stats: 35 1/2 inches tall, 26 pounds, white blonde hair (people often call you tow-head), blue eyes, size 2T shirts and 18 months pants (you are tall and skinny) and size 7-8 shoes.

Thought I'd Share!

I've seen commercials for this website and just now checked it out... it's awesome! You enter any store or item and it will search for coupon codes for you that you can use for online shopping, or printable coupons to take in the store. I just got %15 off sweaters for the boys (that were already on sale) that I ordered from Children's Place. Woohoo! So go visit Coupon Cabin!

Babymoon

Well, we've passed week three and we're still surviving out here. I must say, my mom leaving and Brad going back to work was a rude awakening for me! If you can't tell from my lack of blogging the past few weeks, it has felt quite hectic at times. I won't lie ... there have been days that have been just plain hard physically and emotionally. The hardest part really has been dealing with my toddler. In sleep deprivation mode, I just lack sufficient patience to handle his outbursts, which have been pretty frequent because he is still in adjustment mode himself. So there's been plenty of crankiness (on my part and Eli's) interspersed with tears (mine and Eli's!) the last few weeks. Really, the kids must plot out their crying spells because they will either alternate in perfect synchrony so that I'm running between them both all day meeting immediate needs, or they are both bawling at the same time so I get the stereo effect. I'm not sure which is worse. Anyway, I try to be honest when people ask how things are going and just say "we are still adjusting" instead of the pre-programmed "great" or "fine" =). On Sunday I feared I was losing it completely! I was so grumpy it was all I could do not to snap at people at church, and I was feeling sick of both my kids. Then I was able to take a 2 1/2 hour nap while Brad took care of Owen (and Eli napped!), and I woke up with a refreshing change of attitude. It really is amazing what a little sleep can do, as well as the lack therof!

But before I start sounding too negative, I also have to admit that there have been plenty of great moments too. I am so pleased that Eli has not been aggressive at all towards the baby. Jealous, yes. He will often insist that Brad hold the baby so that he can have some mom time. It goes like this "Dada! Baby!" while pointing back and forth between them. Or he will state his inner desires simply with "Bye bye baby, ah gah (all gone) baby." This really cracks me up. After the first week of Eli's ambivalence though, he has discovered Owen as a source of entertainment, which is both good and bad. Good because I can see them developing a bond already, but bad because now I have to be on constant guard to ensure no mortal injury befalls my newborn because my toddler is "playing" with him. Eli likes to try and hold Owen, and laughs hysterically when Owen does the newborn flail because Eli thinks he's trying to play with him. This usually elicits rougher play from Eli so I have to watch out. This makes escaping for potty breaks tricky for me, lol.

Another fabulous blessing has been how we have lucked out with Brad's schedule. He has ended up being home a lot more than we anticipated, which has really helped my sanity, and helped Eli alot as well. Brad is still putting him to bed at night, but even after three weeks there are nights when Eli still just cries for me. Whether or not I can actually help him depends on if Owen is nursing or not. So yes, there's still a great deal of adjusting for all of us to do, but thankfully we've got Brad here as a full participant in the process.

In other news, Eli is learning how to use adjectives. His favorite right now is "BIG." It's so heartwarming to enter a room and have your toddler enthusiastically shout "BIIIIG Mama!" He also shrieks "BIIIIIG Dada" when Brad comes home, and sometimes just chatters about his big family: "BIIIIG mama, BIIIIG Dada, BIIIIIG Baby" while pointing to each of us... then he usually throws in a "BIIIIG Way-o (whale)" which granted, the whales are his favorite toys right now but it's not so flattering to be grouped in with them. Speaking of whales though, (no offense Owen) my baby is chunking up quite nicely. At two weeks he was already up to 10lbs 2oz (born at 9lbs) and now at just over 3 weeks his 0-3 month clothes are getting too small. He is going to be even bigger than Eli was, and he was quite the butterball! What can I say? Mommy's milk is nummy! =) Ok here is some photo proof of our happier moments.

Brotherly LOVE:

Watching "Blue Planet" documentary about the ocean - thankfully it sometimes puts him to sleep:

Just being cute:

Watching "Happy Feet" together:

"Talking" to the monkey: