Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  This was Boone's first Easter, so it was a special Easter for us.  Here's a few photos of the boys.  We stopped by the pretty garden area at the Baptist Church near our house on our way home from church this morning.  The photo above was taken in our backyard.  {It's mid-day, so the sun is kind of harsh and the boys are looking down.}

Awww.... what a sweet hug!

And just for fun, I thought I would include these photos.  This is what typically happens whenever I try to get a photo of me with both Fenn and Boone.  Fenn squirms and tries to pull away the whole time.

The expression on my face in this one says it all!

Still not cooperating, but at least it's a picture of us together! I treasure ANY photo of me with my babies.

I opted to try getting individual photos of me with Fenn and with Boone.

And here's a not-so-great attempt at a family photo.  For some reason, my camera focused on the trees instead of on us. 

2010 Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

Yesterday morning was our neighborhood Easter egg hunt, so the Easter bunny came a day early.  We started off the day with the boys discovering their Easter baskets.  They both got new stuffed animals.  They are Jellycat brand {which I love}, from the "Pipers" collection... called that because they have a thick piping around all the seams.  Fenn got the horse, now called Huck the Horse.  And Boone got the rabbit, now known as Hopper. 

Boone didn't hesitate to reach in and check out the goods.

Fenn wasn't quite awake yet.

But he liked the light stick!

After breakfast, it was time to get ready and head over to the park for the neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  Here's Fenn waiting on the hunt to begin.

Fenn picked up 2 of the last few eggs and decided to share one with his friend, Morgan.

We tried to get a good family shot (see first photo above).  And then we decided to do some of the boys with daddy and some with mommy.  They cooperated much better for their photos with daddy.  {Too bad they still have Christmas lights wrapped around the branches.}  Go here to see last year's family photo... I was still pregnant with Boone at the time.

Afterward, we came home and let Boone hunt some eggs.  Because he isn't walking yet, he hung out in the stroller while Fenn hunted eggs at the park.  But next year he'll be ready to participate in the real egg hunt.

Boone's First Haircut

Yesterday (Good Friday), the boys' school was closed, so we decided it was a good day for Boone to get his very first haircut. We went to the same place we took Fenn for his first haircut (click here if you want to see that post), Western Plaza Barber Shop.  Just like with Fenn, we tried to wait until closer to his first birthday, but his hair was getting so long and scraggly looking.  It just couldn't wait any longer.  And this way, he would look good for Easter.  I've already had to break down and clip one little piece above his left ear that for some odd reason was longer than everything else (click here for that post).

Here here he is waiting his turn.  Fenn was getting his hair cut first.  I did take a few pictures of Fenn, but this is Boone's post.

He immediately liked the tractor seat.

And he liked looking up at the lights.

He was very vocal about letting us know how much fun he was having.  "Ahh Ahh Ahhhhhhh!!!!"  "Daaaa Daaaa DAAAA!"  {Picture his little body and heading bobbing up and down here.}

And he, of course, had to flirt with Natasha.

All done!  He never once cried.  He was his usual happy self the whole time.

OK... and here's one cute one of Fenn.

Boone Moved to the BIG Bathtub

Last night, we moved Boone up to the big bathtub.  And he loved it!  He was immediately moving all over the tub, standing up, grabbing toys, putting his hands under the running water, and splashing all around.  And, of couse, within a few minutes of being in there, he was standing up holding onto the side and then bumped his head as he was sitting down (or maybe he was falling down).  If you look closely, you can see a red spot on his forehead.  But he didn't cry and kept right on playing.  Next up... we'll try letting the boys take a bath together.

Happy 10th Birthday, Petey!

In July 2000, as a volunteer at the LaGrange-Troup County Animal Shelter in LaGrange, GA, I walked into the shelter one Saturday morning.  As usual, the first thing I did was walk down the aisle in the dog area to see who was new.  The first new face I saw that morning was in the first pen on my left.  He was sitting there, holding up his right front leg, wagging his tail, with the happiest little expression on his face.  Even though he was injured, he still managed to be happy.  The short story is that we saw something special in him, found a way to raise money for his medical expenses, found a great veterinarian to do the surgery for a reduced price, and saved this sweet little guy.  He was originally going to be a foster at my home while he recuperated from his surgery.  But as soon as the first potential adopters showed an interest in him, I knew from the way it made my heart hurt, that he was mine.  I already had 2 dogs:  Cole, my black Labrador Retriever, who was 2 years old at the time and my first baby; and Asha, whom I had just adopted in February on the FIRST day I ever volunteered at the shelter.  {She totally knew a sucker when she saw one!}  So I really didn't need, nor could I afford, another dog.  But I couldn't resist him.

So here we are, almost 10 years since I met him for the first time.  He has been a great dog.  I was reluctant to adopt a Pit Bull at first because I knew absolutely nothing about the breed.  But I tried to educate myself and worked hard to make sure he was socialized as much as possible.  He always got along very well with Cole and Asha.  Actually, they are the ones who picked on him at times.  Now, he's not around other dogs much since Cole died almost 2.5 years ago and Asha died almost 2 years ago.  So he doesn't really do very well with some dogs now ~ it seems to depend on the breed and the personality or attitude of the other dog.  But I can handle that.  He loves all people.  He loves Fenn and Boone and is very patient with them.  And they love him, too.  He loves to play frisbee, play with his ball {well, what's left of it}, give hugs, receive hugs, and play pretend tackle with his daddy.  He is a great ambassador for the Pit Bull breed.  It is a breed I have come to love and respect, and a breed which is still widely misunderstood by most people.  Pit Bulls don't deserve the reputation they have because most of the problems stem from bad owners and bad breeders.  Sadly, Petey most likely came from one of those bad owners or breeders.  Over the years, I have found out the reason his fang teeth are filed down to the point of not having a sharp point is probably because he was going to be used as a 'bait dog' to train other Pit Bulls to fight.  I think he probably was pinpointed as one of the more non-aggressive pups in the litter and, therefore, chosen to be a bait dog.  We don't know how he ended up where he was when animal control picked him up, but it's a good thing he ended up there because he probably wouldn't be alive today.

I have included a couple of photos I took this morning of him and a few photos taken of him at the shelter in July 2000.  In that 2nd photo up there, that's what I saw when I walked into the shelter that morning!  Could you resist that face???
Sorry about the quality of those photos.  They're actually photos that were printed from the computer on plain paper (not photo paper).  Then I took those and scanned them so I could include them here.  I hope I still have those photos on a disk somewhere because they're priceless to me.

Happy 10th Birthday, Petey!  We love you very much!

A Good Night's Sleep

Hallelejuh!!!!  Boone slept ALL night in his OWN crib last night!!!  We think it has been about two or three months since he has done that.  He used to sleep all night long in his crib without us barely hearing a peep out of him.  Then something happened and it all changed.  It is most likely related to teething and also to a bout of back-to-back sicknesses he's had over the last couple of months.  But HOORAY!  Mommy and daddy actually got a good night's sleep last night.  And we're hoping he'll continue to sleep in his crib because we really don't sleep well with him in our bed.  But we've been too tired and too afraid of him waking up Fenn to let him cry it out like we always did with Fenn.  This is a photo of Boone from back in mid-February that I love and just never got around to posting.  That's his usual self... all smiles and happiness.

Springtime Fun

Yesterday, Dan was able to come home a little early and spend some time in the yard with the boys.  He worked on raking up the leaves he never got around to raking back in the fall.  And Fenn had a blast helping his daddy take the leaves to the road.  We put the boys in the wheelbarrow and wheeled them around the yard for a while. 

And Fenn decided it was a good idea to bring as many toys from inside the house out into the yard.  He didn't actually play with them once he got them out there.  He just enjoyed bringing them out and lining them up.  {See next 2 photos.} 

Boone at Ten Months Old

This is Boone at Ten Months.  This is the tenth installment in the "12-month onesie" series.  If you are unfamiliar with what I am doing, I take a photo of Boone each month (on or around the 15th) in a plain white 12-month onesie.  I also did this for Fenn's first year.  Once I'm done with all of the photos, I'll have them matted and framed together.  There will be one of Fenn's first year and one of Boone's first year, each with 12 photos.  If you'd like to see all of their 12-month onesie photos, look over in the right-hand column of the blog under "More Photos of Fenn and Boone" and there is a link to "Fenn's 12-month onesie photos" and to "Boone's 12-month onesie photos".

As you can see by the date of this post, I'm a little late with it.  I actually did take the photo a couple of days after the 15th.  But I have been really busy and haven't had a lot of time to blog lately.  Funny how that is now that I have 2 kids!

Once again, it has been a really busy month for Boone.  In a previous post earlier this month, I wrote about how Boone started walking with the help of a push toy.  At the time, he would only walk a few feet at a time.  Now only a couple of weeks later, he is pushing his walker toy and Fenn's Mickey Mouse ride-on truck all over the house.  He is definitely living up to his name (as in 'Daniel' Boone ~ even though he's not a Daniel) and is quite the explorer.  He is fearless and doesn't mind going to other rooms in the house all by himself.

Another big new skill for him is clapping.  He started clapping last Saturday (March 20th).  So cute!  He has also mastered the more difficult skill of squatting down and then standing right back up.  That one takes a lot of strength and coordination.  And he has also started standing without holding onto anything for as long as 3 or 4 seconds at a time.  We really think he'll be walking on his own within the next few weeks.  If he doesn't, we'll be surprised.

As far as talking, he hasn't said any real words yet.  But he jabbers all the time.  I wonder what his first real word will be???

He absolutely loves bathtime.  Sometimes, I'll have him sitting on my lap while I sit on the side of the bathtub and start filling his tub with water.  He'll use all his strength to try and lean over toward the water.  And once he gets in, he has a blast.  He moves around, splashes, stands up to get toys, puts his hands and head under the running water, gets on his belly, lies down on his back, and puts his mouth in the water and blows bubbles.  Just like we did with Fenn, we have always just dumped the water right over his head.  He doesn't seem to mind at all.  We're thinking he'll be ready to move out of his inflatable tub and into the full bathtub soon.  After we let him get used to that for a little while, we think it will be time to try a bath with Fenn.  I'll definitely be photographing and videoing that event!  We also look forward to getting him into swim lessons in a few more weeks.  I just need to sign him up for his class.

The other night, Boone discovered the pots and pans I keep on an open shelf under the cooktop.  He pulled off one of the frying pans and started pushing it all over the kitchen, picking it up and banging it along the way.  Apparently, he is not bothered by the noise at all.

Boone and Fenn have started playing together more and more here lately.  Fenn will run through the house from Boone, and Boone will follow him.  Fenn seems to think it is pretty funny.  Fenn also does a great job of making Boone laugh.  Sometimes they'll both get their giggle boxes turned over on the way home from school in the afternoons.  Boone also does a great job of holding his own against Fenn.  Fenn likes to stand right in front of the tv sometimes.  Boone will crawl over and stand up next to Fenn.  And if Fenn pushes Boone a little to try and get him out of his personal space, Boone will push right back.  This is both good and bad ~ good that Boone can hold his own, but bad because he has also already gotten in trouble at school for pushing his classmates.

I told you it had been a busy month!  Now it is time to get serious about planning all the details of Boone's first birthday party on May 8th.  We're having it a week early because we're thinking of leaving for vacation the weekend of his actual birthday.

Boone Discovers the Pots and Pans

Last night, Boone discovered the open shelves beneath the cooktop where I store my pots and pans.  Now that he is mobile, he has started exploring more and more of the house.  He grabbed a frying pan and proceeded to push it all over the kitchen.  I'm sure you can imagine how noisy it was.  But he sure was proud of himself! 

Making Easter Cookies with Fenn

Yesterday, while daddy was working yet another Sunday during tax season, Fenn and I decided to make some Easter cookies.  We cheated and made them from a mix.  But Fenn didn't care.  He still had fun helping me roll them out, cut the shapes, and adding sprinkles to them.  Oh, and he enjoyed sampling the sprinkles, too.  I even caught him trying to eat the cookie dough!

By the time we were done, mommy was exhausted and wondering why it wasn't as easy and enjoyable as it appears when you see it on TV.  I loved spending that time with Fenn and treasure all my little moments with my boys.  But it definitely wasn't quite the 'cake walk' they lead you to believe it will be when you see it on TV or in a magazine!  Now I need to go buy some new Easter shaped cookie cutters because Fenn kept squeezing the ones I had.  They are those cheap, thin, metal ones and now the shapes are all distorted.  I think I'll look for some nicer copper ones for next year.  They're more heavy duty and will hopefully hold up to little hands that like to squeeze them.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Not Even 10 Months Old... and THIS is What He Can Do Now

Yesterday, Boone and I were playing while Fenn was napping.  I pulled out this push toy and this is what Boone did. 

All I had to do was stand him up behind it and he took off!  He walked a good 5 or 6 feet and probably would have walked further if he had more room.  I would stand him up behind it and then run ahead of him, sit down, and try to snap a few pictures as fast as I could.  He didn't give me much time to focus because he was walking so fast! 

He'll even stop it and then walk around to the front.  He has really good balance for his age.  {I think this one is funny because of how he's holding his tongue.  He's really concentrating on what he's doing.}

And I caught Fenn doing this on Saturday.  I guess he's using the trash can as a helmet.  He looks kind of like an astronaut.  He's so funny... he'll put it on his head and walk around all over the house like that.  His imagination is getting more and more creative.