Arbor Day

This entire week was TOUGH! Poor Brooke was fighting some strange cold virus. I picked her up early from school on Monday because she was not feeling well. I figured she was just coming down with the same cold Brody had just finished fighting. I kept her home Tuesday to allow her time to rest, she pretty much seemed to feel better and was back to her normal self. Tuesday night she had a low grade fever so I kept her home that Wednesday since she woke up congested. By Wednesday afternoon she complained about her stomach and that she had to throw up, she spent close to 30 minutes in the bathroom crying and there was nothing I could do or say to calm her down. That night the fever returned...I was so bummed out because I just could not figure this bug out and I started to feel sick myself. By Thursday morning Brooke said her ear was hurting so I called her doctor and got in that morning, I thought to myself this has got to be the end of this bug. The doctor saw us and sure enough she had an ear infection...a "really bad one" per the doctor. He prescribed meds and a follow up appointment. The doctor said she should have some relief by tomorrow. Friday morning.....the minute she woke up the poor thing was in terrible pain, so much that she could not eat. I began to feel nervous, after 3 doses of her meds I thought by now she should be feeling slightly better. I gave her children's advil and had her take a nap, after her nap she was even worse. My "mom" insticts kept telling me to call the doctor but I felt silly doing so because we were just there the day before. I did anyway and he had us come in. After checking her ear he was very happy I had brought her back because her eardrum had ruptured now causing her to have a middle ear infection and he said in her case hers was pretty bad. So on top of her antibiotics she now has eardrops with antibiotics and steroids to help heal her infection. The poor thing has been miserable. Advil buys us a few hours and on Saturday we ventured out for 30 minutes or so to our community Arbor Day Celebration. It was so much fun. There was face painting, ballons, a petting zoo, pony rides, a bounce house, free trees, bake sale and raffle, plus free hot dogs, chips and water! Everything but the bake sale and raffle was free...I LOVE our neighborhood and community so much and the fun FREE events they provide. It was so nice to get out and see my little girl smile and be pain free even if it was just for a little while. Bryan was in awe of the petting zoo, he took the kids and took pictures with his phone. He said the animals were extremely well trained and the owners were awesome. I love the pictures he took. Brody won't stay still for more than 4 seconds but I'm glad he at least got one of him. I'm SO thankful we have the most incredible pediatrician for the kids. The kids and I adore him. Even though he had already seen us the previous day ( literally less than 24 hours ago) for an ear infection he didn't even hesitate the next day when I called and explained that something just was not right and he fit us in right away to see HIM, he didn't bum us off to one of the other 3 doctors there. That is how great he is. He reminds me so much of Bryan's late Grandpa Albee and he even looks and speaks just like him too. Amazing doctors like him are such a blessing!

Ruby Update

Ruby turns 13 weeks today..( I think its 13 it may be 14 ) but she is doing great! I believe we go to the vet towards the end of the week for her second go around of shots. I talked to her vet at her last appointment and asked if it was ok to take her on a few walks around our neighborhood to get her outside more and to burn some of her energy, he gave me the green light so we have been enjoying some short walks around our neighborhood. Those walks have turned into the highlight of my day and Brody's day too. The other day we saw turtles at our lake and lots of fish swimming around in the lake. The mornings have been absolutely gorgeous out by the lake. Ruby thinks EVERYONE is her best friend...even the ducks that waddle around the lake. I don't let her near them but you can tell that she annoys them every time we walk by. Ruby is almost there with potty training! Yay! The other day she had an accident but in all fairness it was my fault. She alerted me at the back door and I was distracted so a few minutes later she pee peed in front of the back door. Totally my fault, but I'm so proud of her progress thus far. I can't believe how lucky we are, she is so sweet and smart. We sure love our Ru!
Above is a picture of Ruby's first time fishing at the lake by our house. Brooke had a few bites but the darn fish were sneaky and took her bait. Bryan caught one and let Brody hold the pole while he reeled it in. Brody was so excited but refused to stand next to his catch longer than 4 seconds to let me snap up a good picture, hopefully next time we can convince him!

Enjoy my marathon of posts below....

My Fabulous Neighbor's Attempt at Easter Pictures...

My neighbor Leslie saw me struggling to take pictures of my kids Easter morning before church. Being the AMAZING person she is she ran inside and brought out her professional camera and starting taking pictures of the kids and even took a quick family picture of us. Leslie is a professional photographer and SO incredibly talented. I love her so much and I'm beyond blessed to have her as my neighbor!!!
Thank you Leslie!!

My Attempt at Easter Pictures...

Yeah....it was hot and the sun was so bright, we were running late. They were not the best. Boo!
But.......

My Easter Cupcakes...

After our Ward Easter Egg Hunt we came home and the kids' dug into their candy and I started cooking up all sorts of yummy foods. Sadly I only took pictures of my pretty Easter cupcakes. My other creations, while very delicious, were kinda boring to take pictures of. I made deviled eggs & potato salad both were a first for me. To be quite honest I totally nailed my homemade version of potato salad (it was heaven) but my deviled eggs need work...like lots of work. Oh well, at least I tried. They will be better next time around.

Ward Easter Egg Hunt

I'm finally blogging about Easter, yay! The day before Easter Sunday we had our ward Easter Egg Hunt. It was so much fun, and both Brooke and Brody really enjoyed hunting for candy filled eggs. It was a pretty fantastic morning!

Sweet Ruby

Yesterday Ruby had her second vet appointment for her second set of shots. Everyone there loves her, the techs always take her back to show her off to everyone after her appointment(s). Here are her current stats...

Age: 10 weeks
Weight: 8 lbs (she is up 2 pounds!)
Tricks: can "sit", "come", and "howl" on command
House training progress: I'd say we are 85%

Ruby's 1st week with us was a learning process for myself. I have never potty trained a puppy before so everything was new to me. I swear it was like reliving those first few weeks with Brooke (my first baby)and being excited and scared at the same time. I wanted to do everything right and not screw up. Ha ha! At her first vet appointment (about 4 days after adopting her) I showed up to her vet appointment with a list full of questions just like a new mom with a her first newborn!

Ruby's second week with us was a very hard one for me. I read many different articles on potty training a puppy and decided to bunker down and get serious. I spent the entire week in the kitchen training her. By Wednesday/ Thursday I saw the results of my hard work and dedication! Happy day! Ruby started to understand where her poops and peeps went...outside, and she quickly would alert me at the back door to go outside and potty. It was great.

Ruby's third week (this week) has been wonderful. It was time to establish a routine. My two children thrived on routine and it made for one happy and well rested mama and papa. This week I have established her potty times. I now know when to expect her to poop and to pee. Ruby will give me two poops in the morning at about the same times (give or take 1/2 hour and two poops in the latter part of the day. She will poop after I pick up Brooke from school and after dinner/before bedtime around 6:30/7. She will alert me when she needs to pee and I will also take her out to pee after her two naps. Yes Ruby takes about 2-3 naps a day. (How else am I supposed to get my housework done and spend time with Bo?) Each are about an hour, the afternoon nap is about an hour and 1/2. She loves her bed/crate and often times won't want to come out to play but I make her anyways. This week since she has been doing so well with potty training I have allowed her back in our living room as a reward. We have been accident free this entire week and that makes me very happy. I anticipate an accident in the future since she is still young but as long as I'm on top of it and watching her closely and keeping her on a schedule she has been thriving. We do still need to work on the chewing, she knows that she is not allowed to chew on anything except her toys but I do catch her trying sneak in a chew or bite on something that is off limits but she quickly gives up after my stern "No". Ruby is still not allowed upstairs and she knows that. She cries at the bottom of the stairs for Bryan but quickly gives up after I distract her with a toy.

If there is anything out sweet little Ru has taught me it is to learn to love being outside. I'm not an outside kind of person at all but I've learned to like it. We have not taken her on any walks yet, not until she is fully vaccinated at 16 weeks but I do let her play on our front grass and our backyard grass. Ruby loves being outside. I try to take her out to play and get exercise as often as I can since the weather has been so amazing lately and because those hot summer days will be here before we know it. Ruby still loves to cuddle and still remains calm but can get quite active if she wants too. She will only bark and howl on command but won't do it on her own. I was expecting her to bark and howl like a normal dog but I guess that's her personality. I think she's an old soul.
We sure love having her as a part of our family.