Yard Update

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment
I know I have been remiss in posting. Here’s the yard.

The weekend we had the excavator:

Isaac helping to shovel:

Imagine you are a two-year-old boy. Define Heaven:

Todd had been running pipes to install sprinklers all day on Sunday. Our friend Brent came by that afternoon to help:

In the middle of the night on Sunday:

New weekend, new equipment. This handy machine had all sorts of attachments. Todd used a bucket and a flat metal piece to do some leveling. He and Brent shared the equipment from Memorial Day weekend through the following Saturday. Brent used a trenching attachment (so did Todd) and he used some of the drill attachments. I should have photographed the trailer. It was very well-designed to hold the dozen or so various attachments.

Sprinklers! In the back yard. You can see that the dirt is more level:

Front yard:

Side yard (by the neighbors’ house):

New section of fence:



 Isaac helping Todd build the gate:

Workers tearing up the sidewalk last Tuesday:

Pouring new sidewalk Tuesday afternoon:

Todd rented a tiller this weekend. Todd also raked up all of the debris and we dumped it into the creek bed behind the house. The trailer he rented to haul the tiller was able to dump, which was a HUGE help.



Sod is supposed to be installed on Thursday, so I will try to update then.

Missing Nestle

~ Heather Walter ~ 1 Comment

As you are probably aware, this week I said good-bye to the cat I got in college. Nestle was with me for 12 years. I realized tonight that he was with me for 1/3 of my life. That’s a pretty long time and it’s going to take some time to adjust to life without him. He’s been avoiding us most of the time for at least the last year or so – pretty much since Isaac has been able to chase him. He had stopped eating most of his food. It took a while for us to notice this because Jackson would go in after Nestle stopped eating and take the leftovers. When I took him to the vet on Monday, Nestle had lost over 5 pounds (more than 25% of his body weight).


Last Friday night, Nestle was limping. Severely. We decided to wait until morning to see if he was better. Saturday morning, he was still limping but less, so we thought maybe he’d just pulled something and it would take a few days to heal. Sunday night, however, he was barely walking. I called the vet on Monday and dropped him off. They had to sedate him to do x-rays. They didn’t see anything major on the x-ray, but noted the decreased weight and ran some blood tests. I brought Nestle home with some paid meds and we tried to make the hall bathroom comfortable for him. We figured he’d be close to his food, water, and litter, and not too close to Isaac or Jackson. I had thought the pain medication would help, but it didn’t seem to. He was lethargic and wouldn’t move much. I took him back to the vet on Thursday because he was eating less than half his food and they wanted to do a sonogram to see if anything else was going on. The vet diagnosed him with “hepatic lipidosis.” In layman’s terms, he was a fat cat who stopped eating. His body started metabolizing the fat and was overwhelming his liver. They gave me some pills to help the liver function, 2 new types of food to try, B12 vitamins, an appetite stimulant, more pain meds, and something for joint support (they found arthritis when they reviewed the x-rays again). I brought him home on Thursday evening and we opened up his carrier, but set it in the bathroom so he could get out at his leisure. We took the lid off of it to medicate him that night.


Friday morning, Nestle hadn’t gotten out of his carrier. He’d gone to the bathroom and couldn’t seem to get up. He hadn’t eaten his dinner, even though it was dry food (his favorite). I checked in on him throughout the day, but he was obviously not improving. At about 3:00, I looked in on him and he just looked sad. And hurt. And I knew it was time. I called my friend Amalia. She came to the vet with the kids and me. She kept Isaac entertained in the waiting room and outside while I visited with the vet.


The vet gave Nestle a tranquilizer. I petted on him while he fell asleep. Then she gave him the medicine that stopped his heart. He passed away very peacefully. I know he isn’t suffering any more.


As much as he drove me nuts, I really miss him. I hope that he’s across the Rainbow Bridge eating lots of delicious carbs and resting in soft, enclosed, warm, sunny spots.


2 Months for Laine

~ Heather Walter ~ 1 Comment

I can’t believe how quickly the last 2 months have passed!  I have been a little concerned because several people have started to comment on how “big” she is getting.  This bothers me because girls grow up with so many body image issues.  I don’t want Laine to internalize the idea that she is big.  I was talking to my friend Allison about it and she has a great word:  thriving.  Suffice it to say, Laine is definitely THRIVING!!! 🙂  She is off the top of the (CDC) growth charts!  At her appointment Friday, she weighed 14 pounds 10 ounces.  She is 23 inches long.


Laine is starting to smile a bit.  She is very alert and curious.  She is very sweet and has been a much easier baby than I could ever have imagined.  She sleeps for about a 5-hour stretch most nights, which is a wonderful change from our first parenting experience.


Isaac pesters his sister constantly.  LOL!  I didn’t have much “me” time before, but now I have to even take him into the bathroom with me if she is in a location he can reach. He wants to hug on her and snuggle with her and I’m afraid he could accidentally hurt or smother her if I leave them alone, even for just a few minutes.  I am glad to see that he is so smitten with her.  I knew he was sweet, but it sure is awesome to see how much he adores the baby.


Playscape

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday, Isaac awoke before the sun actually rose.  He was in super-cranky mode by 8:00 a.m.  My wonderful friend Candy invited us over so I wouldn’t go insane.  Her husband has been building an incredible playscape in their back yard.  


Isaac likes it, especially the sand box:



Can’t just leave the sand at the bottom, though:



Aunt Candy climbed up, too!

Looking down from on high:

Climbing, climbing, climbing:

Digging in the Dirt

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Ha! I bet you thought this post was going to be about Isaac, didn’t you? It is, but mostly it’s about Todd. 🙂 As all 3 of my readers will remember, we had a lot of work done recently to connect our house to the city sewer line. As that project was wrapping up, Todd had some pipe installed to run sprinklers. This weekend, he’s started digging up the rest of the yard to install the sprinklers. He’s rented a mini-excavator so that he can dig up around the yard to bury the pipes. He’s also going to work on leveling and grading the front yard some. It’s been a MESS since the front porch project… You really have to watch your step.


I saw Todd drive past the house yesterday with this monstrosity in tow.  He turned around in the park before backing in:



Isaac checks it out:

Pulling forward to loosen the chains:

Unloading:



Down the ramp!



Testing out the “toy”:

Getting the hang of it:



Isaac exploring:





More digging:





Isaac checks out the view with his Daddy:


I’ll post more progress later.  Suffice it to say that the front yard is now less grassy than it used to be.  🙂  I’ll bet our neighbors wish we’d move.  LOL

Bubbles and Baking

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Photo update:


Beatles shirt (reminds me of Isaac’s Uncle Dave and reminds Todd of his college roommate Jason):

Fun new bubble-making toy:

Daddy gets in on the bubbles:

So does Jackson:

ADORABLE hat from Todd’s cousin Doug:



Video! 



Making blueberry muffins:

Enjoying the fruits of our labor:

6 Weeks for Laine!

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Yeah, yeah.  I’m behind.  I intended to post an update after Laine’s 1-month appointment almost 2 weeks ago… I am finally getting 8 seconds to sit at the computer.  🙂  Todd left last Monday and Mom’s been staying with us.  She left yesterday.  She’s been helping to take care of Laine and Isaac.  Thank goodness she was here! Todd will be back late tomorrow night and we’re all looking forward to it.  Isaac is *definitely* missing his daddy!


Laine’s 1-month appointment went well.  She gained FOUR POUNDS in one month!!!  She was 7 lbs. 14 oz. at birth and was 11 lbs. 14 oz. at the doctor visit.  She is growing and growing!  She is almost out of her 0-3 month sized clothes.  It’s hard for me to believe since Isaac was so much smaller.  She weighed more at one month than Isaac did at 2 months.  🙂  We’ve also discovered that Laine looked exactly like her daddy did when he was born.  When I get some free time (hardy-har-har), I’ll try to scan in a few of Todd’s baby pics for a comparison.  It’s uncanny! She’s a good eater and sometimes a good sleeper.  It doesn’t look like she’s going to have all of the reflux issues poor Isaac had, which is great news.  I went to see my midwife yesterday, who said I look like I melted.  Then she saw Laine and said, “Oh my gosh, it’s because she ate you!”  LOL


Isaac is getting used to having a little sister.  He dotes on her, which is very sweet.  I have to be careful, though.  I can’t leave him alone with her at all because he’s constantly touching her and he’s not yet mastered the “gentle” touch yet.  He’s been VERY sweet and it makes my heart melt to watch him with her.


OK. On to the part you’re actually interested in; the camera dump.


For some reason, it won’t let me rotate these…  Hopefully you’ll still enjoy the outtakes from the calendar photo:

Wearing Daddy’s hat:

Our Busy Boy!




I wanted to capture the look of terror on Todd’s face just seconds before this.  His first time to hold both of his kids at once.  🙂

Nana and Baby Laine:

Still can’t rotate…  Laine and her CPK.  I will use this doll for size comparisons month-to-month.  Isaac, apparently, will also be participating.  LOL

Todd’s been working on the laundry room.  Here he has been taping and floating the walls.  You can see where the old window used to be.

Showing off the now-textured walls.

Elke reading a book to Isaac and Milena:

Henry exploring:

Easy rider:

Alan and Cash exploring:

Alan, Cash, and Henry explore:

Henry pushing Isaac’s tricycle:

Music makes the boys dance!



Nana and her grandbabies:

Isaac’s 2nd Birthday

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment
Basically, a camera dump from the birthday & party.  If I go into details about the festivities, I will never get the blog updated.  🙂  Judy also gave me her pictures, but I haven’t had a chance to look through the CD’s yet…  These are the ones from my camera.

Isaac’s first order of business at the party:  find a dump truck for playing

A quick rest for Mommy and Laine:

Snuggling girls:

My beautiful friend Allison holding Laine:



Isaac assessing the cupcakes (specifically, Henry’s):

Unwrapping cupcake good-ness:

Sampling the icing:


MMM…

The Baby Mamas!!!  Archer, Bethany, Isaac, Heather, Allison, Anderson, Cash, Stephanie, Henry, and Candy:

3 outta 4 ain’t bad!  Henry was busy with a balloon…

Me and the kiddos:

Easter Egg hunt at the party.  Isaac had fun finding the eggs and would happily put them into any basket available.  It was really sweet that they had so much fun hunting and are all still too young to be terribly selfish about the results.

Ride ’em, Cowboy:

Yup, he’s a native Texan.

Isaac got bubbles in one of his birthday gifts:



Jackson has just as much, if not more, fun than Isaac does with bubbles.

Isaac’s birthday was on Easter this year, so Laine celebrated in her own special outfit (My First Easter):



Easter Egg Hunt (at home):



Isaac’s Easter basket from Grandma and Grandpa:

Opening birthday presents:


Birthday cupcake:


Father & son relaxing in the yard:

Being silly:

Laine’s first Cabbage Patch Kid.  Thanks, Nana!

Isaac and his lawn mower, a gift from our friend Marielk.



In action…

…the REST of the story

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Our amazing doula, Shelley, has also written up our birth story.  I LOVED reading it!  It makes me smile just to see this from another perspective.  It really was like arriving at a party when we got to the hospital. We were all in great spirits and there was a lot of very positive energy.  I also remembered a few details…  I had forgotten that we finally told Andrea (Dr. C) that Todd had been calling her “Doc Bubbles” for the whole pregnancy.  Shelley also said that the volume got higher and higher as we got closer to Laine’s arrival.  Because we were in Room 2, we were really close to the nurse’s station.  Shelley was commenting that they probably knew EXACTLY where we were throughout the labor as the tone and volume changed.  I had to laugh when she commented that “some mothers prefer soft voices.  You definitely weren’t responding to that.”  Ha ha ha!  Anyone who has ever met me would attest to that.  LOL


Another fun story happened about 2 weeks after Laine’s birth.  Shelley was meeting with another client.  This woman is due in mid-May and has some concerns that she will need to be induced.  Shelley told her that there were things she could do to encourage labor to start naturally.  The mom responded that she had been researching that.  Shelley asked what she had learned.  One of the things the mom mentioned was Reale’s pizza.  Shelley said she had another client (me) who had just told her about Reale’s and it was something I had tried.  The mom asked, “did she VBAC?”  Shelley confirmed that I had.  She then asked, “does she have blonde hair?”  Shelley said I did and asked how this woman knew this.  Here’s the great part:  she Googled Reale’s pizza and labor or induction or something and… MY BLOG POST CAME UP!  How freakin’ cool is that?!  I hope my story is able to help this other mom in some way.


I love this birth story.  All births leave us changed in some way.  This story healed the hurts that still remained from Isaac’s story and I can now say that I have 2 stories that warm my heart to tell.  I have wonderful children and I am incredibly blessed.