This weekend Lindsey, Mike, Austin and Addison all came to Kalamazoo to meet the newest addition to the Wade clan--Mike's brother Adam's new son. I took advantage of their brief stint in town, and Nathan and I met them at their hotel for breakfast this morning. After breakfast, all of the kids ran around in the huge indoor recreation space (if you're coming to Kalamazoo with kids, the Holiday Inn is the place to be). Nathan thought that Austin was one of the most amazing and cool people ever, and just followed him around! :) Eventually Austin and Addison decided that they wanted to go swimming, and since I had not even thought about bringing swim stuff with us, Mike took the Wade kiddos swimming while Linds and I continued to chase Nathan around. It was great to catch up!
Driving arcade game = Nathan's heaven
Lately N has taken to walking around with his hands in his pockets, which I think is so adorable!
After running around for two straight hours, Nathan took an excellent nap! When he woke up we made a trip to Great Clips to get him a long overdue haircut. I decided to take some pics of my two handsome boys as we were finishing up dinner tonight.
On Saturday we took Deuce to the home of the couple who run the Old English Sheepdog Rescue of Michigan, who will foster him at their home until they find a toddler-free family that will be a good fit for him. Sandy and Larry are wonderful, and clearly in love with the breed and have four sheepdogs of their own. The fact that we decided that Deuce will be better off in a new home will probably come as a surprise to some of you, so I thought that the best way to explain how we got to this point would be to share the bulk of the email that I sent to the sheepdog rescue folks:
I am writing to you about my 9-year-old sheepdog, Deuce. We got him as a puppy from a breeder in Kansas, and ever since he has been an integral part of our family life.
He is a really sweet boy who has always dealt with a little bit of anxiety when a member of his flock is on the move (if we're out on the boat and I jump in for a swim, that stresses him out until I'm "safely" back on board). Two years ago a son joined our family. All was well with Deuce's adjustment to the new addition until Nathan started walking. The erratic behavior of a wobbly new walker started to stress out Deuce, but it was manageable for all of us, including him. Now, however, Nathan is running everywhere he goes, in unpredictable directions and using loud and excited exclamations.
T
his is sending Deuces anxiety over the edge. He is whining, crying, barking, racing around the house, twirling in circles at the slightest change in movement from any one of us. This often results in Deuce inadvertently knocking Nathan over in his efforts to figure out what is going on and where we are all going. As a result, Deuce spends most of Nathan's waking hours on the other side of the baby gate, where he still whines and cries, but does not run around and cannot knock over the baby. As you can imagine, this increases the safety but does not decrease the stress that any of us are feeling. In the last few months, Deuce has started acting out by urinating in his space (he has a room in the basement with big windows where he hangs out while we are at work or away from the house). This urination occurs no matter how many times we let him out or how short a duration of time we are gone. When we are home all day he does not ask to go out more often than usual, does not have accidents, and makes it all night without needing to relieve himself.
This level of stress that we are all under is affecting our quality of life (people and canine) in a negative way. We are all upset and anxious whenever we are all at home and Nathan is awake. When Nathan is sleeping or not around, Deuce reverts back to his normal self.
Yesterday I took Deuce to the vet to make sure that he didn't have a bladder infection or another medical issue, and had a long conversation with both the vet and the animal behavioral specialist. He got clear marks as a very healthy boy, but both healthcare providers felt that Deuce's anxiety around toddlers is not going to get better, and if the situation isn't remedied, will only get worse. The last thing we want is for him to become more miserable.
After much soul-searching, conversation, and research, taking into account the fact that we are expecting another baby in the fall (so the toddler phase will be ongoing for a number of years), and seeking out professional opinion, we have decided that the best thing for Deuce is to find him another home that does not have young children. It breaks our heart to do this, but we really feel that it is what is best for him.
Sandy responded almost immediately, and after much communication back and forth, we settled on this Saturday as the day that worked best for all of us to bring him. So my parents came down to spend the day with Nathan, and Todd, Deuce and I headed over to Plymouth. Sandy and Larry spent quite awhile with us, getting to know Deuce (and us too), and introducing him one by one to their four sheepdogs to see how he did. Eventually we went out to the large fenced-in portion with two of the other dogs so they could all run around. We took some pictures and video, both for our memories and to show Nathan Deuce's new sheepdog friends.
There were many tears shed as we left Sandy and Larry's house, and then again yesterday evening when we realized that Deuce was really gone. The house seems kind of empty. But also much calmer. We'll always miss our goofy sheepie, but really feel that he is going to have a much happier quality of life.
We have since received two updates from Sandy that Deuce is fitting right in--getting along with all four of the other sheepdogs, and helping to supervise their spring yardwork.
Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day, and we headed over to the connector between the Kalamazoo Valley Trail and the Kal-Haven Trail to stretch our legs and get a little fresh air. We brought the stroller just in case (that boy gets heavy quickly when you carry him these days) but Nathan had fun running up and down the path. The big highlight of the excursion was checking out the llamas (alpacas? I'm not sure how to tell the difference) that live in a field that borders the trail.
Running!
Todd and Deuce waiting while N and I stopped to examine some leaves or something else equally intriguing to a toddler's curiosity.
Let's go see some llamas!
Deuce was not sure that we needed to get any closer to the llamas.
The llamas were just as curious about us as we were about them!
March in Michigan can be quite the tease, with almost 60 degree weather one day, and freezing rain the next. It definitely makes me wish that college administrators got spring break like the students and faculty do! However, last week we did have the chance to enjoy some really nice temperatures, and we headed right outside to take advantage of the temperature and the fact that Daylight Savings Time allows us some extra light in the evening.
Well, I'm pretty sure that everyone who reads this blog already knows, but since I finally told my bosses on Friday, I can put it out in the public arena: we're going to have another baby!! Yes, dear reader, Nathan is going to embark on the adventure of big brotherhood, and Todd and I are going to embark on the adventure of adding another human to the family! I am 13 weeks pregnant tomorrow, with the new little bean expected to arrive sometime around the last week in September (we're hoping for Aunt Erin's birthday).
We had two losses in the process of trying to conceive this bambino, so the news that this little life appears to be thriving is extra precious. I will keep you updated on all the pregnancy news as it develops. Right now I am happy to be able to share our news, and happy to be entering the wonderful second trimester!
Introducing: the new baby! This portrait was taken at 12 weeks, and he/she is starting to look like a baby! I got to see it wiggling around and waving its arms and legs--so cute!
They say that you start to show a lot earlier with your second baby, and I think that "they" might be right! I've already switched to some maternity pants because they are just so darn comfy that I can't resist. Here's the belly at 13 weeks:
For comparison, here's my 13 week belly with Nathan:
Today the three of us and Dan and Nancy all crammed ourselves into one car and headed up to Rockford to have lunch with Grandma Fowle. I didn't take any pictures during lunch, unfortunately, as when we were not eating, Nathan and I were exploring every nook and cranny of the restaurant!
After eating, while Dan drove Grandma home, Nancy, Todd, Nathan and I all took a walk down the street to the shoe outlet. We resisted buying everything, but N had fun stretching his legs before getting back in the car for the drive home.
In addition to matchbox cars, the toy of the moment is play doh. Unsurprisingly, for Nathan, play doh is a wonderful medium to combine with the previously mentioned matchbox cars. He is also really interested in matching (two of the same letter, grouping the same colors together) so he often chooses cars based on the color play doh he is using at the moment.
Orange play doh? Why, that calls for the orange Toyota!
It seems like almost all of Nathan's cars drive recklessly when confronted with play doh--they're always getting themselves "stuck in the mud" and require one of the tow trucks to haul them out! Yes, he has two tow trucks to choose from. :)
The day after I got back from my trip to NYC, I took an extra vacation day so I could spend a whole day with Nathan. It was SO nice (and rare) to have a "freebie" weekday with no plans and no obligations. We had a lovely, relaxing morning at home followed by an afternoon nap for both of us. After naptime, we were both feeling perky so we headed to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. One of the best things about this museum is that it is free! It's also located right downtown. They have a great area that is set aside just for toddlers that Nathan absolutely loves (we visited there when Uncle Steve and Aunt Joanna were in town). Unbeknownst to me, on the weekdays this area closes at 3:00, and of course we arrived at 3:01!! Argh. Nathan was bummed that he didn't get to play in the big bus that they have in there. However, the rest of the museum is still lots of fun and very kid-friendly.
Posing in front of the "yellow taxi cab." For those of you who may not know, Kalamazoo is home to the iconic Checker Cab Company.
Cheesing it up while playing with some washers.
"What's in here?"
A nice woman volunteered to take a picture of Nathan and me.
