Cappie

It was October after my 10th birthday...we had just moved to Idaho, my parents were buying their first house, my dad was a real doctor with a real paycheck, and for my birthday they said we could get a dog when we moved into the new house.

We pulled into the gravel drive, my sisters and I were giddy with excitement. I think at that point the excitement was even rubbing off on my dad. As soon as he put the car in park we were out the door of that old minivan as fast as our little legs could carry us. I was 10, Kelsey was 7, Steph was 4, and Rachel was 1. So I guess mom had to get Rachel out of the carseat and she might not have been as excited as the other three of us, but if she knew what was happening, she would have been too.

The sign read Atherton Kennel. The town we had just moved to was a whopping 6,000 people and had a whole one stoplight to the entire town. We didn't even have a McDonalds until I was almost out of high school. So you can imagine what the dog pound looked like, but I didn't realize it at the time. It was a man and his wife who ran it. When we went in, we were greeted I'm sure, but we sure didn't stop to be polite. We were on a mission for puppies.

There were two to choose from. Not because they only had two puppies, but because in a house with all females, my dad said absolutely not another girl, we needed a male.

There they were, a black and white one, and a red one with black and white markings and floppy ears. The black and white one was reallllly scruffy, skinny, and looked like he had been through a lot in his few short weeks of life. The red one was round and chubby, soft as he could be, and completely cuddly.

You can probably imagine which one I choose. I distinctly remember my mother telling me that the black and white one might need our love and care, and that we could nurse it back to health and that it was probably going to be a great dog.

I love my mom, and in the last 16 years she has been my worst enemy but for the most part my best friend. She is a servant as I have never seen in another person n this earth. She loves, cares, and serves our family and others without tiring. I pray that I can be the kind of mother to Kate that she is to me.

In this case, I was definitely not like my mother. She would have probably picked the black and white one simply because it needed us. I chose the red, chubby, soft, cuddly one. Feeling a little guilty...but not for long!

Dad said to put him on the ground and make sure he could walk ok, and that he didn't seem like he had any major issues.

Put him down?! That was a hard feat.

We had a new puppy! My dad paid the man $35 for our sweet little guy and we ran to the car. I think it was a good thing we had seatbelts on because I swear we would have floated to the sky.

The first discussion was what we were going to call him. I thought he should be called Tippy because he had black tips on his ears, and white tips on his paws. Kelsey liked Millie, and Steph said we should name him Cappie after Cappie in the movie. It was a Charlie Sheen (old school) movie about high school kids. Cappie was short for Captain because he was Captain of the football team, and all the girls loved him. The same was true for our dog--all the girls loved him. So Cappie it was. Plus, mom pointed out that he had "caps" of black on his ears and white on his paws. It was perfect.

He turned out to be a wonderful dog. Smart, trainable, not too big not too small, well-behaved, loving, and very much a shepherd for our family.

We took him backpacking in the mountains, fed him probably hundreds of pounds of table scraps, he's been lost two times, he was run over once, and lived in two states on opposite ends of the US. He never bit anyone, his fur soaked up a lot of tears when teenage girls had rough days. There was even talk of him being the ring bearer in my wedding! He befriended several cats, and made enemies of a lot of squirrels, moles, and oppossums. In his later days, he followed my mom literally everywhere even when his hips weren't very obliging. He was a great dog.

He died last Friday. It hurts to even type those words. I'm not, nor is anyone in my family, the type that considers animals to be on the same level as people, but he sure was close.

Happy Easter

Yummy fingers!!! They beat Easter ham any day!

Just me and my Daddy!

Our first Easter as a family...

Look at me standing up! Yea!

Hollywood Baby

Has someone called my agent yet? I mean seriously, does this diaper make my butt look big?! :)

Afternoon Sun

Getting warmer...

6 Months!!!

She is sooooo 6 months already! Jared and I are scratching our heads wondering where all the time has gone?

She is a mover and a shaker and the amount of bibs we go through each day attest to that fact. She's not crawling yet, but rolling over, sitting up, and scooting around some. She is truly the greatest blessing we could ever imagine.

With her sweet smile and her easy-going temperment, we fall in love with her more and more every day (if that's even possible). She is almost sleeping through the night these days, and as much as I wanted the day to come, I am cherishing the moments when she curls up on my chest and falls asleep knowing that I won't be getting up with her all night forever.

We had these pics taken yesterday with the same gal as before. I just love her style and she did a great job once again...of course when you have such a beautiful subject...

Sweet Peas???

Yes, I am already blogging again! Impressive eh?

I had to--Kate tried peas for the first time yesterday. I don't remember the last time we laughed that hard. We got it on camera and on video. I think we could totally win $10,000 on America's Funniest Home Video. Who knew something so cute could make such an ugly face?

February in Review

Ok, so it's getting worse and worse--I'm lagging behind on keeping this updated. I'm not sure it will get any better but please know I'm trying. :)

What can I say besides, life's busy? Busy-ness is nowhere near a valid excuse though because we are all busy. I have to be completely honest...I always wondered what stay-at-home moms actually filled their days with. I mean, I understand keeping the house clean, but that would take at most, what, eight hours a week max? And sure, you have to take care of the baby, so that takes some time too. But how much downtime do you actually have to watch TV and eat bon-bons?

I was so looking forward to having Kate last fall and I just had this little picture of what life post-delivery would be like. I'd have time to bake, and teach myself how to cook some new and exciting dinners for Jared. I'd get together for lunches with all the other stay-at-home moms. I'd have an emmaculate home, our cupboards would always be stocked with fresh groceries, and I'd have a perfectly happy baby.

I don't think I even have to say it, I had it allllllll wrong. Life is amazing, and wonderful, and I wouldn't change it for anything, but it's completely different than I had imagined. From diaper changes, spit-up, baths, feeding, book-reading, rocking, naptimes, fit-throwing (yes even at 5 months), dishes, endless laundry, vacuuming, picking up toys, books, husbands dirty clothes and shoes, scouring bathrooms, fielding a few phone calls for work, my life has never been so full as someone on payroll with a W-2.

But again, no excuses,we're busy just trying to get this thing called parenting down to a little more manageable task. I'm told it will get easier someday down the road. I'm not sure mothers of older children would agree, but I'll try to keep you posted until then...

The Other Great Grandparents...

It is such a blessing to think that by the end of this month Kate will have met all of her great grandparents...and of course as always we have way too many cute pics but I thought I would share a few. Thanks for making such an effort to come and meet our sweet daughter. We love you.

Cousins

My cousin Cari lives in Springdale (15 minutes away), and I can't tell you how much fun we've had. She had her baby boy--Griffin Brock the same day we had Kate...so it has been a blast watching them grow and develop together. Being able to talk with her about what's "normal" and different ideas to try when things are rough has helped me keep my head on. We snapped these cute picsof Baby Kate and Baby Grif last week when they were here. We're guessing they might hate us later for taking these, but oh how cute! The days when dimples and rolls are sweet!

Working Out at the Gym

The activity gym that is...Kate loves it! She is constantly ripping the poor dangling animals from their hanging spots. It's hilarious when she gets really excited--she starts flapping her arms like a bird.

Rice Cereal

Kate tried rice cereal for the first time on January 19th...we were at the Pediatrician on the 17th and were given the go-ahead after I explained we are STILL NOT SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! haha Well, as you can see, her first bite was not her favorite, but she quickly learned to love it--she's a big-eater like her mama. She was trying to do it herself already, grabbing the spoon and trying to manuever it into her mouth. I think the sticky goop made it anywhere and everywhere BUT her mouth. :) The only problem is she's STILL NOT SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! I think I'm loosing my mind.:)

Growing Like a Weed!

Christmas Pic

Kate's First Christmas

Christmas 2006 was an incredible celebration of Christ's birth as we watched our daughter with our families. How blessed we are to live so close to both of Kate's grandparents and almost all of her aunts and uncles. We stayed with the Marleys from Wednesday the 20th-Sunday morning the 24th. We had lots of fun with Gram & Grandpa, Aunt Jill, Aunt Laura, and Uncle Daniel. We helped a little with getting things ready and relaxed a whole lot. The church service at First Baptist was really great on Sunday morning and it was fun being there as a family.

We spent Sunday the 24th afternoon through Tuesday afternoon with the Severns. That was really fun too! Lots of pics in front of the tree and a lovely service on Christmas Eve night at Central Christian Church. My cousin Cari and her family came to spend it in Ft. Smith--her two boys helped even the numbers at my parent's house too. haha Jesse, Kelsey, Stephanie, Rachel, Jared, and I all slept in Steph's room Christmas Eve (Kate's bed was down the hall), we played games and wrestled til the wee hours. I felt like I was 12 again. :)

Kate wasn't much for opening gifts on Christmas morning...she was up for a little bit and then slept peacefully on a chair while the rest of us enjoyed opening gifts. Lots of fun stuff! We're pretty spoiled.

Christmas dinner was at Nana Lou's (tradition since I started dating Jared in 2000). This year was 51 people! Talk about crazy. We aren't the only ones who have started a family so each year gets a little bigger. It's fun for the 5 Marley boys to get together at their mother's home with their kids and grandkids but with the growth we had to call 2006 our last. I think Nana Lou let out a huge sigh of relief when the last person went home.:) Next year is already in the works so we'll see what the plans are...

We opened gifts with the Marleys Christmas evening--lots of great stuff! We're pretty much spoiled rotten. And Kate's big gift from them was a Bob Revolution! For those who don't know, it's a stroller! Yippee! I mean, this thing can go anywhere. For those who know me well, you know that Jared does the research and tells me what we need.:) Well, he says we needed this stroller. So I'm excited to try it out. We also got to see the Stuckey family for a couple hours and catch up on the happenings with them. That was fun.

As always, I had fun reading my parent's Christmas cards from our family friends, enjoyed several cozy fires, lost of fudge (Grandma Anne's recipe of course), and a lot of downtime with the ones we love so much. I think Kate has no idea what happened, but someday we pray she'll know and love the Savior whose birth we celebrate each year. Praise Him for coming to earth and the sacrifice God made when He allowed Him to endure this sinful world. I have to admit this year, being a mother, has given me new perspective on the Christmas story. What a mighty God we serve.

I've enjoyed getting Christmas cards from our many friends and family--what fun to see pics and get updates on all the amazing things happening in your lives! Thanks for including us in your mailings! Jared, Kate, and I wish God's perfect will for you all in 2007!

Pro Pics

I scheduled to have Kate's pictures taken with the same gal that took my prego pics before she was even born. I figured the 15th would be the absolute last day she would arrive and so I scheduled them for October 17th...thinking she'd be four weeks and we could capture the newborn stage.

Well, at 3 1/2 weeks she got a terrible rash all over her face, chest, and even some on her legs! Needless to say I cancelled the appointment. Well, the next available appointment was November 30th so I snatched it up thinking all would be clear by then. It was...but if you recall in the last blog that was the day Northwest Arkansas shut down because of the snow. So she asked me if we could do it December 19th...I begged and pleaded because we wanted to have them for Christmas cards. So she worked us in last Saturday. Just thought I'd share some of my favorites with you all.

Let It Snow!

We had an incredible snow storm as many of you know...it started last Thursday with a freezing rain and some light hail. It quickly turned into snow and by Friday morning most of Northwest Arkansas was shut down. Roads were icy and dangerous and being in the south we really don't have the capability to deal with snow like that. So we all just get to stay home--FUN!

So it was Kate's first snow...we took her out in the neighborhood (she's wearing my ghetto bunting from 1981--don't knock it haha), we sat her in it, we even put some on her tongue and she seemed to kind of like it. What an honor to be the first ones to get to show her things like snow for the first time. I love being her Mama.

She started giggling as of last Thursday too. It was really cool because Jared was home from work and we were on the couch playing with her so we both got to be there to hear it the first time!

We get to spend this weekend in Branson with my parents and grandparents from Washington and cousins...a little family reunion. Should be a blast and will post pics when we get back. Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season. Hopefully will get Christmas cards out soon...can't wait to hear from you too!

Big Foot

Kate is discovering her hands, feet, and all sorts of things...a couple of days ago, Jared got her talking. I mean literally they had a conversation of sounds for like 20 minutes. It was amazing, and it just makes me more anxious to get to know her and really see her personality come out. She used to hate her tummy time but is really enjoying it now. Just changing every day.