I'm so lucky to have these two awesome boys in my life! ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=41 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=41 Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:53:25 -0600 Now we're in trouble.... :D ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=40 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=40 Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:36:48 -0500 Sheldon is doing excellent- such a happy, easy-going little boy! Amos loves him so much! Amos will often go right over to Sheldon and give him a spontaneous hug and kiss, which Sheldon loves. Sheldon is 6 months old now, about 17 lbs, and is very close to crawling. He of course can easily roll over from front to back and back to front nowadays, and loves to sleep on his side. Sheldon can get up on his hands and knees now, which is a new development in the last few days. He'll rock back and forth, and often fall on his face, thereby moving forward. He is definitely mobile now- just not the 'look at him go!' mobile. Instead, it's more the 'Whoa, how'd he get all the way over there?!' kind of mobile. Also in the last few days he's stopped tripod sitting, and started actually sitting, like a big boy!

We've begun introducing solids, but right now it's more playtime for Sheldon that actually something to eat. He loves to play with the food, which right now we've been giving him breads, pretzels, and baked chips. He eats at least one meal a day with us as a family, Sheldon sitting in the high chair next to Amos. Amos enjoys giving him things to eat.

Sheldon is still cooing, and hasn't started babbling yet, but I expect he will start that soon. He is currently fighting his first big infection, and the doctor thinks he has either pneumonia or bronchitis. He had to have an X-ray (which I held him for) and a blood draw, but he was so good for that! He actually didn't cry during the X-ray until I stopped reassuring him (they needed him to cry for a good picture- that sucked!). He narrowly escaped getting admitted to the hospital- and why didn't they admit him? He was just too happy to admit! The whole family has a bad cold, which Sheldon brought home from daycare (he started daycare in early September).

Amos is also growing like a weed. He's now 36 or 37 lbs, and is in 4T clothes. It's hard to believe he'll be 3 years old in a couple of months. He's such a lovable, active little boy, and he loves dancing and playing imagine games. Lately he's been a puppy a lot, or an alligator (Chomp Chomp!). He's so silly, and makes me laugh a lot. He also loves making airplanes and boats with his legos, and mastering puzzles. He knows all his alphabet and is beginning to learn what sounds the letters make. He is also mastering recognition of written numbers- like knowing that 6 is six. He loves playing with his iPad and enjoys the games Park Math and Word Wagon. In Park Math, he learns how to sort things and numbers from small to large, and he also begins the learning process of addition and subtraction. It's amazing to watch him play! With Word Wagon, he sees an object and has to match the letters to spell what the object is.

Amos is very sophisticated in his talking now. He can communicate very well, but has some trouble responding to a "Why" question. He also is very difficult to get to sleep- it still takes a long time for him to fall asleep, and he hasn't taken a regular nap since...... well, maybe since Sheldon was born, or before. It's nearly impossible to get him to nap. He loves feeling like he's helping, so often he'll help sweep or vacuum, etc. He also loves helping to train the pets- that's super cute!

So, everything's going great here! My little boys are wonderful, and growing so well! I love my family. ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=39 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=39 Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:44:13 -0500 Amos, by the way, is growing like a weed too! He is about 33 lbs, and has been talking like a pro. He's mastered four and five word sentences, and uses proper grammar. He's even easy to understand most of the time! He loves daycare, and enjoys playing with the other kids. He's a very robust kid- not much besides a firm scolding will shake him. Amos is practically fearless, and is my little daredevil, but he also manages to be so tender and sweet with his little brother, doting on him for a few seconds before dashing off to do something else. Amos's energy often seems to know no bounds, and he is always being active. He loves playing with his iPad, too, and his favorite show for the last few months has been Kipper, but he also really enjoys Word World (neither show I mind much at all).

Big changes are happening for our little family. Monday is my last day at the shelter- I'm going private. I built a new business and will be opening soon! I sure hope it works out, because if it does, I think it will be very good for the family. I will be getting a lot more time with my boys (especially at first before I get a lot of clients) and can take care of myself and my family. I'm super looking forward to it!

As always, we'll try to keep everyone updated! ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=38 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=38 Sat, 23 Jul 2011 21:30:49 -0500 He loves to smile, so I call him "Smiley" sometimes- he's got the cutest grin. He coos a little, but his main method of communication is lip smacking, grunting, or grinning- or crying if those don't work. Sheldon loves to sit up and look around, and sometimes does baby sit-ups. He'll be on my lap and struggle to lift himself into a sitting position- usually when he's folded in half for burping. Sometimes he succeeds, and that's awesome. Amos loves it when Sheldon sits by him on the couch and he can share Kipper with his younger brother.

Sheldon loves to look at lights and fans still, but he's also started to like watching his frog toy (which vibrates little beads inside of a plastic container when a string is pulled) and his plastic links (we have a string of them over his swing). He bats at things and tries to grab things. The other night he was giving me high-fives with his fist! Sheldon loves sitting on our laps and looking around, and often we just have to correct him now and then, although when he gets tired he needs to be held a lot more (that huge head gets heavy!)

Sheldon has found his fist a couple weeks ago and is really good and chewing on his fist. I think his favorite thing to chew on though is my finger. He's recently been getting interested in chewing on things. When he's on his belly, he'll push himself up with his arms now so he can look around. He hasn't rolled over onto his back in a while though- of course, he hasn't had the chance as tummy time is mostly on me, so he doesn't roll out of it.

Bedtime isn't as smooth as it was with Amos at this age, mostly because we can't let him fuss much or he'll disturb Amos, as they share a room. Amos is doing better with bedtime again now- we can leave the room after about 15 minutes or so, and then he falls asleep with a little fuss and a couple of repositionings, but at least we don't have to be in the room for two or three hours until he finally falls asleep anymore. Sheldon we let fuss a very little bit, and then pick him up. Usually, he's peckish around Amos's bedtime, so that doesn't help either. He's eat and eat and eat and then around 10 he'll finish and be sleeping or almost asleep when we put him in his crib. Then we turn on his aquarium toy (which Amos loved as much as Sheldon does now) and leave the room. Only occasionally will it turn off before Sheldon's asleep, and in those cases he starts crying until we turn it on again.

Amos loves his little brother so much! It's adorable. He's always wanting to help out and if Sheldon is crying, Amos will try to help him (which often doesn't make Sheldon feel better in reality, but at least he's trying. Yesterday Sheldon was crying and I was trying to finish some stuff up real quick so I could feed him. All of a sudden, his cry gets seriously muffled, and I come out to see that Amos took it upon himself to help Sheldon. He'd pulled him out of the swing and was hugging him on the floor in front of the swing. When I scolded him, he turned to me all upset and said, "No! Sheldon's still crying!" It made me feel bad for scolding him, since his intentions were good.

And then just today, Sheldon was laying on the couch beside me and Amos was standing in front of the couch playing on his iPad. He forgot Sheldon was behind him and laid backwards on the couch, giving Sheldon a good konk in the head with his super-hard head (believe me, I've been hit in the head by Amos's head, and it's harder than a rock!). Needless to say Sheldon was screaming and I picked him up to hug him right away. Amos was super concerned and kept saying over and over again, "Sorry, Sheldon. Sorry Sheldon!" He was hugging Sheldon and looked like he was about to cry himself. So I'm hugging and rocking and kissing two upset boys at the same time! Amos looked at me after a few seconds and said sadly, "Sheldon crying!"

Both boys are fine now- no worries. But it's nice that even with the occasional jealousy, that Amos really loves his brother!! More later!

]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=37 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=37 Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:26:59 -0500 He's a puker, and so I asked about that at his check, but the doctor wasn't concerned, as he's gaining weight well and seems healthy. However, I did some more checking because it was rather ridiculous to go through 2 blankets or burp cloths a day (at least) and we may have gotten it a little bit under control at least. He's gone from throwing up about 50% of feedings to maybe once or twice a day, and the volume has gone down considerably as well. All I changed was just making sure the milk is going uphill and burping him every time he pauses during a feeding.

Wednesday was the first time Sheldon had a bottle- the introduction went well. This kid likes his food and is a good eater! He's had one or two bottles or so a day since then, and hasn't had any trouble so far. It sometimes takes a little bit of convincing to get him started on the bottle, but once he's started, he's good. He can roll over from his stomach to his back and will do so at every opportunity, so tummy time has become 'lay on Mama time'- otherwise, he won't stay put! At his check up, the doctor was pretty impressed with his rolling skills! He also holds his head up pretty well- the kid has pretty strong neck muscles.

Sheldon still sounds like a cat and will squeak and chirr a lot. He loves to look a lights and faces, of course, and will track objects at least halfway across his field of vision. His grip is super strong- he grabbed my ear about a week and a half ago and I was very thankful I was not wearing earrings! Also, last night Sheldon only woke us once to eat, so that was pretty awesome. All the animals have adjusted to him very well. The dogs greet him just like they greet the rest of us when we come home from somewhere, and the cats mostly ignore him except for some casual sniffing or occasionally laying down near him.

Amos is doing super well with him. He is such a good big brother! A couple of days ago he did have a little sibling rivalry show up- he asked Daddy to put Sheldon down and then sat in Daddy's lap, and a little while before that he told me to put Sheldon night-night while I was feeding him. Amos wanted a hug (and didn't want to go to bed) and wasn't happy that I was busy with Sheldon. On the whole, however, Amos still loves to hug and kiss him and asks a lot to hold him. He likes to tell him night-night and will speak up quickly to make sure you know if Sheldon is crying. He enjoys pointing out things like Sheldon's car seat and Sheldon's blanket, etc.

Amos is a super smart little boy. Just tonight he helped Daddy put together a night table for his and Sheldon's room, and he was actually helping! He was able to follow simple instructions such as bringing the black (as opposed to the silver) screw to Daddy, and he enjoyed watching Daddy screw in a screw with the screwdriver and then made the logical leap and put the correct screw into the next hole. He uses 6 word sentences fairly regularly and likes to quiz you with "What's that?" "What's that?" to everything. He can also tell you stories about his day. Just today he told me he made a friend at school (he also said his friend's name was Sheldon) and that they made a tower of Legos (it did not fall over). It's pretty fun watching him learn and being able to hold an actual conversation with him! He can follow simple logic and simple instructions involving 2 or 3 steps (but not much more than that- he forgets what was first!) and he can be an excellent little helper. One of his favorite activities is to ride in his wagon, pulled by Lenny. Since it's getting to be really nice out, that will be able to happen more and more! He also loves going for walks and riding his trike around the neighborhood (and down steep hills!) ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=36 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=36 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:34:31 -0500 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=35 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=35 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:13:44 -0500 Sheldon has been eating like a pro. He lost only 5 ounces in the hospital, and his weight has already stabilized as of yesterday, so he should gain that weight back in no time! Amos has been doing really well with all the change. It's a stressful time for him, but he's dealing with it very well for a 2 year old. While we were in the hospital, Amos spent the time at his grandparents. While he loves them, it was still really hard on him to be separated from us- we didn't realize how hard until he got home. He spent Thursday night there, went to daycare on Friday, and then afterwards got to see Sheldon in the hospital. He was very shy, seeing me in a hospital bed, but he liked the fire truck that we had Sheldon give to him. He got to eat with Daddy, and then it was time to go back with his grandparents for another night. We got out of the hospital around noon on Saturday, and Amos came home about an hour or two later. For the next two days he threw a fit whenever we were going to go somewhere- he was afraid he'd be left again, we're pretty sure (all he'd say was, "I don't want it, I don't want it," or occasionally, "I don't want it, night night" and "I don't want it Ge-gam"- which is what he calls Grandma).

Amos seems mostly back to himself. He's having much fewer meltdowns about trivial things and is closer to the number of meltdowns we expect from him- after all, he is only two. He's still having trouble with sleep and sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night terrified, but he also seems to love his little brother. He always wants to hold him ("I carry it") and he has been showering him with hugs and kisses. Just this morning Sheldon was crying and Amos laid down next to him, petting his head gently and telling him "It's okay. It's okay."

The boys together are just super cute. It'll be a lot easier when Sheldon can hold his head up though- he'll be better able to withstand the clumsy love Amos showers on him. We've been giving Amos lots of special attention and trying to make the change as low-stress as we can. Overall though, it's been going very well so far.

The animals are adjusting well too. When Amos was born, we just had Daboo and Zugzug. Now, we have Lennier (who we got when Amos was 4 months old) and we've also added a second cat, Friendly. The cats have been adjusting really well. Zuggy likes to sleep with Amos, and he showed Sheldon the same mild curiousity that he showed Amos when he was a newborn. Mostly, the cats ignore Sheldon. Boo seems to have accepted Sheldon as a pack member already. She's a little stressed by the change (woofing more at noises outside) but extra love and pats for her will set that straight. She's been very friendly and curious toward Sheldon, but has the same kind of clumsy love Amos does. Lenny, on the other hand, has been cautiously curious and accepting of Sheldon. He is super, super gentle and hasn't so much as bumped his car seat.

For Sheldon only being 4 days old, I think everyone has been adjusting very well so far. Even Sean and I have had to make adjustments- it's very different going from 7 pound Sheldon to 30 pound Amos and back again! We've been working as a team though- one of us will deal with Sheldon if he needs dealt with while the other takes Amos. Amos and Daddy have been doing a lot of bonding time too, which I think Amos really appreciates. He likes to be special, and Sean's been so good at giving him that.

All in all, I think I'll have to change my opinion of April Fool's Day, now that it's Sheldon's birthday. I love my growing family, especially my two precious little boys. ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=33 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=33 Tue, 05 Apr 2011 10:55:11 -0500 Amos is doing so well. He no longer walks- he runs everywhere! Of course, he's been walking for about 4 and a half months now, so he's gotten pretty good at it. He opened his presents at Christmas and his birthday with a little help, although he gets distracted after about two. He likes to put his toys away, but he also likes spreading them all around the floor, or throwing them down the basement stairs through the cat door. We just got him a bag of Megablocks, and he really loves putting them together. He absolutely loves his Colors book that Kimberly gave him- he will run up to us with it and demand that we read it to him- but he has to turn the pages! He loves his animals- and all of them are very good with him. Lenny is his favorite, clearly, but he likes to hang out with Boo too. He loves to tease them with food or put things in their mouths- which they're usually happy to let him do, as it's often a toy or food. Amos is often seen lounging on Lenny, with his arms all spread out on Len's back, and sometimes his head cuddled on Lenny's fur. He does this with Boo too, but he's more comfortable lounging on Lenny because Lenny just takes it, while Boo's always a little worried that someone might get hurt.

Amos is so full of energy. He's always running, and he's working on jumping now. He loves to climb up on the couch (which he can do himself) and slide off of it. He can go up and down stairs, but he is still learning to be careful on the stairs. He eats like each meal will be his last- just stuffing the food into his mouth, sometimes literally with both hands! He eats better than Jaren does, I think! Fruit is his favorite by far, but he also likes bread and some meat, and a few vegetables. He loves mashed potatoes- so I have someone to shared them with now who enjoys them as much as I do! The other day Sean and I went to pick him up from daycare earlier than normal, and we saw just how much energy he has. His age group was being read a story. All the other kids were huddled around the caregiver, listening or at least being quiet and calm. Amos was a few feet away, climbing on and jumping on a bean bag and generally having a grand old time. He's constantly babbling, and you can hear him actually saying something- you just can't understand it yet. But he's speaking in sentence structures, and he does use some words. He seems like he's more interested in developing his physical skills right now rather than his verbal skills.

Our little boy drew blood for the first time yesterday. He was walking by our coffee table and tripped, hitting his head against it. He must have bit his lip or his tongue because blood was coming out of his mouth. He was not happy, but that hasn't stopped him from playing near the table or banging his toys on the glass part (even though Mama and Daddy always tell him no and he gets into trouble for it).

Sean has a new job (as mentioned before) with the Icon Factory in Greensboro. He is a programmer for them, and he seems to really like working with them. They seem like a good company- much more family friendly than his previous companies. It's a major pay cut, but it looks like the nicer atmosphere will make up for it. Good thing the only debt we have is the house though, or we wouldn't have been able to survive the pay cut!

So yeah, just wanted to post out a quick update. I'm fighting a cold right now (which I probably got from Amos from his daycare) so I'm not thinking so clearly, or typing so well. I'll try to post more often! ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=32 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=32 Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:29:01 -0600 And then there's today. We were playing with Amos, and he was walking with help from Sean to me and back again, a game he really loves. Then in between the steadying of our hands he took a step of his own! He wanted to play more- he was so excited and all giggles. So we continued playing, and he took two steps of his own! And then he did it again a little while later. But wait, there's more! A few minutes later, he took THREE STEPS IN A ROW all by himself! My little boy is growing up so fast! Just to prove it wasn't a fluke, he did it again, and then also did some more two steppers before deciding he was tired and celebrating his success by crawling over to Lenny and squealing in his face.

My baby has 5 teeth, and is eating tons and tons of solid food- whatever we're having at supper, he has too! It's becoming increasingly common that he'll gorge himself with solid food until we think he's going to burst and then still insist on taking his bottle. With all he eats, you'd swear we never feed him. I tell him he's gonna eat us out of house and home by the time he's two at this rate!

Yep, I'm a proud momma. You would be too! ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=31 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=31 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:15:22 -0500 Also, he's scary close to crawling! It's such a thrill watching him learn. If he has something to push against with his feet, he can lurch forward, and you can see him just studying and studying it. So exciting! ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=30 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=30 Sat, 30 May 2009 19:43:08 -0500 Speaking of, Amos also has a new puppy to love him. Lennier is a 1 1/2 year old Rottweiler/Shepherd mix who we rescued through the shelter. Lenny spent much of his growing up in the shelter, but he's a good natured dog who is getting along real well in his obedience training. Lenny loves Amos, and is protective of him, getting all worried sometimes. Just like Boo, when Amos is gone for a while, Lenny checks in to make sure he came back intact and uninjured.

Other than that, life is pretty much the same. Boo training is crawling along, mostly because I work so much, but she loves having Lenny to play with. Amos really likes to watch his dogs play, and he has purposefully reached out to pet each of them. All three of the mammals, Boo, Zug, and Len, have all been subject to his drool, mouthing, kicking, and pulling of their fur (and the boy has a STRONG grip!), and all three don't care. The cat probably cares the most, but when Zug's had enough, he just leaves; in contrast, the dogs look to see what's going on and then go right back to sleep.

Having a baby and working long hours really eats up my time. Taking care of the animals and the house too eats up more. Sean and I have been having trouble finding time to connect lately, it feels like, but I think we just need to try harder at that. Amos is going off to be baby sat all day tomorrow, and while Sean and I are both a little apprehensive about that (we love our baby, and just can't help it, even though he'll be in super good hands), we're also both looking forward to the break. We can have some together time after I get off from work, and just hang out and de-stress. Then tomorrow, we can hang out as a family, hopefully already de-stressed a lot. It's just a lot of change that happens with having a baby, and we're both still adjusting to our new lives. Already though, I can't imagine life without Amos. :D ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=29 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=29 Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:16:49 -0500 His brain is growing too. You can almost see it. He likes to coo and talk now, and often coos and gurgles rather than crying. Of course, if he gets too frustrated or hungry, he'll still cry, but the coos and gurgles now fill out quite a bit of his vocalizing, which is nice. Sometimes I swear he's laughing! He likes to look at lights still, but sometimes will just stare at his toys or other things. He even occasionally bats his Pooh rattle with a fist, and sometimes it looks intentional. He has quite the grip, and yesterday he grabbed hold of Sean's laptop and clicked the trackpad.

Amos can hold his head up very well and often his body, too. We'll sit him on our leg and only have to correct him when he spazes. He's getting super good at balancing, and I only have to support his head when he's tired- otherwise, he does it himself. He likes his swing, but prefers to be held. He's even starting to like snuggling.

You can play with him now too. He likes games like making funny noises or kissing his face randomly, or beeping his nose or chin or forehead, etc. Today he found his mouth with his fist all on his own and was quite content. Sometimes he needs help, and he loves to suck on things still. He's beginning to like chewing on things too. He chews on his puppies (strap buddies) nearly every time he's in his car seat, and likes to chew on his rattle too.

In tummy time he can move his head when he wants, and sometimes supports himself for a little bit if he's placed on his elbows. He can't yet push his upper body up, but likes looking around if placed on his elbows, and will hold himself there for a while before sinking to lie flat. Pretty soon he'll be moving! He hasn't rolled over in a while, nor shown interest in doing so.

He falls asleep on his own, and sometimes will fuss and spontaneously stop. I think he gets distracted by learning something or watching something.

He's just growing up so fast! ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=28 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=28 Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:54:17 -0600 He had his 3 week checkup yesterday, and is doing great. He was 10 lbs, 9 ounces, which is a gain of exactly 3 pounds since he was born! He also grew 2 inches, which means he is 22 inches long now. That puts him in the 75th percentile for both weight and height. He's in the 50th percentile for head size, but I don't remember that number.

Last night for the first time we were able to turn off the alarms and just let him wake us up. He's big enough now we don't have to watch his eating so much. Of course, he decided to have a fussy night last night, so we didn't end up getting any more sleep, but oh well. Amos is able to roll over (though not whenever he want too- it's still really hard work) and does really well as getting over on his side. He's able to hold his head up now, too, though not for long. He's getting really strong, and yesterday decided to throw his pacifier- it went 2 or 3 feet! Apparently he didn't want it any longer.

He can track objects at least halfway across his field of view, and of course enjoys looking at faces, although lights really intrigue him as well. He has a strong grip when he happens to grab onto something, such as a finger. He's also using other sounds than crying- he has been known to coo and gurgle at his bottle. Amos is still a pretty quiet baby, all things considered, and a good baby, too.

The pets are getting along really well with him, too. He petted Boo some the other day, and she just moved a bit closer for more. Then early this morning he got mad waiting for a bottle and grabbed her muzzle in his fist. Boo didn't move- she just laid there and let him pull on her. Zuggy's also doing well, though he still mostly pretends Amos isn't there. He has also let Amos pull on him, though when that happens he gets really interested all the sudden in grooming himself. Last night before the pacifier incident, Amos was lying on a blanket sleeping and Zug decided he wanted his blanket. So he just sauntered over and laid down on the blanket as well- partially on the baby. He was no trouble once we moved him, though, and Amos didn't wake up to notice.

So yep, just a quick update on the Amos front! ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=27 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=27 Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:38:35 -0600 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=26 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=26 Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:00:35 -0600 The animals are doing great with him, and he with them. Boo has calmed down a lot, which is great. She's realizing that we still love her and will still give her attention- she just has to be patient sometimes. And giving her jobs to do really seems to help her out. She now only has trouble when he has a dirty diaper (she loves to sniff it) or when he's crying for too long (she wants to help out). Zug has been good with him from the start, mostly because he started out ignoring Amos and continues to do that for the most part. Occasionally he'll get up the gumption to sniff him curiously. Then yesterday, Boo was laying down on the chaise facing Amos (who was also laying on the chaise with Sean) and she was very carefully licking his ear and his fingers. He completely by accident responded by petting her muzzle! He reached up and put his hand on the side of her muzzle, and stroked back toward her face, while she stayed completely still.

So things are going great here, and all of us wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. We hope your holidays are full of good times with family. Our best Christmas present arrived early, leaving us with all we want for Christmas is to spend time with our family and friends. Because really, how do you top the gift of a beautiful baby boy?

]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=25 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=25 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:39:18 -0600 Click on the thumbnails to see bigger (and fuzzier) pictures of Baby Heber!

And.... stop here if you want to be surprised.

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.

Yes, Baby Heber is very likely going to be Baby Boy Heber (much to my sister's chagrin :) ). He looks perfectly normal, and had a heartbeat today of 139 beats per minute. His head measurements and leg measurements, etc, were all perfectly normal, and there was no signs of anything going wrong. So far, he looks like he's going to be a healthy, normal baby boy come December! The person doing the ultrasound said she was 99% certain our baby was a boy, since she couldn't be 100% certain. All of the bones looked good, and we paused for a bit to just watch the four chambers of his heart pump. Yes, I am still a biology geek. On that note, his bones were awesome! I could have just looked at them all day. At times, since it's a moving picture and not like the stills we uploaded, you could see pretty cool details, like his little legs kicking, and his head turning. It looked like he was waving at us when we snapped the picture of his hand. I think his little face is just adorable, but that could be just mama-hormones coming out in me :). Oh! and we found out why I haven't felt him moving yet- the placenta is in the front, so that's not uncommon.

We almost immediately started tossing names around, though we have a long time to decide. We have some names we like, but we also want to make sure they fit him when we finally get to see him face to face, and we have time to think about alternate names and add and subtract names from the "like list". The ultrasound technician said from the measurements that our due date should be the 9th, but our OB is keeping it the 13th, since it's an estimate anyway. She did say she wouldn't let the birth be later than the 19th, as she doesn't want pregnancies to go past the 40th week. So we'll definitely get to introduce little Baby Boy Heber to the world face to face by Christmastime! ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=24 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=24 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:49:46 -0500 While at work (I work at a shelter), I received a call about a lost cat. This was an all declawed, older cat who was pretty shy and I was told she was an indoor-only cat. Since I've been doing a lot of reading and such on how best to find particular types of lost pets (indoor versus outdoor cats, shy versus confident, etc) and so I gave the lady the information I had on how best to go about finding her cat (which I do a lot nowadays), and I also put her down on the lost list at work. She was very happy with my suggestions, and then out of the blue, she asks, "Why doesn't someone train a bloodhound or something to look for animals like this?" It just hit me, the similarity between this and how this whole Boo-training thing started, and I just felt compelled to tell her that I was training my dog for this sort of situation, but she was far from down with training. Nevertheless, her need just reached out and grabbed me, and I offered to bring Boo along and talk with her later that night after work around 8 pm. I made sure to tell her that neither Boo nor I are certified yet and that Boo wasn't very good, but that we would do what we could to help her.

My husband tagged along, and we met the cat owners just a little before 8 pm. They were two very sweet nuns, and obviously distraught about their missing cat. I introduced myself, my husband, and of course, the Boo. Since the nuns had had a confirmed sighting, we tried up that way first (which I realize now was a mistake, but I wasn't exactly thinking clearly), and I got a little worried when I found out that the sighting was about 2 or 3 blocks away from the exit point. It nagged at me, and I kept telling my husband that it didn't make since, as everything I had read said the cat should be close to the house (so we should be searching close to the house). But I thought perhaps something had happened to run the cat off, and then maybe she'd hang out close to the area she was spotted. This area was filled with excellent hiding places, and I took Boo around and pointed out good spots to set traps and feeding stations. Boo was okay, checking where asked for the most part, but I wasn't sure if she would alert or not to a cat. Maybe half an hour into the search, we approached a stand of trees. We saw a cat in the trees, which spooked out of the brush and away across a neighbor's lawn. It was not our cat. Then, we saw another cat, and Boo alerted to it. It also spooked, toward a lean to which I had identified already as a good hiding spot. Boo, of her own initiative, stuck her nose to the ground and tracked that cat all the way to the lean to, under a wagon. She repeatedly alerted there when asked to find a cat, and I'm pretty positive there's a hole in the lean-to wall that leads under the shed, and around to where we set a trap.

We kept looking, and Boo alerted to a neighbor's cat, and I identified some more likely places to set up feeding stations, and then we went back to the nuns' house. I told them I wanted to check by their house, just to be sure, since it seemed so strange that this cat would be spotted so far away. We looked around, and I advised them to change the location of the feeding station they had near their house. Then, finding nothing, we stood near their garage and I was giving some final advice and also trying to boost their confidence. All of a sudden, one of the nuns stopped- she heard meowing. It was coming from the garage. We quickly opened the door and I very gingerly went into the crowded garage, without Boo so as not to spook an already shy and possibly frightened kitty (hoping this was our Katie). Finally, I lifted a sheet, and there she was! She must have heard us talking long enough to gain the confidence to meow in response to her owners voice.

I of course felt very silly, as I should have searched the house first, and I definitely should have thought of the garage! It seems so obvious now. But it was a learning experience, and Boo did very well in her search- better than I had thought, and this was when it counted!

The nuns were ecstatic. I was just so thrilled and humbled to be able to take part in their joy! It was so very amazing and... I just can't find the exact words. I am so very excited to keep training both Boo and myself, and I can't wait to truly begin helping people. I got home at 9:45, thoroughly exhausted, but I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. I knew right away that I just had to tell you about this. I learned a lot, and can't wait to learn more.

]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=23 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=23 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:20:00 -0500 I just have to say, life is good right now. I'm feeling incredibly blessed. I have an awesome husband, a great house that I can decorate to my heart's content, a well-behaved dog, and a fairly well-behaved cat. Boo is a 50 lbs tornado of energy now, at 7 months old, and Zuggy is..... actually kind of getting fat at 11 months old. He comes when called now and is learning to sit on command. He also responds surprisingly well to "No", especially for a cat. I'm going to teach him to shake- it'll be awesome! Boo has thousands of tricks at her disposal, it seems sometimes. She's getting incredibly good at all of them, which means I need to come up with new ones soon. Actually, yesterday she went and brought my shoe to me when I asked her to. It was a fluke, but a funny, funny one.

Work is great. Sure, I come home and complain to Sean about customers or coworkers or whatnot sometimes (just ask him), but really it's quite nice. I'm doing a job that I love, and I'm doing something that matters (at least I think it does). It's not glamorous, but it has intrinsic rewards. For instance, after a couple weeks of sitting in a kennel with two horribly neglected terriers from Iowa City, they are now up for adoption and actually come out to see people! They're still really afraid of the general public, but that will get better with time. When they were reunited after a week of separation (one went up for adoption before the other), they were clearly overjoyed to see each other and pressed up against each other through the fence separating them. They missed each other! It was great seeing how happy they were to be near each other again. They seem to be doing well with their new kennel-mates, too. Each is in with a more confident, outgoing dog, so hopefully that will rub off on them and help complete the process.

Yesterday I helped with a training class, which was excellent. When I decided I'd rather work in a shelter-type environment rather than be a vet, it was because I wanted to work with behavior more than anatomy. Well I got my job in a shelter, and I already wrote about all the awesome things that have happened to me since. Now, I realized that I really am going to live my dream. I'm being groomed, it seems, to take over training when the current trainer goes off to an official training school for a couple months or so. I'm helping him teach his class, and he told me on the 4th class day, I'll be teaching instead of him. That was how the former trainer (before him) became a trainer- she was just told to take over class one day. I'm psyched. I get to learn a lot from the current trainer, and then who knows what will happen? It's incredibly exciting for me.

Sometimes I wonder if all this will suddenly collapse, since it's like I'm living a dream-life. Things haven't always happened like (and when) I wanted them to, but it's better this way, I think. I guess there's nothing for it but to just appreciate it while it lasts, however long that is, and try never to take it for granted. I've a lot to be thankful for, and that's what really matters. ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=22 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=22 Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:16:53 -0500 I'm working salary now at my job. I haven't really been feeling like I'm working too much more than before, and I'm apparently doing a good job. I still make stupid mistakes now and then, but that's a common thing across the board, it seems. I was a little apprehensive about going salary just because I didn't want to burn out. However, I think I'm dealing with the things I need to deal with, namely that I can't save everyone. I use a lot of ethics viewpoints in my work, weighing pros and cons to make a decision, and sometimes it's really hard, but I do like it. I like having to think about ethics.

Sometimes I feel like the characters on the show Scrubs when they were interns and everything was hard. And they learned things about people. People are not always very smart, and they're often not kind, even when coming in to save a life. You'd be surprised how many times customers try to push us around. If you have a good crew that day where everyone meshes nicely, it really helps, cuz you have the support of the rest of the staff right there with you on your decision. But it's still hard when you try to show people why they can't do what they want to do and they get upset and try to make you feel guilty for even trying to help them. There are countless examples, and I won't go into them. People lie, and they are rude, and they try to belittle you. And sometimes they're just plain stupid. Sometimes they're afraid. Sometimes they feel vulnerable and so lash out at you. And sometimes they just are looking for help and don't know where to go. Sometimes you get the gems who understand how things work, or who do their very best to help out. Those are the people who you have to try to focus on. They outweigh the troublesome, even if they don't outnumber.

I don't know if this even makes sense, even to me. But, sense or no, there it is. ]]> http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=21 http://blog.quamada.com/?sv=21 Sun, 09 Sep 2007 10:23:45 -0500