Overwhelmed with cuteness

I know people who miss the baby stage and sometimes I admit I miss the tiny infant that was once Madison oh so few months ago, BUT this whole period leading up to the intimidating terrible twos is quite euphoric sometimes.

Madison and I spent the day together today and had quite the time! Here are some highlights of her recent out bursts of cuteness:

• We went to the mall today to get pictures with the Easter Bunny.  We took them last year because I was wondering the mall on a day off and happened to see him and thought, why not? So of course now that the SAME bunny is there I have to get a repeat 5X7 for the baby book if nothing else. I was a bit nervous that she would end up with one of those 'my parents forced me to sit on a strange man's lap in a disturbingly large bunny costume so I screamed my head off' shots.  I told myself if she wasn't open to the idea, we would just walk on through the line and leave.  She immediately signed and said Bunny Bunny Bunny, thank goodness there was no line as she wanted "up up up" immediately.  She had a hard time looking at the camera because she was fascinated with this ever so large rabbit.  The picture was typical mall quality but the experience was fun for us none the less and we got a "little" (said with a high pitch voice and squinted eyes) bunny in a carrot and she made it 'hop' for the next half hour.
• I needed to get her some summer jammies as it is getting warmer and the fleece just isn't going to cut it much longer, so off to my favorite jammy store, Children's Place.  I had no intentions of getting her an Easter DRESS as I thought her little frilly top and cuffed jeans would do, but there it was, the perfect dress, and it was on clearance so we had to have it.  I didn't know what size to get since it seems hit or miss that some 18mo are HUGE and some are too tiny, so I bought both the 18 and 24 months and was told I could bring the other one back once we tried it on at home.  Here comes the cute part:  I had her try one on and she immediately said "mirror" after I did the zipper and went over to the curio cabinet where she can see herself in the back.  I almost started crying when I saw her look in the mirror, say "pretty" and then move her little hips back and forth to make the dress swish side to side. (Keep in mind she has never been in a dress since she started walking - last Easter was the last dress she had on. My thing with dresses is for another post entirely) Then she proceeded to turn around and around, all the while keeping a close eye on herself in the mirror.  I was going to get the video camera and then I decided this visual delight was meant only for me and I didn't want to ruin the moment we were having.  If someone could die from witnessing cuteness I would have fell right over.  Where did this girly girl come from? While she is a definite mimic, she was certainly not exhibiting any behavior she has seen take place in MY home! I don't mind one bit, don't get me wrong, I think it is so adorable I can't stand it, it just cracks me up how some girls are girly and some aren't (me) - (Never was - I have a photo of me in an Easter dress sitting with legs wide open with my hands in between holding it down.)  I haven't mentioned how CUTE the dress looked too! I can't wait for her to wear it on Easter and knock the socks off the 5 people who will get to see her! I will post photos after. (hint - not pink)
• She plays "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" with Barney sometimes (cute in and of itself) but this story is about a toy soldier.  There is a soldier in one of her books that she reads at Mamo's and when she sees it she 'salutes' by putting on hand on her forehead.  Then when you asked her "what is that?" and point to the picture of the soldier, she touches both shoulders with her fingertips up and down several times. We weren't sure for a while what she was doing and then we put two and two together, Soldier/Shoulder! Man I love this kid! I found one of our books and it had a soldier in it too and I guess I have never pointed it out before but she found it, saluted and then tapped her shoulders.
• She also salutes the flag when we go out front to play. (At half staff today in memory of the fallen Oakland officers) She looks up, says 'fwag' and salutes. She did it while a neighbor was out front visiting and he said "I did that for 8 years when I was in the service" so I knew he recognized what she was doing. (She does it unprompted now. I have a feeling my Dad taught her then as they walk off each morning.) He almost fell over from the cuteness factor too.
• My Dad also taught her to say "Thank you Jesus" when she sees the cross on the wall.  This is particularly special to me because I have not yet ventured to church with her since she was more than a few months old. I am struggling with the idea for some reason and so now when she sees the cross (we have the same one at home and at Mamo's) she says (sometimes signs) Thank You and then says Jesus sometimes.  I love my Dad.

I guess that is about all the cuteness I can stand for one night.

New Chair

We got Madison a new chair last weekend and she is so cute sitting in her big girl chair just like at Mamo's house.  After she went to bed, look who decided she liked it too! (Notice the little eye peeking out from the gate on the bottom left. :-) She was in her "safe" place. The red chair is in between our two recliners just like at Mamo's.

Also, Madison did the CUTEST thing tonight and I am sorry I didn't have video.  She dug through her toy box and came up to Daddy holding her Leap Frog Guitar and bopping her butt up and down saying "Dance...Dance". When Daddy didn't respond, she said "Butter" = Butterfly and pointed to the remote.  She was telling Rick that she wanted to dance to the song on the tv on the channel that shows the butterfly in the corner.  We have it on the DVR and it is the Honky Tonk Badonkadonk like in a previous video.  It was sooooo cute I couldn't stand it.  Daddy turned off the news and obliged and we enjoyed watching her dance to her song.  THEN she picked up the guitar and handed it to Daddy. He showed her how to hold it and she proceeded to play air guitar to the rest of the song, bending her little knees to the beat.  She never ceases to amaze me.

Moonshine

Moonshine is a Bloodhound Puppy, not to be confused with the "hooch" variety that Rick talks about from work!

I try and find an organization to donate to each year and I try and make it meaningful to something going on in my life. Last year it was the March of Dimes in loving honor of Amanda's triplets as well as in celebration of my own new motherhood. Amanda's family is this year's MOD Amabassador Family and you can read more about her journey (and donate) by visiting her page with the link on her name above.

Recently, I saw a poster at Starbucks advertising a Spaghetti Feed Fundraiser and it had a picture of the cutest bloodhound puppy on it. It said "Modesto Police Officers Association" on the top and because it wasn't a German Shephard, I was intrigued and walked closer to read more details. It was a picture of "Moonshine" and they were raising money to send him to "college" to become Modesto's first Bloodhound K9 Officer. When fully trained, Moonshine will be used to locate lost/missing children, Alzheimer's Patients, and Criminal Suspects. I thought, "Wow that's cool", then saw the date was march 24th and let it go because I had previous plans.
I kept thinking about it and a few days later it hit me to the core how comforting the thought of having a tracking dog in my own town was and the reason is threefold:

• I am a new Mom and the thought of Madison being missing is one of my biggest fears
  
• My Grandma has Alzheimer's
• Rick works in Law Enforcement.

Spring is the time for fundraisers, Daffodil Days, Relay for Life, March of Dimes, to name a few and all are worthy organizations that have touched my life in some major way. But this unfortunately, has been the year of lost fur friends for my family and friends and I have chosen the Modesto Police Officers Association Bloodhound Program as my organization to donate to this year in their honor and memory.

The Donation is being made in Loving Memory of fur friends who went to the Bridge recently:

• Tia and Shane's 14 year old Valentine
  
• My Mom's last of four Yorkshire Terriers ~ Patty, 14 years old
  
• Tawny's Zekers ~ A fellow MPD K9 himself
  
• Tawny's beloved Zsa Zsa ~ A Boston who was tragically lost during her spay surgery
  
• My Schnauzer Pal Cheryl's Heart Dog Bogey
  
• Sherry's Sweet Ziggy 
  
• Cyber Schnauzer Friend Janie's Ruby.

The Donation is also being made in Honor of all of our living furfaces: My Zoe and Roxy, Tawny's Sophie (AKA Cathy's Sophie), Tia's Bousch, Cheryl's Caddie & Cameron, Sherry's Cher, Benny, & Joon, Sabrina's GingerSnap, all my wonderful Cyber Schnauzers, and to any of you out there who have known the love of an animal, be it of the K9 persuasion, feline or otherwise.

Here is a little more informaiton I found online about "Moonshine" or "Moonie" as his family calls him:

He is now 7 months old and growing like a weed. They trained in Georgia in February and are off to New York for additional training in April. According to his trading card: "Moonshine is a pure bred Bloodhound. He was born June 28, 2008 in Lake Butler, Florida at the Lake Bloodhound Kennels. He was donated by the Child Protection Education of America (www.find-missing-children.org). When Moonshine is fully trained (12-18 months) he will be used to help locate missing children, Alzheimer's sufferers, and criminal suspects by trailing their human scent. Moonshine is Modesto's first Bloodhound and is sponsored by the Modesto Police Officers Association. The Bloodhound program relies solely on donations. Moonshine's handler is Officer Chuck Jones. Moonshine loves attention and likes to visit parks, schools, and service clubs." Moonshine's personal message is: "I 'nose' my business. If you are missing, I will find you!" Donations may be mailed to: Modesto Police Officers Association Bloodhound Program, 1300 G Street, Modesto, CA 95354, 209-652-6209. You can also donate and buy tickets at Pets Choice if you are in the Modesto area.

His MySpace page is: www.myspace.com/trackinghound

Love a FISH?

First of all, those of you who know me KNOW I am a DOG lover.  Fish on the other hand, I could take or leave, or so I thought.

Rick got a fish tank for his 35th birthday and filled it with 85 gallons of water and 11 fish. We had a rough start keeping them alive as we learned how to 'keep fish' but it was fun to decorate and watch them thrive and entertain us.  (Current decorations now include a 'fwog' and a diving Elmo, in addition to three 'bubbo' makers as we live to please our daughter).

Five years later we have 3 bala sharks and one pleco, until yesterday.  The largest bala shark decided to try and swim up the hole on the top of the log, well, he didn't fit.  We saw him struggling to get out and Rick had to help him by pushing him back from where he came. Boy was he torn up.  It was so sad  watching him just suffer, he wasn't eating and his eyes were cloudy. He just hovered over the hole as if to warn the others 'stay back'.  I told Rick maybe we should put him out of his misery and he suggested just throwing him away (too big to flush - learned that lesson the hard way with the last funeral) and I said "NO, you cant just put him alive in the garbage!  He wasn't up for 'putting him down' just yet so I was bent on saving his life. I went to the fish store and got some medicine meant to help open wounds.

Shockingly it worked. Day by day he got better and his wounds miraculously and gradually healed.  Soon he was back to his old self chasing everyone else around.  We were so amazed and we were so intent on watching him and checking on him all the time, we didn't notice that one of the other balas successfully committed suicide.  Yep, she jumped out the back and landed on the floor behind the tank and died before we noticed she was even gone!  We were crushed and felt so bad.  Rick rigged up the back so the others couldn't jump out and felt bad we hadn't done so before.  There is just about a 2 inch gab on the top back and somehow she got out just right when we weren't here.  We didn't think any of them would even fit (balas are known jumpers)

I feel so dumb feeling bad about a dead fish and I think it has more to do with all of the fur friends who have passed recently.  Another of my dear friend's dog died on March 20 (he was 14, rest his sweet soul) and all of this just reminds me how precious life is and how quickly it can be taken.  

I am not looking forward to the day I have to explain this fact of life to Madison when "Ah Eeee" or "Ooo Eee" are gone, but the joy pets give to us everyday far outweighs the sorrow of their short time with us. Don't you agree?

Ring Around the Rosie

Madison plays "Ring Around the Rosie" with her bears and she goes around and around and then falls down. It is so cute.  Here are some pictures of us playing, even with the dogs!

She hold the hands of her bear and mouse and I hold the other hands and we go around and around.

Roxy wants to play, Zoe is trying to find dropped cereal.

And we all FALL DOWN! Notice the cereal cup by Mad's head and Zoe SPOTTED IT! Roxy wanted loves after we fell down.

NOTE: I found online the explanation about how this little rhyme has NOTHING to do with the black plague/death etc. :-)

BIG and little

Madison has been distinguishing "big" and "little" for several months with signing and now with words. She gets so excited if you give you the WHOLE string cheese versus a part of yours.  She also plays a game with Daddy where she will make her eyes squinty and whisper "little" and then open them up wide and say loudly "BIIIIG".  They do this while eating and it is hilarious.  We finally managed to get her on camera doing it.  Her sign for "little" is the same for "bird" and then she squints and whispers "little" in a high pitch voice because that is what she does when she sees the "little baby bird" AKA hummingbirds outside. It is very cute.

As to how she is feeling, all of the canker sores have healed and even the ones on her chin are almost gone. She is back to her funny laughing self, which is so nice and eating again! I missed her!  She still doesn't want me to brush her teeth, I think she is remembering the mouth pain, but we will get back to it soon enough.

BIG

little

Rick's 40th

Rick turned 40 this month and to celebrate we had a Lethal Weapon Marathon party. We invited friends over to dress up in either cop or 80's theme (movie came out in the 80's) and we watched the movies, played Ping Pong and Darts and ate LOTS of food! Here are some pictures to enjoy!~


Madison wanted "in" the basket to eat her Cheerios in peace!



Rick blowing out his 40 candles while holding an antique fire extinguisher! This was a DONUT cake!



Two good friends Sabrina and Aron in their 80's get up!





Good Friends Tia and Shane as Sexy Cop and CSI investigator!





If you are familiar with Lethal Weapon 2, you will most likely recognize this "rubber tree plant". (Tia made it for Rick!)






Roxy dressed in themed attire as well.








This was a fun shot of us getting ready for the party that morning. This is a gate that I use to partition Madison from the dog beds so they can sleep safely. We walked in and found they had herded her into a corner, waiting for Cheerios!

Hamburger and Donut cakes!

I wish this was bigger. This was Rick waiting to open his presents which hilariously turned out to be lots of old man stuff including Depends, "viagra", BenGay, Fiber, Centrum Silver etc. along with several bottles of various Jack Daniels products!

Even the bathrool was decorated. Sorry if you aren't a LW fan, you won't get this joke, but it was HILARIOUS at the party to hear everyone go into the bathroom and then start laughing!

This one is of Rick on his actual birthday which he spend with just Mad and myself. I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his party and he said "You aren't MAKING me one?" Those of you who know me KNOW I don't cook...well I had the day off and I went ahead and attempted a boxed German Chocolate cake complete with hand crafted wording! He enjoyed it and even lit his own candles with his handy rifle lighter.

Yes, this is my shy husand dressed like Sgt. Riggs. Em came over and gave him a black Lei.

Madison didn't like her new "Daddy" and wasn't happy about posing. But she did have on a shirt that said "My Daddy is 40" as well as pink leggings complete with leg warmers. She wasn't feeling well and went to Mamo's early.

Here we are! The one and only photo of me (I did NOT post the one of me in my ACID WASH jeans from Ebay! I gained all my weight back and I refuse to post my fat self online)

Notice Rick's Lethal Weapon 4"0" hat!

We had a great time and at the end of the night I asked Rick how his birthday was and he said

"This is a birthday I will NEVER forget." I don't think he has ever had a birthday filled with so much fun being surrounded by his closest friends and felt so much love.

Life is good. Now the ticker is clicking away for my 40th and I am not as open to the idea as Rick was. This is going to be a hard one I think....

Photo Session Sneak Peak

I belong to a Mom's club in Modesto although I haven't really taken advantage of the events they do (monthly Mom's night out etc) probably because of my fear of meeting new people....but...I am on the email distribution and a local mom who is a self employed photographer was offering a special for group members.

She was offering a free 8X10 with no session fee in exchange for the right to use a photo for her website redesign.  We had our session on Saturday and she placed three of the shots on her blog as a sneak peak. The gallery is coming soon.  I brought our rocking schnauzer I received at my shower as a prop since I have had NO luck getting a good one of her on it at home!

Check them out and let me know what you think. 

Here is what I think so far: 

#1 - Doesn't look like Madison to me at all.  If I saw it somewhere, I might not even recognize it as her. That feels weird.

#2 - She was a little irritated can you tell? I think this was taken after she had signed "All done" a few times.  When she is done, she is done, what can I say?

#3 - This looks like her and she is laughing and I love seeing her cute little teeth.

http://www.carolynwelchphotography.com/blog/