Another new addition to the family

We have really wanted a dog for awhile now. I have been looking on Craigslist and at all the local animal shelters. Nothing really felt right. And the ones that did feel right were given away before we could see them. I was really getting discouraged about it, but I had to keep reminding myself that if it is meant to be, it will be. On Saturday we went to the local humane society and looked at dogs but the one we liked couldn't come with us because of Noah. He was a jumper. And the other one we looked at just did not like us at all. So we came home dogless. After we put Noah to bed I decided to look at Craigslist one more time. There was an ad on there for a Great Dane. But it had been posted at 11am so I thought there was no way she was still available. But I called and the guy said that he had been gone all day and was just walking out of the movie theater and I was the first one he had talked too even though he had a phone full of messages. We arranged a time to go to Lynnwood and see her the next morning. As soon as we walked in the house she took right to Johnathan. She was also very behaved with Noah crawling, stepping and "petting" her. So we brought her home. Her name is Tela and she truly is a gentle giant. She stands a couple inches lower than my hips, but she can rest her face on the counter and stick her face down in the sink. The cats are still getting used to her. Belle has once again shown herself to be the true Alpha Male in the house. She took a couple of swipes at Tela and now Tela won't go near her. She jumped over the couch instead of walking near Belle. She is between 140-150 lbs. We will find out as soon as we take her to the vet this week. Johnathan calls her my dog but secretly I think that he thinks of her as his.

The Birthday

I am just going to post a few pictures of his party, I will write more later when I have a little more time. It went great. I was telling Johnathan last night that we have some really great friends and it was so good to celebrate Noahs 1st birthday with them. The party was bug themed and that is why everyone is wearing antenae.

This is Noah hogging the sand box...

And my favorite picture of the afternoon is....

This was after he ate a boat full of sand. I had to snap a picture too. Mean, probably. However I feel that as "Mother" I may need to remind him of this moment in the future.

A year in review

Sheer amazement

This child blows me away. It just amazes me the things you do NOT have to teach them and they just know how to do. Like making truck noises. He pushes his trucks around the living room and makes the noise! I didn't teach him that. He just knew. A few months ago I found this really cute radio flyer trike at a garage sale. When I put him on it that evening, he made the truck noise as we peddled around the neighborhood. I probably need to clarify that too, it came with a handle bar for me to push him. He is not peddling by himself yet. He is good, but not that good.
The other day I was at my sisters swim meet at my old high school. There is a metal type barrier between the pool and the stands. The barrier has thick wire running across horizontally every 5 inches. It took him about 30 seconds to figure out if he got on his belly he could slide under the lowest one and get to the water. He didn't, his head was too big, but he was trying his hardest.
Speaking of that meet, I had the best experiance there. I taught swim lessons before I joined the Navy and while at this meet I ran into 3 of the kids I used to teach. What a good feeling that was. To know that I helped them even just a little bit become what they are today. Really good swimmers. Now I had them when they were 3 and 4 years old, so they have had a lot more influence than me since then, but I introduced them to the water and taught them the basics! That is just such a great feeling to me. And when I think about it, I get to do that with Baby Bear in EVERYTHING!!! It really makes me happy inside!
And on an even happier note, the Bear did not wake up until 640 this morning! YEAH for sleep!

Fun with the cat food

Too fast

Wow. That is all I can say. Wow. I have a little boy that is going to be one next week. Where in the world has the time gone? It really hit me this morning, I was going through all of his baby clothes and I looked at my favorite little onesie and then I looked at him, and I thought, "how could you ever have fit in this?" And then I was putting away his present clothes and I remember getting them as gifts thinking that he would never fit into that! And here he is. A big boy, about to be one. Walking around by himself, feeding himself independently, playing with his big boy toys, he has a personality, he is a little person! With likes and dislikes and favorites and a very hard head. I do not think that I am ready for this. I know I am not ready for this. Because I know that next comes the big boy bed, and potty in the big toilet and going off to kindergarten(maybe) and having friends that he would rather be around than me. I think I am going to cry. How do you keep them young and innocent? How do you keep them your baby? Maybe not forever, I know that he is not mine forever. Eventually I know that I will have to share him. (With a pre-approved, very thoroughly checked, has to be an angel sent from God himself young lady.) But how do I make it last longer? I could not put him down for naps, that would give me more time. It would most likely make it so I didn't want to be around him at all too though. I just want to soak up as much of him as I can.

My Boys

In the hall are two boys. One almost one, the other very much bigger physically but still on the same level. And in a good way. I wish that I could do that. Daddy Bear can throw all inhibitions aside and just be a kid with Noah. I am the teacher and the guider and the enforcer of rules and the one that makes the meals and distributes them. I love my job, I really do. I just wish that sometimes I could be the one to roll around in the hall way and play chase with a little man who walks like a penguin still.