"We named the dog Indiana"

This is Indy

This is Indy and Bo.

This last weekend we expanded our brood. We adopted another dog! He's a black lab named Indy (that wasn't his original name, but the one we gave him). Chris had been watching "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and he loves that part when Sean Connery says, "We named the dog Indiana." So Indy is his name-o.

You might be thinking to yourself, "Pam adopted another dog. Hmm, what's wrong with him?" I'm SO glad you asked! Indy was rescued from a hoarding case in Texas. He had been living outside, exposed to the elements and subsisting on a rock diet. He'd chewed his front teeth down to the pulp, exposing the nerves to fourteen of his teeth. Needless to say, he was completely malnourished and he'd contracted a (non-contagious) mange. On top of all that, he was abused and is therefore terrified of men (although he's warming up to Chris).

Even with all those problems he is one of the sweetest dogs ever! He follows me around like a little shadow and won't go anywhere without me. He's VERY protective of Baby Dane and terrified of Dutch. Bo is pretending that Indy doesn't exist (and he's ignoring me), but Indy wants to be Bo's best friends, so I'm sure, much like Coco, they will soon be the best of friends. He had to have those fourteen teeth pulled, but he still has all of his back teeth so eating isn't really an issue. All he wants to do is play and be petted and loved on. He also sleeps with his tongue sticking out, which is awesome!

We're working through his issues and he needs some training, but we're very happy with our new addition!

A List for Tuesday

10 Things I Love About This Time of Year
(in no particular order)

1. Wearing coats, scarves, hats, gloves, and boots. I love accessorizing!
2. Peppermint flavored ice cream! (Chik-fil-a has a peppermint chocolate chip shake and I could seriously eat one for every meal of the day.)
3. All the lights making winter seem less ugly
4. Christmas music!
5. That smell of cold mixed with lit fireplaces. It's just magical.
6. Picking out the perfect gift for someone
7. Opening presents! (Who doesn't love that little thrill of surprise?)
8. Advent
9. Apple cider
10. That glowy feeling you get when you're celebrating the true meaning of Christmas.

What's your favorite thing about this time of year?


And tune in tomorrow when I'll introduce the newest member of the Davis family. (Hint: He has four legs and is covered in fur!)

A List for Tuesday

5 Things I'm Tired of People Assuming I Can't Do: Even if I'm not very good, I can still do them
(in no particular order)

1. Cook
2. Parent
3. Anything involving hand-eye coordination
4. Organization
5. Punctuality

What can you do?

Bo Goes on Walkabout

Last night Bo decided that life was boring and he wanted to make it more exciting. So he went on a walkabout. Here's what happened:

We let Bo out to go to the bathroom. I thought Chris had let him back in; Chris thought I had let him back in and we assumed he was hanging out with the other one in the other room. When it was time for bed we realized our mistake. Frantic searching ensued. I drove around looking for him while Chris searched our yard. It got to the point where I couldn't see well enough to drive because I was crying so much. So Chris took over driving around. I called Zaque and Greg (in tears) and asked if they would be willing to help us look. They were both sweet enough to go out into the cold at 11pm and drive the streets looking for our wayward pup.

I finally had the presence of mind to call the animal control, but no one was there so I was forwarded to police dispatch. The amazing woman I spoke to had taken a call from an officer not long before that a blind chocolate lab was picked up just south of our house and taken to the Sandy animal shelter. I wouldn't be able to pick Bo up until 8:30 the next morning. My tears finally stopped and I called off the search and we all went to bed grateful to animal control and the police.

When Dutch woke up this morning he walked all over the house trying to find Bo. He yelled out both doors for him to come. He kept saying, "Bo, where are you?" (which sounds more like "Bo, wayaroo?"). I explained we had to go and pick up Bo, that he had gotten lost and some nice people were taking care of him until we could get there.

Dutch LOVED the shelter. I thought all the barking would overwhelm him, but no. He went from kennel to kennel saying hi to every single dog and explaining to them that we were here for Bo-Bo. Chris and I are now thinking of adopting another dog. We'll see what happens. We brought Bo home and he climbed up into my bed and fell asleep.

Thus ended Bo's walkabout.

A List for Tuesday

5 Reasons I'm Thankful for My Popi (Whose Birthday Was Yesterday)
(in no particular order)

1. He hush-a-byed me when I was little and now every time I hush-a-by my boys I think of him.
2. When Chris and I were deciding whether or not to get married he helped us make the right decision.
3. On a road trip back from Texas he introduced me to Mozart's Die Zauberflote.
4. In the summer when we would go visit him I would wake up every morning to him practicing the organ.
5. He married Chris and me and it was perfect.

Why are you thankful for your grandfather?

Cold

Saturday night I had a sore throat and runny nose when I was going to bed. I had a really hard time sleeping. It slowly got worse all day Sunday and by Sunday night I was feeling pretty crappy. I was so cold that the only thing that could warm me up was a bath, so I went and got in the tub.

I always lock the door when I take a bath or shower, not because it keeps Dutch out (it doesn't), but because it gives me about 5 more minutes of privacy before he picks the lock and gets in. Anyway, last night he came in when I was in the tub and this was our conversation (with translations for Dutch):

Dutch: Hi Daddy! Takin' shower? [Hello Mother! Are you taking a shower?]
Me: I'm taking a bath because I'm cold.
Dutch: Bath. Cold? [Oh, you're taking a bath. You're cold? That's awful!]

Then Dutch picked up my towel and wanted to wrap it around me because that's what I do when he's cold after a bath. I told him I couldn't wear my towel in the tub, so he put it down and gave me a big hug and kiss. Then he patted my head and told me "Get warm!"

There are days when Dutch drives me nuts, but I'm constantly amazed at his consideration for others. He really is one of the sweetest kids I've ever known.

A List for Tuesday

5 Reasons I'm Thankful for my Daddy
(in no particular order)

1. He never gets tired of his cheesy puns and jokes.
2. When he sings it's really beautiful (I especially love sitting next to him in church because his singing brings the Spirit).
3. He's a very good PopPop to my two boys.
4. We have a lot in common, but one thing I know I got from my dad is my addiction for games. We both have to set limits so we don't spend all our time gaming!
5. He knows a lot about a lot, but he never stops learning.

Why are you thankful for your Daddy?

Happy Birthday Mo!

Happy birthday to my baby niece Mo!

I love this picture because you can see just how awesome
her hair is with it's sticky-uppyness.

Doesn't Play Well With Others

For those of you who don't know Chris very well, here's something you need to know about him: He doesn't really like people. Other than his two brothers he has one or two friends. AND HE LIKES IT THIS WAY. That's something to keep in mind as I tell you about our first Parent/Teacher Conference for Dutch yesterday (and the blog title refers to Chris, not Dutch).

Dutch started pre-school a couple of months ago. It's part of the Early Intervention Program. Before he even started school we worked out some goals for him for the school year. Here are the goals and the progress he's made so far, in order of his success.

• Dutch will match 7 shapes and 7 colors with 80% accuracy over 3 data probes. He has met this goal! He matches 8/8 shapes 87.5% of the time and 8/8 colors 100% of the time! His teacher, Gretchen, is going to continue to work with him on these, stepping up the difficulty so he can really master his shapes and colors.
• Dutch will attend to small/large group activities for 5 minutes 4/5 opportunities over 3 data probes. This one he is making "sufficient progress" on. He'll pay attention 67% of the time in small group (with a 7% refusal) and pays attention 80% of the time in large group (with a 20% refusal). There's still room to improve, of course, but I'm just glad he's able to focus this much!
• Dutch will follow classroom directions with no more than one prompt 4/5 opportunities over 3 data probes. Okay, so he's following directions 33% of the time, but he also refuses outright to do them 33% of the time, so that needs a lot more work. To be fair, this is something we struggle with at home so I'm sure he won't get it at school if he can't do it at home. Any suggestions to help with this?
• Dutch will demonstrate cooperative play with a peer for 3 minutes 4/5 opportunities over 3 data probes. This is something I've been worried about for awhile now. They send home a little piece of paper to tell me what he did that day and who he did it with. I noticed that Dutch would play by himself or next to other kids, but never with them. I was really surprised, however, when she told me he's doing this 0% of the time. They can get him to parallel play with other kids, but he never plays WITH them. I feel pretty guilty about this because Dutch has play-dates about once a month, if that. So, to help my sweetheart make friends (so he doesn't end up like his dad), I am going to try to make some friends with kids his age so he can learn how to play with someone else. (And when Chris and I discussed this he emphasized that they should be MY friends and not OUR friends.)

He also had some goals for his speech, but those are pretty specific and I don't want to bore you more than I already have. So we survived our first Parent/Teacher Conference and I felt very proud when they told me Dutch is the most polite kid in the class and he's always concerned when other kids are crying or unhappy. That's my boy!

A List for Wednesday

So yesterday was so hectic that the list got pushed to today. I hope you don't mind.

Dane at Six Months: A Getting-to-Know-You List
Name: Dane Neal Davis
Nick-Names: Baby Dane, Dane-Dane, Danger, Mr. Baby Dane, Sweet Baby Dane
Age: 6 months 5 days
Height: 25.5 inches (putting him in the 15th percentile)
Weight: 15 pounds 5 ounces (putting him in the 15th percentile)
Head circumference: 41.7 centimeters (putting him the 5th percentile)
Favorite song: Anything Mama sings
Favorite food: Formula, although he shared some of my soup last night and really liked it
Favorite toy: The moose Aunt Shelley gave him or the train Aunt Clarissa gave him
Favorite activities: Laughing at Dutch, laughing at Daddy, talking to Mama, staring at Bo trying to figure out what the heck he is
Diaper size: Kirkland brand 1-2's
Clothing size: Some 3-6 month, but mostly 6-9 month
Overall outlook on life: Mellow

Side-note: At 6 months Dutch was 19 lbs 1 oz and 29 inches long! Dane is the featherweight to Dutch's heavyweight!