My Minnie

We had such a good weekend, especially Minnie.  On Saturday Ben and Scott came over for dinner and we all played basketball in the court.  This was Minnie's favorite thing in the whole wide world.  She loved playing basketball. She used to harass Adam every night to play with him. On Sunday I gave the girls baths and then we all went outside to play.  Minnie was on her back squirming in the cold snow.  Adam kept leaning down to rub her belly. And he took her picture. She was so cute. And she was so happy. On Sunday night I gave Minnie an extra big hug before bed and I told her I loved her. She seemed fine.














On Monday morning after Adam  had left for work, I went to the kitchen to give Minnie her morning pill. That is when I found Minnie lying on the kitchen rug, lifeless.  She had passed sometime in the night.

Adam raced home from work. And my brothers, Ben and Scott, rushed over too.  While I waited for them I laid on the floor cuddled up to Minnie. I told her how much I loved her and that I missed her. I thanked her for everything she had done for me. I thanked her for saving me.  I thanked her for loving me and for teaching me how to be a mama.

When Adam and my brothers got home they asked me where I would like her to be buried. I picked a nice spot at the side of our house. I can plant peonies and make her place pretty in the spring. And  I can visit her often. We had a very sweet day full of all things Minnie.  We looked at pictures and talked about Minnie Memories. We cried and hugged each other.  Anyone who knew Minnie, loved her.

My sweet vet came over to say goodbye to Minnie.  She told me that it seemed as though Minnie's heart just stopped. She didn't suffer. It was so thoughtful of her to come visit. She has been through a lot with us and our dogs.

Then we had a very sweet funeral service for Minnie.  We all wrote notes and put them in a mason jar for her along with pictures of Minnie with her loved ones.  We sealed the mason jar with wax and placed it with her. I covered her with a blanket I had bought for her when she was a puppy.  Ben said the sweetest prayer.  He thanked God for the years we had with Minnie and for her love.




















I am going to write The Story of Minnie.....but not until I pull myself together.  I am beside myself. I can't imagine my life without her. Everything reminds me of her. I just want to lay in bed all day and cry. Minnie took a huge chunk of my heart with her.  And no dog will ever be able to replace it. 

Birthday Fun

I had quite the birthday yesterday.  I can't believe I am 29 years old. It's seems old to me, but I don't feel any different.  Getting older has never bothered me though. And if I can grow old with my hubby and my Bean by my side, then I am all for it.
It was a really good birthday minus a couple hiccups.  Starting with 8:30 a.m. breakfast plans with a friend gone way wrong. Lets just say I did a lot of waiting around, driving around, nursing in the back of the car and driving home with an empty stomach an hour and a half later. All of that can be really trying....then add an 8 month old to the mix and really its just a nightmare.  But Nelly and I made the best of it and made birthday crepes at home. Just as good and just as fun.  Everything with Nelly is fun so I can't complain.
Then we headed out yet again to spend the afternoon with Adam.  He took me shopping and to lunch.  He always does a great job at making me feel special and loved.  I know shopping isn't his favorite thing to do.  But my mom is in Hawaii and someone had to do it....so he offered. He is sweet like that. I love spending the day with my two loves.  Really, there isn't anything better.

Lunch with my two favorite people

When we got home there were cute treats and cards from different ladies in the ward. I really love our neighbors.  They have been so extremely good to me.  Some of them have become really great friends.  I just feel so lucky and blessed to have so many amazing people come into my life.
We ended the night by eating birthday cake in bed.  Perfect ending to my perfect birthday.  It helped that the cake was from Backers....the BEST cakes ever.

Thanks to Adams parents for the beautiful cake....I have almost succeeded in eating it all!

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Nelly is starting to be really silly. I love it.  I love watching her funny little personality blossom.  Just one look at her and I am completely overcome with happiness.

This is her new favorite trick.  She does it all day long, all around the house. It is so cute to see that little bum go up in the air and then hear her burst into laughter. 

I love her toes in this picture!

Valentines Day

This year was by far the best Valentines I have ever had! I spent it doing what I love most, hanging out with my Nelly and cooking and baking up a storm in the kitchen.  Adam gave me the most beautiful pearl necklace and the movie "The Help", which I have been dying to see since I finished the book a month ago.  And lets not forget the box of chocolates he came home with that I devoured in minutes (I can't help it, I have a crazy bad sweet tooth and I am blaming it on breast feeding). Adam is always a very thoughtful gift giver. I love him so much and love that he is my Valentine, not only on February 14th, but everyday of every year.  It was fun getting Nelly all dressed up for her first Valentines Day and as always she looked so stinking cute.  She really is the sweetest thing in the world.  Still can't believe she's mine.  

 Little Love Bug

My sweet little Valentine

Mama's Helper

Dinner time is usually a whirlwind at our house.  When Adam comes home from work I am usually feeding Nelly her dinner. We often eat standing at the bar while I am getting Nelly cleaned up and then I whisk her upstairs for her bath and then bed.  So we decided to wait until Nelly was asleep to enjoy our Valentine dinner.  It was so nice to sit down at the table and just enjoy each others company and the yummy food.

Steak and Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce and homemade whole wheat rolls

BAKED ALASKA - Chocolate cake and moon pie ice cream

And meringue to top it off

 It was quite the process but very much worth it! I will definitely be making this again....soon!

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Today when Nelly woke from her nap (yes, she is napping again thank goodness) I came into the room to find her standing up and talking to herself in the mirror.  It was so cute. Had to take a picture. I simply can't get enough of her! 

We are on day two of Nelly resisting sleep. Yesterday she didn't take a nap until 3 p.m.and it was a 20 minute nap. That little turkey must be pushing some teeth through or something.  She is up every 2 hours at night and then refuses to nap during the day. It kills me.  Her nap time is really the only time I have to get things done around the house. But alas, the house can wait. I know everyone always has tips or suggestions on how to get your baby to sleep.  But honestly, I just think all babies are different.  And I think babies go through so much growing and teething and learning new things that it messes with their schedules sometimes. It's a phase. Nelly will sleep again.....someday.  I love her to pieces and as tired as I am, I can't be mad at her.

Sometime last week Nelly went from being a big time Mama's Girl to only wanting her daddy when he is home.  As much as I love her clinging to me with her death grip, I think it is so cute to see her reaching for him and  lovin' on him.  I have to admit that I kinda liked being the one and only person she wanted.  But I guess I can share her with Adam.  I wouldn't have that little angel if it weren't for him so it's only fair.  Adam is loving all the Nelly attention too. It makes him feel good.  He is such a cute dad.  At night after I get Nelly down to bed Adam always says, "I miss her already".  And then we lay in bed and look at pictures of her. It never gets old.  I am glad to have such a sweet man to make babies with.

Today I left Nelly with my mother in law for a couple hours while I went to an appointment.  I honestly NEVER leave Nelly. I have left her a total of 3 times now.  I had anxiety about leaving her. Not because I think my mother in law isn't capable, she is!  I just don't like to leave her. And I don't have to, so I choose not to. But it's good for both of us to do it on occasion and so I did.  I know Janie had a lot of fun with Nelly. And when I walked in the door it looked like Nelly was having a lot of fun too. Lot's of people like to give me their opinion about my decision to not leave Nelly very often.  Just like every baby is different, every mom is different too. And me, I can't think of anything better to do with my days than spend them with my bean.

I was talking to Adam's mom the other day about how some of our friends find it strange that we won't leave Nelly with a sitter to go out to dinner with them and she said "the best parents don't have kids" and it is so true. People without children always think they know what they would do with their kids, they have certain ideas of what kind of parent they would be.  But honestly, until you have them, you have no idea. I was the same way though. When I was pregnant I read every baby/parenting book I could get my hands on.  I had everything planned out. Anyway, I just thought it was interesting. I had never thought of it like that. Instead of being irritated when someone without children doesn't get it, I just have to remember that they really have no clue what it's like.  How could they?

Poor Minnie

 Looks like my phone is working in the blog department again. This is a blog I wrote a couple weeks ago but just magically posted when I updated my phone.....



My Minnie sure has been having a rough few months! It seems like it's always something with her and it makes me so sad! But that is just life with an aging pup. Her seizures haven't come back since we started her on anti-seizure meds and I really hope they are gone for good! That was just too hard in both of us!

I noticed that Minnie's face was a little swollen the other day. I thought that maybe she had a spider bite. But the next day her face was huge! And she wasn't acting like her normal self. She wouldn't eat and she just stayed in the same spot all morning. It was getting bigger, fast! I took her into the vet and found that she had an abscess tooth. Poor girl! Who knows how long it had been bothering her. I hate that she can't just tell me when she's hurting!












I hate sedating Minnie especially at her age. I always worry that she won't come out of it! But it had to be done! Once Minnie was under and on the operating table the Vet called and told me that she had found other teeth that needed to be removed. I told her to go ahead and take out any that could be a potential problem down the road. I picked Minnie up that night. They wanted her to spend the night there but the thought of her alone in a kennel made me sick to my stomach. I wanted her home with me so I could take care of her and baby her.






By the next morning she was looking and feeling much better!! She is loving that I'm soaking her food in chicken broth so it doesn't hurt her sore gums. Lady has benefited from this too. She loves her some chicken broth!!





Poor Minnie. I really would do anything for her. She's brought so much happiness to my life. I hope I've done the same for her. Here's to many more years of me and My Minnie.

I usually blog from my phone. It makes it so much easier for me. I can hurry and blog, post a few cute instagram photos minutes after I put Nelly down for her nap and publish it before I make it down the stairs. But for some reason my phone has suddenly stopped working in the blog department. Seriously, who has time to go upstairs to the computer, upload pictures and create a decent blog post while trying to keep this too big of a house clean, feed dogs, do laundry, pick up baby toys, shower, get dressed, make dinner.... And on top of that, I don't want to be the mama that is always on the computer, looking at her phone and too busy cleaning to actually have fun and enjoy my babe. I always feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. I am figuring out really fast that indeed, there are not enough hours in the day to do everything and that is ok.  Sometimes we just have to leave things undone in order to enjoy the things that matter most.  I have started getting up at 5:30 a.m. to get a workout and shower in before Nelly is up for the day.  That is not an easy task after being up all night with a baby that doesn't sleep! I thought I would be even more exhausted (if that is even possible) but it actually gives me more energy throughout the day to do the things I have to do, like clean my house, and to do the things I want to do, like go on a nice walk with Nelly! It also gives me a free hour to get things done while Nelly takes her morning nap instead of trying to hurry and get showered and ready for the day before she wakes up and is ready to go again!

Anyway...

What a fun stage we are going through right now in the Nelly Department! She is crawling and getting into everything, keeps me on my toes! She is starting to pull herself up to standing.  It is so cute.  But it is kinda scary in the tub.  She just wants to sit then stand, sit then stand.  I can't take my hands off of her for 2 seconds.  But there is nothing cuter than her bare bum standing in a tub full of princess toys. She LOVES to eat and gets really excited when she sees me cooking her food.   I love finding new recipes to try for her.  I make all my own baby food and it is so fun! And by "baby food" I don't mean just boring fruit and veggie purees.  Today's breakfast was steel cut oats, egg and pea scramble.  It was actually really good! I try everything I make for her.  She is starting to feed herself "finger foods".  Her all time favorite thing is cut up avocados.  I swear she would eat them all day long! I love watching her little hands pick up the little pieces and put them in her mouth.  She has also figured out how to sneak Lady Bug treats from her highchair.  And Lady learned pretty quick that right next to the highchair is the "place to be" at meal time.  She still isn't the greatest sleeper. Some nights are really great and some are horrible.  I have spent many nights on the nursery floor because I just didn't have it in me to keep going up and down the stairs.  Nelly has started giving kisses!!! Oh how those slobbery open mouth kisses make my heart happy! She is pretty stingy with the kisses though. I am always excited when she feels like giving me one!  Nelly is definitely a Mama's girl.  She ALWAYS wants me right there with her. She hates when I leave the room.  It makes getting things done a little bit trying sometimes.  But I secretly love it.  It makes me feel good to know that she wants me, that I make her happy and that I can instantly make her feel better.  She sure loves her Daddy too.  She gets excited when he walks in the door after a long day from work. I love seeing her reach for him.  I love the smile on her face when he walks around with her on his shoulders or when he zooms her around on the wood floors.   And I really love the smile on his face when she is wrapped up in his arms.  I love what our little Nelly has done to my husband.  He really is a great father and it makes me so happy.  He understands how important his role in her life is, something I wish more dads realized.  Watching the two of them is something so sweet and so special.

My little Cowgirl

Nelly and her daddy

Motherhood is a role that I think suits me well. I feel as though I am right where I belong. I feel more like myself than I ever have. I feel whole. I always wanted to be a mother, but I had no idea how absolutely amazing it would really be. I am continually amazed at how beautifully life has played out for me, how sweet life really is when you figure out what is truly important.  And for me, there is nothing more important than my little family.

I love that little grin!

Nelly's new favorite toy

Just being a big girl!

This just kills me...