Farewell Friend

A week ago today I awoke to a surprise. But not the good kind. The kind that changes your life- a quieter, less playful and less hairy life. The kind of surprise where your presumably healthy dog is gone. Just like that, our 9-year-old Corgi, Keenan, unexpectedly passed away. It hasn't even been a year since we lost Zoe. Last Thursday evening I was concerned when he started acting sluggish, didn't want to eat then didn't want his favorite treat. I felt a little better when I rang the doorbell and he returned the usual bark but he walked rather than ran to the door. Since we've moved into this house, Keenan has been sneaking upstairs- sometimes to Maggie's room but usually to our room and I always have to send him back down. When I found him laying next to our bed (his usual spot) Thursday night I again felt a little better, but knew I'd have to find a vet the following morning. We haven't even found a vet here because he's up on his shots. I had a bad feeling we'd get news similar to last year with Zoe.
I never got that chance. Friday morning he was already gone. I'm so glad I didn't kick him out of our room that night; even though he's just a dog, I'm grateful he didn't die alone in his crate. Our Mr. Mr. We've had him longer than we've been married- our first joint endeavor. Daniel found him at a pet store, fell in love and we picked out the name Keenan. He lived with me at my parent's house until we married and moved to B'ham, then we brought Zoe into our little family shortly after. We loved both our dogs, but much like Zoe saw me as her master, Keenan saw Daniel as his. Daniel took his passing pretty hard. We were both in shock, still are a little and very sad not only that our Keen Keen is gone, but that we have no dogs. We're a dogless family and that makes it even harder.

Keenan loved adults but was scared of kids and therefore not always the best family dog, like Zoe who let kids crawl all over her. I'm sure he preferred life before we brought home all those moving, noise-making kids. Still, Keen was very playful- loved to run around the house with Will and play fetch outside. Though he did have his own version of fetch where you take the ball further away from the person throwing it. He made this cute little whiny growl when he stretched and/or wanted some attention. He loved to swim...when we first moved to B'ham we took the dogs to a nearby walking trail with a little creek and let Keen play in the water. His love for water got him in trouble sometimes- like when he'd jump in my parents' pond. He hated storms and crawled under our legs at the slightest hint of rain. Thunder? Forget about it. He howled when Jake cried for more than 10 seconds. He never did that with the other two. I could go on and on about all his little quirks- 9 years is a long time and yet he had another 4-5 years life expectancy. I keep expecting to let him out every morning or hear him bark when the doorbell rings. Still hard to believe he's gone.

We had a Necropsy done and found out that he had cancer. There was a small tumor on the wall of his heart and it ruptured, filling the sac around his heart with blood until it eventually had no room to beat. The pathologist said it most likely ruptured that afternoon when we noticed his sluggish behavior- it typically takes 12-24 hours. She also said there's nothing we could've done, even if we took him to a vet Thursday and they happened to make the diagnosis. In the end, it is nice to know he didn't suffer and even though he wasn't a perfect dog, we loved him, the kids loved him, he was ours and he loved us.

looking through all his pictures, it's crazy to see just how much our 

lives have changed in the time keenkeen was a part of our family

One of the last pictures I took of him

watching Will and Daniel play in the distance. Our
last weekend with him

 Farewell furry friend. We miss you.

Mr. Funny

I've written down quite a few things Will has said so far this month. The last one had me cracking up! I hope you enjoy Will's creative little imagination and they funny things he says. I love my little man!

3/2:
Me: I remember it snowing in March once before. When you were little, it was your first snow, at least the first one you got out and walked in.
W: Do you miss me being that little?
M: Yes and no. I loved you at that age but I love you now. I've loved all your ages.
W: Did you love me when I was an adult?
M: You haven't been an adult yet.
W: But I was an adult. And I turned back into a kid.
M: If only it worked that way.
W: Yea. If only. But we'd have to be monsters to do that!

3/5:
I'm a natural at getting toys out!
(Maggie shoved a toy in a tight space and Will got it out for me)

3/6:
The song's over folks.

W: Why do we always have to clean?
Me: 'Cause houses don't need to stay messy.
W: Why, it's just a house. And a boo-boo is just a boo-boo. It's not like it can kill you
-I mean, seriously, what does that have to do with anything? Haha, another one that had me laughing-

3/16:
W: You know why I say "I'm full" when I say I'm full?
Me: 'Cause you're full.
W: Yea. It means my energy is already to the top (points to the top of his head)

3/19:
Knock knock, what's on your miiiind? Go out to eat every niight!


Hope you enjoy these little bits as much as I do!

Baby Jacob is 6 months old!

Wow. That was fast. Again. Time just keeps flying by, goodness, my sweet little newborn baby boy is already half a year old. It is crazy to me that half a year has gone by so quickly. Sheesh. Anyway, our little Jakie-poo hit the milestone six month mark on the 17th...happy St. Patrick's Day! Oh, I'm a little late for that. I had full intentions of posting this on his six month birthday. Oh well. But we made sure to celebrate his big day with pictures! That's right, we had professional photos taken on Sunday- his first pro session (enter sad face and dramatic third child syndrome music). In honor of St. Paddy's Day, there was plenty of green. There may also have been a couple of extra cute kids, aaaand possibly some matching outfits. Seriously though, Will is a ham, I've trained him well. Possibly too well. Here's some stats on Jakie-poo at half a year old:

14lbs, 8oz (5%)
26 inches (30%)
Head 42 1/2cm (15%)

• Jake, you are definitely teething. You've always been a fan of your binky, but you are constantly chewing, drooling lots and do not like your gums being touched. I hope this tooth breaks soon, I'm ready for you to get back to my sweet, happy boy
• You're starting to prop sit and have even sat independently without falling for over a minute!
• You are digging your bouncy now and can get a pretty good jump on...I'm not sure which station is your favorite. You love the mirror & frog, sunshine and hanging toy you can pull to your mouth. All around it's alot of fun for you!
• I'm starting to feed you cereal and/or fruits/veggies twice a day. Won't be long before you're eating meals with the rest of us :)
• You've been sucking/chewing on your bottom lip lately- I think this is a last resort for chewing because it often happens when I pull that binky out of your mouth
• For the most part you're a laid back little guy but you sure can get your scream on!
• I think you're ready to get going, but you haven't quite figured it out yet. You get those legs under you sometimes, so it won't be long before you get it

I'm excited to watch you grow sweet baby boy. I love watching you learn new things, get excited, grow and find it so super sweet that nobody seems to make you smile quite like Will & Maggie. Especially that silly big brother, Will. I love you my little sweetums!

you're growing into the shirt more every month!

here you are sitting (guess who's getting you to smile?)

 this one was just too sweet not to share

Silly

Our mornings often look much sillier when daddy's around for breakfast. The 'big' kids got a good laugh at this; they love when daddy tele-commutes. Mommy does too. :)

A snowy dusting

This past weekend (as in two days ago- March 9&10) was warm, sunny, beautiful- about 60-65 degrees. Perfect spring weather. But the weekend before: snow! Welcome to the southeast. Where it snows one day, feels like spring the next, then drops back down to winter weather. All in a 7-10 day span. You can imagine how difficult it can be to stay healthy in this crazy weather! Anyway, I love snow. Maybe not as much as I did when I was a kid (particularly after moving to TN where flurries cancelled school) but I still think it's beautiful. Soft, fluffy snow that makes just enough crunch when you walk on it, but still soft enough to make a snow angel. We got plenty of this snow when I was a kid and still living in St. Louis- we rarely got called out of school because of it, but we did get enough to build snowmen and go sledding. While we didn't get a ton of snow last weekend, it was enough to take some pretty pictures. Or at least I think so. :)

New design

The first year I had this blog I changed the background at least three times. The second year I kept my background until Christmas and last year I ended up keeping the same one all year. And then spilled over three months into this year. I don't find this a gain or a loss, just a statement. But I was ready for a change and finally made it happen. I even updated some pics on my right rail! Yay for late nights. I think my ideal setup would include one background for most the year- maybe short change-ups for hoildays. Anyway, hope you like it.

Thankful Thursday- busy life

I haven't been blogging much lately because we've been so busy with projects around the house, taking the kids here and there, and life in general. Maggie's therapy is about to kick into high gear, so that will take out additional time as well. I do have some blogs I want to write and am hoping to get to them soon. They mostly involve projects around the house and what the kids have been up to. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the busyness of life, but I am thankful that we're able to set aside time and money to complete projects, have a vehicle to go here and there, a husband with a job that provides so well that I can stay home and still take my kids here and there, plus the access to therapists for Maggie. We're busy for sure, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I love being with my kids, even though they can leave me pulling out my hair sometimes. :)
I'm also thankful for my sweetheart Moosie girl who turns 2 1/2 today! I love you baby girl. I'm so glad God chose me to be your mommy.