One tired puppy

We took Knox to the dog park last weekend for the first time, and it was so much fun!  He had a blast!   I must admit I was a little nervous about going.  I didn't know what to expect.  I've never had a dog before so I am somewhat unsure of what puppy/dog play looks like.  There are lots of dogs in our neighborhood, but most of them are very little.  Knox has met some of them and has wanted to play but they 1. aren't playful dogs or 2. are dogs he could eat for lunch even as a puppy.  There is one small white dog (I have no idea what kind) that we see out walking fairly frequently.  One time Knox batted/boxed at her (like Boxers do...hence the name) wanting to play and I think the owner was offended and felt like Knox was being aggressive.  She promptly walked away and has avoided us ever since.  So all that to say even though there are a lot of dogs on our street, Knox had not had a lot of socialization with other dogs.

 On Saturday he had fun, but was still just getting used to playing and being around so many dogs.  But on Sunday he found a friend, Enzo.  Enzo is a English Bulldog puppy just a couple months older than Knox and they quickly became best friends.  I hope we see Enzo again soon.

Now granted I've only been twice, but the dog park seems to be an interesting place.  It is certainly its own little social circle...  And as a side note, let me mention how I got peed on on Sunday.  Yes, peed on.  Apparently my green pants looked deceivingly like a tree.  I was standing next to the stroller talking to a group of people when I felt something wet on the back of my leg.  Another Boxer (of all dogs) had just lifted his leg and mistaken me for a good place to pee.  Lovely.

Pooped after playing at the dog park

The Irony of the Final Farewell

Well a couple weeks ago I finally decided to stop pumping.  I have packed up my pump and supplies and am now happy that chapter of my life is behind me.  As Phoebe has gotten much more interactive and busy it had gotten a lot harder to sit/lay her down while I pumped.  It was getting too stressful to try to pump, take care of her, take care of the puppy, wash those stinking bottles, and shave my legs all in the same day.

So call me silly, but I honestly believed that stopping pumping would be no big deal.  I know some women have trouble weaning when they are finished nursing, but I figured because I never had that much milk and had never had what people would describe as a "heavy" or "full" feeling in my breasts, it would be no big deal.  I had always joked that "I could just stop pumping tomorrow" and it would be no big deal- wrong.   Really, if it was a busy day I could go for most of the day without pumping and never notice or feel uncomfortable.  I would just tell myself I needed to pump because I wanted to keep up my supply and I needed to pump in order for her to have her next meal.

So when I had finally had enough I did slowly start to wean.  I was eventually able to cut down to once a day and started to try to stop all together, but by late afternoon/evening I was so uncomfortable I had to pump!  So for about three days I pumped once in later afternoon/early evening because I just couldn't take it anymore until I finally decided I just had to stop and endure some discomfort for it all to go away.

OH MY GOODNESS.  Let me tell you no one prepared me for the week that followed.  None of my sports bras could reign these babies in.  I walked around with ice packs duct-taped to myself and frozen cabbage in my bra for a week.  Can I tell you how much I hate the smell of cabbage?  I find it completely nauseating and it was right under my nose for a week - gross.   I was in pain and extremely uncomfortable (to put it lightly) for a week- it was ridiculous.  A WEEK!

For the life of me I could not get my milk to come (back) in and now I can't get it to go away!  I feel like my body has a funny way of mocking me.  I never had to wear nursing pads; the only time I ever leaked was when she was 3 and 4 days old right after my milk came in and then post-pumping days number 5, 6, 7, 8 and counting.  My body is no where near back to normal yet, but now at least I can raise my arms up in the air and hold my baby without immense pain and discomfort.

Oh the joys.
Here is my happy baby

My Garden Project

I always liked the idea of having a garden and planned to plant one whenever we bought a house and had a yard.  I had always planned on having some flower beds too- (in our yard at our house).  Currently we don't really have much of a yard so neither a garden nor flower bed seemed like a good possibility.  (We do have a little area in the front where I could have a flower bed but I have never wanted to invest the time or money in it since we were only going to be here for a year...and then one more year...and then just one more year...)

Behind our row of townhouses there is a pretty big drop off into a large ditch with some trees that separate us from the backs of other townhouses. We've been here three years (or at least Chris has) and it is somewhat embarrassing to admit that I never really looked back there.  I had seen lawn men throw their grass clippings back there; Chris has thrown away dead house plants back there, and one of the neighbors always warned her daughter not to go back there because there were snakes.  So really I thought it was basically a wasteland and never bothered to walk around or pay much attention to it.

Well because we've been out back quite a bit throwing the ball with Knox (and he will venture back into the wasteland) I actually went back there and walked around, and guess what I found?  There are some beautifully terraced garden areas.  Turns out one of my neighbors and her late husband built them years ago and had a pretty nice garden.  The area hasn't been used in several years; its a shame for it to sit there unused- hence my garden project.

Look at this- it is just calling my name asking to have vegetables planted in the dirt. (sorry the light isn't great in the picture)

So when my parents were here last weekend my Dad and I ripped up all the old rotting ground cover, and he helped me rent a rototiller to till up the soil to get it ready for planting.  Thanks Dad!  I couldn't have done it without you!

We even tilled one strip of land in what probably used to be a flower bed, but hasn't been cared for in awhile.

The neighbors are very excited and this will definitely turn out to be a community garden.  Its quite a bit of space so I'm hoping not to get myself into a project that I can't keep up with.

One of my neighbors helping already...

It wasn't cold enough for snow this winter, so she decided
to make dirt angels instead...

We tilled up a golf ball that is now Knox's favorite.
The trouble is going to be keep him out of the garden

Look at how good this soil looks now.

OK so maybe its a little hard to tell, but it looks good and I'm pretty proud of it so far.  I took a soil sample to the extension office to have the soil tested to see exactly what type of fertilizer I'll need and if I need any lime.  I should hear back from them in about a week.  We're planning on planting a summer garden so we'll wait another month or so to plant.  I did go ahead and plant some spring vegetables- peas, lettuce and then I have three broccoli drills to plant today that a lady from church gave me.

If anyone has any gardening advice, I welcome it.  This is new territory for me...  And I'm currently looking for some mulching recommendations.  Any thoughts?

If this works you can all come over and pick some produce because I'm sure we'll have more than we can eat!

7 Months

On March 3rd Phoebe turned seven months old. She can now sit up.  The only problem is that she doesn't know how to lay or fall back down.  So when she gets bored of sitting up she just starts crying.  She has also discovered her feet and finds great enjoyment in playing with them.  Its been fun to be able to sit her up in a highchair at a restaurant instead of staying in her car seat.  She could probably sit up in the grocery cart now too, but I haven't tried yet.  We'll probably do that this week.  We also need to see about getting a new stroller for her because we just have the snap and go.  (And the BOB, but its a little bit to haul around for everyday use)

My big girl sitting up with her big blue eyes

She still can only roll over from her front to back, rolling to her right.  She has less than a week master rolling the other way and from her back to her belly (and gain some weight) before we go back to the pediatrician on Friday.

And she's getting two teeth!  Her bottom two teeth are just poking through her gums.  She has been waking up from naps (crying) and occasionally waking up in the middle of the night (crying) over the past week and I wasn't really sure why.  It was her teeth.


Our biggest battles this month have been eating (which is typical) and constipation.  We have been pushing solid foods like the doctor wanted us to, but her little digestive system hasn't quite been able to keep up.  I've had to give her a couple little glycerin enemas.  Poor baby.  We've been feeding her lots of pears and prunes, and we have been trying to get her to drink water over the past couple weeks- with little success.  Then finally just a few days ago she decided she liked drinking water with a straw (we would drop the water into her mouth)- but only cold water.  The past few days have been better. (The cold water probably felt good on her teeth too)

Eating- Phoebe is eating a little bit better, sometimes.  On a good day (when she is not constipated) she will eat 4oz of fruits/veggies/cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner: 7am, 11pm, and 4pm.  Then a bottle three times/day before her morning and afternoon nap and then again before bed.  She drinks between 4oz and 6oz at each feeding.

Sleeping- Phoebe is back to taking 2 good naps every day that are pretty predictable.  She wakes up around 6:30 (I wish she would sleep a little bit later...) and goes down for her morning nap from 8:30-10am.  Then she goes down in the afternoon around 12:30 or 1 until 2 or 2:30.  And then more often than not she will take another short nap in the evening around 5 or 5:30 and then goes down for bed at 7:30.

Phoebe and Grandpa

Play & Personality- Phoebe is a very happy baby (now that she is napping well again).  She's pretty laid back and easily entertained.  She likes her Johnny Jump (thanks Jamie!) and jumperoo.  She has a couple toys that light up and play music when you hit buttons that she is starting to like more.  Her favorites are still her caterpillar, sock monkey, and keys.  She has also had a lot of fun with random house hold items that were never intended to be baby toys, but seem to be highly entertaining nonetheless.

I want the big one...

Almost...

Got it!