Our Biggest Worry Before the Baby Arrived

When a new baby arrives I think that I can speak for most of us with pets when I say... it's nerve racking to know just how the animals will take to the new being in their home. I remember how stressed we were with our two cats. We researched and contemplated how we would keep her room "cat free". We thought of putting a screen door in replace of her wooden door to the nursery which would still allow air flow. Then we realized the cats would probably tear the screen apart. With our dog, Peanut who is our baby, that made us nervous. Would he be jealous of her? Would his awesome personality change in which he wouldn't be our baby anymore? Would he hate us? 

5 months after Autumn Lily was born and we find ourselves laughing at all of those worries. Peanut was extremely protective of Autumn in the beginning. He wouldn't let the cats go near her never mind even get to smell her. Now they're all friends, with the exception of Nevan (our first cat). He has no interest in anyone or anything but food. Now that Autumn can sit and reach she likes to grab Peanut and the cats. Peanut keeps his distance these days but still watches over her. 

Here is a little taste of the silliness between Autumn and her babies. I believe she's trying to tell Peanut how stressful teething is. 

81 Days Until We Meet You

This puppy.. okay so he will be 5, but to me all dogs are still puppies no matter what age they are. There's this beautiful youth they each have hidden away that they show at random moments. Peanut can be a Grumpy Old Man at times and just lounge not wanting to be bothered, which is very rarely I should add. Mainly, his #1 job in life is to love everyone and to make them feel loved. 

The moment we walk in the backdoor he greets us by jumping off the couch, while we hear his little paws pitter pattering and then he attempts to leap a whole 3 inches off the floor. It's his routine and then we pick him up. If Charlie and I walked in together whoever is not holding him walks close to the other so Peanut can switch off giving each of us an enormous amount of kisses all of our face and noses. 

What I enjoy is being home before Charlie and watching Peanut go from being in a dead sleep, to his ears perk up when the truck enters the driveway. He paces on the couch until he knows that Charlie has stepped onto the back deck and then there he goes full speed to the back door. Peanut seems to time is perfectly to be right there as Charlie opens the door. It amazes me and fills my heart to see how excited this pup is to his dad and best friend. 

We talk about Peanut everyday when Autumn arrives. We tell him everyday that he's still our baby too and we want him to show Autumn love just as he does us. We pray Autumn will feel the same way about Peanut as she gets older and they will have some great memories together.

#81: Watching the friendship that you and Peanut will have together. 

83 Days Until We Meet You

I must have watched this video 50 times or more. It was our "Baby Announcement" video when we were around 10 weeks. I was so excited to share the news with everyone, but we of course wanted to be sure that all was well with our little one. At the time of the video we did not know the gender, we just called our little one, "Baby". This little baby was and is our Miracle. I'm glad we will forever have this video to share with Autumn someday. 

#83: We will take videos of all your milestones in life. The first giggle, when you have hiccups, first step, first words... We want to share all of these moments with you someday. 

88 Days Until We Meet You

There are so many things I do that help me relax in my day to day life and I pride myself on that. Though things stress me out just as much as they do for others, I can always take a deep breath, take a step back and evaluate the situation I'm in. Sometimes, if I don't want to think about the stress I'll give myself a little time out. I'll do something that occupies my mind just for a short while then return to the situation and figure out how to work through it. 

- A change of scenery makes a difference. Even if I can't leave my home, just walking into another room can bring my stress down. I may look around at the decor and think back to where I purchased something from. I may begin to get crazy ideas of moving furniture around (at a later time). 

- Stepping outside to smell the roses. I know that's such a cliche, but it's very true. If there are flowers, walk outside and smell them. Look at the details in the flowers.. they're artwork and pretty inspiring. You may even see little creatures crawling around getting their snack in.

- Going outside and laying in the grass. Anytime of the year this works, really. Even if there's snow on the ground, or if it's raining. It sounds nuts but being that close with nature is incredible.

- Going to the store and purchasing a coloring book and pack of crayons. Long ago I discovered this. Not just from spending my entire youth in Art classes, but coloring in a silly book, staying in the lines is truly therapeutic. Next time you go to the store pick out a coloring book and grab a pack of crayons.

- Shut off the phone. Sometimes our stress can be a direct impact from the phone. It's okay to turn it off for a while and tuck it in a drawer, your purse or in a room that's not in your direct view.

- Taking goofy photos of yourself. That's always been a go to of mine. I must have hundreds thousands of photos that I'll never share because I look absolutely ridiculous but they make me laugh. Set up a timer, put makeup on, or decorate your face and hair. Let your face relax and think of every emotion or gesture there is. Just be yourself and you don't have to worry about what anyone else thinks. 

- A go to hobby always relaxes me. I am always finding new hobbies that don't last very long but perhaps that's a good thing. It keeps my mind busy and challenging. 

- Since I'll be a FTM "First Time Mom", going in Autumn's Nursery and laying on her white squishy rug on the floor has been so peaceful for me. I can lay there for hours just thinking about the day she's sleeping in there. 

I know not all of those stress relievers I do now will be the same when Autumn arrives. The bottom line is no matter how bad things are we are still breathing and it's okay to take a step back, take that deep breath to make you realize... you're still alive and give yourself a time out by doing something that occupies your mind and body.

#88: We are going to sit in the grass and make dandelion necklaces & crowns while taking silly photos together. 

90 Days Until We Meet You

There is a genuine, calming feeling when you're home. My favorite part of our home has always been the deck. I appreciate it's presence no matter what season we're in. Especially, our very worn down swing that I've spent countless mornings, afternoons and evenings laying on with Peanut. Evenings that Charlie and I had just sat there in silence or discussing our day. 

As a child my Papa had put together a swing on our front porch that we shared with my grandparents. I remember sitting on that swing beside my Papa while he read the newspaper, or smoking a cigarette talking to someone across the porch. It was comforting to be beside my grandfather and listen to his voice. Even during the last year we had with him we would sit on that porch together. I was home. 

I look forward to the day little Autumn can sit beside us or even climb up on her own on the swing, or future more updated swing. I hope she finds peace in those moments I had whether I was sitting with someone, Peanut, reading or writing my poetry. 

You look at the rusted object on our deck and see a swing. I see my past, where I am now and the many memories we will create as a family. Where ever that swing is, we will be home.

#90: All of the many adventures we'll have. One being bringing your big brother Peanut to the park. 

Our Pets: Nevan, Minnie & Peanut.

I put together a fun, family video of all our babies minus Larry, the Frog. Enjoy ♥

A Happy Peanut!

We have a good sized yard and unfortunately there's some unfriendly creatures that roam in the woods behind our home. When it comes to Peanut behind outside he needs to be tied up since we do not have a fenced in yard. To do that to our entire yard would be pricey and not on our 'to do list' at the moment. We did however want to put something together for Peanut so he can run around without being on a leash. Yesterday, we went and bought a mini white fence.. I know every gal's dream! Then some stakes and other materials necessary to put a Peanut Yard together. Well here you have it and let me say.. I've never seen Peanut so happy! ♥ Cheers to opening up a new world for our little man!

Fuzzy Eskimo Kisses

This week marks a year when a horrible event happened. I had just returned from visiting two of my besties in North Carolina, when we found our cat Nevan sick in the bathroom. That week was an emotional roller coaster as we almost lost him. You can read the whole store here. He's our 'first born', our baby boy. I'm so thankful for his fuzzy eskimo kisses and of course keeping me warm at night. Here's to the little orange man that changed our lives 5 years ago. Now he spends his days running away from Peanut ♥

Animal House!

I wasn't sure what to title this post, I needed something clever but Animal House is all that came to me. The movie of course is what came to mind. Let me reference the quote "When parents are away the kids will play". That's exactly what happened at our home yesterday while we were both working. Enjoy the story :)

We keep in a high cabinet a black little tray filled with: Sugar packets for coffee, Apple cider packets, some medicine bottles, Cupcake sprinkles and of course.. a bag of Catnip. Our eldest cat Nevan is the only one besides Charlie and I that knows how to open cabinets. Yes, he's smarter than he looks. This is what I walked home to.

 

  I guess the kitchen floor wasn't fun partying grounds. So they brought the festivities over to the couch.

Notice all of the Catnip dispersed and sprinkles. The cute little puppy you see all the time cracked open the sugar!

 

Suspect #1

Suspect #2?

Suspect #3?

Rolling around in the Catnip. What a life!

 If only this was all on video. I bet it would have been hilarious and perhaps won on Funniest Home Videos? :)

Thanks from Peanut!

Happy Saturday to all you ever so lovely friends ♥

First off, I as well Peanut were both so taken back by all of the Birthday loving. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave the sweet comments. It truly means a lot. He had a fabulous 1st Birthday. He had his buddy, Brewsky who is an English Bulldog come over and play. Peanut was a little possessive of his new presents but they worked it out. Peanut got cookies & toys from his aunts and uncles who came to join in on the celebration. When the puppies got pooped out the rest of us just indulged in wine and went snow tubing in my backyard. It was such a great night! ♥

Peanut giving kisses to his Dad before he left for work.  (notice how they have matching shirts, haha)

 Peanut having no idea that people are coming over to see him ;)

 Peanut and his buddy, Brewsky!

 Opening gifts

THANK YOU ♥

Love, Peanut & Katie

Everyone loves a Peanut ♥

Oh how time just flies on bye just like seasons keep changing on us right when we're feeling comfortable. I remember so much from my childhood and my memory is something I'm very proud of. There's a specific memory I wanted to touch base on since it's a special occasion tomorrow.

When I was young, hitting the double digits I had begged my parents for a puppy. I fell in love with the cute teddy bear faced Yorkshire Terriers. The name was already in my mind. I wanted a male and his name would be Peanut. My parents had good judgement though. Looking back now I would never had been able to take care of a dog with my crazy schedule back then.

I did however draw pictures of my room, floor plans where Peanut would sleep. I even would take out Yorkie books from the library to find out their size and see if my room would be big enough for him to live. It all seemed perfect. I wrote love letters to my parents with things I would give up in life just to have him (Yeah right!) I gave them the guilt trip each time they turned me down. I was so fresh ♥

Since Charlie and I have been together he knew my dream and we wanted to wait until we had a house. We moved into our home Halloween of 2009. Tuesday, April 13th of last year I talked Charlie into running to a local Pet Store that had puppies that you could take out. I just wanted to hold one, any puppy. No intention at all of getting one nor had I ever seen Yorkies there. To my surprise, immediately as we walked back I saw this face peeking through the glass back at me...

It was Love at First Sight

We left the store with no puppy, even though I did get to hold him. I was so sad. I felt depressed for the next two days. I was at work and it just hit me. That IS Peanut.. so I called Charlie and told him my plan. After work I would go to the Pet Store. If he's there.. it's meant to be.. if he's not.. then.. well .. he just better be there!

This was the first person Peanut got to meet. His grandpa (my dad)

We had no idea what we were in store for.. a loving and a licking maniac!

He brings so much happiness in our lives. The cutest thing you want to see when you walk into the house. He's whimpering wagging his nub tail and tongue fully out ready to give kisses. He's our baby boy and he's turning 1 yr tomorrow! ♥

Happy Birthday Peanut. We Love you so much!

 ♥ ♥ ♥