The cubs are 18 months old today!

It is hard to believe that the cubs are 18 months old today. Unfortunately that also means 18 month check-up and immunizations. What a way to celebrate.

Here are the stats:
Emily now weighs a whopping 25 lbs 13 oz. She is one heavy cub. She also tops the height chart at 34".

Zach now weighs 20 lbs 12 oz and is 32 3/4" tall.

Discipline is becoming a fun topic. Zach had his first taste of time out. He threw a bit of a fit until his big sister came over and sat with him. Thanks Emily. Is it really punishment when you have someone to hang out with? I guess she is already a bit overprotective. It's so hard to be serious when you're laughing on the inside. They are so stinking cute sometimes!

Scalped

Today has been a busy day. Steve finally had a Saturday off, and with that came a long list of things for him to do. He accomplished several things on his "to do" list, including mowing/edging, trimming the bushes, and giving Zach his very first fur trim. Below are pictures of the scalping. I think his new fur trim makes him look older and more grown up. I miss his little curls though.





If you think Daddy did a number on Zach's fur, you should see what he did to the bushes in the front yard. YIKES!! I barely recognize our house now.

Heads up!

Just giving everyone the "heads up" that Daddy is going to perform Zach's very first fur trim (hair cut) this weekend. Boo...hiss!!! Mommy loves little man's mop of blond curls but Dad says they have to go.

Look at these precious curls!!




Don't worry, Mom will be sure to post more pics after the scalping takes place.

Chasing Down the Sky

Grandma Shirley posted this as a comment on my blog about Eva and Nebbie. It was so perfectly fitting that I wanted to post it so everyone can read it.

Chasing Down The Sky

You were a member of my family and my very closest friend.
You loved me like few people can, exactly as I am.
You'd listen to me and comfort me when I was feeling down.
You'd play with me and sleep with me and follow me around.
No matter how my day went or how long you were left alone,
You always waited faithfully to welcome me back home.
If years could bring you back to me, you'd be right here today
But you are where you need to be and that is where you'll stay.
Because even though you are gone, it's really not goodbye
You simply ran ahead of me like chasing down the sky.
And when my own time comes and my own journey ends
I know that you will be there to welcome me home again.

Saturday -- What a busy day!

Today has been packed full of stuff!
I woke up bright and early and drove to Matt and Beth Ann's before the sun came up. They were participating in their community garage sale and I volunteered to help set up. It was the least I could do after everything they have done for us. Beth Ann and I hit some of the sales and I scored a few things for the cubs. Thanks to Beth Ann's negotiating skills I even bought a pack-and-play for an amount I was willing to spend, which was the one thing I was looking for.

I then rushed home so we could all go to the JSF Fall Festival. We had a good time. The cubs ran around and were exhausted by lunch time. I really enjoyed meeting some of the people that Steve works with. It's really nice to finally be able to put faces with all of the names.




After the festival, we had an appointment with the "sound guy" to discuss the phone, television, speaker drops and surround sound locations. Whew. The cubs were pretty impatient while we were doing this. I guess they were pretty tired of sitting in their stroller, and they weren't shy in telling us about it.

We then took the cubs to the park. They needed to burn off some more energy after spending much of the day in strollers and car seats. Zach LOVED the slide. Emily, well, not so much. We still got some cute pictures though.

Runny noses, nagging coughs and pretty flowers!

Most of this week has been all about runny noses and nagging coughs. I can't wait for this to end. Both cubs are sick but we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Appetites are returning and energy levels are rising. All except for mine...I'm wiped out!

Wednesday was GNO (girls' night out) with the girls from THC. It was nice to get out of the house. My LCMOMs group was having happy hour at Uncle Julios the night before but I wasn't really feeling social enough to go, so Wednesday's night out was a welcomed event after moping around all day. When I returned home there was a pretty bouquet of flowers waiting for me from Emily and Zach (courtesy of Grandma Shirley and Grandpa John). What a nice way to end my day, and they are my favorite color too!

Our girls are together again

Best buddies!

Last night I had to put my beloved dog of almost 10 years to sleep. It is really one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. She was a very special dog. She loved me unconditionally and I will always remember her way of "giving me love" by putting her head on my chest. She has been having trouble getting around and this week she stopped eating, was having trouble breathing, and could barely walk. I know it was the best thing for her but my heart still hurts that I had to let her go. I think she was ready to join her best buddy Nebraska. We had to let Nebbie go earlier this year. She was Steve's dog, so it has really been a tough year on both of us. I am convinced that Eva and Nebbie are romping around together in the lush green grass of doggy heaven.

Eva after playing in the snow ~ (?? 12/24/98 - 10/14/08) We don't know Eva's true birth date, but I rescued her from a busy road on Christmas Eve.

Nebraska ~ (07/02/99 - 04/23/08)

We want to thank all of our family and friends for their support and kind words. We appreciate that they realize that our girls were special to us and members of our family, and not "just a dog".

*** Just a Dog ***

From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a dog," or, "that's a lot of money for just a dog."

They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a dog."

Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog."

Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog," but I did not once feel slighted.

Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog," and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it's "just a dog," then you will probably understand phrases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just a promise."

"Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy.

"Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.

Because of "just a dog", I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future.

So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a dog" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

"Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a dog", but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a man or woman."

So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog" just smile...
because they "just don't understand."

by Richard Biby
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Contributing Editor VHD
From "The Versatile Hunting Dog"
NAVHDA's Magazine
February 2006

Playing at the Pumpkin Patch!

They were obviously so busy playing at the pumpkin patch that they could not ONCE look at the camera. Mom and Dad took 99 photos (no exaggeration) and they weren't looking at the camera in a single one of them. Here are some of our favorites:

Two weeks behind....how did that happen?

So I guess the last time I blogged about the going-ons of Cub Central was two weeks ago. Shame on me for not keeping up!

I had a girls night out on Monday, Sept. 29. These nights just don't come around often enough.

Steve participated in a charity golf tournament on Saturday, Oct. 4. I'm really glad that he was able to do something for himself, but it sure made for a really long day. He worked that morning and teed off that afternoon, so he was gone ALL day.

We had our pre-construction meeting on October 6th. I can't believe we are really going through with this. Very exciting, yet very scary at the same time. So we've reviewed the floor plans, put in our change orders, put down more $$ (UGH), and now we're waiting on permitting. In the meantime we've reserved an apartment. I'm not looking forward to apartment living again, but it's an easier pill to swallow knowing that it is temporary. The apartment will be ready on November 22, so I have a lot to do before that. Then we'll put the house on the market and pray that it sells quickly.

I have volunteered to take over the Librarian position on the LCMOM board. Should be interesting juggling that responsibility with everything else we have going on. It's always a circus here at Cub Central.

This past Sunday we took the Cubs to the pumpkin patch. I think they had a lot of fun running around and burning off all that energy. We tried to take some pictures of the cubs together (I'll post later) but that didn't happen very often. Emily would run off in one direction and Zach would take off in the other. So it pretty much consisted of Steve chasing after Emily and me trying to keep an eye on Zach. All while trying to snap some photos. I think we got a few decent ones, but by the time it was over I was exhausted. Our Emily is going to be a power lifter when she grows up. She actually managed to briefly pull Zach around in a wagon. We were impressed. Photos of that to come later as well.

Of course now Zach is suffering from the runny nose/sniffles. Little man must have some allergy issues. UGH....so I'm still chasing Zach, only this time it's with a handful of kleenex. It's a tough job being the circus ringleader.

A day in the park....in pictures!

Yesterday we took the cubs to one of the downtown parks. It was a beautiful day so we thought we would share some of the pictures! Enjoy!