Out of the Mouths of Parents

File this one under: Things I never thought I'd say prior to having children.

"Wilder! STOP licking the galaxies!"
--and--
"Dinosaurs don't drink coffee honey."

WilderSpeak

For a great round-up of Wilder's general lexicon, as seen by Jerry, click here and here. It's hilarious.

Pictures

Just a few pics, because I haven't put many up lately. We're all doing great. Jer's got a horrible sinus infection (doc said it was one of the worst she'd ever seen), but is on antibiotics and will be on the mend soon. Wilder's still recovering from his own sniffles/cough. And I, per usual, seem to have developed a bionic womanesque resistance to germs in my old age. I will now prompty contract strep throat, no doubt.

Ulf has gone back to ARF. He has adjusted well, director Martha Hover tells me, and they are taking him to Chicago next month to be adopted out there. Apparently the Dallas market is saturated with rescue dogs. She assures me we've done exactly the right thing and that Ulf will be much happier in a home made more for him (READ: child-free). I'm beginning to believe her.

Betty is spending more time inside and she and Wilder get along famously when he's not terrorizing her. She even kisses him on command now. "Kiss baby!" LICK! SLURP! It's pretty cool.

We got a new couch and I love it more than one should love a material possession. For those of you who don't know, our late epileptic cat made couches extinct in our house due to peeing during seizures. This is the first couch in years that is urine-odor free. It's is a lovely thing. I've already fallen asleep on it twice.

No more news for now. We miss everyone!
k.

Dinner photo No. 1. Boy likes hummus.


Dinner photo No. 2. And garlic spinach linguine. (Note how those curls have taken on a life of their own.)


Wilder gets his "ANGRY" on.


This is Wilder's way of saying "I would rather not go nite-nite right now parents." It is usually accompanied by blood-curdling screams once he realizes he's thrown every lovie in his crib on the floor.

This just stinks

Well, it looks like we're losing another pet. This time not due to cancer or some other horrible disease. Actually, health problems might make this easier. I've never bonded with Ulf quite like I did with Sam or Tennessee, but that isn't making this decision any easier.

Ulf doesn't like kids. He growls, bares his teeth and snaps at Wilder. He's a dog; a pack animal. I can hardly blame him for his actions now, but I know that given serious damage I could never forgive him and would never forgive myself. Three weeks after we got him, he bit me. It wasn't much of a bite, but it was enough to make me know in my heart of hearts that he'd go for Wilder at some point if I was the least bit lax in supervision. He might even do it right in front of me.

I know this is right. I know it. But I friggin' hate it. I don't give up on dogs; never have. I adopt the dogs (and cats) everyone gives up on. I don't know how to handle this.

...

So it looks like this weekend Ulf is going back to live on the land we got him from. A woman named Martha Hover operates a no-kill shelter called ARF (Animal Refuge Foundation) near Sherman, Texas. She has 300 dogs on 25 acres and is a saint of a woman, as far as I'm concerned. If you ever have a few dollars and want to give it to someone who is doing incredible things for God's creatures, consider Martha. Her place really is something to behold. She drives around a little cart and the dogs follow her everywhere she goes. I hope Ulf can fit in and be happy here and won't cause problems. Jerry and I are still hoping she can adopt him out to a nice childless person, and hopefully I'll be able to keep track of him. When we left with Ulf three-plus years ago, she told me to call if he didn't work out. I'm not sure I could do this if she hadn't made that offer. Truly, ARF and Martha are rarities in this world.

Anyway, I just needed to let this out. I'm damn broken up about this. Two years ago I would never have imagined I'd lose Sam, Tennessee and Ulf in less than one year. That's a lotta love to let go of in such a short amount of time.

So say a little prayer for Ulf and his journey from here on out.

There's fire in his eyes & his words are(n't) really clear ...

Yes, I have Michael Jackson's "Beat It" on my iPod. My friends can now unite in mocking and laughing mercilessly at me, but this video of Wilder jamming to MJ was just too fun not to post for the sake of my musical integrity.

Tennessee video

A couple of videos shot in TN. The first is of Wilder playing with his new bubble machine, which is about the best toy ever for toddlers. The second is of Wilder in the tub -- he enjoys his baths so much now that if you ask him if he's ready to get out, he lies down. You'll also hear his sheep impression in this one, quite randomly.

Tennessee Roundup

We're back from our week in Tennessee. We had a fantastic time, spent mostly relaxing, eating, swimming and sunning. Wilder had so much fun hanging out with all his extended TN family. He even learned to say "grandma" in less than 24 hours, and of course followed his grandad around like a puppy. He gave out kisses freely and behaved better than I could have imagined. He also got really used to being in water, and even tried doing a little swimming in the lake on our last day, Friday. And he got his first pretty major boo-boo, tripping and falling on a paver at Grandma's house (Teri and I would like to note we were not present and therefore can't be held accountable) and ending up with a nice shiner, cut and bruise.

Hoping to post some video later, but for now, here are some photos (if you click on the little dialog box in the lower lefthand corner, you'll get captions):