A Sad Farewell

I still remember the day that we got Kingston like it was yesterday.  Jacob wanted a boy and the biggest boy of the litter.  As we looked at all the puppies Jacob pointed to the biggest and said that one...HE is the one...only he was a she.  She was beautiful and quickly became very fond of Jacob.

Then one year later we thought that Kingston needed a friend.  We found Boudreaux at Petsmart.  He was such loving dog and HYPER.  He loved to run and run and RUN.  He killed five squirrels that we know of.  He always had to be right in your lap with his paw on your chest/face.

When we got Kingston and Boudreaux we planned on a lifetime commitment.  We never thought the day would come that they would have a new home.  We truly LOVED them both.  I sit here sobbing as I type this  trying to find comfort in knowing that we did what was best for our family and both of them.

Over the past few months some things happened and as of last Wednesday Jacob and I made the decision to find Kingston and Boudreaux a new home.  We didn't tell ANYONE...we didn't want anyone to talk us out of it or feel obligated to take them.  We knew that this was not going to be an easy task and realized that separating them was inevitable.

So we prayed and prayed that everything would work out.  Yesterday Jacob came home from work and said that he had found a HOME for BOTH dogs TOGETHER!!!!  I couldn't believe it!!  How could that be??  He said that he was asking everyone he saw.  Jacobs grandfathers friend said that his friend had acres and acres AND ACRES of land and that he was looking for a dog.  So they called him and he agreed to take them both!!!!!!!!!

So today at lunch I went and got them two new tags with just their names on them.  I thought they should have them.  Jacob got off work early to take them to their new home in Mansfield.  I picked Ollie up and got home to a quiet house.  I stood at the sliding glass doors holding Ollie and crying like goofball.  I couldn't believe that their faces weren't pressed against the glass.

When Jacob got home he said that it was a beautiful place they had with a couple of ponds, a barn and endless acres.  He said that they are allowed inside and that they have a large screened in porch with dog beds.  They also have an older golden retriever.  The mans wife is always home too and Jacob said she really liked Boudreaux.  Boudreaux was already making "friends" with the ducks in one of the ponds.  He said that they seemed very happy running and running and that by the time Jacob left they were worn out and had collapsed on the porch.  I guess it doesn't get much better than that.

We could not have gotten any luckier with the outcome.  We truly meant for Kingston and Boudreaux to be lifetime commitments!  We have so much sadness in our hearts right now but we hope that with time it will get better.  We can only hope and pray that everyone will understand and accept our decision.  We will always love them and remember the love they showed us...

In our hearts forever!!

Happy Almost Valentines Day

Yesterday I went to buy Oliver some Valentines goodies and of course I just couldn't wait till Monday!  So here is Oliver's first Valentines Day 3 days early...

 He got the I love You This Much book and a Praise Baby DVD!! 

My heart is full of LOVE for this sweet face!

Happy Valentines Day!  Hope everyone has someone special to share it with!!

PS:  Ollie is saying Dadda!

Ollie Lately

For Super Bowl Sunday we headed to Gam and Pops to eat and watch the game.  Tutu and Uncle Doug were also there.  Although Ollie was not up for much of the time everyone enjoyed seeing him and he did manage to do a little gambling...

WOW...I can't believe how fast Oliver is growing.  He now has two teeth coming in on the bottom (still can't manage to get a good pic)!!

INSERT BAD PIC HERE...THEY ARE THERE I PROMISE! HA

 He can no longer fit into 3 month clothes due to his length but can still wear some 3-6 month PJ's and he is wearing most 6-9 month clothes.  He can were some 6-12 month clothes but most are still loose on him.  He seems to be getting more and more REDish hair everyday!! Ha 

His personality is SHINING!!  He still loves to fake cough and laugh at us all the time.  If you say NO to him he just responds by fake coughing or laughing.  He rarely gets told NO, but he still loves to hit/grab people in the face.  We are working on it but Oliver doesn't seem to think it a problem!  He  is now clapping and it so cute.  He looks like such a big boy and he seems pretty proud of himself.  We are still working on waving bye bye.  He has done it a couple of times but still doesn't quite understand it.  It is like he has discovered his hands all over again.  I will sometimes catch him trying to wave while he is playing with his toys. 

He is becoming interested in the TV.  We usually have it on Sprout (the preschool channel) and he has become very fond of Chica. 

I think it is Chica's high pitched voice that catches his attention.  He really likes when they sing The Birthday Song.  He still enjoys The Wiggles when they are singing and dancing.  Ollie is also kind of partial to Star on The Goodnight Show and again I think it has to do with Star's voice.  On Saturday and Sunday mornings we will sometimes turn to LPB with Curious George, Cat in the Hat and Super Why.  Of course he doesn't watch much of TV at all; we just usually try to have something on the TV that we would want him to watch. 

For so long we struggled to get Oliver to spend time on his belly and roll from his back to his belly.  He NEVER EVER wanted to do it and then last weekend I woke up during the middle of the night as I often do to check his monitor and there he was ON HIS BELLY!!!  I woke Jacob up so he could see and he asked if we should go in there and check on him.  We didn't check on him although it kind of freaked us out but in a good way.  So now almost every night since then he has rolled almost immediately to his belly to sleep.  This caused a problem with his diaper because he was filling them up and being on his belly made it soak through his PJs and sheets.  After researching online most people suggested going up a size in diapers for nighttime and so far that has seemed to do the trick.  Oliver also has no problem flipping onto his belly during the day also!! It is crazy how literally overnight so much can change!!

He still isn't crawling yet but he is trying to pull up on things.  He can't quite figure out the leg part but I think he is realizing that he is going to have to move himself to get things (or cats) that are not always in his reach.  He has started to try and roll around to get to where he wants to be.  Of course he still loves to stand and walk (with someone holding both hands of course). So it is still a mystery as to if he will crawl or walk first.

We finally believe that we have found a formula without Soy that doesn't make Ollie break out.  He has been on Elecare now for a week and his face is clear!  So we are hopeful that this continues.  He is doing really well at holding his own bottle so we bought a sippy cup just to see what he would do with it...

 NOTHING PHASES HIM!!

I know this is something that we should be thankful for and we are, but it still amazes how well he transitions from one thing to another.

We are so very blessed to have such an wonderful and happy little boy in our lives!!

We LOVE you Ollie!

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