So much has happened in the last few weeks ... I couldn't possibly write about it all or post all of the pictures (Chase's naps just aren't long enough!) so I'll make this short and sweet. This is what I'll remember from Christmas this year:
- Taking Chase to the "Wild Wonderland" at the zoo... Riding the carousel (he chose a zebra)... Feeding the goats (they were pretty much the only animals out except for the penguins and reindeer)... Riding the Skyfari ride and being terrified that Chase would jump out!
- Listening to as much Christmas music in the car as Dennis would tolerate... I think we drove him a little crazy! Picture the opening scene of Christmas Vacation.
- Going to the "Bedtime Stories with Santa" event in our neighborhood... All of the adults listening to the bedtime story as our kids ran around like hooligans... Chase being excited to see Santa from far away but then totally freaking out when we got close for a picture... Eating yummy cookies and milk while Chase pretended to put a together a craft.
- Spending 2 weeks putting up Christmas decorations... We just kept buying more and more lights and other stuff!
- Feeling guilty as my mom cooked pretty much every meal while she was here, but secretly enjoying it because she cooks so much better than I do!... Spilling Amanda's entire glass of Coke in the back of my dad's new car on Christmas Eve... Driving around looking at lights... Playing my parents' new Wii (or mostly watching actually)... Trying to figure out which Christmas traditions were really ours now and struggling with the transition from being a kid to being a parent (Am I the only one who still feels way too young for this?!)... Shopping on the day after Christmas with my mom and ending up at the wrong mall without even knowing it (we realized this after being there for an hour!)... Wondering if my sister was going to be able to fly home since she didn't have an ID with her (not a problem, in case this is ever an issue for you!)
- Seeing Chase's face on Christmas morning as he played with his new train set and pulled his very own suitcase around the house! He would not leave his "choo choo's" for hours and now he takes them everywhere.
- Finding out that Eric didn't have to travel for a week starting on Christmas Day like we thought! This was the best gift.
- Going to bed at 10:30pm on Christmas Eve so we could wake up super early and drive to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl... Cheering on the Tigers and being SO nervous as I wondered if they'd end up losing their lead... Being sad when they did... Watching Dennis' face as he tried his first boiled peanut at the game (not exactly his new favorite American food!)... Eating dinner with my family last night and being glad that I got to see them again so soon after Christmas! And grateful that my mom came too to watch Chase for us.
Chase, testing the lights:
The first day of tree decorating: all of the boys just happened to wear yellow!
At the zoo:
Christmas morning:
As much as we enjoyed Christmas this year, there was a little shadow hanging over our house the whole week. On Christmas Eve, Elvis (our weimaraner) bit our neighbor's 3 year old son, Cooper. Elvis has always been a little wary around small kids and he's definitely protective of us, Chase, and Berkeley. We've never had a problem with him around Chase, but there have been 2 other occasions where he nipped at kids... mostly grabbing their clothing. He's not overly aggressive around them, just mostly nervous. We hired a trainer to help us work with him a while back and she recommended just more exposure to kids so that he would get used to them and know that they weren't a threat. Well, for some reason or another, he decided to grab at Cooper last week as Eric was walking by with him on the leash. He got his arm, but fortunately Cooper is okay and didn't have to go to the doctor or anything. It was definitely the last straw though. Our hearts were broken as we realized that we needed to find a new home for him. I know that Eric and I didn't sleep much for a few nights because we were so sad and stressed out about what to do. I started calling the local weimaraner rescue group immediately but didn't hear back from them for a few days, and that time in between was so tough because we thought we might have to take him to the animal services shelter and we were worried he'd be put down. Finally the rescue group contacted me and told me that they'd take him and find a new home... one without kids around. It just happened to be on the way to Jacksonville yesterday so we took him with us. We were so sad, but grateful that we found somewhere for him to go and hopeful that someone else would love him as much as we have. Today the house is eerily quiet, since Berkeley is now our only dog and he just sleeps all day. Every time I hear a truck outside, I expect to hear Elvis bark. Chase is a little confused too. He has started calling Berkeley "BB", but he always just said "puppy" with Elvis. And all day today he's been saying, "puppy?" with his hands up, like "where is he?" We'll definitely miss our little grey friend. :(
The first day of tree decorating: all of the boys just happened to wear yellow!
At the zoo:
Christmas morning:
As much as we enjoyed Christmas this year, there was a little shadow hanging over our house the whole week. On Christmas Eve, Elvis (our weimaraner) bit our neighbor's 3 year old son, Cooper. Elvis has always been a little wary around small kids and he's definitely protective of us, Chase, and Berkeley. We've never had a problem with him around Chase, but there have been 2 other occasions where he nipped at kids... mostly grabbing their clothing. He's not overly aggressive around them, just mostly nervous. We hired a trainer to help us work with him a while back and she recommended just more exposure to kids so that he would get used to them and know that they weren't a threat. Well, for some reason or another, he decided to grab at Cooper last week as Eric was walking by with him on the leash. He got his arm, but fortunately Cooper is okay and didn't have to go to the doctor or anything. It was definitely the last straw though. Our hearts were broken as we realized that we needed to find a new home for him. I know that Eric and I didn't sleep much for a few nights because we were so sad and stressed out about what to do. I started calling the local weimaraner rescue group immediately but didn't hear back from them for a few days, and that time in between was so tough because we thought we might have to take him to the animal services shelter and we were worried he'd be put down. Finally the rescue group contacted me and told me that they'd take him and find a new home... one without kids around. It just happened to be on the way to Jacksonville yesterday so we took him with us. We were so sad, but grateful that we found somewhere for him to go and hopeful that someone else would love him as much as we have. Today the house is eerily quiet, since Berkeley is now our only dog and he just sleeps all day. Every time I hear a truck outside, I expect to hear Elvis bark. Chase is a little confused too. He has started calling Berkeley "BB", but he always just said "puppy" with Elvis. And all day today he's been saying, "puppy?" with his hands up, like "where is he?" We'll definitely miss our little grey friend. :(
2 comments:
sounds like you guys had a great Christmas but I am so sorry you had to give up your sweet "BB" Glad the rescue center was able to take him instead of an animal shelter. We were so nervous we were going to have to do that with Mowgli and are so grateful to Chris' sister for temporarily taking him and then finding a new home.
Hope you guys transition well without him.
happy New year.
shannon-
reading your blog makes me miss you so much! i love the way you express yourself and it is amazing how much you say that I feel, too! Like about being a parent and a child. My mom does my laundry when she comes here and has even cleaned a bathroom! I always feel awful, but so grateful. And we are still trying to figure out the christmas tradition thing...I feel like christopher and I are still trying to reconcile that between our families, let alone what we want to do with Elias!
And Elias got trains for christmas, too. He is consumed. My sis in law says he is "passionate" about Thomas. We have had to come up with all sorts of games to get him to leave his trains to come eat! It is quite serious.
Hope we catch up soon...somewhere other than the internet!
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