From Rama

He’s not so “new” any longer, we’ve had him for 2 months now, but that explains one of the reasons why I haven’t had much time to update this blog. We’ve had a new baby in the house. That and a lot of colds this winter, but I’ll talk about that another time.

Brad and I had been discussing getting a puppy for several years now. We both grew up with Shelties (Shetland Sheepdogs) and I had one as an adult that passed away a few years before the boys were born. We currently have three cats and knew that bringing in a dog would contribute more annoyance to their lives. I mean, first Brad and I moved in together, forcing them to all get along, and then we had kids! Oh boy, our three queens suddenly had to share our laps, our hands, and our attention with these little humans. So we were going to wait a few years. But one night I had a dream. I don’t even remember the dream, I just remember waking up absolutely, positively sure that we had to have a dog now instead of later.

So one Saturday in January I randomly happen to be looking at www.petfinder.com (a wonderful service to search for dogs up for adoption in your area) and found a litter of puppies at our local Humane Society. Now they were advertised as collie mix pups, and I really wanted a Collie, so we decided to go meet them. As we looked down into the play area, the litter was all snuggled together sleeping. One was on his back, his ears up, looking just like a little fox. When he opened his eyes we saw that one eye was blue and one eye was brown w/a small spot of blue at the bottom. The volunteers swooped in and put him into my arms. They told us how he and his litter mates were found roaming the streets feral and they’d actually taken him home for a few days to socialize him a bit because even though he was the runt, he was also the wildest. He snuggled and was very mellow. He yawned and made a cute noise with the yawn. Brad and I looked at each other and said “yes?”, “yes!”. We brought him home that day.

From Rama

From Rama

From Rama

Our little guy was very sick. He slept a lot, didn’t eat much, and had a horribly runny nose. Lucky for us the vet we had chosen had Sunday hours and we got him in within 24 hours of the adoption. At first the vet was worried that we’d adopted a dog with Parvo or was otherwise so sick he wouldn’t make it. She was really, really afraid he wouldn’t make it. He needed some serious TLC. The vet worked wonders over the course of the time that we were there, including lots of tests that said he did not have Parvo nor any other terrible virus or disease, and was mostly parasite free. He had a breathing treatment and they sent me home with meds and special food and lots of instructions for how to get him on the mend. And as each day passed, he got better and better. He started eating after the treatments at the vet, which gave him energy to play. He had been so skinny that you could see his ribs and his pelvic bones sticking out as he walked. Now he started to fill in and build muscle. Rama was about 3 months old and 5 lbs when we brought him home. Now he is 5 months old and 20 lbs. The vet expects him to grow to about 40 lbs.

Here are some photos of him from those first few days:

From Rama

From Rama

From Rama

He loves to cuddle and snuggle up with us and the boys. His energy built quickly and he showed how smart he is, instinctively knowing how to play fetch, housebreaking very quickly, learning to sit in one training session. He knows the rules of the house and tries to follow them, although being a puppy he often has to be reminded. He’s actually one of those dogs that is so smart, you have to watch yourself. He’s mischievous, but not in a bad way, in a cute and silly way.

Rama is not a Collie. When we saw the litter what I and the Human Society volunteers saw was Australian Shepherd, another breed that I’m fond of, if for no other reason then they are a herding breed which tend to be my favorites. We aren’t sure what the mix is, it’s probably not even just one other breed. His ears started out up, went down in a very Australian Shepherd fashion for a few weeks, and then perked back up again for the last few weeks.

Rama last month with down ears:

From Rama

From Rama

He has a beautiful red merle on his head, some of his brothers and sisters had it all over their bodies and it was even more obvious that they were Aussies. But it was the ‘collie’ that got us there to adopt him, so we are glad of it.

The boys were amazing in their show of love and compassion for this little creature. It made our hearts swell with pride and joy to see how the boys behaved with their new friend. Forest is interested in learning how to train him with me, while Logan is always on the floor rolling around with him like another puppy. They are always running over to give him hugs and kisses and tell him they love him. They play with him and care how he’s doing. They argue over who’s bed he’s going to sleep on each night and miss him when they stay over at Dusty’s house.

Recent photos:

From Rama

From Rama

From Rama

Having a dog in the house has been such a joy. Lots of giggle and laughs, lots of dogie kisses and cuddles. He’s smart, beautiful, and full of life. His presence has us all spending more time out doors, especially in our backyard. The boys will even go outside in the backyard at night now and we’ve been able to show them constellations and talk about the moon. Before they had been afraid of the dark. It’s subtle things that Rama has brought into our lives and our home, subtle and wonderful as his personality unfolds and we all learn to get along. In many ways it has been a little like having a new baby in the house, and yet nothing as intense as that (especially after having had two!). Both Brad and I have enjoyed getting to feed that part of us that likes babies, and the boys have been excellent big brothers.

Finally some photos from the past few days:

From Rama

From Rama

We planned some but also left some space open to just go with the flow during our travels to and from Tahoe. We packed food to try and save money along the way. The first day we drove from Austin, TX to Tuscon, AZ. We quickly learned that we needed to stop about every four hours to stretch our legs and let the boys run around a bit. We immediately fell in love with “rest areas” along the highways and learned to appreciate how well some states take care of them and how much fun you can have at one with imaginative four year olds.

From Big Trip

Despite it being dark when we arrived, Forest immediately recognized this beautiful orange tree in the parking lot of our hotel in Tucson. It was very striking and beautiful with the nearly full moon and sunrise the next morning.

From Big Trip

Our second day was much shorter, we drove from Tucson to the Grand Canyon and stayed the night in one of the facilities at the park. We saw beautiful snow in Flagstaff, but there was none at the Canyon itself.

From Big Trip

We enjoyed a short hike along the ridge that afternoon, saw the sunset and the sunrise across the canyon.

From Big Trip

From Big Trip

From Big Trip

From Big Trip

From Big Trip

From Big Trip

From Big Trip

From Big Trip

From Big Trip

This was Christmas Eve and Santa found us at the hotel and brought the boys some presents and filled their stockings, hung on the TV with great care, thanks to a hanger. It was REALLY cold that night and the next morning, which made things difficult for Forest and therefor all of us. Despite having gone so many months without any tactile defensiveness issues, the cold weather and cold winds brought it back and getting him into his coat, hat and gloves was a nightmare of unhappiness. It was one heck of a great reminder of why I am studying Buddhism as I found all my months and years of anticipation and expectation destroyed by the reality of having a wonderful child with a difficult problem.

On day three, Christmas day, we drove from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas, staying in my brother’s home, even though he was out of town. We took the boys downtown to the strip to let them stretch their legs. Forest is a huge M&M fan so we started our adventure there at the M&M store and then started walking down the strip to see what we could see.

From Big Trip

We made it for one of the Bellagio water shows which was delightful for us all. The boys were so excited to move and run, to see and watch, after three days in the car. While we were walking through the Caesar’s Palace courtyard the boys suddenly ran down a flight of stairs and jumped in front of a statue requesting to have their picture taken. This was funny not only because of the particular Venus statue that they chose but also because Logan is very particular about having his picture taken. Anyway, since they requested it, here it is!

From Big Trip

I still can’t believe how far we made it walking that night before exhaustion and hunger kicked in and we started to head home.

On the fourth day we drove across the Nevada desert to south Lake Tahoe.

From Big Trip

It had just snowed in Tahoe and was BEAUTIFUL. We spent five days playing in the snow: sledding, snow ball fights, snow angels, hot cocoa. All that makes snow fun. Forest got more and more used to all his winter gear and after a few days we were able to get him dressed to go outside without the tactile defensiveness induced tantrums. M&M bribes played a good part in this as well, I must admit. Our second day there it snowed between 12 and 18 inches, but being a resort destination, they kept those roads clear!

From Big Trip

Our condo in Tahoe had an incredible view.

From Big Trip

Logan LOVED the snow and would climb to the top of snow hills and just sit in them, like this.

From Big Trip

From Big Trip

From Big Trip

Before we got sleds, Forest realized he could slide down the hill in his snow pants. Click on the image below to watch the video.

From Big Trip

Snow angels were Forest’s very favorite thing to do in the snow, that’s pretty much all he did that first day he got to play in it. Click on the image below to watch the video.

From Big Trip

We had a big family snow ball fight that first day as well. Here is a video of Logan coming after me with a snow ball. At one point he tells me “don’t worry!” before belting me with a snow ball. Click on the image below to watch the video.

From Big Trip

In fact, throughout the trip one of my favorite things was “the view”. We had views of mountains, deserts, sunrises and sunsets. Trees, deer, stars, cactus, shrubs, cattle feed lots, a coal burning plant and windmills. In just a matter of days I saw so much of America and was reminded of how vast and beautiful it is, how diverse and magical. Of why some find one place beautiful, and others another place.

From Big Trip

From Big Trip

From Big Trip

The boys did amazing, we were daily proud of how well they handled being in the car all day. Best trick I can share about long car trips with four year olds? Pipe cleaners. They had a blast making things with pipe cleaners every day. I got the idea from a website somewhere and it was one of the best ways for them to entertain themselves without requiring technology.

We had such a great adventure and it really spurred in Brad and I a desire for more adventures.

Logan

Forest

Forest and Logan

After a birthday party surrounded by family, I am overcome with joyful emotion, tears gliding down my cheeks as I consider who Forest and Logan are as individuals and who we are as a family. So much gratitude for their incredibly good healthy, their kindness, their imaginations, and for the love and support we’ve received from friends and family in these brief but long four years.

Happy birthday dearest Logan. Happy birthday dearest Forest. You make this world so beautiful with you presence and perceptions and I’m so grateful you were born. Thank you for this great honor of mothering you.

Fourth Birthday

Logan is talking in rhymes.  They aren’t always real words, but he’s finally got the concept so he’ll go whole days where he tries to rhyme his words constantly.  It’s really funny and way cool. A couple of weeks ago he was into explaining that he understood things. He would be talking to me and then would ask, “Does such and such word mean that this and that?” I can’t remember exact examples but he seemed to be picking more abstract words and making sure he understood them correctly.

Forest is now able to build Legos or Lincoln Logs by looking at a picture and/or following complicated image steps.  Here are a couple examples of his doing so:

From December 2010

From December 2010

Of course my favorite is when he builds his own creations, but it seems like a cool developmental leap to be able to look at a picture and figure out how to copy it, especially when you can’t see all the sides and have to make assumptions. The boys have both been talking to me about those assumptions when they look at pictures recently, explaining that they understand distance and perspective.

Yesterday we did some cute Christmas crafts. The boys were really into it and did a great job of following instructions without getting frustrated (as often happens if I plan something specific, it won’t go as planned!). He wanted pictures so here you go:

From December 2010

From December 2010

From December 2010

From December 2010

From December 2010

The day before Thanksgiving and the weather is WARM. So the box guys play in the sprinkler.

Notice that the feet and the "face" do not match.

Soaked but happy little boys.

Today I’m thankful for the amazing imaginations of little ones and the ability to laugh so hard I cried.

Forest the knight encounters a box.

What is in that box?

There's a brother Logan in the box!

Logan loved his makeup and costume so much he kept running to look at himself in the mirror.

From Halloween 2010

From Halloween 2010

From Halloween 2010

From Halloween 2010

From Halloween 2010

This lack of a schedule is extremely weird and yet also liberating to me, someone who has lived and died by her schedule her whole life. I’ve thought several times about trying to create one again but find that I’m kind of enjoying my leisurely mornings of a cup of coffee while reading after breakfast and housework.

Since the weather cooled down and the boys have taken control of the schedule, the boys and I have started having regular picnic lunches at local parks. Throw a couple of peanut butter (and jelly for Logan) sandwiches and a water bottle in a small bag and away we go. Here are some recent images that I captured to share with you.  By the way… who are you?  Who reads this thing anyway?  If you don’t mind, I’d love to have you comment so that I have some kind of idea of who reads this blog, just for curiosity’s sake.

Forest ooohing and aaaahing over a particularly pretty tree in the Target’s parking lot of all places.  Kids really do remind you to stay in the moment and see what’s around you.

Forest striking a serious Fireman pose.

But there is that smile.

Speaking of smiles, here is Logan doing the traditional kid fake smile.

And then a real one.

This grin is the one that I get to enjoy regularly creeping across Logan’s face as Forest does something cute or funny.  It’s a neat experience to watch one child make the other smile.

And here is Forest and how he’s making Logan smile.

I couldn’t resist posting this cute picture that Forest took of Logan exclaiming over some ants in the tree.

And here are some beautiful fall leaves that I came across at the park.  We don’t get a whole lot of color here in Texas, not comparatively anyway, so this is a real treat and one of this photo is now my computer and iPhone screen saver as a way to capture that fall beauty.

It wasn’t excessively exhausting to do a 10 x 10 room and we were able to take time away to eat sushi with a wonderful couple last night and hold another couple of good friend’s four day old baby girl.  But at home this weekend I patched drywall, applied caulk, sanded, painted, and cleaned up spilled paint on carpet.  Having never done any of these things before, I feel an incredible sense of accomplishment and pride.

From paint

Scary first coat of the green that was more like a 1980s florescent green in the can.

From paint

Second coat of the green and it’s more of a olive with a yellow hue to it.

From paint

First coat of the blue.

From paint

The final product. Two coats of green and two coats of blue with a white stripe for definition.

From paint

With furniture back in.

From paint

Ta Da!