So we have been sick and battling some sorta stomach bug/flu thing that's going around. It's been a good solid week now with ups and downs. Every time we think we're all better someone throws up again!
Bethany is notorious for not sleeping in her bed and often sneaks in with Roman, Hope, or even us in the wee hours of morning. So Tuesday night she starts off in her bed and ends up in hours. Meanwhile Roman wakes up in his bed covered in PUKE! He swears he didn't do it and B eventually confesses that she had snuck in his room, got sick, cleaned herself up and came to bed with us. She didn't want to wake him. Ewwwwwwww!
Hope and Bethany share a room and have a single over double bunk. Hope is on top and Bethany on the bottom in the bigger bed that is wider than the top bunk. So Wednesday everyone goes to sleep in their own beds and Hope wakes up feeling sick but can't get out of bed fast enough from her top bunk, so she leans over the side of the bed and pukes.... straight down on a sleeping B below!
Roman meanwhile is sleeping in the nursery on the guest bed as his bed is airing out from B's puke-fest the night before, so James cleans up the girls and sends Hope to bed with him and B to bed with us since both their beds are now puked on. Around 5am the scream came.... Roman threw up in bed!
So, Bethany pukes on Roman, Hope pukes on Bethany, and Roman pukes on Hope. Is that evil karma or what?!? Of course little Katy is not to be left out of this fun. She just pukes on EVERYONE!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Treeing Walker Coonhounds
On April 1st our crazy psychotic hound turns 2. We adopted Trooper in June of 2007. He was just a little guy at the time. We were told his mom was some sort of small hound and father unknown but that by all appearances he looked very much like a purebred beagle. GREAT! That's exactly what we wanted. Fast forward a year and it was clear that Trooper was a very LARGE beagle. LOL Fast forward to modern day and James is watching a Nascar special in which Elliott Sadler is discussing his dogs, all 26 of which are walker coonhounds, and lo and behold, there's Trooper on the screen. He asked me to do some research on them and this is what we found per Wikipedia and backed up by numerous other online sites:
Appearance
Walker hounds stand between 20 and 28 inches at the withers, weighing between 50 and 70 pounds and their markings are bicolor or tricolor with smooth short haired coats. (Trooper is tricolor and towards the small end of this scale for both height and weight) They are extremely powerful, especially throughout the shoulder region, and have large ears compared to head size. Their legs are straight and lean, not well muscled. Some people have mistaken them as being very large beagles.
Temperament
Treeing Walker Coonhounds are great with children and get along well with other dogs. (Yup, that's Trooper) They love to nest and cuddle. Getting a walker hound out of your bed,off your couch or away from your fireplace will be a feat in itself. (Most definitely!) They love to sleep after a long day and are the perfect dogs for watching television. Generally easy to train with little trouble, (yes, he learns quickly when worked with regularly, but he's still quite irony too) they make excellent pets if well exercised. <--- if well exercised!!! This is a key that unlocks a LOT about our boy!
Training must be consistent as Walker hounds are extremely intelligent and will take full advantage of loopholes in the training regimen. These hounds have been known to use objects as levers/tools and often manipulate their environment to accomplish a task (e.g., moving furniture to climb over gates, using household objects to manipulate kennel mechanisms, etc.). They love to carry plastic soda bottles. (I don't know about the soda bottles, but the rest of this is right on! Trooper is like a canine houdini, and very manipulative. He has busted out of his crate, twice now!)
Because they are eager to please, loving, intelligent and confident, they make a splendid companion dog for an owner willing to give them proper exercise. Because this breed requires intense exercise to match its energy levels, this breed can not settle for mere walks in the neighborhood, <--- Again back to that excercise stuff!
Most Walker hounds are capable of scaling fences in excess of 6 feet so a proper yard system whether fence or electric fence is a must. (People think we're insane we tell them we can't let Trooper out back by himself or he'll climb over the fence and excape! And he's manipulated the electric fence too, so with a fully fenced backyard and a full parameter electric fence he STILL can't be trusted on his own for too long as he just seeks out trouble!) They bury bones and dig if they are on scent. In general, they are oblivious to commands when trailing a scent, (leash training has been a great task and a very looooooooooong process that we're still working on because of this) much like a beagle or basset hound so it is imperative for a walker hound to have serious training and a safe running area free of cars or other potential dangers. They have strong tracking instincts, which is why they are popular as hunting dogs. They can be quite adept at catching small varmints such as squirrels, roof rats, opossums, and skunks. They are also known for their ability to tree raccoons, bobcats, cougars and bears when hunting in packs of two or more.
I don't have a great pic of Trooper on this computer, but here is one with the kids from Christmas 2007 and I'll try to update with a more current one later:
And here are a few pics of a Treeing Walker Coonhound found on this site:
For those of you that know Trooper, the pic above and below this are NOT him, just random pics of other Walker hounds. The one above looks nearly identical to Trooper and I'll try to capture a similar pose of him to post up later. This next one looks very much like Trooper in the face....
Appearance
Walker hounds stand between 20 and 28 inches at the withers, weighing between 50 and 70 pounds and their markings are bicolor or tricolor with smooth short haired coats. (Trooper is tricolor and towards the small end of this scale for both height and weight) They are extremely powerful, especially throughout the shoulder region, and have large ears compared to head size. Their legs are straight and lean, not well muscled. Some people have mistaken them as being very large beagles.
Temperament
Treeing Walker Coonhounds are great with children and get along well with other dogs. (Yup, that's Trooper) They love to nest and cuddle. Getting a walker hound out of your bed,off your couch or away from your fireplace will be a feat in itself. (Most definitely!) They love to sleep after a long day and are the perfect dogs for watching television. Generally easy to train with little trouble, (yes, he learns quickly when worked with regularly, but he's still quite irony too) they make excellent pets if well exercised. <--- if well exercised!!! This is a key that unlocks a LOT about our boy!
Training must be consistent as Walker hounds are extremely intelligent and will take full advantage of loopholes in the training regimen. These hounds have been known to use objects as levers/tools and often manipulate their environment to accomplish a task (e.g., moving furniture to climb over gates, using household objects to manipulate kennel mechanisms, etc.). They love to carry plastic soda bottles. (I don't know about the soda bottles, but the rest of this is right on! Trooper is like a canine houdini, and very manipulative. He has busted out of his crate, twice now!)
Because they are eager to please, loving, intelligent and confident, they make a splendid companion dog for an owner willing to give them proper exercise. Because this breed requires intense exercise to match its energy levels, this breed can not settle for mere walks in the neighborhood, <--- Again back to that excercise stuff!
Most Walker hounds are capable of scaling fences in excess of 6 feet so a proper yard system whether fence or electric fence is a must. (People think we're insane we tell them we can't let Trooper out back by himself or he'll climb over the fence and excape! And he's manipulated the electric fence too, so with a fully fenced backyard and a full parameter electric fence he STILL can't be trusted on his own for too long as he just seeks out trouble!) They bury bones and dig if they are on scent. In general, they are oblivious to commands when trailing a scent, (leash training has been a great task and a very looooooooooong process that we're still working on because of this) much like a beagle or basset hound so it is imperative for a walker hound to have serious training and a safe running area free of cars or other potential dangers. They have strong tracking instincts, which is why they are popular as hunting dogs. They can be quite adept at catching small varmints such as squirrels, roof rats, opossums, and skunks. They are also known for their ability to tree raccoons, bobcats, cougars and bears when hunting in packs of two or more.
I don't have a great pic of Trooper on this computer, but here is one with the kids from Christmas 2007 and I'll try to update with a more current one later:
And here are a few pics of a Treeing Walker Coonhound found on this site:
For those of you that know Trooper, the pic above and below this are NOT him, just random pics of other Walker hounds. The one above looks nearly identical to Trooper and I'll try to capture a similar pose of him to post up later. This next one looks very much like Trooper in the face....
Coach Trettel
This spring all 3 of the big kids are playing soccer. This will be Roman's 8th season, Hope's 4th, and Bethany's 1st. We have been out of soccer for 2 years now due to fall football and last year Roman's insistance on trying baseball. I am really excited to be back to soccer though and I know the kids are going to enjoy the new league we finally decided on.
So, with this being a new league and all James asked if I minded if he volunteered to assistant coach and if he did would I agree to being team mom for his team. I said sure, so he went online to fill out the paperwork only to find them asking for his social security # which he refuses to give out ever! So with that in mind he x'd out and we had sorta decided we'd just step back and just relax and check out the new league this year instead of diving in head first as we have a tendancy to do.
With that said, you can imagine my shock when I receive an email today to "Coach Trettel" consisting of his U8 Roster for this spring! LOL Apparently he got far enough along in the application portion that he was tagged and they are in need of coaches at Hopey's level! Not assitant coach as we had originally discussed, but head coach. Soooooooooo, SPLASH! Head first into a whole new league and all new rules once again. It's been 2 1/2 years since he last coached soccer. Wish us luck!!!
So, with this being a new league and all James asked if I minded if he volunteered to assistant coach and if he did would I agree to being team mom for his team. I said sure, so he went online to fill out the paperwork only to find them asking for his social security # which he refuses to give out ever! So with that in mind he x'd out and we had sorta decided we'd just step back and just relax and check out the new league this year instead of diving in head first as we have a tendancy to do.
With that said, you can imagine my shock when I receive an email today to "Coach Trettel" consisting of his U8 Roster for this spring! LOL Apparently he got far enough along in the application portion that he was tagged and they are in need of coaches at Hopey's level! Not assitant coach as we had originally discussed, but head coach. Soooooooooo, SPLASH! Head first into a whole new league and all new rules once again. It's been 2 1/2 years since he last coached soccer. Wish us luck!!!
Katy's 2 Month Update
Yesterday we had Kathryn in to see Dr. Grossberg for her 2 month well baby checkup and weight check. She only weighed in at 7 lbs even, up a mere 4 oz in 3 weeks and just 1 lb above her birth weight 9 weeks ago. Doc wasn't pleased and I'll admit I was a bit surprised, but more just disappointed. She did grow 2 inches in the last month and 2cm in head circumferance too. She is meeting all her milestones and doing fantastic except in the weight department. Still, she was officially marked "Failure to Thrive". That isn't a title any mom wants to hear! Dr. Grossberg still believes it's a supply issue on my part and inefficient nursing on hers. I asked if she felt we should give up nursing and switch her to formula and she said NO. She's not ready to give up on us just yet, especially with her progressing wonderfully in other areas.
Katy is very alert and active. She sleeps through the night already. She can hold her head up well, and nearly rolled over at the doc office for one of the nurses who was quite surprised to see this tiny creature twisting and turning all over of the table. Her head circumferance is only at 5% and her height at a small 11%, so overall Katy is just SMALL. In otherwords, although she's been labeled "failure to thrive" she is still thriving overall, we just need her to start gaining weight.
This week's plan of action.... lots and lots of pumping (Ick! Mooooooooooo!). She'll be getting almost all expressed breast milk (EBM) that we are fortifying to increase her caloric intake. Breast milk on average is 20 calories per oz. We are fortifying it just enough to bring that up to 24 calories per oz. This will help to get weight on faster. We are logging her eating habits, and although the doc says it's not necessary, I have started logging mine. I'm finding that when I'm at work especially that I get busy and often forget to eat or drink throughout the day. When I'm at home I tend to snack a lot all day and drink water constantly. So, if nothing else, this is keeping me accountable for proper nutrition and hydration on my part.
So far today I have managed to pump 2 oz over what she has actually eaten, which is great cause I've been pumping less than she requires and we've depleted my freezer stash already. Maybe all that Fenugreek is finally kicking in??
Although we are obviously concerned that Katy is not gaining, we are thankful that she is otherwise very healthy and happy. Just the sweetest little baby girl ever!
Next checkup is in 1 week for another weight check: Monday, March 2nd at 10:15. Let's pray our plan of action for the week puts some meat on her bone!
..... James just called, Katy is on poop #2 for the day! (she's only been pooping once every 3-8 days since birth!)
Katy is very alert and active. She sleeps through the night already. She can hold her head up well, and nearly rolled over at the doc office for one of the nurses who was quite surprised to see this tiny creature twisting and turning all over of the table. Her head circumferance is only at 5% and her height at a small 11%, so overall Katy is just SMALL. In otherwords, although she's been labeled "failure to thrive" she is still thriving overall, we just need her to start gaining weight.
This week's plan of action.... lots and lots of pumping (Ick! Mooooooooooo!). She'll be getting almost all expressed breast milk (EBM) that we are fortifying to increase her caloric intake. Breast milk on average is 20 calories per oz. We are fortifying it just enough to bring that up to 24 calories per oz. This will help to get weight on faster. We are logging her eating habits, and although the doc says it's not necessary, I have started logging mine. I'm finding that when I'm at work especially that I get busy and often forget to eat or drink throughout the day. When I'm at home I tend to snack a lot all day and drink water constantly. So, if nothing else, this is keeping me accountable for proper nutrition and hydration on my part.
So far today I have managed to pump 2 oz over what she has actually eaten, which is great cause I've been pumping less than she requires and we've depleted my freezer stash already. Maybe all that Fenugreek is finally kicking in??
Although we are obviously concerned that Katy is not gaining, we are thankful that she is otherwise very healthy and happy. Just the sweetest little baby girl ever!
Next checkup is in 1 week for another weight check: Monday, March 2nd at 10:15. Let's pray our plan of action for the week puts some meat on her bone!
..... James just called, Katy is on poop #2 for the day! (she's only been pooping once every 3-8 days since birth!)
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
It Takes a Village....
The old saying goes "It Takes a Village to Raise a Child". In our case it would seem it takes a church to raise a child. Trinity Church of the Nazarene has not welcomed a new baby in quite sometime. Never could we have imagined how excited they would be to welcome our baby girl with open arms. And I do mean open arms! LOL
James and I both play in the church band. (no snickering please... I can at least fake a half way decent bass!) So that ties us up on stage for the first half of every service. Although there are 2 toddlers and one other little baby born just a few days after Katy, that occasionally attend services, she is the only regular baby/toddler in the church right now. So, needless to say, there is not really a nursery for her to stay during the service. They're working on getting one up and running but for now, my good friend Miranda or her wonderful mother, Mary, will snuggle with Katy while we're on stage. Or she just gets passed around as EVERYONE always wants to hold a Katy-bug, and never need I worry about finding someone to hold her for the first half of service. Jim, our sound tech, is about to become a first time grandfather and is getting lots of practice in as he now shows up on Sunday earlier than ever to ensure he gets her first thing while we practice. Two Sunday's ago Jan, another lady in the church, asked to hold her for services, and now I am attacked at the door to see who gets to hold her this week! LOL So although it shouldn't be a complete surprise, I still almost peed my pants laughing when my mom came to church this past Sunday and Ms. Betty.... this tiny little old sweetheart of a woman... approached mom and informed her that they take turns holding the baby each week and this week was HER week, then scooped Miss Katy right on up and went to sit down. LOL
It takes a village to raise a child, and Kathryn is so fortunate to have her very own "village"!
James and I both play in the church band. (no snickering please... I can at least fake a half way decent bass!) So that ties us up on stage for the first half of every service. Although there are 2 toddlers and one other little baby born just a few days after Katy, that occasionally attend services, she is the only regular baby/toddler in the church right now. So, needless to say, there is not really a nursery for her to stay during the service. They're working on getting one up and running but for now, my good friend Miranda or her wonderful mother, Mary, will snuggle with Katy while we're on stage. Or she just gets passed around as EVERYONE always wants to hold a Katy-bug, and never need I worry about finding someone to hold her for the first half of service. Jim, our sound tech, is about to become a first time grandfather and is getting lots of practice in as he now shows up on Sunday earlier than ever to ensure he gets her first thing while we practice. Two Sunday's ago Jan, another lady in the church, asked to hold her for services, and now I am attacked at the door to see who gets to hold her this week! LOL So although it shouldn't be a complete surprise, I still almost peed my pants laughing when my mom came to church this past Sunday and Ms. Betty.... this tiny little old sweetheart of a woman... approached mom and informed her that they take turns holding the baby each week and this week was HER week, then scooped Miss Katy right on up and went to sit down. LOL
It takes a village to raise a child, and Kathryn is so fortunate to have her very own "village"!
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Report Cards are in, drum roll please ***********
Hope Elizabeth brought home straight E's!!!!!!!!!!! Roman not only made A/B honor roll, but was only ONE B away from straight A's!!!!!!!!!!!! We celebrated at Kabuko's. It was the kids first Japanese Steakhouse experience and they had a ball. Bethany was thrilled with the onion volcano and wowed by the fire. Roman couldn't get enough of the food, especially his shrimp, and dad's steak, and my chicken, and any other meats thrown his way. And Hope was in awe of the decor and took back a whole list of "must haves" from Japan for Aunt Kari and Uncle Jay. And James and I couldn't keep from grinning at our 4 wonderful kids whom we couldn't be prouder of!
Keep up the good work Roman and Hope!!!
Keep up the good work Roman and Hope!!!
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