The Chase

Our next door neighbors are also our landlords. They are a very sweet couple! Every time I go out to walk Cocoa they invite Cocoa into their fenced-in yard to play with their three dogs. Cocoa absolutely loves it!! Well, this evening Cocoa was running around the yard having a grand ole time when she spotted a cat. Keep in mind that Cocoa has never been around cats before. She is always so intrigued at the cat each time she sees it. And each time she sees the cat, it runs from her, so Cocoa has never been able to properly introduce herself. Well, that changed today! The instant Cocoa spotted this large gray cat (who was playing it safe OUTSIDE the fenced area) Cocoa didn't think twice before she LEAPED over a short part of the fence. Now the chase was on!! She was hot on the trail of the cat. And then with no warning, I couldn't believe it when I looked over and saw a gray streak fly up the tree. Cocoa had officially treed her first animal, and introduced herself to the cat.....and it happened to be our landlord's cat!! YIKES!!

I went back into the house to get Dustin so he would get the ladder and get the cat out of the tree.

The story has a happily ever after ending. You see, as soon as the cat was rescued from the tree she made a mad dash to the shed where she would be safe. I of course apologized for Cocoa's bad behavior, the landlord gave me some cucumbers he had just picked from his garden, and we all had a good laugh after the animals were safe and sound.

First Day of Family Medicine Rotation

Dustin officially completed his first day of rotations! When he walked in the door I asked him how it went and his reply was, "It went great! We saw 35 to 40 patients with a good variety of ages. Everything from two week old patients to eighty year old patients. I'm looking forward to what I'll learn during the eight weeks I'm with this doctor, who is fantastic by the way!" Those words came directly from Dustin's mouth. So it sounds like he really enjoyed it. He seemed to already think highly of the doctor he is following (who is a graduate of WVSOM).

Here is Mr. Daddy relaxing after a day at the clinic.

Part of This Complete Breakfast

This evening for dinner I made Dustin his "Happy first day of your new job" breakfast. That's right. You heard correctly. His breakfast was about 12 hours early. I knew that in the morning we would rushed, Alyssa would have a diaper blow out, and then she would be hungry, so to make SURE he got his breakfast I made it tonight. In the morning he will just have to settle for cereal and juice. But tonight, he got pancakes, eggs, applesauce, yogurt, orange juice, and a choice of fruit (which he turned down). Best of luck on your new adventure tomorrow, Dustin!

So during dinner Alyssa decided she needed to be picked up. Dustin picked her up this time. She was sitting nicely in her swing looking at all the pretty attachments. Well, as usual, as soon as the meal is prepared, she is ready to be held. We are getting pretty good at this one handed eating. This is sorta funny but sorta sad. So, he picked her up, but sitting back down to eat wasn't enough. She needed him to be standing. So in the last two pictures you see that she is throwing a fit. Look closely at her hand. Dustin got ready to stand with her but soon realized that she wasn't budging. He looked down and noticed that Alyssa had a tight grip on the chair. She was not happy and was not letting go of that chair!! It all ended well. I took her so he could enjoy his meal and as soon as I walked around with her she settled.

Bath Robe

She was just too cute in this little robe.





Uh, oh! We're in trouble! Showing that leg

Two Month Doctor Appointment

Alyssa had her two month appointment last week. It went as well as it could go considering she got three shots. She took them like a trooper and stopped screaming after she had a full tummy! She didn't even get a fever.

She weighed in at 10 pounds and measured 22 inches. She has come close to doubling her weight, and she has grown four inches since her cone head went back down to normal size. I don't know if I posted about that, but she was 19 inches when she was born and two days later at the doctor's office she has lost an inch in length because her head had already reshaped.

Organizing

I finally found time to organize Alyssa's books!! These are a few of her books (those that will fit on the shelves). The rest are still at my parent's house, and someday I will get them. For now though, I think we have enough books to read. You can see the tabs I created to divide the books into genres and authors. She has every kind of book from Kevin Henkes to Christian to figurative language and poetry to bilingual. She's going to love books!!!






I didn't have a cover for her changing pad, and it needed one. Dustin's mom sent some beautiful fabric, and one of the fabric pieces matched the baby bedding perfectly. It has the brown, green, and pink colors as well as circles, just like her bedding! It couldn't have been more perfect. So, today I made Alyssa a changing pad cover!

Completed changing pad


Changing pad fabric


Bedding fabric

Just Had To

I just had to post this picture! Here is Dustin enjoying one of his last days off.

Will We Ever......

.......look back and say, "Oh those days when we were poor. Now those were the good 'ol days!" I've always heard people say they often have the best memories of when they were poor. I guess it is pretty important to be creative and enjoy what you have when you are poor, but sometimes I think about how nice it would be to just go on a small vacation to a beach somewhere. Well, Dustin and I are planning a "staycation". Hopefully this Friday. It will probably include making homemade ice cream, going to the park for a picnic, making smores on the grill, streaming a movie off of Netflix, and sleeping in a tent made of sheets in the living room (Dustin would love to go camping, but since Alyssa is too small for real camping we are going to do the next best thing). That's right. A free vacation....or rather......STAYCATION!! It will be our vacation before Dustin begins his rotations on Monday.

Speaking of being poor...the first picture is of our new side table!! It is a plant stand with a plastic plate on top! HA HA! The only place to find a free side table is going shopping in your own home. Don't worry, no plant was harmed in the making of this side table. It was an extra plant stand.

The second picture is a picture of a picture. We had Alyssa's pictures taken and this is one of them. I realized I never shared this picture with you all and it is one of my favorites. It is when she was four weeks old.

Rocking-n-Reclining

We have a rocking chair in the living room to rock Alyssa. When it is rocked in, it gradually scoots back. Far enough that Dustin has bonked his noggin on it when bending over to put on his shoes. We went a few weeks ago to look for a rocker/recliner and found a few that we liked. Dustin made the comment that he was going to go look for a recliner. I told him to make sure he called me before he made any final decisions........

.....and hour later he came through the door carrying half of the recliner (it came in two pieces). When I asked him what he was thinking and why he didn't call me first, he stuck with his trusty old story that he didn't hear me when I said to call me first.

We (especially Dustin) are loving the recliner. Of course the rocker is a must. I think Alyssa is sleeping rather nicely in it too.

Oh, and look at that strawberry blond hair in the first picture. It almost matches the color of Dustin's facial hair. Finally, her hair is beginning to grow!

Back in WV

Dustin was off last week and is off this week, so we decided to load up and go to MO for a few days. Well, I must say it was a long drive!! It should have been an 11 hour drive, but with Alyssa it was LONGER than that. I am glad we made it home safely, but we will not be making any long road trips any time soon. Traveling with a little one is difficult.

I thought I would share a few photos from the great state of MO. Enjoy!

Happy Father's Day

Little Red Wagon

My mom also bought this little red wagon......something else Alyssa will have to grow into. She will be riding in style with those two cup holders. HA HA! I had never seen a wagon with cup holders!!

First Horse Ride

So my mom (in all of her baby buying sprees) found this horse. I guess we can say she had her first horse ride. Maybe someday she will grow into it!!

New Shades

Every girl has to have a snazzy pair of shades for summer. Here are Alyssa's! They look huge, but are actually infant sunglasses. She doesn't mind them. In fact, she dozed right off to sleep with them on. I think maybe she thought it was bed time because everything looked dark...ha ha!!

Boards Are OVER!!!

Dustin returned Friday afternoon with a huge sigh of relief! Boards are over for him. He is so glad he didn't schedule it for later in June because now it is over and he has two weeks before he begins his first rotation June 29. We will know the results of the test in six to eight weeks. I'll let you know his passing score then!! Thanks for your prayers!!!

His next Boards aren't until the end of his third year, which will be next summer. We can rest easy until then!

Look At Those ROLLS!!

Well, Alyssa is filling into all her wrinkly skin. She had so much wrinkly skin at first, and now she is beginning to fill it in with chub. Check out that belly!

P.S. Dustin doesn't really like naked baby pictures, so don't tell him I put this on here!

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere!!

So he said that he would be done studying this evening at FIVE O'CLOCK! So, we thought it would be a great idea to get outta the house! At five o'clock, I was ready to bust out the front door! I even put clothes on that didn't have spit up on them!! That's pretty good these days! Anyway, we went out for a small dinner and a Starbucks coffee/latte. YUM!!

Here are some pictures we took from our deck. Alyssa didn't even mind the bow this time. I knew they would grow on her. Enjoy!!










Well, tomorrow is the big day...Dustin's Boards! PRAY!!

Sneezing......Rolling

Too funny!! I couldn't resist. I had to share this with you all.

Feet and Things

The foot prints were taken the day she was born, and the picture of her foot next to it was taken at eight weeks. Surprisingly her foot hasn't grown all that much. Although when it starts out so big the rest of her body is trying to catch up to her feet.

Scrapbooking isn't the same anymore.....

.....it's better!! Well, I must admit, it is difficult to get much scrapbooking done. Alyssa seems to think I need to be holding her or looking at her at all times.....EVEN WHEN SHE"S ASLEEP!! If she is sleeping and I walk away, she wakes up! Somehow she knows!

Well, I have been working on a project and I needed to finish it today. She wasn't interested in sitting in her swing next to me, so I decided to strap her to me. She loved it!! She loved it so much she fell right to sleep.

Overload!!

There are five blog posts(following this one) that I posted today. We came to Starbucks to check our email and update the blog. I was surprised at how much faster it is to upload pictures and video here than it was at the old house, so I overloaded you with pictures and two videos. Enjoy! I'll be back Monday!

Making Noises

Alyssa has been cooing and making all sorts of noises lately. Here she is in her new crib with her new mobile. You can hear her noises if you listen.

Peanut Butter Kong

Here is a video of Cocoa with peanut butter stuck to her tongue and roof of her mouth. She sure does love her Kong filled with peanut butter!! How funny!!

Pictures #2

Dresser


Crib


Sitting in Crib


"I can fly!!"


Looking at her mobile

Pictures #1

With the Dr. and Mrs. Leech at Alyssa's dedication service


The family at Alyssa's dedication service


Sleeping!!


Grandma, did you really just put my pants on my head??!!


In her pretty dress

I'm Back!!

I am here sitting in Starbucks using their internet service. Our internet will not be activated until Monday, so I will not post until then. I'm not sure what time they are activating it, but it should be in the AM.

This is a quick update about what has been going on:

The house is completely unpacked and set up (except one box of hangers). We decided not to hang up any pictures on the wall so we don't have to fill holes when we leave. The walls are not white, they are a tan, so it doesn't look too bare. I kind of like the uncluttered look right now.

Alyssa has a crib and a dresser. They match perfectly!! We didn't get them at the same time or place, but it worked out!! Alyssa will be 2 months old June 12 (a week from today)!! We go for her appointment on the 16th. I'm not looking forward to her shots. I think it will hurt me worse than her.

My six week doctor appointment went well. I have been running, and boy it has been wonderful. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to go any distance without being completely out of breath and energy, but to my surprise I went longer and farther than I expected. YAY!! Cocoa has enjoyed the exercise as well.

We are loving the house and the area! Shopping is within five minutes from our house. And I'm not talking about Lewisburg shopping like Peebles and KMart. There is a Target, WalMart, MALL!!!, Starbucks, Pet store, Marshalls, and many more!! Our neighbors are super nice and our animals all get along very well!

Alyssa's baby dedication at church went wonderfully. It was a beautiful service and she only cried the last few seconds the Pastor held her. It went like a charm. We were delighted that our families could come out and be with us. We would still be unpacking if we didn't have their help. Actually, we would probably still be packing in Lewisburg without them!!

Dustin will be taking his Boards (not sure if that is supposed to be capitalized) a week from today!! He has locked himself in a room so he can get some serious studying done! Keep him in your prayers on June 12 from 8AM to 5PM!

I will post some more pictures after this blog, but I will not be back until Monday!! Talk then!


Here are some pictures of Alyssa....of course!! She loves hanging out in her crib with the mobile above her and many things to look at.