Proof

Here we are...Maile looks like a good mom. But you can see by the photo that she really does like to use the puppies as pillows. Fortunatly for this one, she is just snuggling this time. Anyone want to pay $550 for a Beagle, let me know!!

the days and weeks fly by...

So the past week has been a crazy one. With the puppies here we have a whole new lifestyle. For one, we can't leave for more than 2 hrs. We will periodically go in to check on them and Maile will be laying on them as if they were her own fluffy squealing pillow. Crazy dog. Finn has really been a handfull lately, poor kid needs more attention. I am doing some housekeeping of my blog tonight while I listen to the sad cries of Neelah. I know some of you will think me cruel for letting my 3 month old cry herself to sleep. Alas, there is nothing more liberating than putting your child down for the night and not feeling as if you have to cater to their sleep cycles. Eric and I are tired of her waking up crying after 20 min of being in a dead sleep.

Later...
So Neelah only cried for 40 min. It was heartwrenching! I almost couldn't handle it. Hopefully tomorrow isn't as long, hopefully she catches on quick!

Pics of the kids

These 2 pics are the ones I had blown up for Eric for Father's Day. Aren't they precious?
Here is Neelah hanging out in her play yard. She really is getting into batting at the toys and laughing at the music.
This is a shot I got last week while visiting Great-Grandma Lois. Neelah made her day by talking and smiling for her. Grandma even had other residents come in from the halls to see her great grandkids. She was pretty proud.

PUPPIES!!!

Not much time today to report on all the details but here is the readers digest version:
Maile went into labor on Saturday afternoon...contractions but not too strong or regular. Same thing all day Sunday until about 8pm. That would be when we saw the water bag coming out. So, after that happens, you are supposed to have a puppy delivered within 2 hrs or so. No puppy for us. At about 1:30am we took her to the vet and got x-rays. There were 5 puppies in there just waiting to meet the world. The vet gave her 2 shots of oxytocin to help her contract more efficiently. He said that if she didn't have pups by morning, we would have to have a c-section.

5:30 am came and still no puppies. We called the vet and told them we would be in as soon as the Dr arrived-about 7:30am. Eric said he was going to go lay down for about an hour before we left. We were both up all night with Maile. 10 min after he walked out, Maile was pacing and pushing. I lifted up her tail and there was a puppy head! I had to help her deliver the first 2 but then she did the delivering herself. She wasn't too into cleaning the pups up so we did that work. But by the last one, she did everything herself. I guess she was just exhausted or something....!

We have 4 boys and 1 girl. They are all darling and I will keep updates coming. Maile is doing great at being a mom.

Fathers Day 2007

Of course Finn had to help unwrap Dad's present!


The T-shirt says "coolest dad". This pose testifies that he thinks he is... :)

Udders

My grandparents will appreciate this blog because they had a dairy farm for most of their lives.

So our dog Maile, is pregnant. Every day her nipples get bigger and hang lower and lower to the ground. We are still about 9 days away from puppies. Today, Finn was just cuddling with Maile in the front room and so I went over to spend some quality time with them both. It is so rare these days that I wanted to take full advantage. So there we are, all lying on the carpet. Finn is gently patting Maile's tummy and he touches her HUGE nipples and asks me what they are. How do you say "doggy boobies" to a 2 year old? That is what Eric calls them. Anyway, I told him that they were where Maile's puppies were going to get their milk. We have recently explained to him where milk comes from (cows). So I was trying to correlate milk coming from a cows udders to Maile's engorged breasts without having to come up with an actual term. ( we don't like to use the word boobs with Finn because of a recent Sunday where he sat in Sacrament meeting and poked me and yelled "boob!") After the explanation I offered, he seemed satisfied and just told me over and over again that her puppies were going to come out of her tummy and drink her doggy milk.

Skip ahead to after naps. We are sitting on the couch and he is eating an apple while listening to his songs. I am sitting next to him, feeding Neelah. All of a sudden he looks over at me and says, "those are mommy's udders!"

My son just referenced me to a cow...not like I don't feel like one everyday of my life!

Janae's graduation!

Here they are folks, the proud parents of the graduate! We went to a celebratory dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory and it was very YUMMY! Rick, Janae and Sharlene. What an important day for Janae...we didn't know if it would come.
The only one not in the picture is Neelah. She is asleep in the stroller behind me. How does everyone like Finn in this picture? Starting from the right: April, Nate, Sharlene, Rick, Janae, Alex, Amanda, Finn, Eric and I.
Eric entertained himself during the rediculously boring ceremony by making Neelah giggle. Yep! She giggles! We love it.

Me trying to be a photographer...

I tried to get some shots of Neelah with her head up but she wasn't cooperating.
I love this one where she is smiling...she is such a smiley baby, just like Finn
Cute, cute cute!! Nanny made this for Neelah. (Nanny is my best friend Brinn's mom, Michelle)
Love my kiddies!!