It's a Boy!

Yesterday we had the big doctor's appointment and got to find out what we are having. Beforehand, when Sam was asked if he was having a baby brother or sister, he went with sister. When asked if he wanted a baby sister, he shook his head 'no'. When asked if he wanted a baby brother, he shook his head enthusiastically 'yes'. Grandma M has been certain from the beginning that the baby is a girl. She's been making pink John Deere quilts from day one. Grandpa D informed us when we were pregnant with Sam that I would be having all the grandsons in the family and Amanda will have the girls. Papa J and Grandma J made no bets, but Grandma J did buy some tights for a future little girl the other day. Nic and I knew we would be excited about a boy or a girl, though I think Nic was secretly hoping for a boy because I kept telling him how abundant cute girl clothes are and that if we had a girl, I would not be able to refrain from going on a complete shopping extravaganza. Well, Sam was wrong but got what he wanted. The Grandmas' quilts and tights will have to wait for the next one. And Nic has been spared a total shopping spree (though there will be plenty of 'little' shopping sprees for the new baby that just can't be avoided). It's a BOY! I guess I will continue to be out-numbered in this house, and I won't need to change the name of my blog. I liked what my friend, Heidi, said last Sunday. She said that if we are just going to have two kids, then it would be nice to have a girl. But then she said, "I don't think you'll be done with just two, so I say it's a boy!"
We are so excited for this new little one. I am sure that Sam and his little brother are going to be the best of buds! And, most likely, a holy terror duo running havoc through the house and neighborhood with Gus hot on their heels. The baby is healthy and is looking good. The silly boy kept hiding from us, so it was difficult to get a good look at his face. He kept ducking behind things when we would try to look at him. I wonder how much of their personality babies have in the womb because when we did Sam's ultrasound, he was dancing all around and flipping us off and not afraid to show it all off. There's also one ultrasound picture where it looks like Sam is working on something. It was so Sam. Sam is my social butterfly, my ball of energy, and he is a little mini-Nic. That was apparent from those very first ultrasound pictures. I wonder if this baby boy will be a little more like his momma--a little more reserved and shy. I guess I will just have to wait to find out. All I know for now, is that he is beautiful and that he is a complete miracle. Me and my Boys--it doesn't get any better than this!

Mulan Sweepstakes

Okay, I will admit that I was sucked into the Disney Movie Club...you get four free movies for a penny each and all you have to do is buy four more movies at regular price (plus shipping and handling)...I resisted them for awhile but eventually they wore through my defenses, and I've been Mickied. Now I'm not advertising for them or anything but I have to say that it hasn't been that bad of an experience so far--nothing like the Colombia House experience of my early twenties but that's another story. Anyway, the other day I ordered Pinocchio and instead received Mulan. Not a big deal except for the fact that I already own Mulan (thanks to the Disney Movie Club). Now listen carefully. Here is how this simple mistake is about to become your lucky day! I called customer service, and they were very kind and said they would send me my copy of Pinocchio right away. When I asked them what they wanted me to do about Mulan, they told me to just keep it as an apology for their mistake. Lovely! So I'm offering my first blog sweepstakes today. In honor of the luck of the Irish and all that, the first person to comment on this post and not judge me for being sucked into clubs and infomercials will receive their very own copy of Mulan (may I add this is the special edition DVD). Good luck! =)

A Boy and his Dog

Gus is Sam's dog. Sometimes Gus is scared of Sam, even though he outweighs him by more than a hundred pounds. But they are already becoming an adventurous duo. They both like to see what mischief they can find. Gus likes to help Sam out by finishing his dinner for him which Sam likes to throw on the ground for Gus. Gus also tends to stand in the way when Sam is doing something he's not suppose to be doing, and I'm trying to get to him. I can't wait until it warms up and I can turn these two loose outside!

Sam Up-dates

Friday Sam had his 15 month check-up. The doctor says that Sam is looking good. Sam is in the 20th percentile for weight and height and in the 96th percentile for head size. In other words, he's short, skinny, and has a big noggin'! The doctor says his head is so big to hold all the brains! =) But everything is looking good--Sam is a normal, healthy, strong 15 month old. Sam was funny because I think he's starting to build a fairly good memory of the doctor's office. He wasn't too excited about the stethoscope and kept swatting it away, and he's learning his lesson to watch out for those cute nurses. He had to get three shots this time, but he was brave and only cried a little bit.

Sam is such a character. He is such a social butterfly (like his daddy). He will talk the ear off of anyone who will pause to listen. When we were in Reno a few weeks ago, I swear everyone at breakfast each morning at the hotel knew Sam by name. "Good morning, Sam! How are you today?" And Sam would jabber away with other hotel guests, the front desk receptionist, the buffet hostess, and pretty much everyone. He loves to tell stories--funny ones, scary ones, adventurous ones--he has all sorts of stories and sound effects for them. He will jabber and then pause for a response and then jabber away again like he's having a real conversation. You can't understand what he's saying (he has his own complex language), but you get the gist. So far he can say, "mama," "dada" (his favorite word!), "pup-pup," "gus-gus," "papa," "nanna," and something that sounds like "out gus". But he won't say any of these things on demand! He likes to mimic the sounds I make. For example, when I first get him dressed, I usually say, "woo-woo! You look good!" So Sam has taken up saying, "woo-woo!" He can clap his hands by himself and loves to play peek-a-boo. He can also follow simple commands, like if I ask him to hand a toy to me.

As far as walking goes, he is so close. He walks along furniture, walls, etc. We have a couple of push toys that he will play with occassionally. He likes to push garbage cans and chairs around though. He can stand all by himself as long as he doesn't know that he is standing all by himself. The minute he realizes he's standing alone, he goes down. He can walk holding onto to someone with just one hand. He can do it; pretty much, he just needs to decide that he wants to do it. He can go up and down the stairs by himself, and he's a climber. He climbs everything! He'll pull drawers out and attempt to scale a cabinet by climbing up the drawers. He climbs up onto furniture--the other day I discovered him sitting in the rocking chair in his room playing. Unfortunately, he also has no problem with doing nose dives off of whatever he has climbed!

Lately, Sam has decided that he is a goat. He head butts everything and everyone. He and daddy have a tradition that they do knuckles, noggin', and kiss before going to bed, but now Sam noggin's everything! He's taken up head butting things when he's frustrated. So if he can't figure a toy out, he head butts it. If the door won't move out of his way, he head butts it. If mom does something that makes him angry, he head butts her. Last Sunday at church, Nic did something that upset Sam and so Sam head butted him. That was the day that Sam learned an important lesson: Daddy's head is far harder than his head. I don't think he'll try that again! Unfortunately, mom is hard headed but not as bad as daddy, so I'm still in the line of fire!

I am amazed at how smart Sam is and how good of a memory he has. If I take something away from him, he will remember exactly where I put it and go for it a few minutes later, probably when he figures I forgot about the object! The other day Sam found a shape block under one of his toy drawers, went straight to the drawer where the shape sorter was, and pulled out the sorter to put the shape away. I was impressed that he could remember what the block was associated with and where we keep the toy. Sam also loves to read, though he doesn't have a long attention span. We go to reading time each week at the library, and I'm proud to say that Sam is usually one of the well-behaved children in the group. He pays close attention to Miss Allison and tries to do what she says. He looks forward to going to story time each week.
He loves observing other children and trying to mimic them too. Unfortunately, Sam had his first lesson in mean kids the other day. After story time, he was playing at this play station while I check out a book. A little girl wanted to play with what Sam was playing with and pushed him down. Sam was devastated and couldn't understand why someone would do that to him. All the other children he's ever really played with before have been his cousins, and they adore him and treat him really well. He cried more from the idea that someone was mean to him than from being physically hurt. Now he's a little more apprehensive of kids he doesn't know and I've noticed him swatting the hands away of other kids from the toys he's playing with when he used to just parallel play with no problem. I know it's all part of growing up, but it's so hard not to want to shelter him from every bad and mean thing out there. Shame on that mean little girl!

All in all, Sam is just one amazing kid in my book. It's hard watching him change from my little baby to a little boy. He's growing so quickly and learning so much. Love that little guy!

A Valentine's Treat

For anyone wondering why Sam keeps patting his belly and repeating, "Baby, baby, baby...", there is an explanation--the kid just can't keep a secret. He must take after his mother in that aspect! And despite his confusion, there is no baby in his belly, but there is one in mommy's belly. What?! Yes, it is true, I am thirteen weeks pregnant! The secret is out! You have no idea how hard it is to keep a secret like that! I did my best, though there may have been a divulgence (this is a word I made-up meaning a 'spilling of the beans') or two and a rapidly expanding waist line. We just had our second doctor's appointment today and got to listen to that beautiful beating heart. What a miracle! I am amazed at this wonderful new blessing in our lives. I have now posted some of the original posts from when we found out to our first doctor's appointment.

We wanted to tell our parents on Valentine's day with a special Valentine's treat. First, we went out to G-ville to tell my parents. My sister was in on the secret and helping me with my secret plans to surprise my parents. Well, we were trying to work around my dad's work schedule with driving bus. I originally thought it would be cool if he were at the high school in his bus, and we had one of the secretaries call him in on the CB, but that didn't work out. So I told Nanny to tell my dad that she wanted to take him out on a daddy-daughter date for lunch. Then I forgot about that, and texted my dad to see what time his lunch was because Sam wanted to bring a special Valentine surprise. My mom heard that Nanny was taking my dad out for lunch and was jealous that she wasn't invited. Then my mom saw the text where I asked my dad what time his lunch was and thought that Sam and I were going out to lunch with my dad also. My mom was upset that she wasn't invited and included, and, sources say, she was a bit upset and grouchy that Valentine's morning. Anyway, Nic got off from work and we all drove down to G-ville. We picked up my dad and Nanny, and headed to the high school where my mom is a secretary. We must have planned really well because my brother was also at the school helping out with the mock trial team. We marched into the office and Sam presented grandma with a dozen red roses and a card. In the card we wrote a couple of Valentine's poems:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
When it comes to grandkids,
In August, you'll have TWO!

Roses are red
and liked by others,
Gus and Sam are so excited
to be BIG BROTHERS!

They were so surprised. They weren't expecting that news at all! My dad thought the Valentine's surprise would be that Sam was walking. We all went out for hamburgers to celebrate, and then Nic had to get back for work.

A few hours later, we took Nic's parents out for dinner. We told them that it was payment for taking care of Gus the week before. We then presented grandma with a dozen yellow/orange roses. I had put the name of each their grandkids on each rose. Right now, they have ten grandkids, plus Gus, and then on one rose it said, "Coming soon". So we told grandma to look at her roses. Then we had this frame for her. In her living room, grandma has these folding frames with a picture of each of the grandkids. So we got a folding frame and put a picture of Gus in one and "? Jenkins--Coming Soon" in the other. Then in the card, we had another poem:
Grandkids are special,
Grandkids are fun,
If you count Gus,
You'll have eleven plus one!

They were also very surprised. At first, they thought we were trying to tell them that we were getting another dog!
So once again, we've pulled off a grand surprise (though I don't think anyone is as surprised as us!) Grandmas and grandpas are excited and can hardly wait. What a Valentine's treat!

Reno

This week Nic had to go to Reno for work, so Sam and I decided to tag-along. We're having a great time. Breakfast buffet in the morning, cable television on a big screen (yay, Disney channel!), a maid who cleans up after us...we could really get used to this life! This is how it works: Nic has to go to work early in the morning and works all afternoon. Meanwhile, Sam and I sleep in (well, I sleep in, Sam plays and chats all morning), then we go down for breakfast and then plan our adventures for the day.
Yesterday, we took a ride on the free hotel shuttle and went to the planetarium at the University of Nevada Reno. It wasn't open yet, so Sam and I ended up exploring and hanging out on campus. Sam actually took a good two hour nap in his stroller while I had fun in the bookstore. It was kind of fun to be on a college campus and pretend to be college kids. The only problem was that I didn't plan well on Sam's outfit. In trying to keep him warm, I dressed Sam in his BYU sweatsuit to go hang out at UNR. Same colors, though, just wolves not cougars. Oops! =)
Finally, the planetarium opened, and we got to watch a video about oceans in the super dome. Sam loved the sardines swimming over our heads! Then Nic was done with work and came to find us. Then we got to hang out with daddy for the rest of the day.


The next day we mostly vegged at the hotel until Nic was done with work. Then we went and explored Carson City a little. It was fun except for it was really chilly. One of the things I love about us is that we can just go somewhere and explore and have fun. It doesn't have to be a theme park or something extravagant (though I don't mind those either). We just enjoy being together and learning about new places. When we left Carson City, Nic drove us by the 'bunny farms' to prove to me that they actually exist. I was very angered, not because Nic drove us by them but because they exist in the first place. I don't know if there are other places in the U.S. where prostitution is legal, but in this one county in Nevada, it is. I guess I just always assumed that prostitution is kind of like slavery and that we all agreed as a nation a long time ago that it is wrong. I guess I thought wrong. It makes me sad that women feel like they have to do those sorts of things to earn money. And it makes me angry that there is enough business out there to keep the industry going.

On our last day in Reno, Sam and I went downtown and hung out at the casinos. Did I mention that the shuttle driver for the hotel was super nice. The shuttle supposedly only went to a couple of places, but he took us wherever we needed to go. He even told me that if we needed to go to the store, he could take us! He was fun to talk to and told us all about Reno and how to get around town. On the first day, he dropped us off at the university campus and then worried all day about us because the weather had suddenly changed to stormy. He was just a nice person. Anyway, Sam and I mainly explored Circus Circus. When Nic finished with work, he met us there and hung out with us. The casino has a little gaming area, so we had a good time playing arcade games, and Nic even won a little lamb for Sam by popping balloons with darts. The sheep's name is Reno and is one of Sam's favorite toys right now. He always sleeps with it and loves to give it hugs and kisses. It's so cute!




After playing around at the casinos, we took a little drive up to the Reno LDS temple. It's a beautiful temple, and I like how it is separated from everything. It is up in the hills and overlooks the Reno valley. It's interesting to feel the difference of the temple up there on a hill and the casinos and everything down below.

A Tribute to Gimli

Last Saturday, January 22, marked the six year anniversary of Gimli joining our family. Since we weren't sure of his actual birthday, we decided January 22 would be his birthday.
This post is hard. I've been wanting to write these things down for awhile, but two sentences in and I'm already bawling!
I've been thinking that in honor of Gim's birthday, I would write about how he came into our family and how he left. I know I've written about when we got Gimli, but there's always more to say.
When Nic and I were dating and when we got married, I understood that Nic was very opposed to having a dog or any pet. This was very difficult for me (almost a deal breaker). I grew up with dogs, cats, bunnies, horses...you name it! I even had pet goats, lambs, and Shetland ponies! I love animals! Nic also grew up with animals, and I'm not sure why he was so opposed to pets. I think it was a combination of losing some beloved pets and seeing some really yucky houses with pets on his mission. He also has allergies to fine, fluffy hair so that takes out many cats any fluffy dogs. When we got married, I gave away my dog, Hannah, to a good home. She had very fine, wispy hair and being around her made Nic's face puff up. Plus, she was a digger, and I worried about her getting out of the yard and running onto the busy intersection near our house. She was also narcoleptic, but that's another story...
Anyway, the day before our one year anniversary, we were busy working on our basement. A few months into our marriage, the basement decided to flood and it was time for a re-model. I was very excited to say good-bye to the stinky-boy bachelor pad and hello to a family basement! Nic's friend, Ryan, was over helping us, and they worked all day. It seems like we were going somewhere later that night, so I was taking a shower later that afternoon to get ready for the evening. As I was in the shower, I could hear some little kid talking in the backyard, but I didn't think much of it. I figured maybe it was Ryan's kids or the neighbor kids. When I got out of the shower, Nic asked me if I would come look at a jeep part he was thinking about buying. The person was at our house, so he told me to hurry and get dressed and come out front. So, a few minutes later, I traipsed outside with wet hair and no make-up to look at this 'jeep part'. I will admit that I was a little annoyed that Nic wanted me to look at it. I didn't know much about jeeps and if Nic wanted to buy a new part, I didn't have a problem with it. I couldn't see what the big deal was about me looking at it. It was probably because of my annoyance that it took me awhile to figure out what was really going on. A woman and her little girl were in the front yard with this giant, brown dog. The little girl, maybe seven or eight, was leading the dog around without any problems (this was something that really impressed Nic about Gimli). Nic complimented the dog and asked me what I thought about the dog. I don't remember what I said, something like, "He seems like a nice dog." Well, Nic kept asking me what I thought about the dog and kept asking the lady questions about him, and finally, probably tired of waiting for me to catch on, asked, "So do you think he can come live with us at our house?" I was in shock! I was finally able to get out, "Really?" And then I burst into tears. Thus, Gimli became a member of our family and Mr. No-Dogs became father to a 120 lb. indoor dog.
His original name was Butkus, after the famous football hall-of-famer, Dick Butkus. But that wasn't a name I could handle yelling down the streets or out the front door. It took us until the next day to really decide on a name--Gimli, after our favorite dwarf from Lord of the Rings.
I remember that first day, sitting on the front porch with Gimli. I told him that he was in our family now and that I already loved him. I remember I was a little nervous around him. He was the biggest dog I had ever seen, after all.
That night, we put him in his new room (the laundry room), said good-night, and closed the door. Well, Gimli didn't like being alone. He cried and cried and cried. If you want to know what it sounded like, imagine Chewbaca (from Star Wars) at a funeral. It was so sad. We tried everything. We tried ignoring him, we turned the light on, we turned the light off, we gave him a stuffed animal to sleep with, we pulled out a shirt from the laundry so he could have our 'smell'...finally, some time in the middle of the night, I noticed that it was quiet. I rolled over to tell Nic and discovered he wasn't in bed. I wandered down the hall and into the laundry room, and there was Nic and Gimli cuddled up, sleeping on a dog bed. Those two were best buds from there on out. A few nights later, Nic had to go on a business trip. I managed a couple of hours of Gimli crying until I gave up. I marched into the laundry room, grabbed the dog bed, dragged it down the hall, and put it down on our bedroom floor, right next to the bed. Gimli circled three times on his dog bed and then went right to sleep. Nic was so surprised to come home and discover that I had cured the sleeping problem...and that the dog was now sleeping in our room! That's when we learned that Gimli didn't ask for much, he just always wanted to be where we were.

And now for the good-bye...(deep breath)
The day that we scheduled to have Gimli put to sleep came way too soon. At first, Nic and I couldn't agree how we wanted it done. Nic was leaning toward shooting him, but I knew he couldn't do it, and we couldn't ask anyone else to do it. And I hated the idea of Gimli's last memory of us to be looking down a gun barrel. I wanted to have a vet put him down. However, we both agreed that we couldn't do the walking out of a vet office with our dog in a garbage bag. Finally, we came to an agreement that if we could find a vet that would come out and do it, that's what we would do. It was hard to find anyone who would make a house-call. Most vets told me to talk to Animal Control. I found a vet out of Salt Lake that would do it and scheduled an appointment. Then Nic's dad told us about the vet who took care of his horses. This vet was closer to home, so we decided to go with him. We made the appointment for Saturday morning, October ,2010. Friday night, I made Gimli steak, and the family cuddled together in the laundry room and fed him his last dinner. We had to help clean the church the next morning and that kept us busy for a little bit. Then the vet called to let us know that he was going to be late because he had an emergency call that he needed to take care of. My family came in (which meant so much to me), and we loaded everyone up and headed over to Nic's parent's house. Also the night before, Nic dug the grave. It's right by the back pasture at his parent's house. It was a hard task for Nic, but he did it with love. Anyway, until the vet arrived we (Nic's parents, my family minus Jason who had to go back to work, Nic, me, Sam, and Gimli) hung out in the front yard. We decided that it probably wouldn't be good for Gus to be there because he wouldn't understand, and it might freak him out. It was a beautiful fall day. There was a cold breeze, but I cuddled up with Gimli to keep me warm. It was nice to just visit together and remember all of Gimli's adventures.
When the vet pulled up the driveway in his truck, my stomach just dropped. I wasn't sure if I could really go through with it. Nic's mom took Sam in the house and the rest of us stayed with Gimli. The vet was so nice. He was just this young, cowboy vet. He explained the entire process to us and took the time to get to know Gimli and give him love. First, he gave him a sedative to keep him calm and keep him from feeling anything. Once that kicked in, Gimli just relaxed. Nic and I held him and loved him. We realized how much pain he had been in and how tense he was because of it. Once he couldn't feel the pain, he was like our old Gimli again, and we could love him without being afraid of hurting him. Seeing him like that was a good reminder of why we were doing this. We just couldn't keep holding on when he was in so much pain. Again, the vet was so good. He took his time and let us have all the time we needed to say good-bye. He put in the IV so that he could do the final injection. He explained to us how it would happen, that Gimli wouldn't feel a thing and would just go to sleep. Then his heart would stop, and he would be gone. We were all bawling, but it was a precious moment to be there with him until the very end. As the vet did the final injection, I noticed that there were tears falling on the needle. At first, I thought it was from Nic, but then realized that the vet was crying too. That really touched my heart because he had just met Gimli but he could see what a special dog he was and how much he meant to all of us. And then it was done, just like that. Gimli was gone. I kept waiting for him to move, to put his head on my lap for one more ear scratch. I don't know how many times I've freaked out because sometimes Gimli looked dead when he was sleeping, and I couldn't see him breathing, and then his head would suddenly pop up and his tail would start wagging. But now he was really gone. The vet gathered up his things and left. We just stood around for a little bit, and then Nic carried Gimli back to his grave. I think that that was the hardest part--seeing Gim's limp body and then seeing him at the bottom of a big hole. It was an actual physical pain in my heart.
We buried him with a blankie and his favorite Ugly Bear. I think Ugly Bear was a stuffed bear I got from the guy I went to prom with. He wasn't Ugly Bear until Gimli got a hold of him. He was Gimli's first toy, and Gim loved that bear. Ugly Bear was missing his ears, tail, nose, and an eye, and I don't know how many 'surgeries' I did on him to stitch him back up. We figured Gim would like to have Ugly Bear with him.
It was a really hard day, and remembering that day has been hard but therapeutic. Gus has had a really hard time coping. The first few weeks, he wouldn't eat unless we put food in both dog dishes, and he was constantly looking for Gimli. He still has a few quirks that I think has to do with losing Gimli. He's frantic to go for rides because I think he thinks we're going to go get Gimli. And he's extra clingy and needy these days, but I think we all are! He's really stepped up though and is trying so hard to be a good dog. And while, he won't ever replace Gimli, he is his own lovable self, and we love him.
Gimli was an amazing dog, an unforgettable best friend, and my first boy. Love you, Gimli!