The rest of September

It has been busy, busy, busy! Ardie has been with us for a few weeks now & he is starting to open up more. He is so used to sleeping with us he can't imagine any other way to sleep. After my husband takes him out for a walk early in the morning, Ardie can't wait to return to bed to snuggle with me. We found out he can bark. Usually he barks when he sees his own reflection in the window at night. He was so quiet for the 1st two weeks at our house we thought we couldn't bark. I was surprised to find out he likes to roll on his back with his feet up in the air when he's feeling happy, especially after waking up or after eating. Ardie attempted to chew on a boney & squeezed a squeaky toy a few times, however, no real play yet.
On September 6th we drove to Pyallup & bought another doggie - a 6-month-old toy poodle we named Spike. He is black now, however, will turn gray as he grows up. Spike is a typical puppy - playful, high-energy & mischievous. Ardie has been jealous of Spike & marking in the house occasionally even though he knows how to use the doggie door well. I have to be on a constant urine spot watch so I can clean up before any major damage is done. One of Ardie's spots hasn't been found until the next day, so now we have a yellow spot on the hardwood floor in the dining area. Thankfully, the buyers of our house intend to redo the floors so it is not a problem. Ardie has been growling at Spike at various occassions such as when Spike is jumping on or in front of him while greeting us home or if Spike gets too close to Ardie in bed. It seems Ardie is so afraid to lose our affection, he is overprotective. Hopefully, Spike & Ardie will become friends in time.
My Mom has really been enjoying her visit & time with baby Gerritt. We had Gerritt's crib in our bedroom for the 1st week after her arrival to give her time to recover from a long flight & a time-zone change, however, we transferred his crib back to his room upon my Mom's insistance after that week. My Mom wanted as much time with the baby as she could get including taking care of him at night.
Gerritt is changing every week. He is trying to stand up more frequently while holding on to the furniture or our arms. When he wants to eat he opens & closes his mouth rapidly until we get the hint. If one of use is eating something, Gerritt crawls up to us & watches us intently as if wanting a bite. Gerritt has mastered the sippy cup & drinks water regularly. He still falls asleep with a bottle of formula, so we need to transition him to a full-time cup soon. Gerritt is trying to talk more saying new words like ba-ba (grandmother in Russian), bebe (baby) & ba (sobaka or dog in Russian).
He loves bath time: splashing in water & playing with bath toys. He is such a fun baby! He loves to play with us (especially acrobatics - being thrown up in the air, being turned upside down for a few seconds, & spinning while being held close), to read books & to look outside the window (he almost jumps out of our arms if he sees a car or truck passing by). We've been playing the game of hide & seek for a few months now. Now Gerritt often initiates it by putting a blanket on his head & then taking it off suddenly while awaiting our response. When I leave to go somewhere or when my husband is coming home from work, Gerritt loves to look for us from inside the house. Whoever is outside usually hides below the window only to reappear suddenly. Gerritt's laughter can be heard even through a thick window glass. Gerritt also loves to play with the doggie door. He usually sits by the door waiting for Spike or Ardie to go inside. When one of the dogs attempts to go in, Gerritt puts his hands through the door scaring them off. That makes Gerritt laugh. He often teases Spike with the dog bone until they pull it back & forth for a while. Watching Gerritt play puts smiles on our faces daily.
We are starting to discipline him. When he does something we don't like (e.g., getting into the garbage container or attempting to spill dogs' water dish), we say, "No, Gerritt!" He'll usually look at us & crawl away to do something else. If he persists, we say the same in more serious tone of voice, "Nooooo, Gerritt, noooo!" That's his least favorite part. As soon as he hears the long "Nooooo" he starts bawling, like his whole world has come crashing down. We feel sorry for him, but it is so funny at the same time! Usually once Gerritt starts crying one of us holds him & we redirect his interest elsewhere. Whenever Gerritt does something new (like touching a new object or opening a new set of drawers), he looks at us for approval. If we don't say anything or say "It's OK, Gerritt", he continues. He is such a smart little boy...

A whirlwind month

I can hardly catch my breath - so much is happening! We took our first vacation by ourselves to Orcas Island on September 1st - 3rd. We stayed at the Buck Bay Farm Inn and Lavender Fields. We were planning to stay there for 3 days, however, we missed Gerritt & Ardie too much & came back 1 day early. My hubby was also not used to the quiet serenity & was slightly bored. I loved it, however, & spent one of the afternoons reading the book Peony in Love (a great Chinese historical novel). We've also enjoyed petting the sheep, picking fruit, & cutting lavender to dry for gift bouquets to take back. One of the mornings we hiked at the Moran State Park. I really enjoyed just vegging out & being away. The high count thread sheets, soft fluffy down pillows & a silk robe was just what I needed to feel pumpered.
Last week my husband decided to advertise our house on Craig's list. It was just too much to continue living in the house where Charlie died. We were contacted by a real estate agent who introduced us to a young couple really wanting to buy our house. They loved it from the start. They also have 2 dogs, so our fenced yard was a perfect bonus. We've almost declined the couple's offer due to the agent wanting a 3% selling commission. We bought this house via a sale by owner & we intended to sell it the same way. Thankfully, the couple liked our home so much that they have increased the offer by 12K to pay the real estate agent's commission fee. We needed to accept or decline the offer by 5 pm last Friday (September 5th). We drove to Bellevue & Lynnwood that morning to look at a couple of homes for sale. I didn't really want to accept the offer until we had something solid in mind. The idea of living out of the boxes for a month or longer didn't really appeal to me. I didn't like 5-bedroom, 3-bath Lynnwood home due to multiple stairs (the house had 3 levels) & poor location (no place to walk outside & too close to a busy street). Bellevue was depressing since many fixer-uppers were around high 300s - $400K range. After looking for a while we've visited our friend Ananth to refresh & use his internet to search for more homes nearby. My husband found a nice-looking 3-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom house in St. Ives area of Bellevue. We immediately drove there. The owner happened to be home & allowed us to look inside. We fell in love with the place right away. A coy pond, beautiful landscaping, a nice deck & a fully fenced yard were all we needed to make up our minds the same day. We called the couple wanting to buy our house & told them we accepted their offer around 4:30 pm & then wrote the offer to buy the place in Bellevue later that evening. The seller accepted our offer the following afternoon. I can't believe we are going to live in Bellevue! I loved the house & its location including its close proximity to my hubby's work, major shopping & business areas, middle & high schools, & parks. Also the street is quiet & has a low volume of traffic. I am not looking forward to my long commute to work in Marysville but, hopefully, I will find a new job in Bellevue at some point. I really don't want to take Gerritt away from his daycare in Lynnwood (he loves it so much), but I will need to find a daycare for him eventually, especially once I get a new job in Bellevue.
And last, the most exciting news of all... I took a pregnancy test (just for kicks) on the day my period was due (September 4th) & got a faint positive. I repeated the test that night & the next morning just to be sure & got a faint pink line both times. We are going to have another baby! My husband & I have been trying for about 4 months now. We even started to stress a bit that it wasn't happening even though we had sex at all the right times. Gerritt is going to have a little brother or sister! I am definitely pregnant: I am irritable, tired & hungry most of the time. I find if I don't eat every 3-4 hours, I get shaky. I am slightly nauseous when my stomach is empty, however, it is very mild. According to the first day of my last menstrual period, baby's due date is May 12th. Perfect time of year to recover & gather my strength. We are so happy & can't wait to find out little peanut's sex - in December (when I am between 18-20 weeks pregnant).
Yesterday (September 6th) we've added another poodle to our family. We picked him up all the way from Pyallup & named him Spike. He is 6 months old & very playful & energetic. He is black now, but will turn gray with age according to his breeder. While we were driving home with Spike my Mom called us frantically saying that Ardie has escaped. Apparently, she left the front door wide open to get the stroller out & he took off. She tried to catch him outside but he just ran faster since he is afraid of her. She left the baby inside the house & made multiple circles around the church looking for him, all without success. By the time we got home around 2:30 pm, Ardie has been missing for about 3 hours. We were so worried & sad. We just couldn't imagine loosing another dog in less than a month. Upon getting home we immediately went outside to look for Ardie everywhere. After about 30 minutes of looking my husband had a breakthrough when he noticed Ardie sitting low on the ground next to church's fence behind our house. He was scared & trembling. I called his name but he was too shy to come. I was so relieved I bawled my eyes out. It was so great to hold Ardie in my arms again when we were so close to loosing him!

11 months old today!

Gerritt has turned 11 months old today. He is such a big boy now! He is crawling everywhere & trying to stand up while holding on to furniture. He often stands up in his crib while holding on to the bars. We've moved his crib into our bedroom due to my Mom's visit & it is the best alarm clock in the mornings to see Gerritt's head peaking out of the crib & hear him call "Mom! Mom!" I say "Mommy is here. Good morning, baby!" & he smiles broadly. He wants to be picked up immediately & gets upset if I linger in bed.
Gerritt is a great eater. Anything goes... The only time he gets upset if I am not fast enough while getting his food ready or I run out of food before he is full. If one of us is eating something, Gerritt immediately stops whatever he is doing, crawls up, & pulls on one's pants wanting a bite. He is too adorable for words!
Gerritt loves dogs & often attempts to put his head on Dingo's or Ardie's fur or opens his mouth wide to kiss or to taste them (we never find out because we intervene before either one happens).
My Mom has arrived from Russia on Monday night (August 25th) & amazingly enough Gerritt remembered her. She walked into our bedroom to say hello to him when he woke up on Tuesday morning. Gerritt studied my Mom's face looking serious for about 15-20 seconds & then smiled. She picked him up & he didn't cry at all. My Mom fell in love with Gerritt all over again!
Gerritt now shares objects. For example, he grabs the glasses off my nose, then puts them on my husband's face, then back on mine - all while laughing. He loves to be thrown in the air & riding his toy car fast! He is such a busy boy, he gets bored quickly & needs new activities often.
Gerritt is still waking up at least once a night. Usually he just wants reassurance & holding & goes to sleep quickly after I rock him. He doesn't like to fall asleep in my arms anymore or by being left alone in the crib to fuss for a few minutes. He just yells louder & louder. What Gerritt loves instead is laying on his left side & falling asleep while getting a back rub. I just rub his back & back of his head gently & he drifts away after about 5 minutes. If I stop too soon Gerritt whimpers softly so I have to resume the back rubbing until he is fully asleep.
This past Saturday Gerritt used his potty chair for the first time. He went poo-poo while sitting in it right after breakfast. I was so proud of him, I wanted to take the photo of the deed until my husband stopped me. Pee-pees are more difficult to catch, but it is never late to start the potty training.

Ardie

After Charlie's passing both my husband & I took a day off work to grieve his loss. The emptiness & the quiet at home were just unbearable for us so we've decided to look for another poodle. I've read it is a good idea to take some time off & to grieve the loss of one's pet before getting a new one, however, we both needed a dog in our house again to help us heal. My hubby found a website called Ginger's Pet Rescue & we saw a photo of a sad grey miniature poodle Ardith. Ardith was about 4 years old & lived all of his life in a puppy mill. We filled out the application, took the photos of our yard & house, were approved & drove down to Tacoma to Ardie's foster mother to meet him on Monday night. Although Ardie was scared & stiff (he hasn't been picked up or cuddled much), I immediately fell in love with him. He was rescued around August 16th & arrived to Seattle on Saturday evening of August 23rd (around the time Charlie died - coincidence?). After his rescue Ardie was neutured, treated for fleas, had dental work done & received required immunizations as well as groomed (not professionally). We went to the bank & after obtaining money order for $450 drove Ardie home. Luckily we were able to schedule a grooming appointment at Petco on the same day. I just wanted to even out Ardie's coat & clean his ears which were full of wax. We've put Ardie into our bed with us that night. He was obviously not used to it & spent much time sitting & being stiff.
Ardie has been with us for 1 week now & he has certainly improved. After peeing all over Gerritt's toys & pooping in Gerritt's bedroom & our living room, Ardie has been doing his business outside for the past 3 days. He still does not know to relieve himself on the grass & only goes on the concrete. He has mastered the doggie door, however, he doesn't always make the connection to pee/poo outside. I have to watch him closely & when he gets restless & walks around the room in circles or is looking for a spot, I take him outside immediately. We've also been careful to take him outside first thing in the morning, after eating, etc. or at least every 3 hours. Ardie has gotten used to the leash, however, he walks very close to me so I have to be careful not to step on him. He is afraid of cars, he doesn't sniff or look around, he doesn't mark on trees & posts like other dogs & relieves himself only if he really has to go. Ardie weighs only 12 lbs (miniature poodles are usually between 15-17 lbs), he is all skin & bones, & eats like there is no tomorrow. Ardie has never seen a dog toy or bone & he certainly never tasted a chicken jerkey. It took my husband several tries to have him taste it. Ardie does not know how to jump on or off furniture, he has never walked on stairs or been inside a car. I am looking forward to showing him the new & happy dog world. He must have been a very lonely boy because he follows me around everywhere even to the bathroom (he sits on a cold tile floor waiting for me). He gets visibly anxious when we have to separate. I completely understand - I am probably the first person he has ever experienced attachment to. It is difficult to believe people would treat a dog this way - keep a highly social creature who loves companionship in a lonely cage for years. I am so glad Ardie came into our lives & I am sure he's going to be very happy with us. All he needs is time... Once in while there is a glimpse of real Ardie. I've heard him bark a few times (I am so relieved he wasn't "debarked"), seen him rolling on his back on his doggie bed, running around the back yard in circles after his poo-poo & briefly grabbing & shaking Gerritt's squeaky toy. I am looking forward to Ardie's blossoming & I am so privileged to be a part of it!