A picture is worth a thousand words...

I just wanted to share a few pictures that I had taken of Nate as a surprise for Uncle Jeremy's birthday! Jeremy hadn't had a professional picture of his nephew since he was 9 months old (Nate is now 19 months). He was very active during the photo session so I was happy that we even got a few! I was very pleased with how they turned out and could not resist sharing them!

Update on our 4-legged boys...

A few people have wondered how Maverick and Graham were doing (thank you for asking!) so I thought I would give you all an update. Besides adjusting emotionally to a toddler running around them, they are both physically still hanging on which we are so happy about! Maverick still has his good days and bad days and you can definitely tell some changes in his physical appearance since being diagnosed with cancer, but he still perks up anytime he hears the words, "Ball", "Walk", or "Food". Graham is now on his fourth week of chemotherapy. He was not himself and was quite sick for about a week but he is definitely back to acting like himself despite the shaved patches on his legs which is where his weekly shots are given. He is halfway through his chemotherapy treatments and the doctor feels as though his body is responding well and that his lymph nodes have been going down. However, we are not out of the woods yet. We still have about 4 more weeks left and we are still hoping and praying. I am so grateful to have found such a wonderful man who loves my 'boys' as much as I do. We both cannot imagine life without them and feel very blessed to have them in our lives. We also feel very blessed to have such an amazing vet and I am happy that we are back in KC where they are being treated. We shall see how things go though, it is a day by day process of monitoring and giving them both several different medications! As much medicine as they have been on, we have felt like a pet pharmacy! Please continue to keep them both in your prayers. 

A dog is a BOY's best friend...

Nate has certainly become buddies with our 'puppies'! He loves to pet the puppies and give them kisses. They are very sweet all together and it is very cute to watch Maverick follow Nate around anytime he is holding a ball in his hand! Nate also admires Maverick too...here are just a few examples...

1st picture: As Nate was in the process of taking off his shirt Maverick came up to him and Nate decided to give him kisses! 2nd picture: Nate laid down next to Mave to watch him chew up a ball that Nate had thrown him. 3rd picture: Nate was watching Maverick eat and in the 4th picture Graham came over to watch too! 

Moments with Nate

I have been a little behind on posting pictures so here are several to update our past week! 

First picture: Spending a little time with Grandma and Papa...they just could not resist taking him into The Children's Place store while they were out with Nate!

Second picture: Reading a book with Uncle Jeremy

Third picture: Trying on Uncle Jeremy's shoes

Fourth picture: Taking a 'dog' ride in his class at My Gym!

Only 2 arms?

So, I was under the impression that when you became a mom that you grew another arm! I know I am not a biological mother, but I still thought being a foster mom would count. However, I have not grown a third arm so it is quite an adjustment getting a toddler ready and carrying him around at a store when he decides to kick off his shoes (I have come to the conclusion this is just not a battle I am willing to fight over). I know I am not the only 'mom' who has attempted to do fifteen things at once and several times I have actually succeeded completely all of the tasks at hand. I have saved Nate from jumping out of a moving cart, held him, answered a text, picked up things off my shopping list, and gotten my wallet out to pay for everything when I finally roll through the check out line. Other times, I am not so successful and I just think I am losing my mind. I have found myself feeling the need to praise each mother that walks by me with a loud "GREAT JOB!  YOU ROCK!" Then of course I realize that I should probably just mumble that under my breath so no one feels the need to call security and drag me to the funny farm. 

Well...it sounds like naptime is over. More stories of parenthood and other adventures later...

Love is in the air...

Happy Valentine's Day! Or, as the card that my in-laws sent to us, Happy Kissy-Face Day! 

Jeremy and I have had quite the past two weeks as we have dealt with sick dogs and a little one running around. It has definitely been an adjustment but we have survived thus far! However, last night, we dropped Nate off with his grandparents so he is with them this weekend and we went out on a much-needed date night! We got tickets to the Cinema Suites and I have to say...you HAVE to check this out! You go in to the movie theatre and everyone has their own individual leather recliner. You can order drinks, dinner, and dessert, and can eat and watch a move all in one sitting! It was fabulous! We both agreed it would be hard to watch a movie any other way now! It was not anymore expensive than a regular dinner and movie and it was well worth the price. We will be attending a wedding this afternoon so we made our 'Valentines Day' on Friday the 13th! It was not an 'unlucky' day for us!

We hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day and hope that this is not the only day that love is celebrated! Blessings to you all!

Top ten moments of the week...

Despite several tantrums, we have had so many special moments with Nate this week. Here I will list the top ten...

10. Listening to him sing and jabber in bed before falling asleep

9. Rocking and cuddling 

8. Tickle-time on the couch with Uncle Jeremy

7. Reading a new book 

6. Petting the 'puppies' and giving them kisses

5. Taking a walk

4. His first MY GYM class

3. Watching him dance

2. Bath time

and one of our favorite memories...

1. Putting some peanut butter on his feet and having Maverick lick it off! Nate was CRACKING up because it tickled so much! It would have been a great YouTube number. 

First week of instant 'parenthood'...

We have had quite the week...all of us! However, we survived our first full week with having a little one living with us! It has been fun despite the babysitter canceling (at the last minute), dealing with sick dogs (poor Grahamy, it makes me sooo sad to see him sick), and one lovely public meltdown (I have heard and seen parents dealing with this but this was our first experience). But, we definitely know it is all part of it and we are certainly not complaining! All in all, we have been enjoying this time with our nephew and having him here with us. He has been a lot of fun and these are memories that we will certainly treasure forever. 

As for the pictures...the first one is when we went to The Great Mall to play in the kids area (Nate was enthralled with the cars and had a hard time parting with them). The second picture is when I caught him feeding Maverick his food (granted, I told him that he could not do that, but I still could not resist snapping a quick picture of the 'partners in crime'). The third picture is his first class at MY GYM (he LOVED it!) and the last picture is our trip to Chuck E. Cheese where we met up with some friends and a few other little ones (he was ALL over the place here)!

So, after getting through our first week of instant 'parenthood', Jeremy and I treated ourselves to Sheridan's ice cream tonight after Nate went to bed (Jeremy went to go get it for us)! It was so yummy and it was just as great as I had remembered it from years ago!

First day down...

Well, we got through the day with having a little one around us for 24 hours! Nate did great today and it looks as if this situation is going to be more of an adjustment for Maverick and Graham! They are not sure what to think of this little guy running around them! Maverick follows Nate around when he is carrying any type of ball, I caught Nate feeding his snacks to Maverick, and every time we say the word "Bye-bye", or "Ride", all THREE of the boys run to the door! It is all good though, we are really enjoying him around. Nate had his first MY GYM experience today too (you all KNOW that Aunt Stephanie could not resist getting him involved there) and he did so awesome! I was bummed that Uncle Jeremy was not with us. I am sure we will have more stories to share as time goes on! 

Happy February!

Well, we have had quite the weekend to say the least. Grahamy started his chemotherapy on Friday, we had our 18-month old nephew placed with us today (he will be living with us for at least 6 months), and we saw the Cardinals lose the Superbowl! I was so sad! We have several adjustments ahead of us to say the least...the health of our dogs, juggling 'parenting' in our life, and putting football aside and getting ready for baseball! I also have to share a crazy revelation...today I have officially been teaching aerobics for 11 years! It is so hard to believe it has been that long...wow! I am so thankful that I have been given the opportunity to teach, it has been such a blessing to me over all of these years. Anyway, time for bed...Jeremy and I are praying the little man sleeps through the night! ;)