We lasted about a week before we gave in… we searched the AKC and found a reputable breeder in Illinois about an hour outside of Chicago. The problem was that Christian would be on another trip around the world… Egypt, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, India, and Singapore AND the pups were ready the 18th and he didn't return until the 21st. We had secured the second pick of the litter but if we didn't show that day, we would get passed over.
So, my only choice was to drive 3 hours with Bailey there and 3 hours with Bailey AND a puppy back…
If you know me, I LOVE a challenge.
This proved to be quite the challenge too. Friday afternoon I checked the weather and a blizzard was coming in Saturday and Iowa was expected to have extremely deteriorated roads by 2pm… sooooo I thought, I will wake at 5 get the puppy and be back after lunch in time to beat the storm… HA!
I wake up at 5, get Bailey in the car, and pull out of the garage and I can hardly see 50 yards in front of me. I pull out and start driving… About 40 minutes up the highway things got CRAY. The wind was gusting and the snow was just blowing… completely covering the road. I couldn't tell if I was on the road or the shoulder!!! So, I turned around. I knew in my gut that I had to -
Bailey was of course super disappointed but I wasn't really trying to die that day… We came home and snuggled all day and watched the whiteout!
Sunday, we try again. This time we make it. I wanted to take all of the puppies! Seriously, I came extremely close to getting 2.
The drive back was pretty good and Bailey and the pup behaved :)
Once home, things changed. Bailey who was SOOOO excited about the new puppy became insanely jealous… I am talking, she reverted to a baby. Peed her pants twice, cried, kicked the puppy etc… It was insane. I have heard of kids doing this with new siblings but a dog??? Please.
We have had to be very careful with him and her because we don't want her to hurt him - but we want to ease this transition too ;0
Going into week 3 has been much better. Bailey is starting to like playing with him and he is not as afraid of her!
As for the name we decided on Otto. Otto was the name of my great grandfather who was a German immigrant. Otto is believed to mean wealth and fortune and Lord knows we need some of that!
We are LOVING having a new pup but it is just like an infant… Up every two hours at night, crying, wailing, ahhhhh!!! Having him has however really helped us all to move on after the loss of Monk - I tell Christian to watch out… If he acts a fool - I will replace him just as fast! LOL!
I have to say that Otto is incredibly smart. He already recognizes a few commands, come and sit AND we have used the classic Pavlov method of classical conditioning to teach him to ring a bell when he needs to go out. That is helping take he guess work out of whether or not he has to go… which, when it is 40 below zero, you don't want to go out more that you need to!
On another note, Bailey had her three year check up a couple weeks ago. She was so pumped to see Doc McStuffins… oy vey…
Anyhow, I have always said that Bailey is a master manipulator… but she showed her true colors at the doctor. The three year appointment is mostly about development. They ask her a lot of questions like how old you are, what you eat, what you like, colors, shapes, etc. Now, I have always worked with Bailey on learning colors, shapes and other things but most of the time she "acts" like she does not know what I am saying… which I know she does… hence the manipulation.
So the doctor pointed out colors and SUPRISE Bailey new them all! (That was new to me) Then she doctor took a sheet of paper and drew a circle and asks Bailey what that is… "A circle!" hmmmm
Then the doctor says, "Can you draw a circle?" Bailey walks over, takes the pen and draws an almost perfect circle!!! I nearly fell out… even the doc was impressed ;) Then they proceeded to do the other shapes - I guess all this proved to me was what I already knew… HOMESCHOOL would NEVER work! Kids never want to do things for their parents and because of that you have no way of knowing what your child has learned! So, school it is!
That sneaky little thing :)
As far as other developments, Bailey is learning SO much! But, she has reached that 3-5 age where she has also developed all types of fears and obsessions. Some irrational some not. One of my friends has a daughter whose obsessions got so severe that they were interfering with her daily life… think OCD type things. She took her to an OT and they gave her the image of a bucket with a hole in it.
Think of your brain as a bucket - filling up with all types of information but things that we don't need, we let slide through the hole in the bottom. For kids in this age group, they have trouble letting water out of their bucket and keep it all in… even things that are not important. They say that most of these behaviors and obsessions begin at 3 and end around 5-6 but if they last longer, then you may have an issue… let's hope that she doesn't always have to sleep with all of the lights on! LOL!
It's been a while since I blogged on Bailey's milestones or should I say "obsessions" but here a few things I hope to never forget :)
- you sleep with ALL of the lights on and when you fall asleep I turn them off, but by morning, you have already woken and turned them all back on and gone back to sleep
- you have an irrational fear of band-aids… about 2 months ago you got one stuck in your hair and I pulled it out… now if you see a band aid you start screaming "No I don't want a band aid!"
- you hate all types of textures… sticky, slimy, dirty, etc… if you touch any of these, you immediately have to wash your hands
- you HATE washing your hair because you don't like water on your face… dad was a competitive swimmer so this is not going to fly ;0
- you love dancing and doing art
- but you also love watching movies and relaxing
- you can almost make your entire bed yourself ;0
- you are so self sufficient - you fill your own cup of water at the fridge and even retrieve your own snacks… (sometimes this is not so good!) you play so well alone and STILL love puzzles! You can almost dress yourself, brush your own teeth, and even use a loofa and bathe yourself :) so cute :)
- your favorite snack hands down is popcorn which you call "copcorn"
- despite some of your little "manipulations" you are so SWEET - and we LOVE you :))))
In other un-related news - my last living grandparent passed away this month. It was sad. I was unable to make it to the funeral since we had just returned home and Christian was out of town. I am however so impressed with the longevity of all of my grandparents. My grandfathers both died in their mid-late eighties and my mother's mother died at 102 and my last grandmother died at 93.
Speaking of longevity… I thought my life was over Tuesday night. I felt great, went to bed and woke at about midnight and felt super sick. My mouth started watering and I woke Christian up and was like "I think I am going to puke"
That was an understatement. I threw up 10 times from midnight to 7 am (among other things) I was freezing. My entire body was shaking and I was positive I was about to have a seizure - I was literally having convulsions laying in the bed, twitching. I was crying and begging Christian to take me to the ER. I was so thirsty… I would drink 2 sips of water and 10 minutes later, throw it up… It was hands down the WORST night of my life. The next day my face was completely swollen and every capillary under my skin was ruptured like I had red freckles.
I had a 102 fever, couldn't move, couldn't open my eyes, walk, anything. Christian had to be my nurse all day and get me to a doctor ASAP. I really thought it was the end. They diagnosed it as food poisoning.
It is now Thursday and I still have not eaten… I am too scared. I may never eat again.
Lastly, Christian celebrated his 35th birthday this month. Of course he was out of town but lucky for him he is baller and the hotel had a cake waiting for him when he got in that night - ha! Whatevs, they would totes do that for me too…
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| Otto |
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| Davenport, Iowa - drove through here on the way… so beautiful - frozen Mississippi |
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| Asleep on the way to get the pup |
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| Bailey was obsessed with the crate... |
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| she even locks herself in... |
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| little pup - big world |
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| First night |
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| First tea party |
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| Love. |
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| 3 year check up |
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| I love watching her sleep… |
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| we leave these lights on at least… ha! |
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| B loves her trains |
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| B got this in her stocking - an egg - you put it in water and after 3 days it hatches… it was a turtle :) her favorite creature... |
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| New tent from Meme - B's birth-grandmother |
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| you know, just chillin' in my fur eating peanuts... |
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| practicing with her chopsticks |
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| Christian always brings B his airline kit… hours of entertainment |
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| Going to the store |
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| Her favorite accessory |
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| Skyping and painting with Daddy |
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| My grandmother |
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| Christian's cake :) |
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| Christian at Bailey's age :) xoxo |
