A few things stolen from other blogs...

Well I loved the way Katie arranged her links to other blogs, so I rearranged ours like hers to be in family and friends categories...then I got to thinking how much our friends in Gainesville seem so much like family and wondered if I should change it back...?


Another cool thing that happened on a friend's blog was the great comparison of Jen to her son Evan in their baby pictures. So I found the picture that stood out most (in my memory) where Noah and I actually have some resemblance, since all I ever hear is, "He looks just like his dad!" Let me know what you think... Just FYI I posted twice in one day again...

Just pics to share

Hey Everybody! I just wanted to share some pictures I have been taking over the last few months and I think are pretty amusing...

This picture is one of the many faces of Noah and the kind of face you don't often take a picture of...It is definately one of my favorites though. I call it the "I live how far from our Florida friends now?"

I am soooo big!

Noah's newest bathtime mohawk! I think we should color it orange and blue for the game!

This is when Baga came to visit us for the first time when we moved to Iowa...

My Baby Beethoven has done some good as you can see...I'm a Natural!

I decided to show mommy how it's done...getting dirty that is!

This is my new wagon and my new best friend

Milestones

Noah can now point out eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair and belly button. He is also really good at giving hugs and kisses too! We also had our first success with the potty yesterday. If you want a funny story just ask. Also, Noah has now grown out of his 6/9 month footy PJ's! He is getting to be a big boy-hahaha. We went to story hour yesterday and I think I had more fun singing the songs than Noah did;) Kristen, the librarian and one of Matt's classmates, did a great job. Noah has now visited 3 states, not including airport visits, because we went to Minnesota today to watch Uncle James' soccer game. We made our Amish Friendship Bread today with chocolate pudding and chocolate chips. It is yummy! So two posts in one day...Aren't you all so proud of me?

Vacation Much Needed!!!

We have been home for just a few days, but this time it feels more refreshing to be here. We just had a wonderful week in Florida. Our trip started out by surprising my gramma that we were in Florida. That night we celebrated Gramma and Mom's birthdays. We ate a wonderful meal of Chicken Roll-Ups, salad, green beans, and a homemade dark chocolate cake Barby made. It was wonderful. Amy, who is in nursing school now, tried to hear Noah's murmur. I thought it was such a cute picture. The next day we took a picnic to the Withlacoochee River Park and enjoyed the playground, breeze, and all of the butterflies. We had a great time.

Thursday morning we went over to spend time with Mema, Papa, Aunt Leanie, and Dad. That evening we spent some time with Beth and Jordan and ate Chili's take out. Friday morning we packed our stuff and headed to gramma's to spend the day with her. Barby also came back to gramma's, so we got to spend some more time with her too. Around 3:30 we headed out to make it to Jimmy and Katie's before rush hour. We ate stuffed shells Jimmy made for dinner and they were great. That night we played bohnanza, which I won before crashing. Saturday morning we all rose and started to get ready for the party at the Searby's house. What a party! Chris and Renae Nicholich, Matt and Kristy Crowe, Brandi Strode and Kids, Amy and Jon Leftwich, Krystal and Josh Williams, and a few of Joel's co-workers were all there. It was so great seeing everyone. It was definitely the therapy I have been needing:) The highlight of the trip was of course getting to meet Evan, the new addition to the Searby household. Jen is doing such a wonderful job being a mommy. What patience! Noah had fun looking Evan over and tickling his little, but big feet. We went to the pool and Noah got his first sunburn on his chest and back. Later we watched Florida pummel Tennessee59-20. We played "What if?" at the Searby's before going back to Whitlocks.

Sunday morning we went to church and heard a great message from a missionary who serves in Africa. We talked to Bob Gailey a little about the Costa Rica mission trip and then went to David's BBQ and ate with the Birketts, Searbys, and Whitlocks. We headed to the Williams' after that and played a few games, which Mike and Vernine were able to come too also. We finally got to meet Zach and what a pleasure that was. Sweet Dreams was the next stop and it was as delicious as ever! Matt and I had a waffle cones with Mexican coffee and Mayan chocolate. That night we played a game called Beyond Balderdash with Katie and Jimmy. Then the boys and I played a farming game. We finally made the bed around 4:00am! Monday morning Jimmy and Matt went to a boy pow-wow with Joel and Kevin at Starbucks. They all had a great time. When they came home we played a few more games, then had to get on the road. We stopped by the lab, vet school, and rainbow, and a quick stop at the Searby's before heading out of Gainesville back to Tampa. That evening we saw Leigh Anne, David, and Shay Lynn, and finally Dad and Deborah's for spaghetti dinner! Tuesday we hung out with Bran Dee and Barby. My gramma came down to my mom's for dinner and we had a great meal and said our goodbyes. We left the next morning at 4:15. It was hard to leave, but made it easier to come home having seen just about everyone we love and miss in Florida. We can't wait to come back Dec 30-Jan 9! See you all then!

Labor Day, Noah Knows...

Well, today is only our second day without Peanut and it is still pretty sad. Matt's parents, both sets of grandparents, and James and Nicole came over to eat. And eat we did. We had Angie's famous babyback recipe ribs, hamburgers prepped by Nicole and cooked by Matt, Gramma Mavis' potato salad which I loved because it was southern style, Greek salad, shrimp pasta salad which Noah loved made by Gramma Mary, baked beans, raw apple cake, and rice crispy treats. After we ate Noah led Gramma Pam into Matt and my bedroom. Noah went over to Peanut's empty food dish, pointed at it and waved bye. Pam came out crying and when she told the rest of us we promptly followed suit. Noah has been extra fussy these past 2 days and I think it is because he misses his doggy.

I think that a lot of Noah's pickyness lately stems from a desired independence which he is just now learning to explore. This afternoon after all of the people left Noah and I were having "snack." I offered him some tomatoes, which he usually loves (I think he gets that from his Aunt Jen:), by trying to put one in his mouth and he promptly spit it out and put a different one in his mouth himself, chewed it up and swallowed it. What a little turkey! A few other milestones which Noah has reached recently are being able to open the front door by himself, being too tall to run under the diningroom table, and two molars popped through his gums on the top. The bottom ones are definately not far behind. Noah also knows how to turn on the stereo and he loves to turn the volume way up and jam. He will turn around to make sure you are watching him dance. We miss everybody and cannot wait to see you all.

I also thought of a few more things we will miss about Peanut...having to pick up the food Noah throws on the floor which would have usually been welcomed by a very ready, hungry Jack Russell, and also not having her let us know when someone is here to see us. As annoying as her barking could be sometimes, the house sure seems quiet at those times without it.

Peanut's Last Fight

Well, yesterday Peanut had her last fight. She had been outside with us all day romping and running and playing in the culvert, dirtier and probably smellier than she had ever been before. When our neighbor came home she decided to go over and attack the neighbor's husky-type dog who didn't even know what hit her, until it was too late. Peanut's rib was broken and who knows what other kinds of injuries she sustained, but she gave her final breath sometime tonight around 9pm.

What I will never forget about Peanut are the years she was there to snuggle under the covers when it was cold in my mom's house, felt just like a personal space heater. Her growling at 9wks old at the rotty that came in the vet's office that was of course "hers." The countless times she attacked other family members' dogs and lived to tell about it. Her "ear baths" and "going crazy." The way she hated-or loved depending on how you look at it-those squeaky toys that squeaked when air went in and came out. She would not let one of those out of her sight for hours even if she killed the squeaker in a minute or so. The way she obsessively licked the door, any door that moved, for hours upon hours. Oh how she loved to dig! She would tunnel and tunnel and her face and beard would be black for days even after a bath. All the tricks she knew-sit, lay down, roll left, roll right, and the cutest and my favorite sit up. She loved to chase flies and eat them when she was lucky enough to catch one here and there. In Iowa, she has spent plenty of time doing just that with the cattle being so close to the house and all. I will also remember the way she would jump on the golf cart for a ride and when she felt the need run off at top speed while the golf cart was moving. The way she pretended not to like baths even though she loved water and the attention focused solely on her. Her four litters of puppies, the first of which I woke up to next to my head on my pillow. Ginger is her one daughter that my mom has and loves dearly...wish I knew where the others are...I also remember trying to get her to eat her food as a puppy by telling her the cat would eat it if she didn't, and later in life having to buy special food so that she didn't choke from inhaling it too fast. She loved to go in and visit my grandfather when he was sick. I am not sure he loved it as much, but if I was there he at least pretended to. I remember her barking at every car, person, squirrel, dog, and anything else she deemed fit that came near our apartments in Gainesville. How excited she was to meet babies, as long as they were not mobile. She loved to jump up and lick kids in the face. She barked when people hugged. She barked when commanded to say "Go Gators!" She never chewed on anything that wasn't hers, except a few things that were in the trash anyways. When she got away from me as a puppy, the only way to catch her was to get her to chase you by running around in a big circle that got tighter and tighter until finally you could turn and grab her from beside you. When she was a puppy my mom used to pick her up and count to three which was a joke because by the time you got to three she was wiggling so fiercely it took some strength to hold on to her. She hated having her nails clipped. She loved chasing rats. Matt and peanut had killed a few in their day. She got third in the first and only go-to-ground competition she was ever in. She had a "strong head for a bitch" as described by a judge at the show. Her left ear had a white stripe on the edge with two little dots on it. I held her when she was three and a half weeks old and decided she was the one that I wanted because she had a marking on her butt in the shape of a heart, she fit in the palm of my hand then. She had relatives in her pedigree that were in The Real Jack Russel a book that tells about how the breed started and shows beautiful JRTs. Her right eye used to be completely covered with the brown spot, but had filled in with many "grey" hairs in the last few years. The color had completely receded behind her eye. People always commented on how young she looked. They could never believe she was "that old!" Noah had begun to chase her around with her leash or throw balls at her lately. She would ignore him and just stay a few steps ahead as to not get caught in this game they played. It made me nervous, but Noah would shriek with excitement. She also loved to climb trees.

Now she is buried by a couple trees. And four other beloved pets on Gramma and Grampa Jensen's property with the bed she died on. I won't have to tell her to get out of the bathroom or off of the couch or to stay or to get in her crate anymore. I only wish I could...
Peanut, Rest in Peace, my first "daughter," my brat, my friend...04-29-9? to 09-01-07