Thanksgiving

Mom/Nana, Carolyn, SaraBeth and James came for Thanksgiving. John loved having all the attention. Bill cooked macaroni and cheese, mashed potatos and a turkey breast; Mom made dressing and gravy; Carolyn cooked almond-green beans and heated store-bought sweet potatoes; SaraBeth entertained John, texted her friends, and played two songs over and over on Guitar Hero on the Wii ("Slow Ride" and "Hit me with your Best Shot"; James played Battlefield on the computer, and Guitar Hero, earning money in the career mode, and trying to beat my high scores; I entertained John, set the table, cleaned up after dinner, and kept beating James' high scores on Guitar Hero. We had a fun time!

The apnea monitor is gone! Someone from the company came and picked it up Tuesday evening. We stopped using on Sunday (or maybe Saturday). It is much nicer not having a cord to trip over or maneuver when I am nursing JohnJohn in the middle of the night.

Today's pictures: Thanksgiving pictures!

New Makel pics

Just wanted to add a few new pictures of Makel that I found- some are from a trip to the mountains we took in the early spring of 2007, and the others are just chillin' out at home....

Big changes in the Leith Household!

JohnJohn has taken some big steps towards growing up over the past couple of weeks. He moved out of our bed and into his own, still in our room but in his own space. He started solid food (rice cereal) this past Monday and really likes it- he especially likes trying to hold the spoon himself. JohnJohn also is very interested in what we're eating and drinking, and if he is sitting in my lap when I'm taking a drink, he reaches for the cup. I let him hold it (with help) and bring it to his lips to chew on the rim (it's always water I'm drinking when I hold him). He prefers to hold his bottle when he gets one.

The other day, JohnJohn rolled over for the first time. However, he didn't do what most babies usually do. He didn't roll from his back onto his tummy- he rolled from his tummy onto his back to get out of tummy time! He was very pleased with himself and has done it a few other times.

At JohnJohn's six month check up, his doctor recommended that we take him off the monitor. We got a call from someone yesterday wanting to see if he could swing by and pick it up, but we were out, so I have to call Monday and schedule a time for someone to pick it up. Bill and I are both a little anxious about it, of course, but it's time.

We bought JohnJohn an early Christmas present- a (as Bill calls it) "standy-uppy thing" for him to work on sitting and standing- it is an Exersaucer, and JohnJohn really likes it. He is getting good at moving himself around to play with the different toys.

Today's pictures: JohnJohn eating solid food for the first time; upside down, being silly; JohnJohn 'helping' Daddy feed him; JohnJohn in his Exersaucer- he woke up with that scratch on his head- so of course, he got his nails clipped that day!

In Memory of Makel 5/22/93 to 11/17/08

Makelrein Von Herzenhugel, pup of Baron Hulk von Hogan and Terry's Fraulein Elke, was born May 22, 1993 in the mountains just north of Chattanooga, TN. One of two males in a litter of 7, Makel was stubborn from birth. The day we drove up to pick him up, July 11, 1993, he wanted nothing to do with the sun and kept running into the shade. He sat on Bill's lap the entire way home, and had so much extra skin that at a rest stop on our way home, someone asked if he was a shar-pei. Funny, huh?

Makel, whose name in German roughly translates to pure Spot of Harthill (he had a white spot on his chest, and Harthill was one of the Leith family castles in Scotland), was such a happy puppy. He loved going to the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area almost daily, going for walks along the river and playing in his puppy play group. He especially enjoyed playing with Maxine, a German Sheppard pup, whom he met on his first day at the park. Makel loved to play chase in the field, swim in the river, and hike in the woods with his friends.

He was an incredibly smart dog. As a puppy, when we lived in the apartment, I made the mistake of teaching him to ring a bell when he needed to go outside to relieve himself. Makel soon figured out that one of us would take him out whenever he rang the bell, so he would hit that bell with his nose all the time so he could go outside and play. Later on as an adult, Makel had excellent word discrimination skills. When playing fetch, Bill and I could say "On your mark, get set...." and any word that started like 'go' (ghost, gopher, goat, etc), and Makel wouldn't move a muscle until he actually heard the word 'go'. He loved to open presents, and could easily open gifts with his teeth and paws. Makel also preferred to sleep under the covers, and could get himself completely covered up in his own blanket on his bed.

There is so much to say about our first 'child'. He always wanted to be where people were, and refused to be delegated to dogdom in the back yard. He loved cuddling up next to someone on the couch or bed. He was truly one of the best dogs you could ever ask for. Very stubborn, yes, but so sweet, gentle, and loving. He was always so patient with his human 'cousins' and was very gentle, even when taking food from them when they weren't really offering it!

Makel suffered some kind of stroke or seizure on Sunday night, November 16. It wasn't likely that he would fully recover, so with a very heavy heart, Bill drove him to the emergency vet clinic to have him put to sleep. Makel went peacefully a little after midnight on 11/17. He was 15 1/2 years old, and lived a full, happy life. We got Makel the day after we got married, and he was such a major part of our lives. We are still in shock, and will continue to grieve for a while. I can't possibly put into words what a special dog he was and how much he'll be missed, but this is a small start.

Pictures: Makel in various stages of life; we have so many more, some of them great, but these were ones I had on the computer. I don't have time to scan others to share
Videos: Makel talking to Daddy

November 2

I can't believe it is already November and John is coming up on 6 months! That is half a year! He has his 6-month doctor's appointment with immunizations on the 17th, and he may actually get the flu shot then since he'll be old enough! Of course, I already got my flu shot (Kaiser gives them free), so he's getting antibodies from me, so I don't know if he'll actually be getting his own shot or not. Bill has a physical on Wednesday (because he's 40) and will get his flu shot then.

Last Tuesday was Moonlight Madness at the Kroger near my school- they are one of our Partners in Education and they have a bunch of different activities for kids to do. Since it is always the week of Halloween, kids get to dress up in their costumes. Taking advantage of any and every opportunity to show off Johnny Mac, we put him in his Monkey costume and went over. Everyone, people I know and strangers alike, commented on how cute JohnJohn is. We know he's cute, but it is nice to hear it from other people, too, because honestly, who wants a striking baby???

Friday, being Halloween and all, Bill and I put Johnny into his Monkey costume again so he could be dressed to answer the door. He enjoyed it at first but got cranky after awhile, so we changed him into his jammies and new Ghost Hat that our friend Jim got for him. Before that, though, while he was still a Monkey, I took him across the street to see Ann and Jack. Ann was thrilled to see him and hugged and kissed him, and again offered to babysit whenever we need her!

Saturday, Bill left us! But just for the day and overnight! Nana/Mom, who has season Carolina tickets, was going out of town, and James, who she usually takes to all the games, didn't have anyone to go with him to see Carolina whoop up on Tennessee (Carolyn didn't want to take him), so Bill left around 11:45 yesterday morning (the game was at 7). JohnJohn and I had a good time. We went shopping yesterday afternoon, and John, being the easy baby that he is, was wonderful. He really is so easy going and laid back, and we are truly fortunate. Bill will be home later today, and I plan on taking a nap- nobody told Johnny we were supposed to get an extra hour of sleep last night, so he never took his. Actually, I think he's taking his hour now, he is sleeping (after getting up at 6:30 and not wanting to go back to sleep).

In case you haven't noticed, we haven't decided yet what we're calling the little man, so I thought I'd try all the nicknames out here and see what everyone thinks. I usually call him JohnJohn or John, or Monkey, but he can't grow up being called Monkey. I don't mind Johnny but I taught a student who went by JohnJohn and our favorite NICU nurse called him JohnJohn from his first week of life, so that has kind of stuck. What do y'all think? (Not that we'll do what other people think, but I'd like to know....)

Today's pictures: Our little Monkey; John in his Halloween jammies with his Ghost Hat; JohnJohn Saturday morning- he pulled the lion mirror off the arm of the bouncy seat and was chewing on/licking it, and then he fell asleep like that- it was cute so of course I took pictures.