Love this Pup

 Last night I read a chapter of Caddie Woodlawn where the family finds out that their faithful farm dog is lost... and just as I read that, Lloyded came and lay right beside me.

He is such a good pup.

Less Pictures

 When I go back to work, I suddenly have less pictures of my kiddos on my phone than I do during the summer.

I did snap this one last night.

Our View!

 I am in love with the view from our new home!

Three Things I Love

Three things I love:

 Summer and kids and sidewalk chalk.

New Plan

 Here is my newest attempt to keep our lives more organized...

a chore wheel.

This way everyone has a chore and all the animals get fed.

What's everyone's favorite chore, you ask?

Passing out vitamins.

Puppy Update - One Month with Maizey

 We are rounding 4 weeks since the little Maizey Blue has joined our family, and I am going to cautiously state that a puppy joining our family has gone much more smoothly than I anticipated.

When I remember getting Lloyd as a puppy, I remember a puppy as A TON OF WORK!  Which... there's not doubt, a puppy is a ton of work.

But contextually, adding a puppy to our lives right now brings a different amount of work than a puppy did 9.5 years ago when Lloyd joined our family.

Hubby and I got Lloyd Carr the puppy in October 2011.  He and I were married in June.  We moved in together for the first time in August, and in a new rental home.  He started a new job in August.  When Lloyd joined our family, we were just adjusting to married life and our only dependent was Lexie, my three-year-old cat.

For us, a new puppy was A TON OF WORK -- and really, our first shared responsibility in marriage.

So, a puppy that is a ton of work was basically my only memory of raising a puppy that I was bringing to the table when Hubby suggested our getting Maizey about a month ago.

Really... a month in, she is not as much work as I remember Lloyd being.

She's still a rambunctious puppy who chews and needed to be house trained, and still needs a lot of training... she is a puppy who is a ton of work... but really, Hubby and I juggle A LOT of things that are a ton of work.

We now have five children (who are very demanding).  When we got Lloyd, we had JUST received a number of lovely wedding gifts (which our sweet puppy was now trying to chew).  With Maizey, those beautiful wedding gifts were put into storage about five years ago when the twins were born with no plans to take them any time in the next decade.

Our house is already baby-proofed because Hunter is a newly walking toddler and loves to explore.  The baby-gates were already up for his safety... and now Maizey has the same boundaries.

We are teaching Maizey what toys are HER toys to chew, and what she is not allowed to chew... but truthfully, we don't have THAT many nice things in our life with five children and one more on the way.  We teach our children to be respectful of our furniture and our home... but accidents happen, and we expect accidents to happen.  This is why Hubby and I will not be investing in a new family room furniture set for another decade or so.

I'm sure she'll find her own mischief and prove me wrong... but really I'm not sure what Maizey could damage that our children haven't already damaged.

She was sleeping through the night a week after we got her.  She is very at home in her kennel (which she spends time in at night, when we leave the house, and when we're eating meals), and she has not had an accident inside in over a week.

She is also a LOT of fun, very gentle with our children (even Hunter), and she copies everything Lloyd does -- and Lloyd is a very good dog.

When Lloyd was a puppy, I remember feeling very guilty that if Hubby or I wasn't playing with him, he was by himself.  Now... wow, we have a LOT of people to love on Maizey.  She plays and cuddles with Lloyd, and Hubby, and Tracey, and Howard, and Caroline, and Lee Lee, and even Hunter.  Of course we need to makes sure are being gentle with he and that she is being gentle with them... but there are a lot of people to make her feel loved and wanted.

The only one who spends zero time with Maizey is Lexie.  She watches her from up high and from afar -- but she enjoys the fact that she can go places that Maizey cannot, and when Maizey is in her kennel, Lexie continues to enjoy the king size bed cuddling by my feet.

All in all, we are not in the market for another puppy and time soon... but a new puppy (especially a really good puppy like Maizey Blue) did not bring nearly the chaos I was expecting to our already crazy crew.

Ask me again in three months when the baby arrives and I might have a different story.

Can you even see Maizey in this happy cuddly group?  She's there...

1000 Words

 1000 Words

Progress

 They certainly haven't exchanged the secret handshake... but I'd say this is definite progress.

Introducing...

 Introducing...

...

...

...

MAIZEY BLUE MILLER!

🐶💙💛

So, if you asked me Friday evening what our plans were for the weekend, I NEVER would have said we’d be getting a puppy on Sunday... but Hey! That’s exactly what happened!

😆🤪😳👍🏻

Maizey Blue is eight weeks old and has a wonderful first day with us full of love, giggles, and lessons. 

The children are in heaven and our other animals (12 year old Lexie and 9 year old Lloyd) are showing the calm acceptance that comes with wisdom and age. 

👱🏻‍♀️🧑🏻‍🦰👩🏻‍🦱👧🏼👶🏼🤰🏼

🐶🐶🐱

Her name comes from our love of Michigan football. Our nine-year-old black lab, Lloyd Carr Miller is named after a great Michigan coach from the nineties, Lloyd Carr, and Michigan’s colors are Maize and Blue... so this little female black lab is Maizey Blue!

💛💙🏈〽️💙💛

Yes, we’re probably a little nuts... we appreciate prayers. 

🙏🏻✨💕

Here are our pictures so far of our sweet Maizey Blue

Quite a Team

 Yesterday, after Howard and Caroline left for school and Hunter was down for a nap, I realized that both Lee Lee and Lloyd seemed very quiet and intently occupied.  I turned my head to see that they had quite an arrangement worked out -- Lee Lee feeding Lloyd the rest of her apples and peanut butter and letting Lloyd lick all the peanut butter off her hands.

They were both very content with this arrangement.

Home Sweet Home

 We are so fortunate to have a home sweet home.

I snapped this picture at 6:00am after we arrived home having driven all night from St. Louis to Rifle.  Well, Hubby drove all night, but I can say that being 20 weeks pregnant in the car for 18 hours and overnight is no picnic even when I didn't do the driving.

Everyone collapsed into their own beds for a few hours before the children were up and ready to start their day... Lloyd beat Hubby and me to bed, but the picture was still such a sight of comfort to me that I wanted to snap a picture.

Home Sweet Home.

In this case, a little more accurately - Bed Sweet Bed.

Hunter Nicholas -- Nine Months

 Hunter turned nine months a few days ago and what a big month this has been for our little boy.

Hunter at nine months

Lee Lee at nine months

Caroline at nine months

Howard at nine months

Twins at nine months

Tracey at nine months

Comparison picture at nine months

Weight: 

Straight from his nine month check-up: 16 pounds, 6 ounces

Length:  

Straight from his nine month check-up: 27.5" long

Clothing size: 

Almost all 12 month clothing... but honestly, I just have him wear summer clothes.  I did recently buy him an outfit and I ordered 12 months.  It is big on him, but it fits.  I'm not returning it -- so 12 months.

 Eating:  

At the moment, Hunter can eat anything except peanuts and eggs.  He avoids all peanuts, peanut products, eggs, and food that contains either peanuts or eggs.

He eats really well for us and loves most foods.  This week, I made beef stroganoff and he gobbled that up!  He also loves rice, veggies, chicken, fruit, sweet potatoes, elk meat, tacos, spaghetti, yogurt... we have not found anything I can think of that he doesn't like.  Now that I think of it, he has some chicken fajitas and I think the spices upset his tummy a little.

He drinks water with his meal and he still nurses several times a day as well.

He has another round of allergy tests this month, and we learned he has no additional food allergies... but he does have INCREDIBLY sensitive skin.  He had a reaction to the Negative Saline Control that they put on his back -- so sometimes when his skin reactions, its just sensitive skin, not a food allergic reaction.  That has not been a fun balance to navigate, but thankfully, he is an incredibly happy baby, so we're figuring things out.

Sleeping:  

Hunter sleeps well and usually takes 2 naps a day.  He naps mid-day for about 2 hours, and again in the late afternoon for maybe 1 hour, and is ready for bed by about 8:00.  He sleeps through the night for between 11-12 hours.

New things/discoveries/accomplishments: 

One new tooth

Crawling (well, sliding/scooting -- but he moves forward on his belly and moves quickly, so I call it crawling) -- he is officially mobile

Pulling up on things

Going from his tummy to a seated position

Rolling over -- FINALLY!  This baby literally started crawling, and then realized it was to his benefit to roll over.

Lots of babbling -- We say, "Say Mama!" and he usually responds with "Dada" or "Nana"

Lots of days in the stroller while Mama walks or jogs or bikes while the big kids ride bikes

He got his first actual viral infection this month where he had a fever for a few days, and was incredibly fussy, and a few days later he broke out with a post-fever rash.  Everything was cleared up in a few days, but he was a fussy little boy for a few days.

He is still working on holding a bottle -- little guy has been nursed since the pandemic started, so when I gave him a bottle of water this month, he had no idea what to do with it.  The big kids love holding it for him, which, of course, does not help him learn to hold it for himself.

Likes: 

Walking in his walker

Crawling

Being around his siblings

Tags -- like the silky tags on her stuffed animals

Daddy

Tiny pieces of paper on the floor, which he then puts immediately in his mouth

Chattering

Baths

Meal time

Waking Lee Lee up from her naps -- and trying to steal her passie

Being carried by Tracey, Howard, or Caroline

Naps

Dislikes:

Being sick

Tummy aches

Sitting still for diaper changes when he could be crawling around

 Places He's Gone:

Special Memories: 

Attending a local photographer's annual Breastfeeding Awareness photo shoot.  I went two years ago with Lee Lee and it was nice to go with Hunter.  I'm sure most of the time I completely take for granted the fact I've been able to nurse five babies over the past six-and-a-half years.  I wouldn't trade it for the world, but the truth is that it takes determination, commitment, and sacrifice, and it is so kind of this photographer to appreciate and celebrate this every August with a free photo shoot for nursing Mamas.

Nicknames:

Hunt Hunt (by Lee Lee)

Hunner (by Caroline)

Hunny (by Howard and Tracey)

Buddy

Little Guy

Happy Boy

Buster

Buzz Boy

Hunt Buddy

Pictures from this month: