Chance and Zuka

Zuka has been my baby since January 2011, when we got her. Our family dog had passed away a few years before and I had wanted a dog badly for years. My sister in law told us she was pregnant December 2010 and my baby hunger was so strong I could hardly stand it. So what did we do? Got a dog!

In thinking of starting a family, we knew it would be a huge adjustment for Zuka. Zuka is a huge part of our lives. She's always inside, aloud on beds and couches. We rarely go anywhere without taking her. She's straight up spoiled, but we wouldn't have it any other way. With the new baby coming, I didn't want her to feel as though she had been replaced. Things would be different, thats for sure. But we wanted her to still be a big part of our life and involved in everything.

I was anxious for Zuka to meet Chance when we brought him home from the hospital. What happened made me a little sad. She "nothing"ed him. She acknowledged his existence and went on her way. It broke my heart a little. I wanted her to be excited about this new little friend.

As time went on, it went from nothing-ness to avoidance. Zuka didn't want to be by him. I believe she sensed that he was special and was just being careful but it made me so sad. I would go by her with Chance and she would move. I would lay him by her and she would look the other way. This wasn't how I had planned for it to be at all. But I persevered. I kept introducing them and praising Zuka for her careful and good behavior. They would have moments where they seemed to be bonding. Or at least that maybe Zuka was starting to understand what/who he was. Those moments gave me hope.

In the last month, things have changed so much. These two have become fast friends. Zuka no longer moved away from him. If he is on the floor, she will go lay by him. She watches over him. She is especially aware of him while he is in the bath tub (and always has been). I am so excited. They are starting to interact with each other. Chance will touch her, pull her eyes, ears, lips, and hair. She just sits there. Doesn't even move away. She is so patient and tolerant. I couldn't be happier with her conduct.

In training her, I made sure to pet her everywhere. Touch her face. Touch her paws. I wanted her to be used to everything and no over react. It's so rewarding to see the work pay off.

Homemade Baby Food

When I was pregnant, I had no intention of making my own baby food. I'm by no means a "homemaker." I rarely make homemade adult food, why would I attempt homemade baby food? Well, Chance started eating solids at 4 months and has really taken to them. He eats on average, two Gerber 1st foods a day. So $1 a day (ish). That may not sound like a lot but that's $30 a month, on top of the formula that is still his main source of nutrition. Baby food was going to put us in the poor house! So I had to change my attitude about homemade baby food. I referred to Pinterest for some ideas. Keep in mind that my baby is only 5 months so I didn't get super creative with flavors and such but at least I know the process now. Here's what I ended up doing:

Here are the instructions:

Apples and Pears:
Peel. Cut into chunks. Boil til you can stick a fork in them. Blend. Fill ice tray.
I bought three of each and it filled an ice tray with a little left over.

Carrots: 
Boil (takes longer than apples and pears). Blend (We had to add a little water). Fill ice tray.
I bought one small bag of baby carrots and it filled one ice tray.

Peas:
Put them in a bowl. Microwave til soft. Blend (We had to add a little water). Fill ice tray.
One small bag of frozen peas filled one ice tray.

Yams and Sweet Potatoes: 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut in half length-wise and put flat sides down on a cookie sheet. Bake for 50-60 min (depending on thickness etc). Peel. Blend (We had to add about a half cup of water). Fill ice tray.
I bought one of each and they each filled one ice tray with a little left over.

THAT'S IT!

Freeze for 4 hours (ish, just until solid). Put the cubes in a zip lock bag. When you want to use one, take one out and microwave it for 45 seconds and you're ready to go. If it seems too thick, add some water. I like to just add rice cereal if baby food (homemade or store bought) seems thin. It works great! My baby loves it. I love it. We are saving a ton of money. And I feel like an awesome mom because now I know exactly what I am feeding my child! 

You've got Big shoes to fill, 2014

2014 already? Where has the time gone?! I have to admit, I don’t have huge hope for 2014. It has some pretty big shoes to fill after 2013. 2013 was HUGE for us!

We announced our first pregnancy.

I finished nursing school. I passed my NCLEX and landed my first RN job.

We redid Chance’s room, which turned out amazing. I absolutely love it and still love just being in that room.

Because of water damage, we had to redo our entire bathroom. And we only have one bathroom so that put us out of a shower for a good 6 weeks. (shout out to my parents for letting us use theirs) Not planned. Not fun. But necessary! And now it’s soooo nice to have completely new everything and we don’t have to worry about water messes anymore hehe ohhhh the joys of buying a house built in the 1940’s!!

We loved going through our first pregnancy and all of the ultrasounds (we had a lot because of diagnosed pyelectasis and low amniotic fluid levels).  We also had the opportunity to take part in a “first time mother” study, which allowed us extra ultrasounds (including an early gender check), and several other tests which checked for signs of early labor, cystic fibrosis, and countless other possible issues. I love science and it’s neat to know that I was part of research and possibly part of predicting pregnancy issues in first time mothers.  It was definitely an amazing experience and so neat to have extra checks on soooo many things. I felt spoiled and I know I will miss it with my 2^nd pregnancy.

We had a baby… Ya… Kinda big.

We made our yearly visit to Vegas with my family.

Travis finished school.

We enjoyed all the "firsts" with Chance including a grizzlies game, Thanksgiving, Halloween, park visits, walks,  getting to know Zuka, and about a million more!

We had our first Christmas with Chance. He wasn’t too aware of what was going on but we sure enjoyed it and look forward to next year when he can open presents and such.

This year FLEW and we accomplished so much that we have looked forward to for years. 2014 will be a complete lifestyle change that we are SOOOO ready for! 

I’m not sure what my new years resolutions are….. I think just the basics…..exercise regularly, be more spiritual,  be better with money. Then I have some not so typical ones like making dinner once a week (don’t laugh, I have to start somewhere). I also want to enjoy every day. Chance helps me a lot with this. Forget about what I need to do or what’s already happened that day. Just sit there and think about how incredibly blessed I am. I truly have it all! Just sit there and do whatever stupid thing I can do to make Chance laugh and love every second of it! We have seriously been blessed beyond measure and I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for us in 2014. Cheers!