21 Weeks...

...It's definitely a girl!!! We had a sonogram today (the big one). They did all the measuring and weights. She weighs 14 oz. and her measurements average her out to be 21 weeks 1 day. She's perfect. No health issues, no alarms. God is good.

The sonogram was partly done is 3D, but every time the sonographer tried to get a picture of her face, she put both her feet in the way. It's actually pretty cute (she's laying in there, folded in half).



She also got the hiccups during the exam (which we also have on tape). The sonogram video is about 25 minutes long and I don't know how to only upload parts, so it's not here for anyone to see.

As far as names, we're thinking Madelyn Elizabeth or Camryn McKenzie (but of course, that will probably change).



I'm feeling pretty good, but look like a house! Looking down my belly doesn't look that big, but then I saw this picture Brian took...Bad Brian (apparently he's not good at 'slimming' shots). They say the camera adds 10 pounds, right? Hopefully it's just the way I'm standing, or maybe it's the shirt I'm wearing...I never liked that shirt anyway (actually it WAS one of my favorites) :o)

Funny side note: My belly button is getting shallower. I had an itch the other day and when I went to scratch it, (gasp) "I can feel the bottom of my belly button!" I've never been able to do that. Even weirder, I can SEE the bottom of my belly button, I'm not sure which is worse. :o)

Lucy-Lu...

Lucy is a Nut!!! We got her Monday (4/12) and brought her home, then Tuesday she spent most of the day in our tiny bathroom (with me walking back and forth every 1 1/2-2 hours for pee/poop breaks). Then Tuesday night we spent some time with her and she's really come out of her shell. She's bubbly and crazy and all around hilarious.


We bought a couple of baby gates at target and gated her into the kitchen (which is now her "room") and she seems content to be there. She doesn't cry when she gets put in there (which is a huge plus). Also, she's been really good about pooping and peeing outside. We have the occasional pee overnight, but she uses her "pee towel" that's laid down for that purpose, and she's had a few pee accidents inside while playing, but that's our fault for not taking her out/watching her close enough.


All-in-all she's a real blessing...lots of fun and as Brian said, "Baxter will be missed, Lucy will be loved." She's a good addition.

Sad, Sad Day...

I stayed home from work to take Baxter to the vet. Since we first picked him up, he's been doing this weird thing where he humps to poop (it's like a thrust). This is how he's been peeing as well. It's pretty obvious that he's incontinent, so I took him to the doctor hoping for a cheap. easy fix, but willing to figure out how to deal with an expensive, difficult fix. But either way, we were going to get him fixed. Imagine my surprise and horror when I asked Dr. May what we had to do and he told me there wasn't anything we could do.

He said Baxter's spinal cord didn't develop all the way and it wasn't something that we could do anything about. He wasn't going to be able to control his poop or pee, ever. Immediately I hugged Baxter to me and started crying. Dr. May said that with the urinary incontinence, he would probably get constant bladder infections (due to not being able to ever fully empty it).

After getting home and talking (or rather, crying) it over with Brian we both came to the conclusion that it's just not practical for us to keep him, which sucks, because we are both already in love with him.

We contacted the breeder, who told us that the only thing she could do is give us the female. I didn't want the female, I didn't want any puppy, but we had to take Baxter back.

I cried the whole way there (and was inconsolable the next day too). The breeder said that she would keep Baxter, that she had a yard and it wouldn't matter if he couldn't hold it (so at least she's not going to have him put down, which was my biggest fear).

Anyway, we brought the female puppy home (she's nervous and shy), but I hope she'll come out of her shell. It's hard to look at Lucy, because she looks so much like Baxter.

I know that God has His reasons for everything, but it doesn't make it any easier. Hopefully Baxter will have an amazing life...he will be sorely missed.

Poop Explosion...

If only I could transmit smell through photos, then you'd get the full experience. Suffice it to say, it smelled AWFUL...and we couldn't stop laughing.






The solution...

...a baby diaper, under a puppy diaper.

Baxter...

It's no secret that Brian has been trying to convince me for the last couple of months that we need a bulldog in our lives, but at $1500, I've been putting him off, telling him that if he can find one on Craigslist that needs to be re-homed (for $200 max) we could consider it. I should have thought about how tenacious he can be when he really wants something.

Needless to say, he found a lady (in Killeen) who was selling a female, intact, 1 1/2 year old bully for $300, but (with that amazing gift of gab that he has) he convinced her to take $200 (his limit-as set by me). :o)
So we took off for a road trip. When we arrived, the dog came out to greet us by crawling on her belly. She had elongated nipples from a recent litter, and she was a little on the shy side. My first thought was that I didn't see her fitting in with the out-going craziness of Stanley and Lefty, but Brian was ready to take her. While talking to the lady who was re-homing her we mentioned how so many people were asking $1000 to "re-home" most adult bulldogs and we'd just as soon pay the extra and get a puppy for that kind of money.

"Well," she said, "I have a female puppy for $1000, because I breed too."

My thoughts to that were "there's no way we're spending $1000" and what came out of my mouth was, "Can we just see the puppy?" <---bad idea. Who JUST plays with a puppy?

Anyway, not one, but two, puppies come running inside, one comes right to me, jumps in my lap, and starts licking my face and wagging it's butt. The other belly-crawls past us and out of sight (which is fine because I have eyes for the one in my lap only). The lady says, "The male is only $600." I pick the puppy up that's in my lap, look at the belly, and, OF COURSE, it's the male. So, by the pictures, I bet you can guess what happened...

...he came home with us.

Half Way There...

We're at 20 weeks today...can hardly believe it's half way over. We have an appointment with Dr. Cowan next Thursday (one week from today) to confirm the sex and then---let the buying begin! We're getting kind of anxious (at least I am), Brian's pretty sure. Speaking of Brian, yesterday he was filmed (as an extra) for the t.v. series, Friday Night Lights. He said he had a blast (but he no longer wants to be an actor) :o)
The only complaints I have right now are my lower back killing me and I can't seem to get a good night's sleep (partially the dogs' fault and partially because I have to get up at least twice every night to go to the bathroom). I really just need one night of uninterrupted sleep. Every time I get out of bed to pee, the dogs sneak into the "warm spot" and even though they only weight about 25 lbs each, trying to move their dead weight is not the easiest thing in the world. I swear they weigh more when they're sleeping.
The deal with my back came on pretty suddenly over the last couple of days and it's gotten so bad that I've woken myself up the last two nights because I'm crying in my sleep. Once I get up and moving around it's bearable, but during the night it's awful. I guess no good thing comes without a price. Maybe I just need a pillow wedge or something.
On a happier note, Baby is moving around...some days it seems like she's trying out to be an acrobat and others I don't even notice her moving. We still haven't decided on any names, but are considering a few:
Camryn Elizabeth or Camryn MacKenzie
Madelyn Elizabeth or MacKenzie (insert middle name here)
Ah well, we still have some time to figure it out. Who knows she may have named herself already and is just waiting to be born to let us know.



P.S. This is how the boys were sleeping when I got up for work today. Nothing like playing hide-and-seek (in plain sight)-Lefty's really hard to spot.

19 Weeks...

I feel like a freakin' house. However, a house with energy...so there's somethin'. Our 20 week sonogram was pushed back from next week (the 8th) to the following week (the 15th) so that's kind of a bummer, but there are worse things. One extra week until we're sure and then bust out the paint!!!