Speak, Memory

I cannot ever remember feeling this tired for this long. But things are slowly coming together. *sigh*

Samuel
He will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. I can't believe how quickly time has flown--one more week and he'll be one month old! And he has GROWN like a WEED! Seriously, he entered this world at 7 lbs. 6 oz. As of Tuesday, he was 9 lbs even. He has outgrown the newborn cloth diapers and his strictly newborn clothes are fairly tight on him. The 0-3 month clothes look good though...for now.

Things have not all been easy though. Among all the usual newborn issues, he has been getting increasingly fussy about feedings, and then starting spitting up an oz or two of breast milk at almost every feeding followed by being very bloated, gassy, and generally uncomfortable. We saw the pediatrician about it Tuesday and he decided we should have an upper GI study done, so yesterday little Samuel got to fast for 4 hours (really, this is SO much fun with an infant. *eye roll*) and then drink barium for a scan. Results shows that it is just a minor reflux issue, so that is a relief and we can begin helping him feel better.

Today has been a little rough just because he's eliminating the barium. It has made him clingy and lethargic, but I don't mind cuddling with baby. Plus, it coincided with another visit from my mom, so *she* cuddled him for a few hours while I visited Doc.

Samuel in his first week


Samuel today after a bath and getting ready to go into his favorite thing--the ergo baby carrier. It's his cuddle time with Daddy. :)


Doc
We have almost completed 45 days of downtime for the injured suspensory. He has a recheck with the vet next Wednesday and I'm hoping we will get cleared to begin walking under saddle. In just the past two weeks the leg has really started to look better--cleaner, less swelling. I trotted him on a circle for the first time the other day and I'd say he is only a grade 2 on the lameness scale. *crosses fingers for next Wednesday*

Doc being hand grazed by one of our barn buddies who was kind enough to help me manage all this care-giving during the final weeks of pregnancy


Joon
Poor Joon Dog. If it is not one thing, it is another for her. We have taken her off antibiotics for the first time in a year (yay!). She is doing pretty well. Still has a snotty nose, but vet and I think it is ok. She has been put on Prilosec because we now think that maybe all this pneumonia was caused by her aspirating snot into her lungs (eww!). It seems to be working. However, she has since experienced a kind of yeast infection probably caused by coming off antibiotics for the first time in a year. Poor thing had no beneficial bacteria left in her! We got *that* cleared up only to be confronted by random vomiting, which seems to be the result of not getting enough to eat (go figure!). My theory is that, as a barn dog, I always let everyone give her whatever they felt like sharing. At the moment we don't get to the barn terribly often, and I'm not pitching her table scraps all that much either. We've cut out a *significant* portion of her extra helpings. And apparently, all the snacking was good for her. We have resolved *this* issue by adding a *second* antacid--pepcid--to her diet, and she gets a third meal late at night, plus I'm trying to be better about giving her snacks during the day again. Who knew the treats and scraps could actually be a *good* habit for a pup?

Jeremy with a Joon Dog the day Samuel came home from the hospital.


Me and Jeremy
We are, unsurprisingly, exhausted. We are still trying to figure out how to juggle the night time duties with daytime responsibilities. I feel like we might be almostthere, but ask me that again next week and see how I feel. *grin* Otherwise, we are well. Jeremy, unfortunately, did not get that job in Terre Haute. It was a real downer because they said the job would have been his, they loved him, but stuff came up at the firm and they were unable to hire anyone. They hope to offer him the job again after the first of the year should he still be available. *shrugs* we're not holding out for it, but it would still be nice.

For my part, I cannot wait to begin riding again. I love my son. I love cuddling him. Motherhood is wonderful. But I cannot wait to begin riding again. The Blessing is this weekend and Jeremy is encouraging me to go watch without Samuel (It's supposed to be crappy weather here this weekend), and the Swallow Ridge fixture at my parent's place is at the end of October. I really hope to have something to ride for that hunt.

The Whole Family (ok, minus the Joon Dog, but close)

Ok, so I'm really late to the game on this one, but Jeremy and I watched Avatar for the first time last night. We kept waffling about it while it was in theaters...go to see the special effects? Watch it on IMAX, regular, 3D? We never could make up our mind and were just luke warm about the whole thing anyway, so we skipped it. Until last night.

My overall impression? They ripped off LOTR, Rambo, *George W. Bush* (for God's sake, they felt the need to rip off George Bush!), CS Lewis, and a number of other much more original movies. My favorite was that they ripped off George Bush though. lol! ("We are going to fight terror with terror!")

Jeremy and I took turns slinging insults and one liners at the film, but I had the best one of the night: "For all their technology, they still can't make planes impervious to birds." That one had Jeremy laughing for a while.

On the plus side, the effects were really cool. I kind of would have liked to have seen in on IMAX 3D, but not for $20 a person. The Avatar idea was kind of neat too. I was disappointed in the story telling though. It really lacked, felt more like an uncohesive dream. I suppose they were kind of going for that, but they still could have told the story better I think. I don't think it was a waste of my time, but it wasn't that great of a movie. I'm glad it didn't get all those awards it was nominated for.

Had a lovely long Memorial weekend in Terre Haute with family, horses, and pets. Just thought I'd share the pictorial highlights. :)


Everyone say, "AWWWW!"




This is my 4 yr old niece.






Also of note, spent a lot of quality time with my Dad while he helped me build jumps. I will take pictures of unassembled and assembled jumps soon. Had good quality time with my Mom too...we went shopping. :)

HE PASSED! HE PASSED! HE PASSED! HALLELUJAH, HE PASSED!

In case you don't know what that means, Jeremy passed the Indiana Bar Exam. He found out this morning. That was his second attempt and he was so worried he wouldn't make the cut. I'm so proud of him, there aren't even words for it. There will be much rejoicing and celebrating this weekend!

Thanks everyone for the congrats and well wishes. Sorry I don't have time to respond to you all individually--this not having internet at home kinda crimps my time sometimes. *grin* Hopefully, that will be coming to an end soon!

Anyway, thanks again!

Wow it's been a busy week. I've been at the barn from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day this week, which has left me zero time for getting over to my mother-in-laws house to check the internet. It's been a great week though!

Taught an advanced jump camp to 7 girls from the barn and we had a great week. It was really intense and a lot more work than I ever think those girls have experienced, but they rose to the occasion. Then on Friday we took everyone trail riding as a reward.

May also have a new home for Doc. One of my students has fallen in love with him and really wants to get him. Her mom is cool with it, but now we need to work on her dad. I think it would be a good match, so we'll see what works out.

Otherwise, things are good. Jeremy takes his bar exam in little more than a week. I've been getting good pay checks lately. Hopefully Jeremy will have a job by the beginning of August, and I'm also hoping that my hours will increase in august too. All good things.

That's it. Hope everyone is doing well out there.

Jeremy and I have been back in Indiana for just about 24 hours now. We enjoyed a lovely week in sunny Gulf Shores, AL during spring break/the honeymoon. *grin*

We didn’t do a whole lot—laid on the beach a lot, soaked up the sun, drank and ate a LOT, soaked in the hot tub...yeah, rough life. We also swam in the ocean one day and enjoyed putt-putt golf and go-karting. The weather couldn’t have been any better—highs in the mid-70s all week and only one day of rain. Otherwise, perfect!

And yes, we did share our moon with a couple of friends. I couldn’t resist, and neither could Jeremy. Gulf Shores is a fun place, but we’ve been there once before. We both thought it would be a lot more fun if we had Ann and Kyle along for a few days. So, they agreed and we shared the moon with them for four days. The other three we had all to ourselves to do those honeymoon things.

But without further ado, the pictures. Hope you all enjoy them!



( The rest are under here )

Just spent the day with my best friend, her boyfriend, and my husband lounging on the beach. *sigh*

There really isn't much more to say than that, now is there? *grin* It has been a splendid day in Gulf Shores, AL. I have sunbathed, walked, been in the hot tub, ate good food, and now we are planning our seafood outing for the evening. Perhaps I will take pictures. Warm and sunny is nice.