Addition and Subtraction

As you can imagine, a lot has gone on over the last 6 months since we last blogged. There are too many to name here, but there are a couple changes that have occurred in which I would be remissed not to bring to light here today.

Subtraction:

A few weeks ago, Randi and I decided to put Dante to sleep. He had been diagnosed with cancer several months ago. Over the couple weeks we had him, he really began to go downhill fast. He was having trouble getting around but always seemed in good spirits. That made the decision even worse. We finally made the decision because we did not want to get into a situation where it would be an emergency. It would have been traumatic for the boys and Randi would have had to performed a feat of Herculean proportion to get him in the car to rush him to the vet. Randi has been taking it hard. Randi got him when she was single, just before we started dating. He has been with her/us through our marriage and the birth of Parks and Wyatt. From here on out, any other dog we have will more than likely be considered our kids dog rather than our own. He will be missed....Ole' Darth Dante (bba).

Addition:

We also found out late last year that Randi is pregnant again. It was a complete surprise to the both of us. We were in the beginning stages of exploring the option of adoption when we got the news. Everything is looking very well so far and the baby will be born the middle of July. And, yes, there is only ONE baby in there. Randi has had a lot of nausea with this pregnancy and was determined that this was an indication that we were having a girl. So much for woman's intuition. We got our anatomy scan ultrasound yesterday and learned that Parks and Wyatt are going to have a baby brother.

As my coworker said yesterday, Randi doesn't have a chance with the toilet seats now.

Duke

Some of you may have noticed when we updated our blog design that the name changed from "Two by Two by Two" to just "Two by Two." This is because we made the decision a couple of months ago to find a better home for Duke, our youngest Pointer. Unfortunately, at this stage in our lives, with very small children, we are not able to give him the attention he deserves. It was very hard to make this decision, but we felt it was the best thing for Duke. The couple was in the process of relocating to Atlanta and had overseas travel planned the months of June and July, so we were not able to deliver Duke until today. I drove up by myself because Todd had some things he had to take care of here. I thought I had prepared myself for this day, but I find that I am very sad tonight. I know he will get the attention he needs with his new family and will be very well taken care of, but I can't help but feel we let him down. I know he's a dog, but I hate that I left him with complete strangers today.

Duke, we sure will miss you buddy!

Parks and the Dogs

Today, I watched as Parks shooed, or growled, our dog Duke out of the kitchen as they vied for space around daddy as he was eating an apple that both of them wanted intently.

Later, Parks thought it would be funny to give Dante his Goldfish. Funny turned into gross as Dante slobbered all over his hand. Gross turned into fear as Dante got a little nibble of the fingers on the next go round.

Look Who's Walking

Parks is starting to get more and more bold. Here is a vignette of some of his recent tries at becoming bipedal.

A couple things to watch for:

Both boys are really starting to get interested in Duke and he is loving every minute of it. Watch for Duke and Wyatt playing, and Duke watching intently as he is left out of the "Circle of Trust." Also, notice the lo-tech play toys, like a printer box and Pampers box, the boys love to play with. At the end, I flipped the view screen around so the boys could watch themselves as I recorded. They are so fascinated and want to touch it...and eat it. Enjoy.

On The Side: An American Champion

We recently found out that Duke is now an American Champion English Pointer, and we will be getting him back this weekend to meet the newest editions to the family. We are so proud of him. It's hard to believe that he has been gone this whole time. We will be curious to see how he interacts with the boys. One thing is for certain, he will not be as laid back as Dante . This could get interesting. Here is the web address for the breeder where we got him and Dante. If you are looking for a loving dog, I would highly recommend them. She has puppies and retired show dogs. Visit Solivia's Kennels.

Dogs And Hams

Here are a few pictures from the last couple weeks we wanted to share with everyone. We would also like to send out our prayers for Holly, Katie and the triplets that are coming on Friday. We pray that everything goes well for all of you.

First, the ham...Parks LOVES mirrors. It's hard to pull him away.

Wyatt and Parks getting some floor time on the activity mat.

Dante getting some floor time on his back.

Dante not sure what to make of this situation, but odds are he'd rather Wyatt be somewhere else. Notice how big the bone is compared to Wyatt.

Wyatt ready for the game. Before you ask, he was posed and did not actually watch three hours of television. There will be enough sports to watch for years to come.

A Quick Note

Well...actually two quick notes.

The last two nights have been pretty wild. We have them both on 3 hour feeds to limit the fasting time for Wyatt with his blood sugar issues. He has really been having a tough time getting adjusted to his new surroundings, which means that we have had a tough time getting adjusted. He has been sleeping very little through the night in between feeds. Randi is still taking the full brunt of it, since I can still sleep through most anything. It seems impossible right now that Randi can feed and burp both of them by herself. Randi's mom is here this week, which allows me to get some work done during the day, albeit working half-asleep. It is going to take some time to get into a workable routine and get to know Wyatt's needs. We believe he has reflux, which lends to an expressive amount of uncomfortability for him. We are so thankful that Parks was able to come home early and get all this out of the way prior to Wyatt. Parks is a trooper and is in a great routine now. We are hoping that is will be only a short adjustment period.

As for the second note, I wanted to answer some questions about the dogs. Dante is the only one here now, which is another blessing. He is so docile and, generally, could cares less about these newest intruders to his home. He has been a little more needy over the past couple of months as though starved of attention. Rawhides and knuckle bones have lost all taste for him. Duke is still on summer vacation on the dog show circuit. He is spending most of his days running the fields along coastal Georgia with the breeder and their brood of other dogs. I think I miss him more than Randi, but we are not expecting to get him back until August or September. He will be appearing in a fews shows around the Atlanta area in August, and we are hoping to make a dual purpose trip up there to see him in action and attend a baby shower for a friend of ours.

Lets Go Duke!

We sent Duke, A.K.A. Solivia's Charleston, off today until the end of July on his quest for an American Championship. He will be shown with the help of the kennel where we got Duke and Dante, Soliva's Pointers. Dante, A.K.A. Solivia's You Wish, won his American and Canadian Championships years ago. He will be in good hands while we get the babies here and settled. We are going to miss him while he's gone.