August 30-
Here we are, the last August
entry for 2009. I can say that this August has just flown by. Understandably
so, with all that has happened, but it seems like it has gone by even faster
than it should have with all that has happened. I am writing a little later
than usual and a little tired, so I probably will not write too long. Poor
Grace has started to get a little fussy and we think it has to do with gas
pains. We do burp her during and after all of her feedings and also have
some liquid that we give her when she seems like she has gas pains, but all
of our efforts still do not seem to be fixing the issue completely. We even
have been trying different infant formulas to try and solve the problem. We
are also going to call the Dr. tomorrow just to touch base with him as well.
I have a feeling that it will just be a case of playing musical formulas
until we find the right one. She is pretty good during the day and then gets
quite fussy in the evenings and stays that way into the late evening and
sometimes overnight. Poor Nora is really bearing the brunt of the workload,
staying up with her, but I have been spelling her in the early morning and
with the crying, I am not sleeping as much at night either. So we are
teaming up to get through it, but we both would love to even get back to the
situation we had in TX where she would sleep for around 3 hours and then
needed to be fed and then back to sleep for around 3 hours.
As I was preparing to write the journal, I realized I
only had one picture of her to share with you. To be fair, she is still a
newborn, so it is not like she is doing anything more than eating, pooping
and sleeping anyway, so there is really not too many different shots I can
take, but she is showing signs of a little growing. She feels heavier and
her noodle neck is starting to go away. She will hold her head up by herself
pretty well now and is really noticing things that are going on around her
as well. I will really be excited when she starts to react to things around
her. I think the puppies are just dying to put on a show for her and make
her laugh. Speaking of the pups, they continue to be very good big brothers
and sisters. Many times when Grace starts to cry, one or both will go
running to see if there is anything that they can do. This morning Huck came
running over with one of his toys and dropped it in her lap to try and get
her to stop crying. It did not work and actually brought a few tears to
dad's eyes. So I am enjoying the state she is in now, but think I will enjoy
it even more when she starts to interact with us.
So back to the pictures of her. This
one was taken a few minutes before I started to write the journal, so
you can consider it hot off the press. That is the position she will be in
for more of the day than any other. She really seems most comfortable in her
car seat and we had gone for a walk and she fell asleep, so we did not
disturb her when we got home and let her sleep in it. We do hold her a lot
too and here is a shot of her
helping me do my work. She is a good little helper.
In other news this past week, Nora's brother and niece
were up and on Wednesday we took a little ATV ride in the afternoon. It was
perfect day for a ride, with the sun out and cool temps. I have not gone on
too many ATV rides this summer because of wanting to spend time with the
pups, but it was nice to get out and hit the trail. Especially when the
trail is through some beautiful woods. We ended up riding out to Gay and
made our way onto the
sands out there. The visibility was very good and the Huron Mountains
looked like they were just a few miles away. On the way back, we rode past Thayers
Lake and stopped for a quick photo op. All told we were out for around 3
hours and I hope to be able to get a few more rides in before the winter
comes.
Anyone wanting to play in some puddles would have a fun
time of it right now. We had our second 2 day rain event in a little over a
week. It rained pretty much all day Friday and yesterday and I measured
around 1.7" of rain, while the airport was around 2.2". That on
top of the 1.5" we received the Thursday and Friday the week before and
some rains before that. With all the rain recently (and the fact that I put
down some fertilizer) our
lawn has never looked better. I'll give it one last shot of winter
fertilizer in a month or two and hope that it can wake up in decent shape
next spring. It sure was a rough spring for it this year, with it being so
cold and dry.
Yesterday we took a drive and
ended up going past the Eagle River Falls and they were in
springtime fashion. The water was a little dirtier than it is in the
springtime, but the volume of water going over the falls was about the same.
The pups were really starting to get some cabin fever by yesterday
afternoon, so we brought them along on our drive and we stopped off at Great
Sand Bay to let them play. With temps in the low 50's and a north wind
at 30 mph driving the rain on shore, it was not surprise that we had the
beach to ourselves. Cars would stop to see the big lake churn, but nobody
but Millie, Huck and I were foolish enough to get out of the vehicle and
into the elements. The waves were really
rolling further out and were consistently in the 6-8 foot range with a
10 footer every once in a while, but near the shoreline they were only
a few feet high and it was safe enough for the dogs to swim. Funny how I
can let the pups out to go potty and if it is raining, they will just forgo
things and hold it, but get to the beach and it does not matter that it is
pouring rain, with 30 mph winds, they act
as if it were 75 an sunny.
Today was sunny and it looks like most of the coming week
will be too. Today was cool, with a high of around 60 and tonight it looks
like we will drop into the 30's with some frost likely in areas out of reach
from the lake's influence. So August is running out and it looks like at
least a taste of Autumn here for a little while. Temps do look to make it
back into the 70's this week, so summer weather is not totally over, but it
has been nice to see my breath in the mornings recently.
Well, I am at the end of my line for tonight. However,
Nora just finished feeding the little one and had to do some things, so she
dropped Grace off by me so I can watch her. She is in this thing that I call
the "float tube" and was just looking too cute, so I snapped one
last shot to share with all of you.
Good night from the Keweenaw..
-JD-
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August 23-
Well, for those of you
that did not see in the discussion board, Nora and Grace arrived on Monday
night. We had the house
all decked out for them and I even baked
a cake for the occasion. They got in on the late flight that arrives
just a bit before midnight, but none of us minded staying up that late too
much and it was great to have the family all together. The pups were REALLY
happy to see Nora. When I came home they were happy to see me, but not much
more than when I come home from being away at the store for 20 minutes. For
Nora it was a much different story, they just could not get enough of her
and were actually pretty hyper for a few days after she got back. In fact it
was like they were mainlining Red Bull for a few days, with all the energy
they had. Nora was worried that they might not even remember her, but I knew
they would and was glad to see they were so happy to see her and have our
whole family together.
The pup's reaction to Grace was really neat too. They
were very cautious and gentle around here and Millie has taken on a motherly
role, wanting to hang close to her and look over her to make
sure things are ok. Huck likes to hang close by too, but it is more as
the big brother or fatherly role, staying
close for protection. Right now it is pretty much a one way show as
Grace has not really gotten to the point where she is noticing a lot yet,
but I really look forward to the time when she will notice the puppies and
watch their antics and do that giggle that only babies can do. I am fairly
confident that the pups will feed on that and really ham it up. They love to
show off.
It also seems like they instantly went from little
puppies that were the center of the show to "old dogs" that are
now sharing the responsibility of taking care of Grace. They have stepped
into that role wonderfully and still have their puppy moments- thankfully!
Not that I was worried, but the only jealousy going on up here is me of all
the attention that the pups are giving Grace! There is no jealousy from the
pups for the attention that Grace is getting from Nora and I, they are just
real sweethearts that love their sister and we are one hugely happy
family.
On Tuesday the whole family took to the woods for a walk. Nora
has a little thing that can act
like a sling and you put the baby inside it, into it's own little
pocket. You actually do not have to even hang onto the sling, the baby just
sits inside and is all
safe and secure. Most of Gracie's first walk in the woods was done while
sound asleep, but that will change and so will the way we take her out, once
she is over ten pounds in weight and can support her head on her own. We got
one of those "baby knapsack" things and it will allow her to hang
off of me or Nora and still see everything we are seeing.
The pups, on the other hand, were glad to get into the
woods and cut loose. I was too busy Monday to be able to take them for their
afternoon walk and then they were still all hyped up from Nora coming home,
so their walk in the woods on Tuesday was more like a crazed
run through the woods. Most of the walk was spent with them running full
steam ahead through the woods and not on the logging road at all. It was
great to see them having so much fun too and they sure have grown in size.
Not yet full grown, but no longer little puppies.
It's been a whirlwind of a week. In fact, I found myself
looking at the calendar a lot to see what day is was. One day just seemed to
melt into the other and even when the weekend hit, it did not seem that much
different from the work week. I have been fortunate enough to have a wife
that has taken the "taken' care of" chores bull by the horn. She
allows me to get a full night sleep so that I can be rested for my work day.
I do spell her during the day for a while so she can get in a nap and she is
getting some sleep at night, but it is not the 8 hours of uninterrupted
sleep I am getting. I am trying my best to repay her by cleaning and cooking
as much as possible and giving her breaks when ever I can. Some days it
seems like I have to pry Gracie out of her arms to I can get a little
G-time. My mom arrived on Thursday and is staying until Tuesday. She has
also helped out a lot in taking care of Grace when Nora and I both find
ourselves busy. Tomorrow Nora has to go to Escanaba for a work related
seminar and I am really glad that we were able to get my mom to stay an
extra day to help me out. I am getting the daddy thing down pretty good.
Have changed plenty of diapers and done plenty of feedings and burpings, but
I do have to work and also tend to the pups and right now Gracie needs
almost constant attention and it would be very difficult to do everything
that needs to be done alone.
One thing that helps keep Grace happy when neither Nora
nor I can hold her is this
neat swing. It rocks from side to side, has a little mobile that spins
above her and also has several different sounds it can play, like music, a
waterfall or crickets. We put her in there and she is as content as can be.
I was actually wondering what it would take to build an adult sized version!
As I watched her all crashed out in that thing, I was thinking to myself how
nice it would be for me to be in one that could hold me! Perhaps a project
for another time!
It rained just about all day Thursday and Friday and was
actually pretty nice to see. We have been very dry since around the 4th of
July, with just a little more than an inch of rain. It's a good thing it has
been so cool this summer, or we would really be in hurting shape with the
dryness. It was also very nice to fall asleep on Thursday night to the sound
of the raindrops hitting the leaves in the woods. It was like camping, but
with the luxury of sleeping in my own bed. I think my eyes stayed open for a
whole three minutes before I drifted off to sleep to the sound of the
raindrops hitting the leaves.
As nice as it was to get the rain, it was also nice to
have it stop raining! Saturday morning was still cloudy, but the clouds
departed Saturday afternoon and that allowed us all to take another walk in
the woods. It was a near repeat performance of Tuesday, with Grace sleeping
and the pups running like banshees. Today was also sunny and a little
warmer, so we decided to give Grace her first beach day. Not really warm
enough to wear the bikini, but still a
very nice day to be at the beach. Again, she slept through most of it,
but that will change soon enough. I am not rushing anything. As excited as I
am for her to be more awake and to notice things going on around her and
what a magical place she lives in, I am also loving the little bundle of
sleepy baby that she is right now. Just about everyone that has come to
visit has all said how fast things change and how fast they grow up, so I am
doing my best to soak up every minute of how she is now and looking forward
to the future at the same time.
The pups and I took a little walk down the beach today,
while the ladies sat on the beach and chatted. The blueberry season is
drawing to a close, but I was able to find
a few to share with Nora and my mom. On our walks in the woods, I showed
the pups raspberries and they took to them immediately. The only down side
now is that they are smart enough to know to find the patches and then go in
and eat them their selves. Since they are almost always ahead of us, the get
the berries before we do! Cracks me up!
So it has almost been a full week that Nora and Grace
have been home and things could not be going any better. I suppose Nora
would like to see Grace sleep through the whole night, but she is sleeping
in three hour bursts and Nora is able to get some sleep in those time
periods. I am sure that there will be plenty more adventures in the week
ahead and I look forward to sharing them with you in a week. Until then...
Good night from the Keweenaw..
-JD-
August 16-
I'm still the
bachelor. Things actually went pretty quick with most of the interstate
compact between Texas and Michigan, but then we got a call midday Thursday
that there was a bit of a snag with some of the paperwork for MI, so we
scrambled to get things worked out and did, but not before the close of
business on Thursday. Then it turns out that paperwork that was faxed late
Thursday got faxed to the wrong number and we did not find out until the MI
offices were closing on Friday, so my two sweeties are still in Texas. They
are very anxious to get home, but are having a fun time and their friends
Andrea and Don's house. It looks like the paperwork was faxed to the correct
spot late Friday, so we should get the ok for them to come home tomorrow and
they plan to fly home on Tuesday.
Up until this point I have been pretty calm about it, but
am starting to get really anxious. Just before starting this entry I was
talking to Nora and she was describing some of the stuff that Grace has been
doing and then I started to hear her cry in the background. A crying baby
has never been one of my favorite sounds to hear- that is until now. Hearing
Gracie cry over the phone was a beautiful sound. I am sure that will change
not too long after they are home, but for now it and some pictures is all I
have, so I am making the best of what I have.
I did get some pictures sent to me on Thursday and I can
share a few with you. This first shot was taken right
at the moment she turned exactly one week old. Looks to me like she
might have been celebrating just a bit too hard in the lead up to that
moment. Here is a shot of her getting
burped by Nora. In ten or so years from now I may pay for saying this,
but I guess she can really let the belches fly! Nora said that they were all
sitting around and Nora was burping her and she let one rip that drunken
sailor would be proud of! This last one is my favorite and just cracks me
up. She started doing this almost from day one and every time she did it, I
just laughed. We call it the
Popeye look. That's all the pictures of Grace that I have to share with
you, but not all the pictures I have to share. Hopefully in just a bit over
48 hours I will be snapping a shot of them coming off the plane up here!
In other news... Summer has finally arrive up here and I
am pretty much ready for it to go! I have come to the conclusion that it is definitely
the humidity that gets to me more than the heat. On Wednesday we rose into
the upper 80's and probably even hit 90 in some of the spots we traveled.
However, the dewpoints were in the upper 50's to around 60 and I had no
problem with the temps being that warm. In fact, I took the pups to the
Bootjack Boat launch and really enjoyed the afternoon. The humidity hit
overnight Wednesday night and has been locked in since. To add insult to
injury, we have had almost no wind and lots of sun. So need less to say I
have not been a happy camper since Thursday. I've been trying to make the
best of it, but after my early morning walk with the pups in upper 70 degree
temps, low 70 degree dewpoints and no winds, I really was totally sick of
this weather.
Then, as I was doing some work a little later this
morning, I saw a post come in on the discussion board that just said
"SNOW". Knowing that it had gotten cold enough out west recently
that snow could have dusted some of the higher terrain, I quickly went to
that thread to see what it was all about. Sure enough. Skylar had been
checking some of the webcams out west and the Togwotee area picked up about
an inch of snow overnight. Here is a shot from one of the Brooks Lake Lodge
webcams (soon to be added to the NCN by the way!) with the
snow still hanging on. Skylar said that as he looked at the pictures of
the snow, he could feel the crispness of the air and imagine seeing his
breath and I can certainly relate as that is exactly the same way I felt.
With a little luck I may be seeing my breath up here Tuesday morning.
Clouds have rolled in this afternoon and a still breeze
out of the south has also developed. Plus, our temp is only in the upper
70's and the humidity has backed off just a bit, so my spirits are rising a
bit, which is a good thing because I don't think you all would have enjoyed
reading what I wrote in the mood I was in this morning!
As I mentioned, I did take the pups swimming
at the Bootjack boat launch Wednesday. Actually I have taken them
swimming every single day since I got back. It's has been just too hot to
walk in the woods. They sure don't mind. Both have a blast swimming and
Huckie even learned to jump
off the dock. It was actually Millie that jumped off first, but it was
more of a creep off the dock and then dive underwater. Huck's first attempt
was similar, but then he got the hang of just launching himself off the dock
and has not looked back.
On Thursday, we spent the afternoon in the car, trying to
get the issues with the adoption paperwork fixed. Not fun as temps were
around 90 with high humidity and no AC in the Blazer. We do have it, but it
is on the fritz and Thursday was really the first day all summer we have
needed it. On Friday we went to the big lake for the afternoon swim.
The winds were almost non existent, so it really did not matter which
shoreline we went to. When the winds are blowing, I like to go to the
shoreline with the onshore breeze. Anyway, even without much of a wind, it
was cooler down by the big lake. We went to a
spot on the north shore as it was closer than any spot we can get to on
the east shore. There was barely a ripple on the water and all it took was
for me to dip my toes into the water to be cooled off. The pups had a blast
chasing after the stick being tossed into the water. For some reason
fetching sticks were hard to come by that day, so I only had one, so the
pups had to share.
Yesterday was the hottest and most humid day of the past
5, with a high at the airport of 90 and a dewpoint of 73. Not a record (we
tied the record on Thursday), but still plenty hot and humid. There was a
tiny wind out of the south, so we chose the eastern shore to go to for the
afternoon swim. While temps inland were in the low 90's, the temp along the
lake was 78 and the gentile breeze made it feel that much nicer out.
Basically a perfect
beach day. This time I remembered the tennis ball for Millie and tossed
the stick into the water for Huck. It's funny how they both like to do
something different. Millie will fetch the stick in the water from time to
time, but she really has a fun time chasing the tennis ball down the beach
and then bringing it
back to me. While that is happening, I toss the stick out
into the water for Huck and then they have a race to see who can get
back to me first. It is also funny to watch them be so competitive. If
anyone things competition is just a human thing, I can say first hand that
you are wrong!
I had my shoes off while at the beach yesterday and when
I first put my feet into the water, I got quite a shock, but it turns out it
was because my feet were so warm from the drive out because after just a bit
the water started feeling pretty good. I decided to wade out as far as I
could without getting my shorts wet and snapped a shot of me
in knee deep water. A little bit later, I was really taken with the idea
that I should just throw caution to the wind and go for a swim- even though
I did not have my swimsuit on. The water felt pretty good and I figured it
would probably be the only chance I had to take my swim in the big lake this
summer, so I took off my watch and shirt and waded out into the deeper
water. Since there was no one around to witness my dip into the big lake, I
did bring the camera with me and snapped a shot of me
fully submerged in the big lake. Or at least as fully as I could go and
not ruin the camera! I have to say that it felt really good and despite the
cool summer we have had (second coolest on record), the water was warmer
yesterday than it was when I took my swim in it last summer- in nearly the
exact same spot. If I had to guess, the water temp must have been in the low
to mid 70's. I do know that the water in the more sheltered Keweenaw Bay
will warm more than other areas near by and with the light south winds, that
body of warmer air that formed in Keweenaw Bay the past few days was
transported north so I could swim in it yesterday. Nice! So after fearing
that my 10 year streak of swimming in the big lake at least once during the
summer might be over, I was able to keep the streak alive. It can start to
snow now.
Not too much else going on. As part of my attempt to keep
myself busy (and be productive at the same time) have been working on a
hutch for the bathroom. We really need more storage space in there and
with Gracie on her way up here, that fact will only intensify. So I have
been spending some time in the woodshop this week. However, with that part
of the shop not being insulated and the metal roof heating up to who knows
how hot in the midday sun, I can only work in the mornings and evenings and
even then it has been pretty warm. I have made pretty good progress with the
limited time in the shop and have the carcass for the hutch done. Next will
be the drawers, doors and trim and then the finish and we can bring it in
and start using it. I have two more projects that I wanted to get done
before it becomes too cold to work in the shop this autumn (isn't that a
nice thought!). They are less in depth and should be able to get done. That
is if I can pull myself away from Grace!
One last shot to share with you. It is of a
little visitor we had to the cabin the other day. We have not had too
many deer in the yard since the pups showed up, but that little one decided
to buck the trend- excuse the pun!
Good night from the Keweenaw..
-JD-
August 11-
Well, the USB cable arrived in
the mail today, so without further delay. I would like to introduce for the
first time in this forum: Miss
Grace Elizabeth June Dee. I guess I can start by explaining the name.
Grace was one of the first names that both Nora and I agreed upon and just
kept coming back to it, so we settled on it and I think it fits her
perfectly. For what it is worth, the second choice was Tweedle. Just
kidding, but with the last name of Dee, we did have to be conscience of how
her name would sound when the first and last names were put together.
Elizabeth was chosen because it is my mom's middle name and also the first
name of the birthmother's grandma, whom she was very close to. June is the
first name of Nora's grandmother and also the middle name of most of the
children and grandchildren (including Nora) that have followed June. So it
is a bit of a mouthful to say in full, but we figured the only time the
middle names get used is in formal occasions.
It has sure been a week full of memories. As I type,
little Gracie will be exactly 7 days old in just one hour. I did not get
down to Texas in time for the birth. My plane out of Minneapolis was delayed
about 1 hour, but even if that flight had been on time, I would have missed
the birth by about an hour. I would not have been in the room anyway, so
really all I missed was her first two hours in this world. Nora's friend
picked me up at the airport and at that point I did not even know Grace had
been born yet. We walked to the car and as soon as we got in, I called Nora
and she gave me the news that she was delivered naturally at 4:03 central
time with a weight of six pounds, twelve ounces and a length of eighteen
inches.
I remember very little of the drive from Dallas-Fort
Worth airport to the hospital about 35 miles away. I can recall there being
some traffic when we first left the airport and then passing businesses, one
of which had some pretty cool tractors out in front. There was a lake we
passed over and then not long after I was looking at buildings pass by and I
saw the name of the hospital on one of the buildings and could not believe
that we were there! As we parked the car, we actually saw Nora going inside
the hospital. She had run to get the birthmom something to eat and drink and
was just returning. So we walked in together, met the birthmom and chatted
with her for a little bit and then we went to a room where they brought
Gracie in. We had given the camera to Andrea (Nora's, and now mine, friend)
and she was able to capture me at the
very moment I first set eyes on Grace. I think the picture just about
says it all, but I do remember exactly what I was thinking when I saw her-
this little girl is going to be all ours for the rest of our lives. I also
love the expression on Nora's face in that shot. They way she is looking at
me to see my excitement is just precious. There were a few more shots taken
that evening as we visited with Grace for about an hour or so. I could have
stayed all night, but needed to get back to where we were staying for the
night so that I could be sure all was working with my computers and internet
connection to be able to do my work the next morning. Here is one last shot
of Grace that evening in
her Mommas arms- with eyes wide open!
I have to admit that my first few times with her I was
having a hard time putting my head around the idea that she was going to be
our daughter. I think the main reason was that for my entire life, every
time I saw or held a baby, it was always someone else's. So I had 43 years
of that hard wired into my brain. I can say that by the end of the second
day she was really starting to feel like she was ours and by the third day
(Thursday), it was done. The adoption papers could not be signed by the
birthmom and Nora and I until 48 hours had passed since the birth. There was
a moment the day we went to the hospital to sign the papers. Nora and I were
holding the baby and the caseworker from the agency came to get the paper
signing underway. The birthmom would sign first and then Nora and I would
sign. The caseworker asked that Nora and I go and wait in the waiting room
while they did their paperwork and since the waiting room was out of the
"secure" zone for newborns, she could not go with us. Both Nora
and I commented to each other how we really did not like the feeling we got
leaving Grace to go to the waiting room. It was at that moment that it
really hit home to me she was ours.
The paper signing went well,
but my walk out of the hospital was not the experience I thought it would
be. It was not bad at all, just different from my imagination. I went to get
the car and bring it to the hospital door so that they did not have to carry
Grace too far from the hospital to get to the car. The birthmom decided to
walk with me and so we walked through the hospital corridor to get to the
exit. While walking, the birthmom broke down a bit, so I put my arm around
her and held her as we walked out. Nora and I had gotten to be pretty close
to the birthmom in the months leading up to the birth and I was definitely
feeling some of her pain. Like I say, now that it happened as it did, I
would not have it any other way. Anyone that knows me knows that I am a firm
believer of the truth and real feelings and everything that I was feeling as
we walked out the door- from the elation that we had just signed adoption
papers making Grace ours, to the sadness from the sense of loss the birthmom
was feeling, was as real as it gets and something that I will never forget
as long as I live.
Nora, the birthmom and I drove the birthmom back to her
place and helped her get situated. We all were hungry, so we ran to get some
take out for dinner and then Nora, Gracie and I went to our motel room for
the first time as a family. The first thing we did was call our family and
some friends and then took turns holding her. She is really a no-fuss baby
so far. Nora and I both know that can change and are prepared, but so far it
takes a pretty serious issue to get her going. For the most part she either sleeps,
eats or is busy
putting her fingers
into her mouth.
The putting her fingers into her mouth started on day one. I
understand that most babies love to be all swaddled in their receiving
blankets for the first few days or even a week or more after birth. Not
Grace! She would figure out a way to get her arms free and would just love
to rub her face and head with her hands or even just have her arms above her
head. That was one of the issues we discovered the first night. I slept most
of the night, while Nora took care of Grace. Nora said she did not fuss much
at all once she had her hands free. She did want to eat about every 3 hours
or so, but other than that just slept. She seemed to have her days and
nights a little mixed up (wanting to sleep more during the day and be awake
at night) and Nora says that is still happening, although she is starting to
be awake more during the day now and the Dr said that a lot of babies have
the day's and nights mixed up for the first two weeks. If that's all we have
to deal with, I will consider us lucky parents! Nora and Grace went to the
Dr's yesterday and Grace got a good report back. Depending on how long Nora
has to stay in Texas, they will either go and see the doctor once more down
there or see our doctor here shortly after getting back.
Leaving Nora and Grace on Sunday morning was very difficult. I
knew that I would be seeing her in about a week and I was also excited to
get back to see the pups, but all of that was a distant second to me having
to say good bye to them. My flights back were ok, the town that the birth
took place in is about 35 miles to the north-northeast of Dallas and the
plane took off and flew right over the town. I could look out my window and
see the motel where Nora and Grace were still at and it is probably a darn
good thing that I was not seated next to the emergency exit, because I
probably would have been tempted to open it up and get back to my girls!
It's been nice to be home and be hanging out with Huck
and Millie. They were excited to see me, but did not go nuts. That told me
that they were very happy and well taken care of where they stayed and Nora
and I are deeply indebted to our friends for taking care of them while I was
away. I am trying to keep myself as busy as possible to help keep my mind
off of them still in TX and to help pass the time as quickly as possible. So
far we have two days down in the countdown. We do not know for sure how long
it will be before they can leave Texas. It could be as early as late this
week or as late as next week sometime. All I know is I cannot wait until these
two beauties are home.
I think I am out of story telling, but not out of
pictures I wanted to share with you in this entry. I usually have no problem
fitting the pics in with the story, but I think I was so anxious to share
all of this with you that I missed some opportunities to link the pics with
the text. So here are the rest of the pictures I wanted to share with you
this evening. A shot of the
happy dad and my little girl. Momma
holding Gracie, or was that Gracie holding Momma? Nora has had lots of
fun dressing her little girl in some cute
outfits. Here is
another.
This last one is the one that I will look at every night
before going to bed until they get home. Our
little girl.
Good night from the Keweenaw..
-JD-
August 10-
I was hoping to write
a full entry today, but last week before I left for TX, Huck was at my feet,
chewing on a rawhide and the USB cable for my camera was near by. He "accidentally"
decided to chew on the USB cable and so I have been unable to download the
pics from the camera since. Nora brought her camera to Texas as well and we
were able to take some pictures with it and upload them to the discussion
board, but her camera stayed back in Texas with her and Grace while I flew
home yesterday. I did order up a new cable and it looks like it should be
here tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest. So I will write more then. I just
felt that this was one occasion when the pictures needed to accompany the
text.
I can report that Grace is doing great. Nora took her in
for her first check up today and she got a great report from the doctor.
Hopefully if all goes perfectly with the states of Texas and Michigan, then
they could be home the end of this week or weekend. Or next week at the
latest. Hopefully more tomorrow.
Good night from the Keweenaw..
-JD-
August 2-
I'm still here! and
Nora is still in TX! and the baby is still in it's mommy's tummy! I hope
that this is not a sign that she is going to be a stubborn one! To be fair,
the due date is not until August 9th, it is just that when the labor started
over a week ago, we thought it would not be more than a few days to a week
tops before the baby arrived. So now that it has been about 12 days since
the first contractions were felt it seems like this little girl is being a
bit stubborn.
The mom did have an ultrasound last Monday and then a
Dr's visit (including a sonogram) on Thursday, so she is being well looked
after and the contractions are very hit and miss and have mainly been
happening in the evenings. At Thursday's appointment, the Dr did say that if
the baby does not come naturally by Tuesday, then they will induce then. In
fact they have an appointment at 8 am to see the Dr and get the ball
rolling. So I will be heading down on Tuesday to join in on the festivities.
So we now have a for sure date that the delivery process
will start and that had simplified things a bit for Nora and I as well as
taken some of the stress out of the equation. The not knowing when it all
would happen for sure has really been hard. I am checking air fare just
about every day and trying to have something ready to go if need be and poor
Nora is just trying to find something to do to pass the time. She has been
doing some stuff with the mom, but it's not like they can spend all day
shopping or exploring or even traveling too far from the city that the
delivery is going to take place in. Plus, the mom is the only person that
Nora knows in the immediate area. She does know one other woman that does
not live too far away that actually went through the same agency to adopt a
baby girl (the met through the agency's forum). Nora actually spent a little
time with her over the weekend and will actually stay with her and her
family once I leave. The baby cannot leave the state of Texas until what is
called an Interstate Compact is completed. That IC is basically just the
state of Texas telling the state of Michigan that a baby was born in Texas
and has been adopted by a couple living in Michigan, so your population is
about to increase by one. I am sure there are other reasons for the IC, but
the bottom line is it takes 6-10 business days for it to be completed and so
Nora and the baby have to stay in Texas until that is done. I would love to
be able to stay, but we are having Huck and Millie stay with friends and it
is also a lot more difficult for me to do my work while on the road, so I am
planning to come home Saturday.
Speaking of work, I will not be updating the site while
on the road, so no updates from Wednesday on.
Well, welcome to August everyone! It is this entry when I
usually go on my annual speech about how I love it when we get to August
because then I can see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as summer
ending goes. Well, we up here are still waiting for summer to arrive!
Seriously, I did a little look back and since June 1, we have had only 3
day's when the high was in the 80's (all three occurring in July), 10 days
with highs only in the 50's, 25 days with highs in the 60's and 25 days with
highs in the 70's. Not exactly the warmest June and July we have every seen.
But of course I am not complaining and thus no need to be looking for the
light at the end of the tunnel because this year there is no tunnel. I am
still excited that we are one step closer to Autumn and then Winter, but as
long as August is like June and July have been, I am in no big rush this
year. Unfortunately it looks like after this week, some heat and
humidity will be spilling into all of the Midwest, even here. It does not
look to get brutally hot and humid, but probably in the 80's, with dewpoints
in the 60's. Perhaps I will get that swim in the big pond in this year after
all.
The pups and I have been keeping ourselves busy with
chores around the house and walks in the woods and the beach. On Monday we
went to the beach and had a nice walk. The pups did get chased by a dog
briefly, but Huck proved he is not afraid of anything as he stood up to the
dog and ended up chasing it off. I don't think the other dog meant any harm,
but it charged pretty hard and Millie sure was scared of it!
Tuesday we went into the woods and it was a very nice day
to be in the woods.
There are still some deer flies that are buzzing around, but they should be
gone soon. Other than that, one can walk in the woods totally unmolested.
The berries are
starting to ripen. Those were raspberries and the crop this year is very
thin. Not sure why. It could be the cool summer or perhaps the fact that the
previous summers had such intense drought, but usually a walk in the woods
will provide handfuls of berries for a snack. Walks this year have only
yielded a few here and there. The other berries ripening right now are the thimbleberries.
They too seem to be having an off year, but not as off as the raspberries.
It does not matter to me if the thimbleberries are having a bumper crop or
an off year as I do not care for them. Too tart and mealy. The jam is ok
though.
We stuck to the woods the rest of the week and I brought
the camera along on Friday and Saturday's walks. Friday's walk was actually
an extension of Thursday's walk. The pups can really go, so we find
ourselves exploring logging roads for a couple of miles. We would go more,
but every step into the woods requires a step to get out, so I stay mindful
of that and usually only go about 2-3 miles in. So sometimes the next day I
will drive us in to where we turned around the day before while walking and
then continue on. It's fun because we are seeing places that I have either
never seen before, or never seen before in the summer. Kind of like what it
was like my first year or two up here with Burt and Baileys. We explored all
these places that we had never seen before. Friday's walk took us to a
swamp in the middle of nowhere. There are dozens of these up here, but I
have never been to this one in any season. The pups just love it, only they
do not do much walking. It is more like sprint ahead and then come running
back full speed to me, only to turn around and sprint ahead again. They
sure love to run!
On Saturday, I decided to take them to a bush road that
Nora and I walked with them earlier this summer. It is a really nice road to
walk on. A gradual up hill slop for the first mile or two, but nothing that
wears you out too much. Plus you get the downhill for the final mile or two
of the hike. It is also heavily
wooded after the first mile or so, so it keeps things cool. I figured we
could go in about 3 miles and turn around, which is what we ended up doing.
It did rain a bit up here Saturday morning, so there were some puddles on
the road in spots. Not only do the pups like to run, but they also like to play
in puddles! They sure are a mess afterwards, but once they dry, they are
pretty clean. Amazing how their fur can shed the dirt. Our hike on Saturday
took us to a spot where we could overlook the big lake. It was very windy
out on Saturday as well and the lake
was full of whitecaps.
Today I decided to break up the adventures in the woods
with a visit to a pond
not too far from our house. It is too far to walk all the way to, but we did
park the car and walk in to it a little bit. The dogs had a great time
fetching a stick for about 45 minutes. Most of the time they both swam out
to get the stick and brought
it back together. These two are really best pals. They are competitive
and like to give each other a hard time every once in a while, but they sure
do have a blast playing with each other. If they are not sleeping, eating or
pooping, then they are likely playing with each other and that play sure
does lead to some entertainment for us!
Well, I think that about covers it for this one. There
will not be a journal next Sunday and I will be in transit back from Texas.
I will write as soon as I can after that and will be sure to make the
announcement of the birth when it happens this week. Not sure if I will be
able to do it in this forum, but will for sure do it on the discussion
board. Until then...
Good night from the Keweenaw..
-JD-
