T - Ball

This year we signed up for a different league of t-ball for Aria than we have done in the past. She gets to be on a team with all girls her age! And the best part is that Daddy is her coach! So far they have only had two practices, but she is already having a blast! I think Daddy is, too. Aria is thrilled to tell people that he is the coach. And having Dad as a coach is proving to be quite effective. So much for the 'T' in t-ball...

Don't worry. I haven't got ahead of myself. I know the tee will still be needed at times, but I am blown away by her growth in hand-eye coordination and ability to do the different skills needed for t-ball. It's not like we worked on hitting all winter in the basement. It is really fun to see her excited about playing, enjoying herself, and working hard to accomplish a more difficult skill. Plus, she is excited about her Daddy's favorite activity. It makes for great bonding for the two of them!

Now, for a way to convince the dog NOT to chase the ball. :)

A Tribute to Augie

Augie would have turned 10 years old today.  For the past several years, on July 20, we have taken Augie to her favorite spot, the creek at Thomas park, for a special birthday swim.  Today, instead of a special birthday swim, we spread Augie's ashes in the creek she loved and in our hearts released her spirit to flow free.

I posted about a month ago about Augie's laryngeal paralysis condition.  Last Saturday, Augie had a breathing attack that she just could not recover from.  We had been gone for four days and returned home Saturday evening.  Even though Augie got her sedation medicine, her excitement to see us after a long time was too great.  She instantly could not breathe.  We did our best to help her calm down and cool down.  She eventually settled into a pattern of labored/rough breathing in which we thought she would eventually come out of.  But after almost 3 hours, we knew she just wasn't going to be able to breathe normally on her own.  She also was not responding to us and her eyes were glazed over.  I took her to the emergency vet.  They immediately sedated her, put a tube in her throat and began helping her breathe.  Unfortunately, at that point, we had a difficult decision to make.  We could have allowed the vet to continue breathing for her through the night and allowed them to run tests to see if she suffered damage in her organs from her lack of oxygen.  But we just knew that Augie was no longer there.  We knew that even if she could possibly breathe on her own again, she wasn't going to be the same dog.  And, the biggest weight was we knew the breathing paralysis would happen again and probably with less stimulation and greater consequences.

It was devastating to see Augie suffer.  Not only was it hard to see her on the table, not able to breathe on her own, but it had been traumatic and devastating to see her condition deteriorate over the past three months.  Sadly, we knew it was in Augie's best interest for us to let her go.  I promised Augie, once we learned she was sick, that I would do my best to take care of her the best I could and I would be right by her side until the end.  So, in one of the hardest things I've ever done, I said good-bye to my loving dog, and stood by her side petting her as the vet ended her life.  She was sedated and went very peacefully.  It was excruciating.

They told us it would take 7 to 10 days to get her remains back, but it was absolutely fitting that they called us today, on her 10th birthday, to say we could pick her up.  The people at the emergency vet were amazing.  They understood how special Augie was to us and cared for us greatly.  We got her paw print in model magic with her name stamped next to it and a nice card from the staff.

So today we went to the creek and released our dog who loved to swim there so much.  It truly was one of her most favorite places.  In fact, she knew it by name.  We could say, "do you want to go to Thomas" and she would burst with excitement.  And it was good closure for us.  It felt completely right.  We remembered all the great things about Augie.

How we got her as a 6 week old, 6 pound puppy.  How she slept in our bed with us for a good number of years.  How she loved to play with her best buddy CJ.  How she was truly like a first child for us and comforted us when nothing else could during our infertility struggles.

How she loved to go to school with me on the weekends when I needed to do extra work and run and play in the fields outside.  How she loved Petco, grandma and grandpa's house, parks, walks, runs, and any ride in the car.  How she was incredibly smart and had a variety of tricks and a vast vocabulary of understanding.

How she immediately embraced Aria as one of her people, too.  How she endured ear pulls, little hands in her mouth, her food taken away, dress up, crazy games, and a small child laying on top of her. She even knew Aria's language when Aria's words were not recognizable to anyone but us.  And A-gee was Aria's third word.

How she met us at the door the minute we got home and brought a ball to play.  How she welcomed everyone to our house and expected them to play, too.  How she followed me to every room, just to be near me.  How she would sit real close and lick your face when you were sad.  How she would paw at you very gently when she wanted something.  How she laid right under the table waiting for whatever food may drop.

Augie was a very special part of our family and it has been a miserable week learning how to live without her.  We take comfort knowing she is no longer suffering.  We have great joy in knowing we got 10 years of wonderful memories with her.  But our house is so quiet and empty.  And anytime I was ever sad, Augie always could make me feel better.  I knew she loved me and was never, ever mad at me, so who can provide her comfort now that she is gone?

From a dog, I learned the greatest lessons in loyalty, unconditional love, and faithfulness.  I learned patience, compassion, and how to be in charge.  I craved exercise, play time, and a release from whatever life gave me.  I know without a doubt that on July 20, 2004, God brought Augie Maya Pegump into the world to bring the Pegump family and their friends great joy.  On September 1, 2004 we brought our cute little puppy home without a clue that she would be so special.  Augie truly was the best dog.  My life is better because she was in it.  I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

We love you, Augie.  We will never, ever forget you.

3 Generations

A picture from Father's Day...

Ideal Sunday

Last night, we fixed popcorn and smoothies for supper and had a little picnic in the basement while playing board games.  It was the perfect way to spend a rainy Sunday evening as a family.  We played Seeds for Birds, Chutes and Ladders, Dominoes, and YooHoo, Can You Moo?  And we were reminded that our beautiful little daughter most definitely inherited her parents' competitive nature.  Losing isn't fun.  Nevertheless, it was a perfect family evening and I just wanted it to be recorded!

A Great Family Day

On Memorial Day, we decided to do something special as a family.  We needed a time to just be the three of us and make a memory.  So, we headed to Pinicon Ridge Park.  We rented a paddle boat and had a great time putzing around exploring nature.  We were treated to spying an eagle, an eagle's nest, and three baby eagles peering out of the nest.  We saw numerous geese with their goslings toting close behind.  We saw turtles and frogs and fish.  Aria pedaled.  Mommy pedaled.  Daddy pedaled.  We stuck our hands and feet in the water.  It was relaxing and refreshing and just plain fun!

Then we had a picnic and played at the playground until it started raining.  We drove around the park for awhile in hopes it would quit.  It was light enough for us to take a quick walking trip across a cool bridge that had fun lights on it.

It was a fabulous family day!  Just what we needed with our three day weekend!

New Swing Set

At the end of April, we got a new swing set for Aria.  Her old set was starting to make me a little anxious when three kids were on it at once, so it was time for an upgrade!  A funny story about picking out the play set, Justin and I searched a lot before presenting the idea to Aria.  We showed her some pictures of the one we liked and she was excited at first, but then said, "No, it doesn't have a telescope."  Of all the things to want on your play set.  We assured her we could buy a telescope and put it on and then she decided she liked it.

One sunny Sunday afternoon, Daddy and Papa went to pick up the play set and we started laying out all the pieces and putting it together.  There was a lot of wood.

However, very shortly into the process the sky looked a little dark off to the southwest, so I checked the radar.  I saw tornado warnings west of here, so I thought we should shut down the building and get the stuff in the garage.  I didn't want it to blow away before we even built it.  So we started carrying armfuls of wood into the garage and by the end of getting it all in there it was raining pretty hard.  Daddy and Papa decided to keep building in the garage, but about 5 minutes later the tornado siren started going off.  So, Aria's new swing set was partially built in the garage during a tornado warning.  Luckily, the weather was never very severe here and it passed quickly.

We ended up having the swing set in the garage for a week until we could move it back out again and finish building it.  It was sure hard for Aria to wait to have it all done, but it was definitely worth the wait!  She has spent hours and hours on it already!  Oh, and it is not a play house.  It is a secret hideaway.

Reading Cats

I just can't get enough of listening to her read!  Especially when it is to her Daddy!

Kid Spelling

Kid spellings really are the greatest and we had our first ever experience on Justin's valentine.  Originally, Aria only wanted to cut out a heart and color it for Justin.  I asked her to at least write her name on it and for some reason, probably to not do what I said, she wanted to write I love you instead.  (Mwahahaha!  What she doesn't know is I really wanted her to write that anyway.)

She wrote the I just fine.  Then she asked for help with love.  I told her to sound it out.  She worked hard at figuring out the sounds.  Finally, she knows the word you because it is one of our word wall words.  This was the result:

Could there be anything cuter?  A valentine completely made by Aria.  She cut out the heart.  She colored the other side and she wrote I Luv YOu all by herself!  She was definitely quite proud to do the work herself!  There is definitely a big advantage to letting kids take charge of their learning.  I am so excited to be in this stage!

Christmas Favorites #1

Spending almost two full days at home as a family of 3!

Omaha

No this post has nothing to do with Peyton Manning...

On the Saturday after Christmas we got to go to Omaha for the wedding of a family friend and childhood neighbor of Justin's.  We left relatively early in the morning and made the surprisingly easy drive out there.  We arrived a little after noon and it was 60 degrees...weird!

It was a super fancy wedding, so we got all dressed up!

Seriously, it was probably the fanciest wedding I've been to.  It was in a humongous cathedral in downtown Omaha and the reception was at a fancy art gallery.  Aria got her own kid's plate of food that included mac and cheese plus a cool kid package of fun things to do.  It was assigned seating with fancy name tags and beautiful decorations.  It was quite the occasion and was fun to be around a lot of Justin's childhood friends!

We decided to stay an extra day because how can a family go to Omaha and not go to the zoo?  Even if Sunday, the day after the 60 degree weather, was a lovely -5.  We ran from building to building and took our time inside enjoying the animals.  There was still a lot to see.  Our favorites of the day were the 5 lion cubs who turned one year old that day

the awesome giraffes

a silly orangutan

and of course, the penguins!  Especially this one that just hung out by us in this bubble.

We also stayed an extra day because our hotel had a mini waterpark in it, but it was soooooooo cold!  Of course the play structure had one of those ridiculous buckets that Aria won't go near, so we spent our time in the frigid pool.

But the main reason we stayed an extra day was to see these people.

I wish I would have taken a better picture, but I was too busy catching up with my very dear friend, Gina.  She brought her family over to swim with us and we let the dads swim while we chatted and stayed where it was warmer with her one month old baby.  Then we got to go out for lunch with them, too.  It was so fun to connect with them!  It never matters how much time passes or what is going on in our life, we are always able to pick up right where we left off in college.  It does still seem a bit weird that we are all grown up with kids and stuff.  :)

So glad we got to have a fun little trip during Christmas vacation!

2013 Favorite Pictures

I am kind of a reflective person.  Ok, really reflective and nostalgic.  Anyway, I thought it would be fun to end the year with my 12 favorite pictures from our year.  Here it goes...

This picture was taken on Aria's 3rd birthday, January 29, 2013.  I am not sure why I love it so much other than her very natural smile and joy about her birthday.  It also makes me laugh to think about the fish fiasco.  It took us three tries and a whole lot of water testing, but we have had our beloved betta, Emily (not who you see in the picture) since March.

This was taken on February 28, 2013, Jaime's senior night at Iowa.  We had so much fun watching all the games there last year.  It was fun to support Jaime and foster a love for basketball and the Hawkeyes in Aria.  She still says she is going to play basketball at Carver Hawkeye Arena.

This was taken on Easter Sunday.  I just love how much fun Aria has with my parents and my parents have with Aria.  They have such a special bond and I am so glad we get to spend every Sunday together.

This was taken on May 10 for Aria's first ever organized sport, Blast Ball.  Blast Ball was an absolute blast for Aria and for Justin and I.  She loved getting to hit the ball and run the bases.  This picture also makes me laugh because this was picture day and we forgot.  I was feeling bad about forgetting and we were late and Aria was not in the mood to have her picture taken with the group.  So, at the end of the night, we went over in the grass and got this shot.  I think it is way better than my $12 would have bought from the company that was there taking pictures.

This was taken on the Fourth of July with Aria's good friend, Eadie.  Their friendship has really blossomed this year.  When these two are together, they go off and play by themselves and it has really made me realize I now have a little girl who makes a lot of choices on her own, instead of a toddler who has everything dictated to her.  I am so thankful for their friendship and for my friendship with Eadie's mom!

This is a picture from my baptism on August 7.  I am so thankful that Robin had her camera posed and ready and got great shots of each stage.  I love how I am being raised to new life in this picture! 

This picture is from August 11 at Niagara Falls.  Our vacation was filled with so many awesome memories.  I could have stood and watched Niagara Falls forever.  This picture was by such random chance.  A guy asked us to take a picture of him and the woman he was with.  He had a really nice camera, so I knew he would take a good one of us and he was happy to return the favor.  I'm not sure we could have professionally staged a better shot.

As the sign says, this was Aria's first day of preschool on September 11.  We have had a blast doing our preschool coop this year.  Aria is certainly learning and growing and having lots of great opportunities.  This whole old enough for preschool thing sure happened fast!

This was our friendly family house divided rivalry for the National League Championship series between the Dodgers and Cardinals in October.  We took this picture on the night the Cardinals clinched the series and advanced to the World Series.  Of course, the picture was before the game.  :)  We had fun cheering boys against girls!

This is from a random morning on November 8.  Aria doesn't have a sibling to play with, so Augie fills the void.  This time Augie got to play dress up.  She is such a patient dog! 

This is bright and early on Sunday, December 1.  Aria got to sing in big church with her Little Praises choir that day.  This is the best dressed up Christmas picture I have ever gotten of Aria.  And, if you zoom close enough, you can see the largest sty that ever existed on her left eye.  What a nasty experience, but it sure didn't take away any of her cute factor!

Christmas Eve.  These two fill up my whole heart.  I love watching them interact together.  There is nothing like the bond between Daddy and daughter.  I know just how special it is!  This was after completing Aria's new tree house Lego set together.