One Last Outing as Two!

This last Friday we were able to take a quick trip to Boston (about 3 hours away from New Haven)! We felt that it was really important that we make the time to go to the temple one last time before baby comes and this provided a perfect opportunity. While things didn't work out exactly how we had planned, it was still a wonderful experience and I'm glad we were able to go. 

Our first stop was to pick up Cherie! Hooray for having close friends on the East Coast! Traffic was our main issue, which is apparently very common in Boston (or all of the East Coast in general as we have learned). Unfortunately, because of this she wasn't able to go to the temple with us, but we got to catch up a little and chat for a little while before we proceeded on to the temple and she headed back home. 

Next stop: Dinner! Hunter had done his research and chosen a place known for it's awesome Lobster Rolls. I mean, you have to eat a Lobster Roll in Boston, right? 

Also Clam Chowder. These are both quintessential New England meals and we were not disappointed! I can't even begin to describe the goodness of the clam chowder - and the biscuits you can see floating around in it. Amazing. That could also do with my lack of carbs as of late but Hunter was on cloud 9 too so I don't think I'm too far off the mark.

After that we headed home. It was quick, a nice much needed getaway, and we will definitely be going back for a much more thorough tour baby in tow! We were happy to be able to have a nice, fancy meal for the last time in a while and just take a break from work, class, and studying for a minute to enjoy each other's company. 

And to end this post, here is a random shot of Ameya:

Isn't she so cute all tucked in to her nice little perch on our love seat? This isn't staged at all by the way, all her own doing. 

Moving to Connecticut!

One of the biggest things to happen to us all summer (year to date??) was move across the country. We couldn't have chosen somewhere much farther to move than we did. But, we made it and now call New Haven, Connecticut our home. We took it slowly instead of busting it out in a few consecutive days which I think worked really well. 

First off was packing up our home in Draper, obviously.

Before we officially left the area, we decided to stop at perhaps the one and only food truck in all of Utah/Salt Lake county (which we also happen to LOVE!) - waffle love. Thank goodness baby decided that waffles were acceptable! It was a good last meal for us in Northern Utah.

Next stop was Parowan to spend a few days with my family before peacing out completely. Mostly for me it was a lot of relaxing and recovering - turns out I exerted myself a little more than I probably should have in our cleaning and packing saga. Our dogs thoroughly enjoyed hanging out at my parent's house running around, digging, barking at chickens, and getting so. dirty.

Brit and Andre came down with us to spend the weekend. We were able to have a few more days with them before having to say by, which was nice. 

Next stop: Denver! Our dogs quickly took control of all the dogs in the Paddock household and made sure that they were aware they were in control. Ameya was thrilled to have her sidekick who she could sick on the other dogs to enforce her will. By the end of day two, both the little dogs were hiding under Hunter's parents beds and wouldn't come out unless they absolutely had too. It was eerily reminiscent of how Ameya corners Oreo at my parent's house.

We ate some great food in Denver as well, hitting up all our favorite places since it will likely be a while before we are back. Two of the most notable places: Tokabi (Native American Indian Food) and Cherry Cricket of course.

Exhibit A of our dogs running the house.

We also made sure to spend as much time as we could with Jes and Rendy. We will certainly miss having them only 8 hours away. 

It was here that I got my pregnancy pillow - at about 20 weeks - and I am forever grateful that I did. Kenobi's look of enjoyment encompasses exactly how happy I am to have it (especially now that my bump is MUCH bigger).

This picture was taken at dinner the night before I headed out to Iowa. Hunter stayed in Denver just a couple days longer to play some Ultimate Frisbee of course. 

I am not sure how I don't have any pictures of Iowa at all, but for some reason I don't. We all had such a good time hanging out at my Grandma's house. I hadn't been there in probably 7 or 8 years so it was nice to be able to finally go back. Kenobi particularly loved it there - he could run and swim to his little hearts desire. A tired dog is definitely a good dog and that has never been more evident to me than it was that week. He played so hard every day and then when he went to sleep, didn't budge for a solid 8 hours. He also somehow managed to get himself two ticks within a couple centimeters of each other. Luckily, we had treated both the dogs with Frontline Plus before we left Denver and those ticks were a true testament to how well it actually works. While they were able to attach themselves enough to stick, it seems that neither of them actually got any blood and died rather quickly. It was worth the high price we paid for it.

The next leg of our journey included lunch in Chicago where we got some Chicago style pizza. They don't mess around there. No joke - the crust on this thing was at least a solid 3 inches thick.

We then proceeded on to Cincinatti where we had dinner with my college friend, Lindsey. It was so much fun to be able to see her cute family and catch up on life. I am so glad we decided to take that little detour. Again, I somehow managed to not get any pictures here. 

From there, the push to get to New Haven continued. This was the only part of our trip where we drove two days in a row. They were a long two days, but we all survived alright. Our dogs travelled surprisingly well. Ameya was a constant fixture on the driver's lap and Kenobi made himself right at home in the back seat, stretching out from door to door most of the time. 

My parents and I pulled in late Friday, July 26th. Hunter joined us a couple days later after a frisbee tournament in New Jersey. Our house was filthy (more on that later) when we moved it. Filthy as in black film coating all the walls and the hardwood floors hadn't even been swept, among other things. As a result, my mom and I spend the bulk of that Saturday scrubbing down the whole house, which isn't really a bad thing because now we have no doubt that we will be bringing home a baby to a home that has been deep cleaned recently. My dad was a trooper that day though and unpacked the ENTIRE POD while we cleaned. While we didn't get everything set up at that point, we got the basics and were able to relax just a little bit more the next day before my parents were off and back to Iowa.

The dogs definitely experienced a little culture shock(?). I'm not sure that's the right terminology, but they seemed to forget all their training and had a hard time adjusting. But, we eventually got there and they both seem to be better adapted to their new home at this point. 

As a side note: if ever you are moving a great distance, I highly recommend the POD. We were able to get one on super short notice and everything about it was soooo convenient. They moved it for us, we came when we wanted, didn't have to worry about a trailer, it was at our destination when we wanted it to be and they picked it up right when they said they would. Definitely worth the little extra it may cost. We will be using a POD for our next move as well, wherever that may take us. 

The Neutering Saga

Last week we got Kenobi neutered. This is a pretty routine proceedure and shouldn't be a big deal, right? I mean we have already experienced this with minimal issues.

However, never before had we experienced a cone.

I don't know what was worse for him - being neutered or having to wear the cone for days.

When I went to pick him up post-surgery, we had to hang out at the vet for a while because we needed to get both dogs Lyme vaccines for our impending move back east. Not a big deal. As soon as the vet brought Kenobi out to me, all that was on his little anesthesia-riddled puppy brain was "I have got to lick this incision". At least that is what seems to have been on his mind. Thus, the vet went and got the cone and the saga began. Right there at the vet.

Unfortunately, his mind set is only just starting to change - a solid week later. It has been a loooong week to say the least. Probably the most traumatic of his little puppy life. Everytime he tried to walk anywhere - our bedroom to the living room, outside to go to the bathroom, etc. - he would throw what we equated to tantrums. He would sit on his butt, spin, and try unsuccessfully to lick his incision so he would start scratching it with the cone. Taking a walk with that behavior was particularly fun and a lot longer than normal. One thing is for sure - this little guy is doing his best to prepare us for what is coming in the next year or so.

With his peripheral vision completely non-existent, he also ran into a lot more things than normal. Ameya learned very quickly to fear the cone and makes sure to keep a safe distance, often hiding behind me wherever I am. On Thursday we decided his attention to the incision was waning and it seemed to be healing nicely so we let him spend a little time without the cone. He was fairly successful so we did the same on Friday. However, Thursday was also our last days of drugs for him. This was very apparent in a sudden behavior shift on Friday. With the cone off, we expected him to start acting a little more like his playful self. What we didn't anticipate was that he would still be in a lot of pain and not want to leave the couch or move unless it was absolutely necessary. I'm talking we had to drag him off the couch to get him to go outside. He would get up to eat, but not with anywhere near the same gusto that he normally does.

At first we though "Okay, maybe he's just tired. Afterall, he hasn't really slept with the cone on because it's so loud in the crate and he is constantly freaking out about it".

Nope. Saturday was the same story after having the cone off for a day and a night and a day. So, back to the vet it was. Diagnosis: he was still in pain, could potentially be having a reaction to the Lyme vaccine, and the area around the incision was inflamed due to being shaved and licking/scratching. Prespription: more pain meds, antibiotics, ointment for the area, and reinstate the cone. Awesome. haha.

However, we do seem to have turned a corner and are on the mend - knock on wood. He showed a little more life last night and was actually interested playing a little. He even followed me around the house as I tidied and packed a little. Great news! I think he'll get to officially ditch the cone today and hopefully be back to his normal self in a couple days.

Moral of the story: pray that your dog doesn't need a cone after being spayed/neutered. It. Is. A. Disaster.

Introducing....Kenobi!

A new dog has been in the works for quite a while. We have come close to getting one before now, but it just wasn't right until now. And this little Australian Shepherd couldn't be more perfect for us. 

He is 12 weeks old, weighs right about 12 pounds, and will most certainly be bigger than Ameya in a matter of weeks. He has stolen our hearts already.

I mean, just look at that face. How can you not love it?

Ahh, puppy tiredness. Play hard, sleep hard. He's definitely got both of those things down. 

Ameya is adjusting pretty well. At first she wasn't sure how she felt, but as time goes on, she likes him more and more. The first night we had him we were fully prepared for puppy crying all night long. Kenobi was a perfect angel and Ameya randomly growled at him and charged at his crate multiple times. We've come a long way since then though.

Like Ameya, he is a big fan of helping with the laundry....

...and my mom. Again, look at that face. What's not to love, seriously??

Pretty much everything he does is cute, really. Here is another example:

I don't know what is so adorable about sleeping dogs, but I'm pretty sure a good 75% of all pictures we take of our dogs are when they are asleep.

We love him and can't wait to learn more about his cute personality as we watch him grow and learn more about the world around him.

More sleeping....

And here are a couple videos of him and Ameya running around and wrestling. They are both growlers. haha. Kenobi likes to bark (very high pitched at this point...) but hopefully he will outgrow that. Ameya runs laps around him and likes to make sure he knows she is higher up on the food chain, and not only when it comes to running around and playing. She seems to make sure he knows when she is on the bed and he's locked in his crate and that she can jump on the couch and he isn't quite strong enough just yet. It's pretty funny to watch, really. 

There will be many more posts to come, rest assured. We can't get enough of this little guy. 

Family Fun

Last weekend we were able to spend the last weekend in Parowan with my family - and all of us were there. It's still a little weird to me that we are all grown up and it takes concerted effort to get us all home at the same time. One thing on the top of the agenda was to take family pictures - now that Andre is a permanent addition. We drove up through Brian Head and over to Cedar Breaks to do so, making various stops along the way. It was surprisingly warm and everything was blanketed in a foot or two of snow. 

Ameya learned very quickly that she is not too fond of snow as deep as she is tall, although she did seem to enjoy it in the beginning.

I honestly don't know if I had ever seen a snowy Cedar Breaks before - it's quite striking.

Much to Brittani's dismay, all of the boys walked out to the very edge causing her a little newlywed panic. As a side note, Hunter slipped in the mud when he first started (making a mess of his belt, pants, jacket, and gloves) which caused me to panic a little as well.

More snowy baby dog...

She was definitely over it by this point.

Of course Kenny had to take advantage of this awesome tree chair.

Then for the individual(ish) pictures...

October in Pictures

Beautiful fall sunsets...(I don't want to talk about the frigid weather)

Read it. It will change your life. And maybe make you want to run an ultramarathon like a crazy person.

Can't get enough of this little dog.

Coconut cupcakes. Mmmm, mmmm good.

Gotta love the tutu.

Right where she belongs.

Her favorite place to bury her rawhide - on our bed. 

Go Romney!

Hunter killed it in his first half marathon - 7:18 average pace. 75th overall (out of 2000 or so), 4th in his division. He's a rockstar, basically.

A couple hours after his half, we ran the Zombie Chase (5k) in Provo. He has obviously read Born To Run.

We went to our first Real Salt Lake Game ever with Brit and Andre. I highly recommend the experience.

I love the panorama function on my fancy new iPhone camera.

Obviously, I can't get enough.

With our busy month, it has left Ameya alone a lot more than normal. This is her typical reaction when we get home after she's been alone for a while.