The newest member of the family!

This is Moose! Aka: Moose-ifer

While he looks cute and cuddly, this is more like his true nature:



He's been.... fun ....ish so far! He is much more playful (bite-y), adventurous (run-away-y), and wild than Angus ever was so right now it feels a little overwhelming. But every day I say "it can only get better from here"! I know he will be a great pal for us but right now it is extra work with a newborn, new house, new puppy, etc...! :)

2 Months!

November 22

Can't belive our James-bug is 2 months! He is becoming quite the personality in this family! He is definitely becoming more vocal and likes to have his turn in our conversations! The little ooohs and aaahs are to die for! James is really into sitting up in the bumbo and yesterday for the first time, I had him facing out in the baby bjorne. Sad times, he's not really an infant anymore!

I was looking at the 1 month photo and I think my favorite changes are his little belly button that clearly shows he's packing on the pounds (more like ounces!) and the little double chin that is making itself known!



It's been a fun 2nd month for sure!

Catching Up

Yay! We finally set up the computer in our new house - now I can update my life!


Things have been pretty chaotic around here! We moved into the new house (one mile from the old one!) the weekend of the 13th. It is nice to have so much room, but still overwhelming thinking about the extra furniture/decor/painting that comes with a new place...


November 22nd was James' 2 month bday, and on the same day was the still-heart-wrenching loss of Angus. Everyone has been super sweet asking about how we're doing. We still miss him like CRAZY, but it's easier every day!


November 24th I had my last doctor appointment with my OB. Its pretty surreal thinking back to our first appointment with him - getting to see the little heartbeat on the monitor and wondering who this little person will be! This has been the fastest 11 months so far!

November 26th we left at 4:45am to drive to Portland, Oregon to get our new little German Shepherd puppy - and we were back at John's mom's place by 11:30am with Moose in hand! Thanksgiving was great! It was filled with the usual Carruthers craziness, specifically the semi-annual "Gallon Challenge"! We have MUCH to be thankful for this year!


I think that pretty much catches me up! :)

Moose

Meet our new puppy Moose!

We were planning on waiting until Christmas to get a new puppy, but John found a puppy in Portland and had to get him! He's 8 weeks old and very active and playful! We're taking him and James out to the snow today... more pictures to come!

Angus Young Carruthers

Yesterday afternoon our best buddy Angus was hit by a truck in front of our house. We rushed him to the emergency vet, but he crashed on the table and they weren't able to resuscitate him. It ended up that while he only had a few bad cuts on the outside, he sustained some very serious internal injuries. 

I never realized how much we LOVED that guy. He was John's very best bud, my shadow, always overly anxious to please! The time we had him was cut much shorter than we ever dreamed, but it was also incredibly memory-filled as he brought so much joy into our little family. He'll always be our true first born son ;-). 

This was the last picture I got of him Friday morning - doing one of his favorite things - out for a jog with me and James! Love ya Angus, buddy, pups, bub!

August 10, 08 - November 22, 09
 

Dr. visit 11.06.09

Another doctor visit today! At 6.5 weeks:

Weight: 10lbs
Height: 22.5"
HC: 38 cm

Smiles

James is learning to melt-your-heart smile! At the doctor today, he was laying on the table just looking around... I went over to say hello and give him some love, and he gave me the biggest wide-eyed smile :) - ADORABLE! (then they stuck in the thigh with a needle and I got looks of hatred and resentment, but I can take it!)

These were from my cell phone camera - not great, but it was all I had!

Vegas

Well we just got back from the SEMA show (special equipment manufacturers association) in Vegas. It was a whirl-wind trip... we left Tuesday at 6am and returned Wednesday at 10pm! Totally worth it though, we had a great time!

James was fantastic on the plane trip to Vegas. He was a dream child!

On the trip back to Seattle, we were the parents sitting awkwardly in the back with a SCREAMING child that would not be comforted! Looking back now, it's a little humorous - everyone has it happen to them at some point- at the time, however, I wanted to cry and jump out of the plane!


SEMA was fun. Infants aren't allowed since it's a business show so could only see the outside booths, but it was fun to walk around and see the "rides".

Mike and Carol came to the show also (Mike is John's engineer). They come to Vegas *alot*, so they were great tour guides!

This was a Jeep that had some of John's stuff in it - not MY taste for jeeps - but did I mention it had John's stuff!! =)

And their sign! (Benchmark-Designs!!)

Tuesday night we went out to see the sights... the Fountains of Bellagio was by far our favorite part of the night! Absolutely incredible!

James slept like this pretty much the entire 2 days! Mama's back was a wee bit tired!

The pretend Eiffel Tower! See Becca, I was *almost* there too!

John and James next to the Bellagio water.

This is the only picture we got of the 3 of us... on the shuttle back to the airport! IN VEGAS, and this is the only picture we get! How not-well-thoughtout was that!

The trip was a ton of fun! John had a very successful business trip, I learned alot about traveling with a baby, and we got to see a tad bit of the sights as well! Two days was plenty for us... we decided, if we go again, it would only be for another show or business deal, and we would know exactly what we wanted to see now that we've been there!

Dr. visit 10.28.09

I had to take Mr. James to the doctor yesterday because he's been pretty congested, but he has new stats:

At 5 weeks: 9lbs, 8oz. 22" long. 15.5" head circumfrence.

(again, this is mostly so I don't forget!) =)

Behind the Scenes

"The making of the 1 month photo"

Some more pictures for Aunt Becca :)

And Angus, keeping a watchful eye on his new buddy....

1 Month!

I forgot to post this last week... but our little man turned one month last Thursday, October 22!

James is getting really good at holding up his head and he is very interested in the world around him! He is still trying to find his fingers to suck on and even at one month he's mesmerized by the TV (don't worry, I run interference!) and the fireplace! We're seeing more of his personality week to week and even though his smiles are probably unconcious - they absolutley melt us! John and I can't believe how much he's changed our lives - for the better! Love you munchkin!

Do these creep anyone else out? Every time I see the commercial, I can't help but think of "The Office" where Darryl tells Michael about his gang's "fluffy fingers" to resolve conflicts! Hmm...

10/7/09

Thank you SO much, Joan D. for these AMAZING pictures!!

What a lovely fountain!

Hey, speaking of... I need a new system! I've been peed on 4 times since yesterday afternoon! It is NO fault of our little boy, I just have VERY poor timing! Mama's learning.... :)

James' Room

This is the semi-finished nursery... I was wanting to paint some brown on the walls (stripe, "vine", circles, who knows!) and I have pictures/shelves/etc to hang on the walls as well. Someday I'll be motivated to finish! =)