playgym lullaby

yesterday marked day three of "going back to work". today marked the first time i fell asleep under my son's playgym.

i went to work at 8a.m. yesterday. i arrived home this morning at 9a.m.  yes, i was up all night. i work an "on call" schedule and, well, they called all night.

my sweet husband graciously manned the fort while i slept, but i just missed my little slobbery teething mess of a boy so much, i couldn't sleep for very long. that and the fact that some pipe outside decided to make a sound like a smoke alarm (?? what ??).....causing my husband to test the actual smoke alarm.....there was confusion and loud beeping and tears. lots of beeping and tears.

anyhoo...once i was up, the fun began. we snuggled. we laughed. we played with toys and changed clothes a few times (brooks, not me). i laid him under the playgym and watched for a while. he was so sweet, grabbing at things he couldn't reach until recently. he was kicking and laughing and i just couldn't stay away. so i crawled underneath the twirling birds and the laughing koala bear and the swinging hippopotamus to be with him. i smelled his sticky little boy who needs a bath smell. i laughed at the cold surprise of his wet, drool-covered hands on my cheeks. i gladly accepted the toes shoved into my face. and at some point, i fell asleep. i don't think it was for long, but all that tinkly music and twirling just sent me off to dreamland. i woke up to one of the wet hands on my face, saw the hippopotamus near my head, and laughed. brooks looked at me and smiled his mischievious "hi mom...i was awake while you were asleep!" smile.

he's growing up so fast. and i am so thankful for every second i have with him.

the beast and the dinosaur

goodbyes are hard.

our precious pups, rookie and tucker (see photos on the right sidebar of my blog), are now happy in a new home. they unfortunately weren't enjoying little brooks as much as we were, so we have had to give them to another family.

i remember the day we brought little one month old rookie home. we had picked him out of the box because he was the one who seemed the least interested in us. his brothers and sisters had been yelping and clawing to get to us, while he just slept in the corner. we thought he would be low maintenance. yeah....  he did sleep on my lap the whole way home. and that is where the sleeping stopped. he has played and jumped and barked his way through nine years with us. and he has brought us so much joy and laughter along the way. a lot of noise, but also a lot of happiness. his big brown eyes always seemed to read my thoughts. when i was sad, he knew. he would get very quiet, curl up beside me, and turn those eyes up to my face, as if to say, "it's ok...i am here and i love you".

sweet tucker came along a few years later. his scraggly, furry face jumped out at us from the ad on the internet from the westie rescue organization. he looked so sad...we just had to have him. we met him at a rest stop and fell in love. his freely given kisses and independent spirit have given us so many reasons to smile and laugh. though sometimes a loner, he too seemed to know when his love was needed, and he would rise from his perch atop the back of our chair, and slowly come over for a belly scratch and some kisses.

giving them away has been one of the hardest things we have done. we had to, of course, for the good of our family, but that didn't make it any easier. animals have the purest hearts. they just love and ask that you love them back. a great family has them now and is working to train them a little better before finding them their new forever family. through my sobs as i said goodbye i said, "i love you. have a happy life". that is all i wish for them. that someone will love them as much as we do and that they will continue to bring joy into the lives of those they love.

we miss you little beast and the dinosaur. thank you for the blessing that you were in our lives.