Goodbye to 2009....

So much happened this year, and everything in my life changed so much! I cant even imagine how amazing this next year will be!

Lets review the resolutions of 2009:

*Enjoy (for the most part) the rest of my pregnancy - I did it! I really really LOVED being pregnant and even when I got big and couldn't do things I still was fascinated by the whole process.
*Get baby essentials without going broke - Done! We were even able to get a decent stash of lovely cloth diapers
*Make more friends - Done! I don't think I am ever going to have a close (the talk on the phone all day, "lets do each other's nails" kind lol) girl friend, but I made some great friends this year.
*Go out with friends more - Kind of Done. I got to go to some more Girls Nights, and we went out with some of Robert's married friends a couple of times. I would have liked to go out with them more though.
*Eat Healthy - "Eat to live" style - Nope. Sadly, I didn't do it.
*Cook more - Kind of. I was cooking more before I had Kaylee. But now it is a little difficult for me because I can't have any dairy in my diet, and Robert is on a really strict diet preparing him to run marathons.
*Stay active despite the pregnancy - Done! I was walking, hiking and playing agility until the weekend before she came I am VERY proud of that fact!
*Read scriptures and pray more - Nope....This is one that is a constant struggle for me.

I didn't really try very hard on my resolutions this year, but managed to complete most of them. They year flew by so quickly and was amazing. I feel like I missed out on some of the things I could have taken advantage of, so hopefully I can make up for it next year....starting tomorrow!

2009 in Review

I can't believe it is already the end of 2009. It went by so fast, and so much happened! Here is a look at our year:

January - The year started out with us not getting to walk as much because of the snow here in Ogden. We also had Rally class, tried some different foods for Patriot, and wished Calliope a happy 4th birthday.

February - The boys got to go to puppy sitters, play in the snow, rejoice as the snow melted, and played more Rally and Agility.

March - We fought with Patriot's allergy problems, celebrated Hobbs' birthday, and continued with Agility and Rally

April - The local dog park opened and we started going regularly. We also hiked and walked a LOT because of the nice weather. Dodge came to visit, and reminded me why we no longer have him. Patriot's Rally class ended and Hobbs continued with Agility. Patriot started on allergy shots and was doing well.

May - Patriot celebrated his 7th birthday, we did a lot of hiking, and even more agility. We bought a new car, I bruised my heels and couldn't walk for weeks.

June - This was our last month of freedom! We walked a lot, played agility, went to agility trials (to watch), and entered the gnarlybone contest. We went to the big dog park for the last time this month too.

July - The heat this month (and the fact that I was 3 weeks away from giving birth) kept us from doing much. The boys got to play inside a lot, Hobbs finished his last agility class, and.......I HAD A BABY!! As I was reading through my posts for July, I realised that the boys little starving episodes (Here and here) were just two days and one day before I went into labor. I wonder if that had anything to do with their behavior?

August - This month was pretty boring for the dogs, but they were busy getting used to their new little sister.

September - Hobbs started a new agility class, we got better about doing regular walks, Patriot strained a muscle, and I about ruined my legs exercising.

October - Hobbs did a TON of agility this month, and I didn't post about much else. Patriot started to have an allergy flare at the end of the month.

November - Calliope was retired from guide work at the beginning of the month, I decided not to take her back, and she was adopted by her first raisers. Hobbs did more agility, and Patriot continued to battle his allergies. The boys came to my parents' house for Thanksgiving and got to play in the first snow of the year.

December - Hobbs had a set back in his agility, but also made great strides in other areas of agility. Patirot's allergy flare started to settle back down, and we were officially not able to go on a walk for a whole week due to the snow.

That brings us into the new year! I hope that it is a good one, and that I can start trialing with Hobbs soon. More on that soon ;)

Christmas in Heber

This year we spent Christmas with Robert's parents in Heber, and it was wonderful!

We went up on Thursday morning because Kaylee had had a hard day Wednesday when we originally had planned to go up. When we got there and got everything set up, Kaylee went down for her nap. She doesn't not sleep well in her Pack n Play, but this time she slept for a good hour and a half! We had a great pizza party with family that night and later in the evening I got to talk to my brother in Russia. He sounds like he is doing wonderfully and is having the time of his life.

We all read the story of Christ's birth in Luke, and then gradually went to bed. I kind of missed reading Christmas stories, singing carols, and doing Christmas candy this year. I didn't have time to do a lot of the stuff I would have like to for Christmas. Hopefully next year I will have more time.....

Kaylee slept pretty well that night, but I didn't and was up for good at around 6:45. I was kind of glad though, because it gave me a chance to sit by the tree and read the scriptures and pray and think about Christ. It is always tough to feel the spirit when there are a ton of people around doing their own thing, so I took advantage.

The tree

The stockings

After Kaylee woke up and ate we all gathered on the parents' bed before we went down stairs.

Opening presents is always great, and this year was even better because Kaylee got to help open some of hers. We gave some great gifts to his family, and I think his sister was beyond thrilled with hers.

So cute!

Kaylee, helping Daddy unwrap one of her new toys

Kaylee's Santa present was bigger than her!

She was SO excited about it! I think she liked the bright colors the best

PJ's

Robert's favorite gift every year is socks, and this year he even got slippers!

Yay! My hubby loves me!

Kaylee's favorite "toy" of the day was this bow.....why did we spend so much on regular toys?

Grandma and Grandpa Ricks' wonderful present to Kaylee

Kathryn wearing her present. Lol, I doing think I have every seen someone so excited about a gift! It was great!

Kaylee's present from Daddy. She loves the little Rooster SOO much!

Kaylee "reading" the book "Daddy's Kisses"

Grandpa Ricks really liked the ties we gave him

Yay for new books!

I am really excited to start making some baby food

Kaylee's aunt and uncles

Grandma Ricks with her new book-ends

Mr. Rooster

Kaylee's whole Christmas haul!

Mommy and Daddy's stash

Later that day we set up her jumperoo and let her try it out. She was SO excited about it!

She doesn't quite reach the ground yet so we put a book under her and she jumped away

The rest of the day was filled with naps, food, visiting, and watching everyone enjoy their new things. We had a wonderful Christmas dinner with the family, and then Robert and I went on a date to the movies. I know, it was Christmas, but we wanted to take advantage of having family to watch Kaylee. We hadn't been out in a really long time and it was great to be able to relax together. We went to see "Have you heard about the Morgans?" and it was actually a pretty funny movie! I definitely recommend it to everyone.

On Saturday Kaylee had a really rough time. She wasn't able to really get any good sleep because her pack n play isn't as comfortable as her crib. I had a rough night of sleep and I had a bad morning ppd-wise. We luckily were able to get home in time for her to get a good nap in before bed time.

I can't believe that Christmas is already over! It went by so quickly, and I feel like I sort of missed it. I am excited for next year because Kaylee will be almost 18 months old. And last of all:

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Houston, We Have a Problem.....

...and it isn't just that I forgot to take the camera tonight.

Tonight's class was great! Well, it was great except for one part. We started off with stations of individual obstacles which included the A-frame, a line of 4 jumps (single, broad, double, triple), Weave Poles, and the Teeter.

I got to start off with the A-frame, once again using the running contact. It is going great so far! We are still using the hoop at the bottom, but I had him do it the last time without and he still got it! I am sure that thousands of repetitions later we will have a great A-frame!

Then we did the weave poles and it wasn't great. He wasn't into it. He was only successful doing 3 poles and then did 4 once out of about 10 tries. I know it is because he isn't doing them at home so we are going to work on them this week and next.

Then came the dreaded teeter..... We started with the bang game and Hobbs was thrilled to be playing. I thought it was a great start. Then the instructor had me send him over the whole thing and she was going to slow it down. He ran right up and jumped right off the end of it. Then I tried it again and he wouldn't set foot on the teeter. This time it was different though. This time it seemed like he just couldn't figure out what I wanted him to do. He was jumping over it, trying his end position on the up side of it, and everything else. We immediately tried something else. We lowered it and placed the table under the down end so that it would only drop about 6 inches. He still wouldn't go up it so we tried placing a target on the end of the board, but he would just jump off before the tip point and walk around to try to get it from the side. We didn't succeed at all, and finally stopped when he started losing confidence. For a LONG time while we were working on it he was happy, and excited. He just acted like he had totally forgotten how to do the teeter and was confused about what was going to get him a treat. Next week we are going to try back chaining from where we are doing "bang it".

The line of jumps was to practice the "Go" command. I back-chained it, leaving my bait bag at the end of the line and sending him to it. He was very excited to do it after the challenge of the teeter. He was despirate to do something to prove to me that he is a "good dog". Lol, it was the first time he jumped the broad jump really really well.

Then we worked on threadles:

These were pretty difficult for us. Hobbs has a huge stride, and I couldn't seem to get him cued properly for the second jump. I am going to try to look up some different handling methods for these.

Last of all we set up a nice little sequence which started out with a 2 jump threadle.

Click to enlarge

As we were setting it up, I was getting the horrible feeling that Hobbs might try to bail off the DW on the way up thinking it was the teeter. Our instructor suggested that when I got him out to play that I send him over it a couple times before starting the course. We all walked it and it seemed pretty simple with a few challenges. The threadle of course, the sharp turn right after our new running A-frame, and the wide jump #5 which would require me to send him "out" because there was no way I would beat him there after the tunnel. I was excited to see if we could get it right! When I got him out, I sent him over the DW a couple times and he was fine.

The first try at the course was ok until the turn after the A-frame. He got locked on to the DW and I barely pulled him off it. We tried again and did the whole thing flawlessly! I was VERY impressed that he pushed WAY out to the #5 jump! I was only about a foot away from the end of the DW and he still took the jump, and the next one and went up over the DW. His down on the table was a little odd because he laid down facing away from me, but it was a great run.

The second try was AMAZING! We did the whole thing smoothly, confidently, and he slammed himself into his down on the table! I am so proud of my little boy! Even when his fearful side comes out, I can't wait to get back out there with him and play some more. I am desperately hoping that we can still trial in March, but if not there are going to be other trials.

I PROMISE that I will take my camera to the next class in two weeks!

5 Months

This month-day made me sad for some reason. I guess I suddenly realized that Kaylee is almost half way to being a year old! I had a couple of "I miss the newborn" moments this week and it amazes me.

Our little girl is getting so big and is so much fun these days!! She weighed in at 14 lbs 12 oz and measured roughly 25.5" today. She is getting more hair and the hair she has is getting longer and staying dark. Her eyes are still very very blue, so I think we are going to have a little blue eyed brunette. She is learning new things all the time, and reaching milestones.

New skills for the month:

• Blowing Raspberries - Or spitting, whichever you prefer to call it. She is getting pretty good at this, and I am so proud because I had been demonstrating it to her. I also have been showing her my tongue when I curl it up on the sides. I am hoping that she figures out how to do that too.
• Scooting - She can only go backwards and in circles so far. It makes her angry though because it gets her farther away from what she wants.
• Front to Back - I am pretty sure she rolled front to back for the first time a couple days ago....and I totally missed it! She was laying on her mat then rolled onto her tummy. I wasn't really paying attention when I saw her roll on to her tummy again. Which means she must have at some point rolled onto her back.
• Smacking and Clicking - She is constantly smacking her lips and clicking her tongue. She usually does it most right after a big meal, but will also do it when she gets excited.
• Sitting - Almost anyway! She can sit up with support with her hands on her knees. I am so excited for her to be able to sit by herself!

Some pictures from today:

Bang It!

Last night's class went much better and I am feeling like maybe the teeter wont be much of a problem for long. **Fingers Crossed!**

We started with different obstacles again including the teeter, weave poles, jump jump table, and the A-frame.

The teeter was set so that it would only drop a maximum of 10" so we could play the bang it game. Hobbs got really into it and was jumping on it with all four feet at once. He was totally excited about it from the beginning and didn't have even a moment of hesitation.

The weave poles were great again! The first thing I did was risk everything and sent him at the line of all 6 fixed upright poles. He blew past them and the darted through the last two....weirdo! So I took two off and had him do four a few times and then had him do 5 twice. He did SO well! I am really hoping that by the end of this class he will be doing 6 poles every once in a while.

We never actually got to the jump, jump, table lol. We were doing too much with the A-frame.

That ended up being a huge issue! Not in a bad way though. We had been lowering it because Hobbs and another dog in class were having a hard time stopping for their contact behaviors. Even with it lowered he needs a target at the bottom to get him to stop. Last night when he ran it the first time his whole hind end came off when he jammed his front end down to stop himself. I have been concerned about him hurting his joints on this obstacle from the beginning. Our instructor said that she wanted to maybe play around with a running contact for him. We tried just putting a jump bar on the apex of the frame to get him to jump it, but after a few reps of a pretty good running contact he started jumping the yellow. So we got out a hoop like this:

First I just played with him going through it on the flat and he loved it! Then I had him go over a jump and through it just to get some momentum going, and he still went through it without a problem. Then we added it to the bottom of the A-frame and got 3 or 4 really good running contacts out of him! I am excited to see if we can get him running them consistently because I know it will be easier on his body. I think I may take my video camera next week and see if I can get a couple videos of it. It may not happen though, because the video camera doesn't work too well in darkened rooms...or barns.

Then we worked on 270° turns:

Hobbs was pretty good at these, but then we started adding a front cross after the second jump. We were pretty good at it when he was on my left, but on my right I couldn't seem to get the timing down. We got it ok a couple of times though and then stopped so that I wasn't drilling Hobbs when he was trying his best.

Finally we ended with a small sequence that involved a 270° turn. Here it is:

The first time we ran it I think we messed up the front cross after jump 5 somehow. Then we went to try it again and Hobbs hit his back leg on one of the standards of the second jump in the 270 (jump 5). He yelped, but I tried not to freak out so that he wouldn't think something was wrong. I had him walk around a little bit and then jumped him over the jump both ways to make sure he would do it. Then we tried it again from #3 and finished the sequence wonderfully.

The second time we ran, it was pretty much flawless and felt wonderful! Our instructor reminded me before we ran to release Hobbs from his contacts verbally before I moved so that he wouldn't associate my movement with it being ok for him to leave the contact. I did that, and he was great. One of the other handlers in our class commented on how great Hobbs' contacts are! She does a running with her dog, but she said Hobbs' look fabulous!

The last time we ran it, our instructor wanted me to try running past the end of the contact to see if Hobbs would still stop. He didn't, so I took him back and tried it again. He still didn't stop so she had me run it again and this time stop with him and then take a big step forward and if he stayed step back and reward him. That worked so it is our new criteria for our dog walk contact.

All in all it was a great class and I am excited to see how things go next week. I am hoping that I will have a HUGE weave pole brag! Oh, and some pictures and video!

First present

On Sunday my parents and sister Kathryn came up to visit and have dinner and exchange presents. It was great to see them again and for Kaylee to once again see her grandparents.

Kaylee got to open her first ever Christmas present, given to her by her Auntie Kathryn

She "opened" it by grabbing on and holding while I pulled it away from her.

Yay! A very cute teddy bear!

Thank you Kathryn! Merry Christmas Kaylee!

It FINALLY Feels Like Christmas!

Robert has been gone for work all this week and got back last night. I have been slacking in the shopping and getting presents wrapped part of Christmas. The only thing I had gotten around to doing was setting up some lights in the front window. I think they look good, a little amateur, but good.

The first thing we did when Robert got home was get a tree and set it up! Kaylee came with us to get a very nice and inexpensive tree but I don't think she cared what was going on.

Robert and Kaylee by the new tree. Kaylee loved sitting in her swing and watching us set the tree up.

Kaylee LOVED the tree!

This was her first instinct....."yummy"

She went to bed right after we set it up and put lights on it so we put the ornaments on tonight. I LOVE setting up the Christmas tree! It makes the house smell so wonderful, and the lights make the house glow like nothing else.

The finished product

Kaylee by the tree before bed:

She is getting really good at push-ups

I can't wait for Christmas!!