Goodbye Good Boy

Jake 1999-2008

Now you can see how I got suckered into Jake in the first place. He was such a cute puppy! He was trouble for the first year or so, but I couldn't have asked for a better dog since then. Jake was my shadow and was never more than a step behind me, even when Jer was around. Maybe he was trying to get my approval and love, which I gave too little of. I still think I see him in the backyard out of the corner of my eye. I'm crying as I write this, so I guess I'm not over losing him yet. I hope he will forgive me for the million times I yelled at him and know how much I loved him. You were a very good boy Jake!

Love Mommy

Here is a conversation I had with Savannah today:

Annie - Jake walk

me - Did we take Jake for a walk?

A - Yeah.

me - Where is Jake?

A - (hands in the air) Gone?

me - Did Jake go live with Jesus?

A - Jesus? Fun?

me - Yeah, it's probably fun.

A - Daddy Jesus?

me - No, Daddy isn't with Jesus, he's at work.

Savannah definitely misses Jake, but I think she's more accepting of his being with Jesus than we are. I hope she won't forget him too soon.

Last Friday I lost my best friend. Jake was one of those dogs that I always thought was immortal. He was too tough to die, I thought. But unfortunately he only got to spend a little more than 9 years with us. It's been nearly a week now since he left us and I'm still trying to deal with the fact that he is gone from this earth. Everyday I come home and I feel like I need to go to the back door to let him in. I never thought I'd miss his annoying whining everyday when I came home. But I know that he was whining because he wanted to be next to me, and he wanted to play with me. Now I would give anything to hear that whining. I'm going to miss his howling at the sirens, our Saturday and Sunday afternoons puttering around the garage together, going to Home Depot in the truck, swimming in the pool and Lake Powell will never be the same again. Although the ravens at Powell will finally be able to rest easy.

I think anybody who ever met Jake would agree that he was one of the smartest dogs ever. You could say something totally off the wall and he would respond accordingly, even if it was the first time he heard you say whatever it was that you said. He really could understand english perfectly.

One of the hardest things about not having Jake around is when Savannah asks about him. Right after he passed away, we came home and as we pulled into the garage she started saying "Geekee, geekee." That's what she says just before we go into the house, because Jake would always be right there in the laundry room to greet us. Karie told her that Jakee went to live with Jesus and she responded "live with Jesus?" Then the next morning as Karie was giving her a bath she looked up, waved and and said "bye Geekee." That just tore my heart out.

So anyway, Jake, if you can read this (I'm sure you can), I miss you buddy. Keep on being a good boy just like you always were here. You keep chasing the birds and kitty's, and I hope you have all the "squeaky's" you could ever dream of. I love you and I'll see you on the other side. I'm sure you'll be right there to greet me.

Jeremy

What a cutie!

Weeeeee!!! Do you remember the last time you had so much fun on a ride? Savannah loves the slide at the park. She would play on it all day long if I let her. I can't wait to get her a swingset for the new house.

Doesn't Savannah look like Bradon in this picture? I swear I have a photo of him making this same face when he was little. Annie loves to wear her butterfly shoes even though she falls down everytime she wears them. We found a princess backpack on clearance at Target and had to have it. She looks like she should be heading off to school!

Savannah looks so dang cute in her ponies, but they don't last long. I put these in her hair just before we left the house. Jer asked me how long they would last and I said until we get in the car. Sure enough, Annie had one of them out before we got out of the driveway! Couldn't she wait until at least one person told me how cute she looked?!?

I found this crown at the $.99 Store and Banana loves it! She obviously needs to be a princess for Halloween. I'm so excited for Sleeping Beauty to come out on the 7th. We read the story everyday and I know Annie will love the movie. I am a little worried that Malificent and the dragon might scare her. Savannah talks about the monsters in the closet she saw on Monsters Inc, but she hasn't had any nightmares yet so I think she'll be okay.

Annie says new things everyday and it's so much fun to hear her talk. Tonight I was eating a nectarine and she said she wanted some. I told her she could have mine and put her in her highchair. She got so excited and kept saying "mine!" Then she put her hands on her cheeks and said "goodness!" I say "oh my goodness" to her sometimes, but this is the first time she has ever said it. It was so funny! What a lucky mom I am.

Temper, temper

My little angel is going to be the death of me!! You can't believe the fits she throws if she doesn't get what she wants. And now she is really fighting bedtime. Somebody help me!!! At least I know Nat and Sherie are enjoying the misery with me.We really enjoyed having Nat, Steve and Luke visit last weekend. Savannah still asks for Luke. They played so well together. In this photo Savannah was doing Luke's hair with a puzzle piece. He just sat there and let her rub it all over his head. We miss our cousins!

I may never take the binky away from Annie. How will either one of us survive the terrible twos without it? Here she was just waking up and had no idea that she kept putting her binky in backwards. I'll have to keep this photo close at hand so I can remember that she really is a sweet girl, even when she's being naughty.

We are having to face the terrible reality of losing Jake. I think one of the hardest parts is going to be Savannah asking about him. She gets so excited everytime she sees him. Last night she was using the ovenmit as a phone and held it up to Jake's ear so he could talk too. What will we do without him?

Little Miss Smartypants

Savannah is talking so much these days. One of her new words is "rina" for ballerina. She will stand on one foot and say "Sazza rina". Then she asks Jer, Jake and me to be ballerinas too! This photo shows Annie with her ballerina pajama shirt on her head. She puts it on every day and calls herself a mouse (Jer taught her that) or a lion. It's too cute!

Annie is also quite the copycat. Here she is trying to use my Pedegg. Yesterday she said "darn it." I have only used that phrase once and it was in the car earlier in the day. Amazing how she can pick and choose what she wants to hear!!

And it seems the terrible twos have arrived a little early. Savannah loves to walk around in her dress-up shoes. I tried to get a picture of her walking down the hall, but she fell down before I could get a good one. She got mad and took off the shoes, threw them down the hall and yelled "stop it!" It was really cute and funny, but I'm sure I won't think so for long. It's not cute when she throws herself on the floor and says NO! And I really don't appreciate that she has finally figured out how to open doors. I may have to put a lock on the top of the pantry!!

Now for an update on Jake. His belly is still very swollen, but he is breathing easier. The new vet said he has a major infection and his thyroid isn't working properly. Now Jake has to take twelve pills a day. It's like taking care of an old person!! We're still waiting on more test results to rule out heartworm or a tick-borne illness. I hope we figure out what it is soon.

Busy, busy, busy (doesn't that word look weird?)

I know I am a complete slacker, but we've been gone a lot and I waste my free time catching up on other blogs rather than updating mine. Well, I have some time on my hands now as Jer just took Jake to the emergency vet and I'm waiting for some info. Jake's belly looks bloated and he hasn't really been eating or pooping, so we're a little worried. I don't want him to die in the night because we didn't do anything. But then again, I don't want to waste money at the vet if there's nothing wrong. What's a dog-mom to do? I know I talk tough, but I really am a softy.

Enough about Jake and on to the real reason you read this blog - my beautiful girl.

Way back in August we went to Bear Lake with Jer's family. Savannah loved it even though the water was absolutely freezing. Her favorite part was sleeping on a pillow in the boat. She still asks for a "piwow" when she wants to lay down.

From Bear Lake, we went to the Burnett Reunion in Heber. Savannah loved playing with her cousins, even though she still has scars on her knees from her tumbles. For a while after we left she would walk around looking for Madi, Luke and Isaac. Now she only calls for Isaac (cups her mouth and says "Isaac, where are you"). It is too cute!

And finally, we just returned from a week-long vacation at Lake Powell. Savannah absolutely loved riding in the boat, swimming, getting sandy, and playing with her cousins. She really was a good girl while we were there, but it's a good thing we took the dvd player. How many times a day can a girl watch Little People???

Annie did get bitten by a red ant while playing in the sand at Powell. She kept smashing them with her hand and saying "I got you", but I guess one ant got her back. She cried so hard. Her little finger got swollen and turned bright red. I tried putting a bandaid on it, but she just cried harder. I finally made it better by giving her two popsicles. I hope she never gets a boo-boo that needs more than that!

Extreme bed head

We are happy to be back home and hope to get back to our routine soon. Savannah is fed up with house hunting and has started giving us dirty looks. I really think she has some of Holly's blood in her, but I know she's mine because she's a genius! She can identify every letter in the alphabet, knows the majority of her colors and talks like you can't believe. I really need to capture more of this stage on video, but she stops what she's doing as soon as she sees the camera. I guess y'all will just have to come down and see her for yourselves.

We love and miss you all!