Ella, Ella!

Monday, January 23rd was a sad day in our home. In fact, it was the saddest day our family has ever been through. We had to make the decision to put our Ella Bella down. She wasn't sick. Which made it even harder, but it had to be done. She is a super hyper and aggressive dog. The Lab-Pit Bull mix isn't a great combination if you ask me, but we rescued her and we loved her to death. She was part of the family. Josh and I knew that this day may one day come, but desperately hoped it wouldn't. I always worried about Ella being around kids so when we found out we were pregnant I really worried. I knew Ella was great with us, but could be aggressive to strangers and had bitted/snipped at others before.

Sunday afternoon while I was making our bed Easton was over hugging and petting Harlie and Ella like she normally does. Nothing out of the ordinary. I heard growling and stepped over to see what was going on only to watch Ella bite at Easton. Easton began to cry and Josh asked what happened. We always said we would only give our dogs one shot, especially Ella since we had issues with biting beforehand. Together we made the decision to put her down. Some will ask why we didn't find another home and some will just get it and understand.

Josh and I have been married three years and in three years this is the hardest decision we have ever had to make as husband and wife. We cried, we wrote letters to Ella, we played ball one last time, and then said our good-byes. We are lucky enough to have great friends that let us bury her on their farm next to their dog. Her collar will forever hang on the fence post.

We are all still adjusting to the absence of Ella. Easton still goes around calling Harlie “Ella, Ella!” There are times I catch myself looking for her only to find she isn’t there. The first couple of days Harlie kept looking for her, but never could find her. In time we will all heal and she will always have a spot in our hearts.

In the words of Easton “Ella, Ella!”

2007

2009

January 23, 2012

18 months

A little behind on this post, but better late than never. We went for Easton's 18 month check up and she is as healthy as a horse. Dr. Yu gave us the go ahead to start giving Easton 2% milk and told us how lucky I was to have such a happy and good baby. He has no idea how grateful I am for this and how often I thank God for such a blessing. Meal times are going great as long as those teeth aren't bothering her she eats like a champ. Easton sleeps through the night with the occasional wake up from teeth, but no complaints here. Easton is built like her Momma. Long arms, broad shoulders and a long torso. So long sleeves can be tricky and most of her 18 mo tops are too small.

Stats:
31.5"
24.8 lbs.
Size 5 diaper
18-24 mo. clothes. (depending on brands. She can wear a 2T from Old Navy!)

Easton loves...
Bath time. She plays and splashes around like a mad woman!
Her dollies.
Climbing on the kitchen chairs.
Being outside and playing.
Books. She can listen to someone read books all day long to her. She even sets on the floor and reads them to her self. It is adorable.
Good home cooked meals. She is a food lover!


I want to remember....
-Her I love you which sounds more like "Wove gu"
-How sweet her "Pleeeease" is and her heart melting her "Thank You"
-The stool. AKA Easton's sidekick! She carries that thing everywhere... the kitchen, her bathroom, our bathroom, the bedroom, closet.
-Her obsession with Poop. When I change her diaper she says "Poopie?". Or she will pound on the door and say "Poopie".
-Her curiosity and sense of adventure.
-Ms. Independent.
-When you ask her if she wants to brush her teeth- she opens her mouth and says "awwww"
-The way she sings the first part of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
-Her dance moves and love for music!
-Her eagerness to help. Whether it is with laundry, dinner, setting the table, or putting things up. She loves to assist!
-She knows when we are leaving and tells people "Bye". Even an entire restaurant. They must know we are departing.
-She loves the tickle monster. The belly laugh comes out in full force.
-She has discovered what it means to hide. The little stinker hides under tables and behinds things.
-Her love for crayons. Not only for coloring, but as a snack also.
-Her "Sorry", hugs, and kisses when she as hurt someone.
-Morning snuggle time. She will snuggle with you forever in the mornings after she wakes up. It is the most heart melting, calming thing ever.
- Her giggles when she toots!
-When she wants you to pick her up: "Here, Here, Here" both are hands up and grabbing at the air.

2012 Bosley Goals

I am not really in to New Year Resolutions. Not my thing. I have tried in the past only to be setup for disappointment. So my friends I like to fill you in on the Bosley’s 2012 Goals. Goals seem much more achievable.

Josh and I are making 2012 the year of pay off and nest egg. Last winter we paid my Tahoe off and this coming winter Josh’s truck will be paid off. Which means NO VEHICLE PAYMENTS! Holla! Which means this year we will be dumping money into our savings to build a bigger cushion. We will also be working towards paying off a credit card and saving for a couple of home improvement projects. There will be no major pricey purchases in the Bosley household this year. Of course unless there is an emergency, but by golly it better be a damn good emergency. I have plans for this year and I would appreciate them not being screwed up. Fingers crossed for no hiccups!

Enjoy our family of three. One day it will no longer be just the three of us. So while we can, we want to give Easton 100% of our attention. Have adventures, take trips, and just enjoy activities with her before we become a family of four one day or she no longer wants to do them with us. You know we aren’t always going to be cool. Embrace our little toddler in 2012!

Oh marriage, how perfectly imperfect you are. We argue, get pissy, tired and cranky, but we also love each other, soar with the good times, and nap when we can. Like I said our marriage is perfectly imperfect. 2012 here is to clinching a tighter bond and 4 years of marriage.

Now on to my personal goals for the year. I will be turning 30 on September 16th. Yikes! So what better time than now to work on the belly that jiggles like a bowl full of jelly.

So begins operation lose this baby weight. Geezzz… Easton has been out of this belly for 18 months now and it still looks like I am 3 months pregnant. Just how am I a going to accomplish this? Torture, embarrassment, and hopefully, reward in the end.

Torture. I am training for a half-marathon in October (thank you Lexie Manning for the motivation). I used to run. Even did cycling and kickboxing. I used to enjoy it. But exercise became obsolete the fall of 2009 when pregnant sleep comma set in. Then I had Easton and well I just didn’t care enough to work out. I was more focused on being a working mom that successfully breastfed for a year and spent her time enjoying her daughter. Then just before Christmas this year I was lucky enough to snag a treadmill from work. Making it easier to run after Easton is in bed or in the mornings before she wakes up. So I am going to exercise my booty off (literally) in order to conquer a half-marathon in 2012. Along the way I will be doing 5K, 10k, and other runs in order to keep mini-goals in front of me. Kind of like a little mini-boost of confidence.

The embarrassment part…

This picture was taken after completing the Bonner Springs Tiblow Trot on August 29, 2009. That was one proud moment!

Now this picture was taken on January 4, 2012. Present. Seriously, look at the tire I got going on. I will post a picture once a month. Hopefully it will be my skinny timeline!

(Pardon my super dirty bathroom mirror!)

Reward… being that I conquered a Half-Marathon, I am back to my pre-baby weight, and I am a much healthier person.

In all, we are hoping for a calm, inexpensive, healthy, family orientated, 13.1 mile kind of year.

Life Moments

I once had a clean car. I mean polished leather seats, vacuumed carpets, and shiny dashboards. It was a well kept ride. These days milk spots can be found on those leather seats. The carpets… they are covered with books, toys, and bits of goldfish. Actually goldfish particles can be found in every nook and cranny, especially in Easton’s car seat. It’s funny how your life changes. Your priorities shift.

Easton pooped on her step stool. It was our typical bath time routine. I was getting her bath water ready and she was running around airing her “stuff” out. She loves being naked. Naked as a Jay Bird. I must admit I think it is adorable to watch her little buns scurry down the hallway all while she is screaming. So enough with her bottom being cute.. back to the story. She was picking up her step stool moving it back and forth between the front of the sink and the side. She climbed on top of it and did her business. I just happened to call Josh into the bathroom moments before the stinky incident so he also got the pleasure in viewing the very large poop our daughter took on her new stepping stool. Just as we realized what the heck was going on, Easton steps back and lands her foot in the pile of poo. I of course am saying “No! No! No!” As she steps back with her other foot and it too lands in the stinky pile. Easton is crying by now. I think the shock of pooping outside her diaper, stepping in it, and us slightly panicking freaked her out. I scope her up and tell Josh to turn on the sink and we begin frantically cleaning off her super stinky little tootsies. Easton and I then take off to her changing table so I can clean her up a bit more. We return to find Josh using toilet paper to scrap last night’s whole peas into the toilet. He then asks “No what do I use to clean the stool of with?” I reply with “Hose it down with 409!”

My daughter will attempt to make any toilet her personal water table. She doesn’t care if it’s a public toilet at Wal-Mart. Vomit in your mouth… you know you want to. I did when I turned around to find her splashing away in the toilet at Wal-Mart. They are sneaky and quick little stinkers.

Yes, I let me daughter jump on my bed, her bed, our couch. We have too many other life rules not to have fun jumping on the beds and furniture. Pick and choose your battles. I choose not to yell at my daughter for having fun doing something so simple and minor in the grand scheme of things.

Christmas Craziness...

We had a fabulous Christmas this year, like we always do. It was merry, bright, filled with butt and gut enlarging foods, gifts galore, plenty of laughs, some naps, and most importantly family and friends.
Christmas eve began with some baking. Josh made a amazing cheesecake with the help of his sous chef. Umm... wait.... the second cheesecake Josh made was AMAZING. The first was black on top and runny in the middle.

They were waiting for the top of the cheesecake to brown so they could knock the temperature down.

Then it was time to bake Santa some chocolate chip cookies. My assistant was most helpful and looked stinking cute in her apron. Though she thought it was a dress.

That evening we exchanged gifts and had dinner with Josh's mom.
Easton didn't even have to open this gift to figure out it was something to ride.

Just before bedtime Easton put milk and cookies out for Santa.

Christmas morning Santa had came and left a rock climbing gym with a slide in our living room!

Can you tell she absolutely LOVES her slide! She really wasn't into opening presents as much as playing with the jungle gym Santa brought. When she goes down it she says "Weeeeeee!"

She wanted to put her boots on, but she couldn't with her footy pajamas. So we striped her down and she rocked the boots with a diaper. Let me tell you she strutted her stuff between all the boxes and wrapping paper.

Most of the time she enjoyed crawling on top of presents than opening them.

After the gifts were open and the dinner was consumed, we had friends from out of town stop by. Easton was a bit of a bully to Blake. He is 3 months younger than Easton and she didn't like him drinking out of her cup or playing with her toys. But we all survived and it was a great learn experience for all of us.

Someone also received a potty. Nope, not Josh. He already has his thrown (wink wink). We aren't hitting potty training hard core yet, but she sits on it and knows that it is there if she is willing to go potty in the big girl potty.

Easton was showered with wonderful gifts and love. She is one lucky and spoiled little girl. It was a great Christmas and we look forward to next year when she will really be into Christmas and Santa!

The best present for a working mom!

This morning I received the greatest gift any working mom could receive. A book. But this just isn't any book. This is a book called...
When I unwrapped the book it only took seeing the front cover to make the tears start flowing. My hearted melted at the fact that I was receiving a small glimpse into my daughter's life while I am away at work for 8+ hours of the day. Of course, Mandy and I hugged each other through tears and I will be forever grateful to her for the love and care she gives our daughter and for the best present a working mom could receive.

This is just a small portion of what's in the book.

Thank you Mandy for taking such amazing care of our daughter. For helping her grow into a bright, funny and loving soul. We love you and appreciate all that you do for us!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

A Christmas tradition we started last year when Easton was a wee little baby is buying her a new Christmas ornament every year for her tree. I bought a little 3' tree after Thanksgiving that is pre-lit and perfect in size for her. Of course since last year was the first year and everyone was excited she received just a few more than one. A lot are Baby's 1st Christmas ones, but there a few others that are fun and cute and have nothing to do with her 1st Christmas. The idea behind buying a new Christmas ornament every year is to reflect what went on in Easton's life that year. What happened? What was she into? When I stumbled across this little guy on Hallmark's website I just knew it was the ornament for 2011. It fit Easton to a T...Ball, monkey, and books. Every time she sees an object that is round... it's a ball. She loves monkeys. Her monkey pajamas, saying mokey, and the song 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. And she is a bookworm! She loves to try to read, to be read to, to carry around books, and to bring you books.