Woodrow

Woodrow has axial osteosarcoma in his maxilla

he has bone cancer in his upper jaw
and it is very aggressive

we are devastated

and i don't really want to talk about it, because that makes it real.

the odds are that he probably won't be here at Christmas
and i can't seem to swallow that truth

to think about what he, a dog, means to me and to our family...

GT bought Woodrow for me for Valentines 2010, we were engaged to be married in July.

One February evening, when we were both living in Little Rock, we went to look at puppies.

It had just snowed and it was freezing outside with snow still on the ground.

as we drove to his friends house, who had the puppies, GT told me that we were not leaving with a puppy and that we were just going to look at them, i agreed.

i knew that GT would have to train the dog and live with him since i was living with a friend until we got married.

As we drove up to his friends house, I saw the litter of puppies running around outside, the mamma dog not far away in the garage. 

We parked the truck and made our way to the house.

As we approached, i squatted down to get a closer look at the cutest lab puppies i had ever seen.

One little one strayed away from the litter and walked over to me, placed his paws on my arms and stood up on his back legs, stretching his neck so his nose was close to mine. 

i looked up at GT and said, "pay the man".

 we loaded up and Woodrow was ours.

we bought him with the intentions of GT training him to hunt.

he did. and Woodrow was good, caught on incredibly quickly and loved to follow commands.

but, i somehow softened up the ole boy and he has made one trip, i think, to the duck blind.

he's my boy.

so, here's what we're going to do.
i am not going to lament his passing, because it has not happened.
i am not going to grieve his absence from my children's lives as they grow.
but, i am going to love the mess out of that dog and ensure that he has the best life possible.
he will have free reign of the land, the pond...oh wait! he already does!

my point is this.
we are going to make sure that he is comfortable and well loved.
and we always have, so not much will change.
he might even get a bath.

i know people feel differently about dogs, giving them varying degrees of worth.
Woodrow has been part of our family and is incredibly valuable to us on numerous levels.
he is easy going- energetic and playful or lazy and restful- depending on what we're doing.
He is kind, patient, fiercely loyal, impressively obedient and has no awareness of his huge size when trying to climb in my lap.
he's a lover.

he is the best.

if you care to read about him more, click here

little photos round 2

we had some photos taken of our sweet Townes, at just 8 days old.

Erin did an incredible job of capturing the deliciousness that is a newborn

i just adore these and am so happy to have this special time documented so beautifully

i think this one is my favorite.

 we did attempt some photos of Judson and Townes and some family photos and they went... ok. 

but will keep me from attempting a family photo session again for another 18 years.

just when you think you've got parenting a toddler under control or simply maintained... try family portraits.

and what kind of mom would i be, if i didn't do a side-by-side comparison of my children, huh? 

besides the obvious difference of their level of modesty, they look incredibly different to me.

but i'm pretty sure that you haven't studied their faces as intensely as i have-day in a day out.

let's talk about the hairlines.

i love my little Townsie

and cherish these photos that look so serene, when in reality...i felt like my head was spinning off of my body as i was sweating like a pig. hi-five to one week post-partum!

if you are interested, click here for Judson's newborn photos

Judson talks....

...and never stops

this kid

he is entertaining
at 21 months, he is able to have a conversation (i use that term loosely) and get anywhere he pleases.
he repeats everything. EVERYTHING. be careful little ears.
thanks to Hoda and Kathie Lee he said "gaaaaawsh"repeatedly the other day.
he most often responds to our questions with a "kaaaayyyyy" or "uh-huuuuuuuh"
emphasis on the second syllable.

he talks incessantly
and moves his body in the same fashion
thank goodness he sleeps like a teenager on summer break
little buddy slap wears himself out doing all that running, jumping, climbing and talking.

and wearing this.

some of his specialized words include:
"Ninny"- Honey
"bay-bank"- blanket
"dah-doh"- Donald. for Old McDonald
"pee-pee"- Pizzza. go figure
"ah-hi"- outside
"nay-nay"- lemonade
"tray-tray"- trailer (flat bed, not house. although we having nothing against the mobile home)
"Geggy"- Grammy
"Git"- Garrett

and of course "doo-droh"

Woodrow, the most patient and kind dog

 he is putting two and three words together, attempting a sentence.
with a giant pause in between words
"biiiig____truck"
"town____hole"- Townes, hold. he wants to hold the fragile newborn (no, but thank you)
"new____oooosh"- new shoes
anything that starts with an "s" does not have an "s" when JR says it.
 i.e., "ocks"- socks, "eee"- see, "it"- sit, etc
he says "new" for anything that he has never seen before
and says "ole"- old when he sees a sippy cup that has been sitting out for a while, holding ole mom responsible for any rotten milk.
watching hunting shows, "ooot nuddah"- shoot another. his fathers doing

(i apologize for the excessive amount of quotation marks)

and let me emphasize the enthusiasm in which he says all of these things and the number of times he says them. it's a lot. a whole lot.

he also wants to go "down___pahn___ish___orrr-orr"- down to the pond to see the fish on the four wheeler
he will repeat his sentences over and over(and over to infinity) until you repeat it back to him and get it right.
to which he replies, "KAAAAYYYY" every enthusiastically, delighted that we finally understood him!

my personal favorite, "Wub"- love you

the first month

i blinked.

and here we are. 

 Townes Wesley, you are 5 weeks old!

you are such a little love nugget and i am addicted.

if we are apart for any length of time, i start having withdrawal symptoms. you are just the sweetest little thing!

it's truly amazing how well you just fit our family, as if you have been here all the time.

let's pick up where we left off (1 week) and do a little week by week update on your life thus far, shall we?

you are a delight little buddy

you end up in our bed more often than i would like to admit

but i actually really love it

1st Saturday morning at Cracker Barrel with the Mamaw's

1st horse show at the Ike Hamilton

lots of naps on mom and dads bed

those lips...i can't stop kissing them!

you prefer to sleep on your stomach

you're a noisy little fella-making puppy noises, grunting, squeaking
and all noises are magnified if laying on your back.

they're mostly due to gas, i'm thinking.

if you grow into your toots, you're going to be a big man...they're epic.

let's move on, shall we?

we had our good friend and photographer Erin come over to take some photos of you and our fam

we love her, she's the greatest

i've also got the hots for the lighting guy

week 3 brought some new friends!!!

Linley June was born!

we just love her

i'm so excited to watch your relationship as your both grow

your brother and her sisters are the same age...what fun we are going to have in the years to come!!!

you also met one of my best friends

Buzz from Dallas.

 or Laura if you prefer.

she came to our house to meet you and you slept the entire time.

what a charmer, you are!

your first month has been very busy, little man.

and you have taken to it like a champ!

you visited your daddy at his office for the 1st time

you took your first road trip to Texas and were pretty happy about it

we went to church with you for the first time

you are starting to smirk and make hilarious faces

and you try so hard to talk and are starting to smile (on purpose!, i think)

i love hearing your "coo"

if you aren't asleep, you are moving. your arms, legs and head are in constant motion.

and you neck is incredibly strong, you hold your head up and look around like a big kid.

if i remember correctly, your brother wasn't even as active as you at this age (which makes me incredibly nervous about your future activity level!)

your dad just said the other day that holding you is like holding a slinky.

constantly readjusting to keep a good hold on you!

i like your little spunky spirit! 

your brother still asks for you and about you all of the time

he's learning to be gentle with you, but with little success

we're working on it.

little Townes, we are so glad that you have joined our family

you make our days a bit sweeter and our nights a tad bit longer

and we wouldn't have it any other way

i sure hope the rest of your life goes more slowly than this first month, but i kind of doubt it.

i so enjoy you and want to soak up every single second of kissing, rocking, feeding, smelling and loving you

We praise God for the gift that we have received in you!