The "Other" Baby

For the last 4 years Winnie has definitely been the baby in the family. I knew I wanted a pug named Winston ever since I was a little girl, so when we moved to Houston and bought a house, it was time for Winston to join the family. We went to see a pug breeder in the Woodlands in October 2007 and it was of course love at first sight. The breeder brought out 3 male pug puppies, who were a little nervous and shy at first. Winston was the first one in the bunch to approach us and give us a few licks- he definitely chose us! We hadn't planned on going home with a puppy that day; we knew we had to go out of town the next weekend and perhaps it would be better to get a puppy after our trip. Needless to say, we went home with a puppy that day.

Raising a puppy was good parenting practice I think. We had to re-arrange our schedules to meet his potty break needs and walk needs and eating needs. We developed a good routine where Bill would walk him in the morning, I'd come home at lunch to take him outside and feed him, I'd do the afternoon after work walk, and Bill would take him out right before bedtime. Potty training meant cleaning his crate 3 times a day while he was getting the hang of learning what 'go potty outside' meant. Eventually he caught on and learned to ring a bell tied to the front door whenever he needs a potty break. 

Daddy got tired of driving, so Winnie drove us home!

Once he was potty trained and adjusted to our schedules it was good times! We'd take him to the park, Petsmart, festivals and fairs, obedience school (he was a C- student), and lots of road trips back to Louisiana. We loved learning his quirky little personality, and probably doted on him a bit too much. But who can resist such a face?? Here's a glimpse into our crazy dog:

• He loves bathtime, but hates swimming. When we get home from a long walk, all I have to do is say 'you want to go take a bath?' and he will run jump into the bathtub by himself. One time he even jumped in my bath while I was in it! But as we learned when we let him get in Kristen and Justin's pool, swimming is not his strong suit. We put him in a doggie life jacket and held on to him while he took his first swim, and what ensued was the SADDEST form of a dog paddle one has ever seen. If not for the life jacket he would've sank like a rock. He much prefers floating on a raft or lounging on the shallow first step.
• He's very social and loves playing with other dogs. When Bill and I were both working he went to doggie daycare at Deogi twice a week to play with his 'friends' and not be cooped up in the house all day alone. His 'teacher' is also a talented photographer and somehow gets him to dress up and pose rather nicely for photos!
• Likes: soft serve ice cream, chest rubs rather than belly rubs, licking anything fabric after getting a big drink of water (including the couch, the carpet, throw pillows, bedspread). Dislikes:  vacuum cleaners, his bumblebee Halloween costume, random objects that appear in places when they didn't used to be there (i.e. placing Poinsettias on either side of the fireplace at Christmas time. Freaks him out.)

not a fan of the bumblebee getup

perfect size for pugs!

 I'm afraid our little pug is in for a shock when the baby arrives. I foresee many weeks of a jealous pouting pug. I think eventually he'll learn to co-exist with his rival, and maybe one day when the baby starts dropping food on the floor he'll even learn that this small person is his friend! I hope one day they will be best buds....looking forward to many happy memories as our family grows! Until that day comes I have to figure out how to teach Winnie that the small comfy-looking  apparatus set up all over our house are actually not for him....

a tour of the nursery...and a little pregnancy humor

Planning the nursery has been a lesson in patience and flexibility. My interior designer friend Rachel Cannon (http://sohaus.blogspot.com/) came up with the original design concepts and layout back in October, and it's been slow but steady progress ever since. We started with the crib, a great deal on sale at Babies R Us. (That's my very first teddy bear in the crib, which my mom bought for me when she found out she was pregnant. Winnie got ahold of him one night, hence his slightly-mangled-looking nose. Otherwise he's in good shape.)

Then my mom found a dresser in the right size I wanted on Craigslist, and she and I spent several days refinishing, painting, sealing, and putting new knobs on it. I think it turned out pretty cute!

Then my grandmother offered to provide the absolutely-essential glider chair and gliding ottoman, which we ordered from Royal Standard. We had a few challenges getting the chair from Baton Rouge to Houston, but luckily my wonderful in-laws brought it here in their SUV last weekend (with not an extra inch to spare!) It is a perfect fit for me...not too big, and fits just right in this spot in this room.

From there it was a nursery-buying frenzy, including the bookshelf (Ikea), storage cubes/benches (Target), owl lamp and side table (West Elm), sconce lights (Pottery Barn), rug (Home Decorators Collection) and tons of storage baskets. Bill spent the majority of the week of thanksgiving up to his elbows in assembly instructions and tools of unknown origin, which he seemed pretty adept at using. The final pieces were the crib linens and upholstery items. My mom made them all! We ordered fabric and she made the crib bumpers, bench cushions, and throw pillow. Thanks Mom! And now the nursery is finally complete. Just waiting on a little bambino who should arrive any day now!

And finally, a little peek at some of our more-humorous pregnancy moments:

My ridiculous (yet delightfully warm) coat. Do we see a resemblance here?

In the infant care class...bill took the instructions about the "football hold" literally.

Yes this man is about to be the father of my child. Should I be worried?

ready, set, wait!

Welcome to the adventures of the expanding Renton family! With so many friends and family scattered across the country (and world!), I figured this would be the easiest way to keep everyone up-to-date on the happenings of the Renton clan. Life around our house is about to get a whole lot more interesting!

In the next few weeks we'll be welcoming the first addition to our little family...the butterbean! Butterbean has been a very happy camper for the last 36 weeks and it's been an enjoyable pregnancy. The first trimester was full of the usual pregnancy oddities...morning sickness (2-3 times every morning, for a good 7 weeks!), insatiable appetite, emotional sensitivity. Things calmed down in the second trimester and Butterbean and I happily trucked along. I walked in the park every morning, ate as many Oreos as one human being could possibly consume, made plans for the nursery, and completed baby shower plans and baby registry items. We had 2 wonderful showers in November- one with the extended Renton family in Mandeville and one with my family and friends in Baton Rouge. It was so much fun to see everyone I loved gathered together just for me!

The holidays came and went and suddenly the third trimester was in full swing. I have been frantically rushing to complete the exhaustive 'to do' list before Butterbean arrives, and slowly but surely we are getting things done. Nursery is finally complete (I'll post pics soon), baby clothes and blankets washed and put away, every inch of this house has been decluttered/cleaned/organized, and Bill has skillfully assembled every single baby apparatus a baby could ever want or need. (I call it a victory when less than 5 expletives were uttered, no bodily harm was incurred, and each item is fully functional.)

And now we're down to the waiting game. Everyone seems to think I will deliver early and I guess that's why I've been in such a frantic nesting state-of-mind lately. And wow. The nesting business is serious stuff. I had read about it in the pregnancy books but didn't really know if I would experience anything like that. After I spent an entire Saturday cleaning the house from top to bottom, including dusting places/things that had NEVER been dusted before, I realized we were at the end of this pregnancy road. Anyone who knows me knows i DETEST cleaning with every ounce of my body! My cleaning-nazi husband quite enjoyed my remarkable change in behavior though.

So 36 weeks down, 4 (or less??) to go! Ready, set, wait!