3 Girls, 1 Guy and a Zoo!: May 2009

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Madalyn's belated birthday update!

Late again...I'm sure you are all getting used to this by now. I'm only a couple weeks late so its not THAT bad! We had a great time at the birthday party...at least the ladies did. The men where chilling in the living room, I have no idea what they were doing! Gramma Jenkins made the cake again for Madalyn's too. Turned out real cute and always and sooo delicious! I can't believe she is 2 now! I'm sticking with BJ Bailey's philosophy and denying that its even possible. If we all deny it, does that mean she stays little forever??? I wish! My girls are getting so big! I'm so privileged to be able to stay at home with them and savor every second. Hopefully the economy doesn't rip that privilege from me...stupid money anyhow! So, about Madalyn...nothing much is new. She had hit "terrible twos". Most days its not so bad. She is definitely at that testing stage. But most of the time if you tell her that isn't allowed her response is... "Oh....sorry!" So cute! She is potty trained most days. We still have off days where I just want to throw the towel in and give up! A lot of that is just us being at the barn or out doing whatever and she just can't concentrate on it. Too much other stuff going on. She has started trying to sing the ABC's with Marissa and is doing pretty good. Marissa at least a couple times a day makes her repeat the letters so she can "learn them better." She also makes Madalyn recite the first 8 books of the Old Testament with her so she can learn them too. I'm going to get that on video soon and post it for you to all see! Madalyn totally impresses me with the stuff she knows and remembers. We were up at the barn the other day and I was walking through the barn checking for heats with Madalyn and all of the sudden she yells out "its Kid!" Sure enough there she was...out of 140 cows, she picks out Kid. I thought that was pretty good. Marissa has 3 cows now that she knows by sight...Kid, Friendly and Pootie. She named the last two...I named Kid. I haven't met Pootie yet, but I know her number is 130. Goes to show you they don't all look the same, even if they are all black and white! Well I guess thats it for now...now for the pictures! I included some updated ones of our little furry foster kids!

Ashley

The whole crew

Kisses after feeding

Reading stories and Chloe bound and determined to steal the attention!

Present time!

She wouldn't let anything hit the ground!

BABY!

Grace very entertained with the paper!

The fun group...

The boring group

In a daze

"Now what?"

Very unsure

Blowing them out

Stealing some frosting per Ms. Bonnie's advice

Going in for a second dip and Marissa is just sure
she is going to get yelled at one of these tries!

Digging in!

Messy face

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Up to three...hope she is finished!

Went back to the barn yesterday to do chores and found 2 more kittens stiff. Got them going again and brought them home. I have never known a cat to be in labor for over 24 hours and just have kittens randomly! Crazy! She is a rotten mother anyhow. She is letting her baby from last summer nurse off her but not the ones that need to. I'm not sure what we are going to do with her, but she can't keep having kittens and then abandoning them. Unfortunately she was a drop off and the farm doesn't have the money to fix her with the way the economy is.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Suckered in again...

Why do I have such a big heart? I brought another kitten home from the barn last night after I revived her. Her mother has a track record for not being such a terrific mother. She tried burying her in the sawdust pile. I heard her crying when we first got to the barn and tried to return her to her mother, but she promptly took her back to the sawdust and shoved sawdust on top of her. She returned to her favorite sleeping spot and left her alone. Before I left the barn I checked in on her. She was cold and limp and I was pretty sure she was dead, but we revived some this winter that were abandoned that were even stiff. So I started rubbing her. It took about 5 minutes before she was breathing on her own with out being rubbed. Then I gave her to Marissa to keep warm until we were ready to leave. She has livened up alot since we have had her home. She nurses well and squirms around. Dad called me this morning and apparently she had another kitten last night. This makes a total of 4 with 2 of them dead and then the one we saved. We will see if she keeps that one. Her last batch she ditched her live baby and kept the dead one. She is an odd mother that's for sure. If she keeps the baby she has right now, I might try returning this one to her. But for now she is thriving and I'm hoping I can find a home for her since she is a female. If not it will be nice and warm and she can go back to the barn at 6-8 weeks old. Well here she is anyhow. She is less than 24 hours old. Marissa has named her Ashleigh since the calf that she named that last week didn't make it.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

I know it isn't Madalyn's birthday or anything but..

...these were too good to not share with you all! Madalyn is 100% entertaining! I think its the age more than just her, but I get a kick out of her. (When she isnt' fighting with her sister that is!) She is also 100% Doug and can fall asleep anywhere and in mid sentence. So enjoy the pictures. As always I went a little over board, but its so hard to choose just a couple! So I just post them all and hope you don't get bored with them! Enjoy!!!

Trying to get it over her head!

Can't seem to find the hole!

Finally!

Now for the bottoms...

She informed me she needed "one more"

Almost

Oops...starting over

Rough Day

Waking up

Back out

So cute!

This looks a little more comfortable and its apparently becoming one of her favorite spots to sleep! Maybe it has magic powers and I just don't know it!

The puppy comes in handy for a pillow!

So cute!

Ok you caught me...

...I'm such a procrastinator! Its been like 5 days since Marissa's birthday and I'm just now posting these! I'm so bad!!! In my defense we have not had a good last 4 days. I'm hoping day turns over a new leaf and things go better. The girls have been at each other's throats and I'm not sure why. Always arguing and screaming at each other. I have no clue what the deal is. They can't be bored because we have been spending ALOT of time outside. The only time they are getting along is when Marissa is at the barn with Daddy and Madalyn is with me! Yeah...that bad! Grandma and Grandpa Geiger and Aunt Chelsea are coming today so I'm hoping that they will find a new groove after they leave.
I don't know if it has anything to do with her being 4 now or if she is just getting more mature again but lately the things she comes up with I just can't believe it. We got her Paint Pens for her birthday and she has been drawing ever since. She is writing letters...which I have NOT taught her to do and doing a pretty good job with it too. She has become alot more creative too! Yesterday she was outside playing and she built a rock house. She got some dirt and mixed water in it so it was sticky and used it to hold the rocks in place. What 4 year old comes up with that stuff? She is so observant too. We just got a new bull up at the barn and Doug was showing her him so she knew to stay away from him and she asked him what his name was. Doug told her he didn't have a name yet and asked her if she wanted to name him. She came out with "Well he has a pink nose like our Sid (ferret) so I think we should name him Sid." Maybe I have just not been giving her enough credit but she is one smart cookie! She has been naming the calves at the heifer barn again too and not crazy names that I can't spell or pronounce. The last calf that was born she named "Ashley". I'm not sure that she even knows an Ashley so I'm not sure where that came from. I look to contiuing to watch her grow and mature. I'm so proud of the little person she has already become and can't wait to see each step she takes. Here are the rest of the pictures of her I promised!

The Cake all lit up

Blowing out the candles

Opening gifts from Mommy and Daddy

She was informing that duck tape doesn't belong on presents.
I ran out, how bad is that?

She gave it to Madalyn and she stuck it on her belly

Bubbles

Paint Pens

A BIG My Little Pony

More from the party

Grace

Another Pony

"We are ready for Cake"

Crazy sprinkler that Marissa informs me every morning
that it is warm enough for now!

Being silly

Two out of the four isn't bad

One out of four?

She loves those little girls!

If you were to ask me where I would see myself in 10 years, I never would have guessed that I would be here. However, I couldn't be happier! I'm very happily married to the love of my life and have two girls. We have begun our journey towards adoption and I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us over the next couple of years. I'm a stay at home mom who home-schools. I enjoy researching and finding things out for myself. This blog allows me to share with others my passions and keep in touch with family that I wouldn't normally be able to keep in such close touch with.

Daddy is such a blessing to me. We met in college and became best friends. About one and a half years after we met we were dating. The rest is history. Together we have grown in the Lord and learned many lessons even in our few years together. Things haven't always been smooth, but together and with the Lord's help we can accomplish anything. He is the love of my life and my true soul mate. He is 100% committed to his family and the Lord. He is currently working for Dairy One in Ithaca. He loves to ski, ride dirt bikes, tinker on things, mow the lawn :) and spend time with his girls.

Marissa is our oldest. She was born in May 2005. She is 100% Daddy's girl. She is a home body and usually isn't away from home for long and she is asking to go back to our house. She always claims a job and sticks with it till its done. She is very quick and catches on fast. You have to be careful what you show her, because before you know it she is going to be attempting it herself. Madalyn is her best friend. She loves church and loves learning and singing about Jesus. Marissa is now is school and she is doing great. She loves to read and do projects. She LOVES animals and has decided that she wants to be a Veterinarian when she grows up!

Madalyn is our youngest. She is 100% Mommy's girl (nice of them that they split us up so that one isn't quite so overwhelmed isn't it?). Madalyn knows what she wants and goes for it. She has no fear and is usually the leader of my two even though she is younger. She does love to shadow her older sister though. She is my girly girl, but also my one that is always getting messy. She loves her hair done, to get dressed up, and shoes! We are in trouble with this one! She loves school and is super smart. She has decided she wants to be a "snow plow driver" when she grows up. She is also going to build a house RIGHT next to us and live there so she can still see us every day ;)

Case was actually our "oldest child". Sadly we said goodbye to him on October 29th, 2013. He was a black lab/ red-tick coonhound. He loved to roam the fields, swim, play ball, catch frisbees, go hiking and spend time at the barn. He also very much enjoyed those black and white cats that roam in the dark and have stripes down their backs...or he must have because he kept getting sprayed! He hated to be abandoned by his family and preferred us to all be in the house by 9pm or he started pacing. His biggest dislike was winter. He hated the cold and would rather hold his potty all day long than to go out and pee. Even when he did go out he barely makes it out the door and he was starting to go! Haha He was our "little boy in a doggie suit" as my aunt says. We love him and miss him like crazy.

Cali is our first cat together as a married couple. Sadly we said goodbye to her on October 8th, 2014. We got her from the barn shortly after we moved. She had to be one of the softest cats you had ever felt and of course one of the best looking calicos. LOL She was a great mouser and spent alot of her time in the basement hunting. She had a funny quirk. When she got ready to settle down and sleep, she parted the hair on her tail so only a few hairs were sticking up and then she proceeded to suck on those hairs.

Beaker is a litter mate to Cali. She is a great mouser. She loves to sneak outside when she gets the chance but if you say her name she quickly darts back in. She is VERY attached to Doug and is always coming up to him purring just as loud as can be begging to be picked up. Beaker of course never does this to me. She doesn't like change and isn't fond of strange dogs, although she has gotten much better with the dogs. She will still swat at Molly but it's not angry, it's almost like she is playing.

Sid was our Marshall Ferret. We said goodbye to him in 2012. He was amazing! Great with kids and other animals, but a total goofball. He definitely lived up to the typical ferret personality and a total thief! Sid's favorite thing to steal was pacifiers. He would take them right out of a baby's mouth if given the opportunity and then take off running! He always hid everything in the same place, so at least we knew where to find them, but of course they were always ruined. Anything rubber was in danger of ending up in the said spot. We definitely miss having him around.

Chloe is Cairn Terrier. She is a blast to have around and I'm definitely sold on the terrier family! She is great with the kids and loves spending time outside. She is a great woodchuck hunter and will sit at an occupied hole all day till she catches one. Even in the winter time she will spend forever out there and come back looking like a snowman. She loves to swim and will swim in any temperature water. She loves to mother other animals. Whether it be kittens from the barn, Case, or her own litter of puppies, she is a great mother! We have since fixed her. Although I'm sad there won't be another litter, it's for the best with the probability of us moving and having to find a new vet.

Meet Molly, our newest dog addition :) After taking some time to heal after losing Case, we decided that our household wasn't the same without a big dog around and we were missing something. So we took the plunge and went full out this time. Molly is a purebred, mis-marked mantle, Great Dane :) She has grown into one good looking pup! I'm still in love with this old picture though, so I'm not changing it! She stands about 31 inches at the shoulder and weighs over 100lbs (although honestly I'm not sure how much over because I can't lift her anymore!) She is great with the kids and loves to cuddle. She shares our bed and is the biggest baby ever. She is very protective and does not like when anyone is pinned down. She is right there to break up the "fight" LOL We love her to pieces!

When Doug's sister and her husband started breeding rabbits, I had a feeling deep down that it was only a matter of time....Here she is! Peterette started out as "Peter". When Madalyn realized "he" was actually a "she", she settled with Peterette. :) Peterette is a flemish giant, which according to what I have read is the Great Dane breed in the bunny world! Figures right? She is super sweet, very laid back and loves to be cuddled and pet. She'll stick her nose out of her cage when you enter the room just so you will scratch it!