That Time I Went All 'Goodfellas' on an Opossum

Recently I posted on Facebook about about my brief but memorable encounter with an opossum. Since, posting, however, I’ve decided that it deserves more than just a few hundred characters to truly give the moment the appropriate amount of fanfare and embellishment. If not for the sake of pure entertainment, then at least for the sake of the opossum, who gave his life for the story.

And in true short story format, I should give you just the smallest bit of backstory and an idea of the setting so you know what you’re dealing with here. So with that, I begin the tale of that time I went all ‘Goodfellas’ on an opossum.

Where I live is aptly described as an acreage in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but cornfields, just a few miles from the quaint hamlet of Ogden, Iowa, pop. 1,996. We’re fairly new ‘country folk’, as we moved from the metropolis of Ames to said acreage just over two years ago.

Our house sits on just shy of an acre and while we don’t have enough land for a hobby farm (a term until recently I was unaware of, but that’s another story), we do have chickens, ducks, rabbits and plenty of cats. We also have two dogs--the first, a 10 year old schnoodle (schnauzer/poodle mix; a small and hypoallergenic breed) named Olive, and the other, a 6 year old Great Pyrennes (a large breed, named for the mountain region in France) named Lily. Both dogs were adopted, Olive way back in 2011 and Lily when we moved two years ago. We got Lily to be our acreage guardian, since her breed is known for being excellent livestock protectors. If you are wondering what she looks like, imagine a Newfoundland but instead of black fur, hers is white. Very puffy, and long fur too. Essentially, she is a cloud that barks.

She’s a good dog and I love her very much (I love large dogs in general). My wife, however, is not so fond of Lily. This could be because she barks at everything in the distance (trains, tractors, mooing cows) and chases cars that drive by (which as the driver of said car, it has to be terrifying to suddenly see this lumbering white beast coming out of a ditch). More importantly, though, rather than protect our livestock, which we got her for, she instead opts for killing them. She doesn’t eat them, she just loves them too much...with her mouth. She’s even killed a few kittens, so as you can tell, it’s been a real lesson in life and death since we moved out to country. Which is a good segway to the opossum.

Really, we’ve been lucky with carnivorous animals, or a lack thereof, at our place. We don’t have much for woodlands near us, so the only animals we do see at our place are vermin, like mice and moles, but we have a plethora of farm cats--11 in total--and they do a good job of keeping them away. We do get a fair amount of birds, which the cats enjoy, but they are quite harmless. I have seen an owl visit us a few times, but he didn’t stay long, and only once have I heard coyotes laughing in the distance, so any would-be predators to our fowl have been quite rare. In fact, since we started raising our ducks and chickens, only five have ever been lost to mysterious circumstances, i.e. they just disappeared overnight. With no evidence of a violent end, we assume they found a better place to call home or are out making a name for themselves in Boone County, seeing the sites. Living the life of a vagabond fowl. In actuality, we chalked their disappearances up to maybe a coyote, fox or bird of prey.

I should add that our fowl are ‘free range’, so they are potentially easy prey. That being said, even though she perhaps doesn’t intend it, Lily’s constant barking at things and her overall size has maybe been somewhat intimidating to carnivorous animals who might consider stopping by to check the place out. But she does come in at night.

Of the few chickens we’ve ‘lost’, two of the more recent were white silkies. If you unfamiliar with that chicken breed, just know that they are an ornamental variety and offer really nothing for meat or eggs. They are small and white and have puffy feathers all over, especially on top of their heads, which gives the appearance that they can’t see a darn thing. They are like a tiny, chicken version of Lily. And just like a chicken, they are dumb as nails, so I wasn’t surprised these small birds might have been snatched, even by a so-called chicken hawk. And now, this brings me to the opossum.

On the night that Willy met his end (for that is what I called the opossum posthumously), I went outside to make sure the chickens were in their coop to shut them in, and in the distance, inside said coop, I saw the outline of a sizeable rodent, just mozying around like owned the joint. Most of the chickens were already in there, as well as the cats, just snoozing while this guy walked around, ate their food and drank their drink. Not cool, bro!

Though he walked like a trash Panda walks, I realized it was an opossum, the lowest of the marsupials, and knew I needed to act. At first I ran into the coop, yelling at him to leave at once. He refused, claiming squatters rights it seems, as he ran to his make-shift den. Then, with my shovel and my flashlight--the tools of a skilled opossum hunter--I found his den and to my surprise I sighted not only him, but a collection of scat, bones and white feathers! Though he appeared innocent of nothing but being an advantageous passerby, he clearly was guilty of much more--the murder of Chester and Daisy (I also named the chickens posthumously).

I first forced him out of his den by annoying the hell out of him with the end of my shovel. I then chased him out of the coop, not before attempted to hide inside the cat’s sleeping box. As he entered the box, Dandelion, our cuddly huntress of a cat leaped out of the box and again Willy feigned squatters rights and refused to exit. So I dragged the box outside and opened it, poking him to in hopes he’d leave. I wanted to give him a chance to make amends but he refused. In fact, he jumped out of the box and ran back into coop, hiding in the corner.

At this point I knew what must be done. He would not leave. He had a good thing going--a warm place to sleep, plenty to eat and drink, and nightly entertainment which included the methodical murder of a bird of his choosing. Sadly, Willy had to die. But here comes the hard part...we don’t own a gun.

It may be surprising, that I, an Iowan who lives in the country, and who is a Republican nonetheless, does not own a gun, but alas, t’is true. To eradicate this pest I needed to employ the closest thing I had to a gun: Lily.

So I grabbed Lily and told her the game plan. I would corner Willy and while it was distracted with my incessant prodding with a shovel, she would go in for the strike. I would then make sure she didn’t completely obliterate it and bury the beast. Seemed like a good plan and it went pretty well, until the end.

At first, when I brought her over, Lily could tell straight away there was something unwanted in the coop. She has some instincts after all. But when she got close to Willy, he growled and hissed at her and she seemed to not want to tangle with him. Then I poked him again and he hissed at me, which peaked Lily’s interest because at that point she went after him. I assume she was protecting me, which I appreciated.

The opossum did was they do, and tried to fight back then made a big stink, literally, and played dead. After a few more seconds, I called Lily off as I didn’t want her to start eating it or get sick from it or something. The beast seemed dead, after all. But Lily took my call to ‘stop’ as an insult or critique because she took off and wouldn’t come back. Still, I was hopeful that the deed was done but as I grabbed my shovel and began to pick up ol’ dead Willy, he moved and fell off the shovel. Willy still lived, though he played opossum very well. Alas, the final blow, pun intended, now fell to me.

I moved Willy to the drive and weighed the options on how to handle him as humanely as I could. I really didn’t have that many options, so I decided the quickest way would be to use my old trusty shovel and club him in the head. After another few moments to build up my gumption, I raised my shovel and channeling my inner mafia gangster, I struck Willy’s head with prodigious force, or at least I tried to. He began to lurch so I had to strike him again...and again..and again. Finally, he stopped moving and I stood there waiting for the horrible ordeal to end. I also realized in that moment that I was standing under the lamp light, pretty well lit up, and I hoped the kids weren’t looking down at me from the window. Luckily they weren’t, for if they were it truly would have looked like a scene from Goodfellas.

When it was over, I picked up now fully-dead Willy with my shovel and carried him to the edge of our property. I buried him the next day (which was my birthday) with the kids by my side. We said a few kind words about him. Recounted his quirky ways. Talked about his stubborn streak and lastly, asked him to forgive me, for it had to be done. His spree of murders had to be ended. The chickens could sleep well knowing the dread beast would no longer return. This also explains why those white silkies didn’t want to go into coop. For a few nights, it was a house of horrors that took the life of Chester and Daisy. Rest easy, my feathered friends. You’re lost but not forgotten.

Quite an ordeal, for sure. Am I a better man for it? Maybe. Lily is all full of herself these days though. She can at least say she wasn’t afraid of that overgrown rat like the cats were. All that matters is the chickens and ducks are safe and happy now, and it might be time to consider buying a .22, just for any future run-ins with curious vermin.

And thus ends the story of the time I went all Goodfellas on an opossum.

Christmas 2016 - Rekindling this ol' blog

Hello all!

Another year and once again its time for the famous Davis family Christmas letter. Lots to catch up on so I best get started.

What a year! We made it through our first winter on the acreage and indeed its true, you do get more snow in the country! The kids were no worse for the wear though, as they much enjoyed building snow forts, snowmen and riding their toboggans.  Let’s just say they are eager for this winter to arrive. Me, not so much.

This spring we gained some new family members—kittens, ducklings and a new baby (more on this later). We now have 5 cats and 4 ducks. We find them all quite entertaining and BellaRose keeps trying to convince Elizabeth that the cats should come inside, though as of yet they remain outdoors.

Hard to believe that BellaRose (left) is already 8! She is in 2nd grade this year and is a devoted artist of many genres, including drawing, painting, singing and interpretive dance. She loves our animals—especially the cats—and is a great help around the house, taking on more responsibilities and helping with her younger siblings.

Jude (right) turns 6 in February and is in Kindergarten this year. He likes school and also relishes in helping me with our many house projects. He also enjoys hanging out with his siblings and spending time with our animals. Jude seems to be quite warm-blooded as well, as he most commonly found without a shirt on. ‘Suns out guns out’ is his mantra, I guess.

Finch (left) turned 4 this past August and continues to play the middle child role quite well. She enjoys playing dolls and dress-up with her sister but also can be found taking part in the mischief her brothers make. She is a goofy girl and is certainly a one-of-a-kind kid.

Where do we begin with Leo (right)? He turned 2 this past April and for his birthday we got him a baby sister. He is both naughty and nice. His days are spent seeing what he can find in the fridge and/or giving his parents grey hairs. Needless to say, he keeps us on our toes. Truly, though, Leo is a good, loveable boy who adores Thomas the Train and playing along side his siblings.

Pippi Sunday (left), our newest member of the family, was born on April 24th in Jefferson. Now going on 8 months old, Pippi is adored by all and is constantly doted on by her siblings. Pippi is already a crawler, putting her months ahead of her siblings at that age. But I suppose she’s just trying to keep up with the rest of ‘em.

Elizabeth is still a stay-at-home mom for our brood and homeschools Jude and BellaRose. She has made new friends in the Ogden community and is a regular at our local library and moms group. What a gal!

I continue to enjoy my job. In September I spoke at our conference in San Diego. It was the first time I had been to California or seen the Pacific Ocean. Both are great. I still enjoy running, and of course, spending time with Elizabeth and my 5 rugrats.

Last but not least, late this summer all 5 Davis children were dedicated at our church. We are truly blessed to have found a home church we love and that we can continue to grow with God in such an awesome place.

And that’s a wrap, folks! I hope that you all have a fabulous holiday season and a most excellent remainder of 2016.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Catching up this Christmastide

Well jeez, seems like I'm always promising to post to this at a more frequent rate only to disappoint. Indeed, its been well over a year now since our last post so there's a lot to catch up on. With that, I begin.

The year 2013 ended quite splendidly. I did indeed run a half-marathon and established my current record time of 1:55, which was at my goal of sub-2 hours. I also finished the year with well over 500 miles run and neared 100 total runs. This year I did not run as much (just shy of 400 miles) nor did I run the DSM half but I hope to run another at some point and possibly (gulp) a full marathon. Much training is needed, of course. I did, however, continue to improve my road race times, setting a new personal record in the 10K at 45:52 (previous best was 47:04) and I improved my 5K time to 21:25, which is about the fastest time I've run since high school days. We'll see what next year brings though I'm not sure how much faster I can truly go.

At the end of last year too we announced that we were expecting our fourth child, a boy, due in late April. Without delay, Leo Michael (left) arrived on April 26th of this year and is already nearly 8 mos. old. He is a happy guy, especially during the day, but he's been a difficult sleeper as of late. Still, he is a good boy.

The other kids are doing well. BellaRose (right) turned 6 this year and has been involved in two homeschool co-ops for Kindergarten. Its probably too early to tell but already she shows a great deal of talent for the arts, which isn't too surprising as both her mom and dad have skills in those arenas. And as is the case for nearly all young kids right now, she is obsessed with Disney's Frozen, mostly Elsa. We spend ample amounts of time playing with, drawing and discussing all manner of things Elsa related. This too has rubbed off onto her siblings.


Our second girl, Finch (left) 2 years, as stated above, is also obsessed with Frozen. She has taken to liking Anna, though she confuses the characters for each other so its hard to tell where her allegiance lay. She is a funny girl and very talkative for her age. Finch plays well with both her big sister and big brother, Jude, but can often but heads.

Jude (right) is nearing his fourth birthday (February) and aside from liking Frozen (not the full degree that his sister do) he is more into all things superhero, Star Wars, Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He reminds me of me on a daily basis as he is most often suckered into playing Frozen but only relents if one of his characters--Optimus Prime, Spider Man, etc.--can come along.

Elizabeth is doing quite well this year too. She transitioned from her job at Ge-Angelo's restaurant in town, taking a brief hiatus from work, and finally got on first as a hostesss then as a server at The Cafe in Ames. She works evening shifts a few nights a week so I am able to get off work early enough for her to head into work so we can avoid childcare. In June of this year Elizabeth, Leo and I traveled to Las Vegas to attend a friend's wedding. Leo did great on the trip and we really enjoyed ourselves. There was plenty to do and see for sure and we definitely would like to return again soon!

My job is going quite well too, as I approach my four year anniversary there (which is pretty long for a company only in its sixth year). In March of this year I took on a role as online community manager, which has been great thus far. I even got the opportunity to go to Orlando for my work's annual user conference where I presented a few courses to our customers. It was a great time and I even got to spend a night at Universal Studios!

That, for the most part, has been our year. There's been the usual ups and downs but such is the organized chaos that is our daily life with four little ones. As we near Christmas, we are looking forward to celebrating with our kids and spending time with our extended families. We hope to see many of you soon and hope that you too had an enjoyable year. All the best this past year and here's to a happy 2015!

What a Summer

Well, its Labor Day and for swimming pools, government offices and other local municipal bodies, it effectively marks the closure of summer-related activities and with the Vernal Equinox just weeks away, the department stores and the ilk are already preparing for Haloween, let alone that football season has already started.  Don't get me wrong, I have not complaints about Fall and the goings-on it entails but with the weather we've been having I wouldn't hold out for a typical autumn, and I certainly doubt it will arrive on Sept. 21.  At least I hope not.

Who would have guess at the very beginning of this summer we'd end up in a mild drought with a string of 100 degree weather to cap off August?  I think I mowed our yard more in the month of June than all of July or August combined.  This weather pattern of course made our first attempt at a garden an interesting venture.  I am pleased to say, though, that we have two plant varietals doing well....pumpkin and tomatoes.  The carrots held up for awhile but they didn't enjoy the lack of moisture.  I tried to water but they could not survive.  The herbs also did not do well, and the peppers didn't want to show their faces I guess.  But yes, our pumpkins have spread their vines like mad and we anxiously await for them to start budding some actual pumpkins.  I'm not sure if they should have by now.  Our neighbor down the road appears to have at least one pumpkin on the vine.  Will ours just not come?  That'd be a bummer; the kids are very anxious.

The tomatoes, at least, are holding up to the weather.  They are thick and lush and we have to pick them daily to keep up.  We have four varieties going now, but its the Romas and the cherry tomatoes that seem to be ripening quickly.  We have a few bigger slicing tomatoes plants, which product a rip tomatoes about every other day.  There are some big green ones out there which we are anxious to pick (and eat).  Lizzie is a big fan of Caresse salads so she has definitely been enjoying our harvest.

We took our first camping trip this past month as well, staying a few days at a local campground.  We are part owners in a pop-up camper (we share with Leisa) so the setup can be time consuming but once up, we enjoyed the scenery and other accoutrements of the camping life.  We were right next to the beach area too so the kids enjoyed long hours at the beach.  BellaRose was especially glued to the water and it was near impossible to tear her away at dinner time, even when we got a visit from Grandma and Grandpa, bearing gifts nonetheless.  She's always been a bit of a fish though, moreso that Jude.  The jury is still out on Finch.

Speaking of her, Finch just enjoyed her first birthday and we celebrated by systematically getting the same flu-like illness one after the other.  Consisting of mostly a fever, body aches, head aches and the chills, this little bug seemed to last only a day or so before going away but at its peak it was nigh on intolerable.  It even kept me away from work a day, which has only happened twice in the past two years.  I was definitely glad that it was a brief illness and that all the kids tolerated it well, especially Finch, who was a real trooper.

She had a full week of celebration, really, kick started on Sunday with a dinner with her Omi & Opi, complete with gifts and cupcakes.  Per usual, Omi sent us home with a boatload more cupcakes, which we all lived off each night until Wednesday, when she enjoyed a some more cupcake on her actual birthday.  Then, on Friday, Finch got her 1-yr. check-up, including but not limited to four shots and one finger poke, but she did impress her pediatrician and she measured in at over the 90th percentile for height.  I'm guessing she gets this from her mom's side.  Then, later on Friday, her Grandma visited and brought more gifts (as is her tradition, it seems) and thus was the end of Finch's week long party.

With summer slowly going bye-bye, we start to prepare for all things fall.  Lizzie is going to start homeschooling and supplementing with some weekly curriculum programs we have signed up for through our church.  We hope this goes well but I have great faith it will.  Hopefully our pumpkins will start to come in and we will have no need to purchase any this year.  Who knows, we may have more than we know what to do with.

Also, my running season will start to come to a close as next weekend Lizzie and I are both entered in a local 5K walk/run and then next month is my big half-marathon that I've been training for.  I am eager for the race but also a bit nervous. After that its just run as much as I can before its too cold to do so.

Well, that's the basic happenings in our life thus far.  We are eager for the start of a new season, which brings different events and things for the kids to do.  We'll keep you apprised of their progress and all the other fun fall activities we get ourselves into, whether voluntarily or not.

Thanks again.  Toodles!

The Green-ish Initiative - Vol. 1, Issue 1

We are nigh upon the summer and with it, great change has come to the Davis household.  Not another baby (yet) but we are turning over a new leaf and trying our hands at some new skills, of which we are yet to fully acquire.  Practice makes perfect, right?

Anyway, we do hereby enact a new family initiative this summer.  With some reluctance and much uncertainty, we are making our first attempt at so-called "green living", a.k.a. "organic living".  It all seems very liberal and "hippie-ish" but really we are just being miserly and attempting to save some coin with attempts at homemade items, DIY projects and the always elusive at-home garden.  The end goal, of course, is to make millions off our line of "natural products", vinegars, pickled everything and yummy jams and jellies, retiring shortly thereafter.  The goal of this post, it seems, is to use as many "quotations" as possible.  So far both are coming to fruition.

Accompanying this new found niche of ours is a revamping of this blog.  Yes, you will still find occasional family updates, but more frequently we intend to post updates around our progress in the aforementioned "at-home projects" as well as recommendations and suggestions for your own, similar projects.  Here are some things you can look forward to learning about and we intend to do "at-home" this summer:

1. Home-brewed apple cider vinegar & root beer
2. Homemade cleaning products
3. In-town gardening & composting
4. Landscaping ideas
5. Various home projects
6. Kids craft ideas

That being said, we've only barely kicked off the summer fun.  We were on the verge of planting our garden when the winter spell hit, dropping some snow on use in early May.  Once we are snow free we'll start our garden.  Got the spot picked, got the plants and seeds, just need to till and plant.  Also waiting on the compost but all of this is for another post.  You'll have to come back for more.  Just a little tease, I guess.

So, with that, I bid farewell until next morrow.  We'll post with pics soon our progress on the above mentioned items and so much more.  Thanks so much for reading the Famous Davis Family's "Not Green, Just Cheap" inaugural blog.  Here's to a great summer!

2012 Family Update

So much has changed in a year that I’m sure you’ve all given up on us by now and have moved onto far more interesting blogs.  Certainly ones that are updated at least semi-annually…but I digress…

Well, like I said, so much has changed since September of last year.  Where do I begin.  Perhaps its best in a chronological synopsis.  Here goes.

Just a month after my last post, we adopted a dog from the Boone Co. Humane Society.  She is a 4 year old ‘’Schnoodle” (Schnauzer/Poodle).  We brought the kids to meet her to see how she responded and she latched onto our family in an instant.  We named her Olive and since she has become a big member of the family, though I feel she has attached herself more to me than mom. 

The winter of 2011 was hardly that, as well remember, with almost no snow for most the year.  We were able to go sledding a few times with the kids.  There were few people on the hill that day but somehow our sled managed to careen right into another little girl at the bottom of the hill.  Her parents were very forgiving though I’m sure we ruined sledding for he that winter.

We “upgraded” our vehicles further before winter, selling our Honda Civic and purchasing 1990 Ford F-150.  It seems we always need access to a truck and its nice to have a vehicle with 4-wheel drive.  Its not much to look at but it was cheap and it gets me where I’m going.  Plus I feel I look pretty cool when I’m driving my truck.

In February, Jude turned one and our little guy has never looked back.  In fact, he’s hardly can be classified as a “little guy” at all.  Currently Jude has earned the nickname “Tank” given his ability to withstand all matter of assaults from himself or his sister.  Plus he’s kind of a destroyer wherever he goes.   He’s just over 18 mos.  now and maintaining the 90^th percentile in height and weight.   He certainly is a decent match against his sister who has quickly learned that he is a rough kid who can take as well as dish in a fight.

Also during the winter we learned that we would be blessed with our third child this year, who joined the family on Aug. 28, 2012.  Similarly we kept the baby’s name a secret the whole time and this time, since we had both genders already, we decided also keep its gender a secret to us as well.  It was different not knowing.  We had to keep a list of possible boy and girl names and think of gender neutral themes too. 

For this baby we also wanted to try something new too—a home birth!  We had been planning on it after about week 20 and were all set.  We had read some on it and watched a video about it and thought it would be a neat experience and something special to tell the kid later.  “Hey, you were born in this very room! See that stain?”  That sort of thing. 

This time ‘round we also were using doula, or birth coach.  All was set but then, about two weeks out from due date (baby was due Sept. 4), Lizzie noticed her water seemed to be leaking.  She called our midwife, who was going to do the homebirth, and she said she was having car troubles.  Lizzie could elaborate further, with more colorful adjectives, about the phone calls between them and ensuing frenzy of “WHERE ARE WE GOING TO HAVE THIS BABY!!!”.  In the end our third child came that same day and was NOT born at home but rather, like the other two, born in Ames at Mary Greeley.  

We were able to use the birthing tub at the hospital, which we had already rented, plus our doula was there for us through it all.  If you ask me, she was worth her weight in gold.  It ended up to be a quick ordeal.  Lizzie flew through the labor, again a “natural” one, and our newest addition—a baby girl—arrived faster than you can say “GIVE ME AN EPIDURAL!”.  We settled on the name Finch Winifred-Lola Davis, harkening back to our very first home where BellaRose and Jude lived prior (more on this in a minute). 

They say Finch doesn’t like the other two kids really and is the girl version of me.  I’m not so sure.  You decide.  Currently she is going by the nickname “Bird” though we were envisioning Winnie as a possible one.  All in all it couldn’t have gone any smoother, considering we started out the morning not knowing where baby Finch would be born.

So, clearly the birth of baby Finch was easily the hugest event of 2012 and certainly since last fall.  However, there is one more that was paramount in our family life and hopefully in the lives of our children and grandchildren.  Yes, finally, in May of this year, we became homeowners!

Given the knowledge of the new addition looming, we realized just two rooms wouldn’t cut it for a growing family and more rooms were needed.  It was high time we got a home.  We had mulled the idea of an acreage around but it was difficult, it seemed, to find a home in our price range that had a decent spread of land and wasn’t too far from Ames.  We ended up scratching that idea and settling on a home in town.  It seemed like we were searching forever and lost out on house after house to some other buyer.  Finally we found one we liked and not wanting to lose it, jumped at the opportunity.  It was FSBO, which in hind-sight we would only do with a realtor or lawyer mediating.  The sellers were foreign and just wanted the money now, not understanding all that was required to close a mortgage.  It eventually did happen and we closed May 31.

The home is near downtown Ames, nestled in a historic neighborhood (the house itself is 112 years old) by the DOT office and Lincoln Way.  We are about 5 mins or less from the in-laws, which is nice, and the close vicinity to a local park is a plus.  We are also not too far from Jack Trice Stadium and we are getting our first taste football season.  The home is 4 bedrooms and has a full-basement, partially finished.  It needs a little work but its hard to find a home in Ames with that many rooms, in that location, for the price we got.  All in all we are glad we made the move and though it was stressful,  it is nice to know we have a place for the kids to call home, hopefully for the rest of their lives and then some.

Aside from that, the usual has been going on.  I’m still working at WebFilings in town and can’t complain there.  Job security is a rarity right now so I’m happy to have a place that appreciates me, I enjoy and supports us.  Moreover, I cross a big milestone soon.  Its my 30^th birthday next month!

Elizabeth also started working this past year, waiting tables at Ge-Angelo’s Italian Restaurant in Ames.  She was hesitant at first, not sure if she was cut out for serving, but has since grown quite adept at it and I think she finds its almost a release from the rigors of her other full-time job—a stay-at-home mom.

BellaRose.continues to grow and is a very smart, clever, witty girl, not unlike her father.  She turns 4 next month and is in pre-school currently and enjoys it immensely.  We see many positive changes in her, even though its hard to watch your little girl grow up.  Though she is stubborn and bossy at times, she has noxious laugh and is also very sweet to her new little sister.

Jude. What can you say? He’s so very different from his sister(s).  As a baby, he was super easy going.  As a toddler, he is super naughty, going from one extremely dangerous activity to the next.  He seems to be  always playing with something he shouldn’t or purposefully torqueing his sister, and he bounces back from injuries that would keep his sister out of commission for hours, as if to have super healing powers.  A true force to be reckoned with, the aptly named “Tank” keeps us all on our toes but he is equally as sweet and loving as his counterparts and we love his rough approach to life just the same.

Well, I think that’s roughly it for the time being.  Our deepest apologies for such a complete and utter lack of bloggings since the blog’s creation.  Even during its “hay-day” it never had all that many posts.  Our already small fan has surely suffered.  How can I persuade you to stay the course and keep following?  Candy? The promise of hope?  Comical pictures of cats?

Anyways, I sincerely hope to post more.  I shall try and we will see.  Certainly there’s plenty to blog about, if only I had time.  I will write my Congressperson  about extending the hours in a day or something…

That’s it, readers.  Sorry for the long hiatus.  All the best and all that.  Cheerio!

Its Fall and We Caught a Squirrel

I hate to say it but I think fall is officially upon us. Though it was 80 degrees on Monday, its been lingering around the 60 degree mark for days now, and approaching the freezing point at nights. Its not that I dislike fall--it is a nice season, with good colors and mostly pleasant weather, not to mention my birthday--its just that it leads to winter and seems so very short in comparison to the winter. I'm sure its just perspective. Winter seems long because its cold and snowy and summer seems short because we take it for granted. Either way, I have mixed feelings about the fall.

So, its been a fast summer. We did enjoy many outings, when we could. Lizzie took the kids to the zoo more than once, and we went to the Ames pool a few times, though we should have utilized our membership a bit more than we did. We also had many park outings, and trips the ice cream shop. BellaRose has become fond of these outings and she knows if we are driving the car past 8:00 pm its a fair bet she's gonna score some ice cream. She is a Davis, after all, and we are fond of our ice cream.

Jude has grown like crazy! At his 6 mos. check-up he was 21 lbs. BellaRose weighed the same at 1 year. He's in the 95% for weight and 70% for height. He has already started to get a taste for table food, which is partially to be blamed for his above average weight. We try not to give him too much, especially things he shouldn't have, but sometimes he's too convincing with his cute "please, daddy" eyes. He too is a fan of ice cream.

I bet you're all wondering about the title of this post. Yes, as the second part reads, we DID catch a squirrel. In our house. Not a tree dwelling brown squirrel, but a striped ground squirrel, a.k.a "chipmunk" or "squinny". Lizzie discovered him one day when he decided to come check out place out while she was in the living room. I never saw him for weeks but Lizzie would have occasional sightings, usually when it was quiet, during the afternoon. He'd check the place out, and be scared off when he'd spy a living, breathing human. What did he think he'd find?

At first I was certain Lizzie had schizophrenia and was imaging the dread squirrel that plagued her life. I've never known a women so deathly afraid of rodents. During the Mouse Wars of 2010, she was on edge and thought she heard mice scurrying everywhere. Same for the chipmunk, whom she was certain had made a burrow underneath our bed and plotted her demise nightly. I vehemently explained that he stood no chance of defeating her in a duel and unlike mice, was not here for food, but rather a place to store his nuts for the winter. Chipmunks, as it seems, are not nocturnal and come out only during the day, when the master of the house--the only one NOT afraid of him--was at work. To be fair, BellaRose was pretty curious about the chipmunk and talked at great length about her adventures with the beast. She became a good sidekick when I took measures of my own to catch this possibly imaginary rodent.

After plugging up some entry points underneath the house, as well as inside, I had hoped to assuage some feelings and be rid of the pest. However, a few days ago, he was spotted again. We had set a live trap out, in the furnace room (a likely entry point) and placed some crackers with peanut butter in it. Being a swift and light creature by nature, the chipmunk snagged a cracker without being caught and ate it in front of Elizabeth, taunting her as if knowing about her phobia and plans for his removal. Then, a day or two later, I spotted him, when I came into the kitchen after changing Jude in the back room. He scurried underneath the cabinets and escaped. He is lucky I was holding Jude, for he had loose footing on the laminate floor and I could have stopped him, having no fear of him (I think he sensed it). I could tell that he was getting braver as well, coming out during the day when the master hunter was at home, and in the kitchen while BellaRose at breakfast. He must have heard the humans but was gaining confidence quickly. He also had a penchant for Disney songs.

Then, today, when I was again plotting my next move during naps, a "clank" was heard from the furnace room then a series of furious but futile scratchings. The beast had been caught...in a live trap that had no bait (he ate the other bait, continually teasing Lizzie). What luck! Likely just being overly curious and cocky, he entered the trap clumsily and set it off. Either way, he is now my captive. Not sure yet what techniques I will deploy to interrogate him. I must know how he entered, where his cache of nuts are and if he told any of his fellow rodents...especially mice...about or home. We will then take him to an undisclosed locale and release him so that he may spread the word. We spared him today, but others may not be so lucky. Just ask the few that made it out of Mice Wars 2010.

Its Summer

So, its been awhile, I know, but to be fair, I was going to post awhile ago, got the whole thing typed and ready to go and wouldn't you know it, the computer froze and I lost all my thought provoking material and wasn't in the mood to retype it. But now I have time so here you go. Let's hope the computer doesn't freeze...again.

Summer is here, though its been up and down. Sometimes chilly, sometimes muggy, seems to be raining a lot (which we just love, given last year's epic flood) all of which is great when you have kids. BellaRose just loves going outside ("bat-side" as she calls it) and doesn't quite get it when its rainy or 100+ degrees and she can't go. We have season passes to the Ames pool again and she loves going, of course. We've gone a few times but its hard with this rainy weather. She would go everyday if you let her decide. She went with her Momby a few weeks ago and I guess they (the lifeguards)let her go down a big slide, which she wanted to. Her Uncle Jordan was at the top manning the slide so she trusted him enough to push her down at least. The last time I took her she wanted to try it again but got scared when we reached the top. I guess she was expecting Jordan.

Jude has grown like wildfire. He just turned 4 mos. and is wearing 6 mos. to 12 mos. clothes, depending on the brand. He's a big kid, for sure, with a healthy appetite. My mom says I was a big kid too and everyone says he looks like me. For me its hard to see. I only know what adult, grey-haired, permanent 5 o'clock shadow Mike looks like, not 4 mos. old me. I guess I'll take their word for it.

Jude is sleeping in his crib now, in he and BellaRose's room. She doesn't seem to mind having a roommate and he's doing quite well. Some nights he'll go a full 10-12 hours without waking up or needing to feed and other nights he'll wake up like clockwork every 4 hours, feed, and go back to sleep. Either way, he and BellaRose are asleep from about 9 pm until 8 am each day. That chunk of time between 9 and midnight is quality Mom and Dad time, usually spent cleaning something, preparing for the next day or if we're lucky, relaxing, watching episodes of Grey's Anatomy and eating ice cream like its going out of style. Elizabeth didn't use to be as serious an ice cream connoisseur until she met me. As my family can attest, we Davis' are fanatics about ice cream and can devour whole gallons in mere minutes. And always between the hours of 9 and midnight--peak ice cream eating time.

The job is going well. Keeping me busy, that's for sure. Lizzie seems to be doing well too, adjusting to two kids. I would say she's doing fantastic. I'm constantly impressed. The times that I have both kids while she is out and about I find myself exhausted and at my wits end after only a few hours. She does it 8 hours a day, 5 days a week (and sometimes more). What an excellent mom and wife she is, for sure.

That's mostly it for now. I bought a truck, so that's nice. We've had to replace our dryer, which is fun, and just today we found we need a new fridge, equally as fabulous. Oh the delights of homeownership. Hopefully both of these investments pay themselves off and last millions of years. Well, that's all folks. Hope you enjoyed this riveting tid-bit. A true white-knuckle read, I'm sure.

Spring Time (Kinda)

So, its spring or almost. The equinox has passed, sure, but the weather hasn't completely got the hint. Sure, there was almost a solid week there where temps were 70 to 90 degrees, but now its nigh on freezing and windy. Alas, such is Iowa in the spring time. Its a like a teenager, lost and unsure of if its cold and prickly, like winter, or warm and loving, like summer. I myself prefer the warm and loving type.

As you can imagine, its been a bit crazy around the Davis household, what with there being four of us and all, and two of us can't eat or poop without help. I'll give you two hints as to who the two people are, but you'll only need one. Jude has grown like wildfire since coming home. Much like his sister, he is above average in size. He wore his size "newborn" clothes for about one week and is now fitting into 3 mos. attire like a champ. I can say he has no lack of appetite, that's for sure.

BellaRose has become very attached to her "baby rubber"--in BR speak--Jude in no time at all. Sometimes she is a bit too attached. She likes to poke at him and say "got you" or "tickle, tickle" when really its more akin to a pin prick or pinch. Luckily he seems to not mind her much and from time to time he almost seems to prefer, nay, even LIKE BellaRose. I may have seen an askance smile aimed in her direction a couple times.

All in all we really couldn't be happier with BellaRose's adaptation to a baby in the house. She plays well with him and hasn't regressed in behavior or acted out at all. She is still her usual bossy, playful, single-minded self, which is nice.

I think Elizabeth has also adapted well to having two little ones to take care of while I'm at work. I was able to stay home a week when we first came home, which was nice considering I had only been at my new job (which I love) less than a month. Sometimes I take the kids while Lizzie stays home and naps or rests, giving me a mere glimpse at what she goes through daily for hours on end. Not entirely sure how she does it. And all without getting a grey hair! I must learn, for my number of grey hairs is increasing daily and spreading to my beard and chest! But that's another post entirely.

I know we are eagerly awaiting the summer months, when we can take the kids outside or to the pool and let them burn of some energy. I know BellaRose is always asking to go outside. She just likes to run around and be crazy. Not sure what other fun things we'll do this summer. I don't see any vacations in the future, but maybe we'll go somewhere further than Des Moines.

With that, I sign off. Currently Elizabeth and BellaRose are napping and Jude is looking at me like he wants to do something more than bounce in his seat. I suppose I can acquiesce to his request. That's what fathers do, right?

Take care all and I hope that spring sets in for good soon and we can unpack all those summer clothes still stored away. But that just means more yard work and hot, sweaty days. Perhaps I really don't hate winter that much. Who am I kidding. I say the craziest things sometimes!

Jude Richard John

Its official, we're a family of four now. Well, since February 20th, to be exact.

At 10:27 am, at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, our son Jude Richard John was born. He weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20.5 in. long. He was born at 39 weeks and three days, two weeks later than BellaRose was. He weighed only 5 oz. more than BellaRose did as well. They were the same exact length, 20.5 in., though many people I have discussed this coincidence with believe that all babies are 20.5 in. long at birth. I suggested that their tape measures may only go to 20.5", but that seems illogical.

The whole labor and birth went by fairly quickly, though if you asked Elizabeth, I think she would differ on the definition of "quickly". For the past few weeks she'd been experiencing contractions that were irregular in length and would come at random intervals--many times hours upon hours apart. Furthermore, she fell on the ice on Super Bowl Sunday, so we went in that evening to make sure baby was okay, which he was, but it was found out she was 3 cm. dilated and 80% effaced. At her following neo-natal check-up, the midwife further exclaimed Elizabeth's closeness to having this baby and she was told that she would most certainly not make it to the due date--Feb. 24th-- and could have the baby "any time", which is a reassuring diagnosis to be handed by a medical practitioner. I find that pre-natal care is a lot like meteorology in that they can only be so exact with their estimations or time, severity, when something will occur or what will actually happen. But I digress. As a result of that hullabaloo about going "any time", we were both on high alert for a couple weeks, only to be let down when contractions continued to be irregular. At our 39 week appointment, the midwife said we were ever closer but still not there. They couldn't break our water since we weren't full term, but stated they would if she were still pregnant at 40 weeks. We set up our appointment for the following Thursday, his due day, and planned to likely be induced but alas, Sunday morning rolled around and it appeared Jude had an important function to be at and needed to come out that same day. We were okay with it though.

So, like I said, the actual labor went fast, at least once it kicked in full fledged. At about 5 am, Lizzie started to get regular contractions and by 7 am they kept going and getting closer, about 2-5 mins apart. After finally convincing her this was likely the real deal (she really didn't wanna go in until his head was poking out) we made for the hospital. Of course, we hit nearly every red light in town and got stopped by a train. However, we made it.

She was at about 4 cm. dilated at that point and the midwife said we were gonna have him that day. Naturally, we were hesitant to believe this diagnosis (see meteorology reference above) but played along nicely. The kind midwife, however, did prove to be correct and things began progressing quickly, much quicker than we or the hospital staff presumed it would. By 9am were almost nearing the time to push and Elizabeth was contemplating an epidural but since she progressed so fast it really became a non-option for her so my wife, that ol' girl, experienced the full pangs of natural child birth, even the dread "ring of fire". I have a new found respect for her now. More than she will ever truly appreciate.

Jude came out pretty promptly, with probably about 30-45 mins of pushing. It was hard to imagine what he'd be like. The second kid would help predict, or so I thought, how dominant Elizabeth's genes were since BellaRose is like her doppelganger. We were unsure if he'd be blonde or have brown hair, or none at all like Bella did. His eyes would likely be blue but could be brown and who he'd look like was also up in the air. I was presuming he'd be another carbon copy of Elizabeth--blonde with blue eyes and her distinctive mouth. However, Jude came out with a full head of brown hair, way more than his sister had at birth, though he did look a lot like BellaRose did at birth. People say he looks more like me than she did. I'm still unsure. Regardless, I like the little guy a lot. He's a funny kid and I'm eager to the throw the ball around with him, though I am a bit jealous of all the time he gets to spend with Elizabeth.

The whole name thing was another fiasco. We'd been giving the family a fake name during the pregnancy--Dracula Rambo--and keeping his true name a secret. The bigger secret was that we weren't sure on his name at all and wanted to wait to meet him to decide anything solid. After a few hours, family was hounding us for names so we had to decide. Both of us like the name Jude and that it was rare and cute. I wanted to name a son after my dad and since I'm not sure if we'll have another kid, let along a boy, I thought it best to name him John now. Jude John didn't sound too cool and we didn't want him to be known as "J.J.", so we incorporated Jude's other grandpa's name, Richard. So, if you wanna know, that's how he got his name.

All in all we are very happy with Jude. He's a good baby who only really cries when he's hungry, which seems like all the time. BellaRose likes him too, and he likes her. They sit together on the couch a lot and she likes to play "tickle baby" or "get you baby" a lot. She insists on giving him a kiss before bed too, and when she gets up she asks where "baby" is. We couldn't have asked for a better response from BellaRose. We were anticipating regression behaviors, acting out and jealousy issues but so far she's been very responsive to the idea of a baby brother.

We'll let you know more soon. Hope you enjoyed the update. Thanks too all for the well-wishes, support and congrats! We appreciate it all so very much. Thanks again and toodles!

Christmas and the Fast Approaching New Year

Well, 'tis that time of year again when we are nigh on the start of a new year and left thinking "where did last year go?" I remember them discussing ad nauseum at the beginning of this year what a big deal it was for the 2000s to be over and what, in turn, they were gonna call this year, i.e. two-thousand-ten or twenty-ten. I like to refer to it as the year '10. Makes it seem archaic, when really its full of all manner of newfangled technologies and ultra-modern accoutrements. But then again, I do enjoy combing refined speech with backwoods, country drawl. It is a truly American dialect. But that is neither here nor there.

The baby is coming along nicely. It's amazing how quickly it is approaching and how very much there is still left to do. Since we know what to expect with this one, there is definitely less hoopla abounding the whole process. There are not too many surprises the second time around. We're hopeful to paint the bedroom in the next week (with the help of Leisa, since the last time Lizzie helped she went into pre-term labor) and after the first of the year we are looking into purchasing a van. I realize now that this is a lesson in humility, for there were many times I poked fun at men for owning a van and soon that man shall be me.

In some instances this pregnancy is a bit different, being that he is a boy. I feel, and so does Lizzie, that he is a very rambunctious kid, unlike BellaRose was in the womb. Sure, she would occasionally kick and you could see it/feel it but he, on the other hand, appears to know Kung Fu and is systematically checking the womb for weaknesses, as a means for quick escape. Finally, it seems, BellaRose may have met her match in him. In due time it will be her that is bullied upon and not the other way around.

As far as Christmas goes, we had a relaxing time. Lizzie celebrated her birthday as well on the 24th. Her and I went to P.F. Changs in Des Moines for dinner and then to Jordan Creek. It was a good time. On Christmas Day we went over to Lizzie's folks and had dinner-- I prepared a ham, a first for me--and opened gifts. Per usual, the smallest one, Ms. Bella, got the most presents. She definitely has gotten into the idea of opening presents and spares no time in destroying anything wrapped. She got her fair share of Barbies, books and a kitchenette set complete with food. Later this evening, in fact, we are traveling to my parents for our belated Christmas, where I'm sure she'll continue to get a prodigious great amount of gifts, all of which she'll want opened and made available to her immediately upon opening. Such is the life of a princess.

Unfortunately I have to work New Year's Eve and Day but its not all bad. I'll be making good money and it probably sha'nt be too busy. Or so I hope. We'll fill you in on more goings on when they happen. Certainly we'll be informing you of our new arrival come this February, in the year '11. See, doesn't that just sound nostalgic? '11? It could mean 1911, 1811 or maybe even 11 BCE. Its magical. I hereby bequeath permission to use my anachronism. Enjoy.

Later all. Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and may you all have a Happy New Year! May the year '11 treat you as kindly, if not better, than the year '10 did. Toodles!

-Mike

It's (We're Told) a BOY!

Yes, after much hullabaloo and abounding hysteria the 20 week ultrasound deduced that our child is of male gender. The hospital, for insurance purposes, cannot 100% guarantee that our baby is a boy but given the word of the technician and the concurrence of the midwife, who exclaimed that technicians don't usually offer an educated guess on gender unless they are nearly cocksure, we are fairly confident that our growing child is a dapper little man. This came as no surprise to me, as my gut was telling me boy for quite some time. Elizabeth, however, was on the fence. I find that women do not, and moreover cannot, rely on gut feelings. Perhaps they don't have them. Either way, its a boy and we couldn't be more ecstatic.

With the addition of another male around the home, I find myself in a new and precarious dilemma. With BellaRose, I was highly confident in my ability to parent her in the traditional doting father way. I shower her with kisses, cuddles, gifts and offer a playful manner unique to most fathers. Its rough, yet sensitive and always intimate. BellaRose has no personal space when it comes to me.

With a boy I am perplexed, somewhat, on the idea of how to be a father to him. I know that no matter what I do I am always his father but I wanna be that awesome dad--the kind that teaches him my all and instills manly confidence in him. I feel like I have so little time to bestow my sagely advice and know-how onto this young chap and I've got to start early. Furthermore, I want to be a modern dad too, and not limit my son to only socially "manly" endeavors in life. If he wants to dance then he can dance. If he wants to be an artist then so be it. I'm not gonna limit him to only being a firemen, lumberjack or professional athlete. On the same token, however, I want to also teach some of those macho, guy things that my dad taught me. Auto maintenance, playing catch, shaving, etc., are important things I want to do with my little boy. Is it possible to raise a child in a happy medium of masculine-feminine folkways? That's what I'm going for. Maybe something like 7o% macho, 30% effeminate. Is that a good ratio?

Lastly, I'm a bit unsure about my ability to be intimate with my son, on the count that I'm not really intimate with any male children I know. Sure, I love my nephews and cousins but I don't hold them and kiss them like I do BellaRose. I'm a little worried that I won't be close to my son like I am to BellaRose. Again, this is probably nothing. When he arrives I'm sure I'll feel a closeness to him like no other. I suppose I should look no further than my own relationship with my dad as Exhibit A to the likely relationship I'll have with my son, in which case I shouldn't worry. Just gets the mind thinkin', ya know, having the knowledge that soon I'll have a son--a miniature version of me.

This is probably all sounding like nonsense. I'm simply over-thinking it. Most likely my child will grow up perfectly normal, with no lack of masculine identity and a strong and loving relationship with his parents. That's what we all hope for, right?

I'll keep you all posted. Lizzie is having another ultrasound in a few weeks. They couldn't get a good picture of the baby's lower spine, on the count her wouldn't roll over. He just simply burried his head into mom's womb and practiced his Tai Bo on the other side of her tummy, kicking away his frustrations like baby rabbit on speed. I blame this on the Starbucks we had just before our appointment, albeit it did work in making him more active. Anyways, I'll let you know how that one goes and maybe more evidence will come to light verifying the already concluded gender of Baby Davis 2.0--a boy.

Later all and have a pleasant October.

-Michael

P.S. I'll be 28 in not but a fortnight, yikes!

Lemme Catch You Up

Well a lot has certainly happened since March of this year and definitely do NOT have enough time or space to completely update you on all our happenings and goings-on since then but I will do my best to apprise you of the most important changes in the lives of us three that a worth note. I have comprised a list for you so that you can breeze through them since you may already know some, any, or all of them. Enjoy.

1.) It definitely is worth noting that Elizabeth graduated from ISU in May. She has her B.S. in Child, Adult and Family Services. What a gal, eh?

2.) In April we moved to a new home--a trailer which we purchased here in Ames. We own it outright and have done a few upgrades on it, i.e. painting, electrical, flooring, the list goes on. Its in south Ames, just east of Duff Ave and very near Hickory Park. So far we have enjoyed it and BellaRose adjusted well.

3.) I have been working at Mary Greeley now for 6 months. I started in Valet but now have moved on and up to Patient Transportation. Basically I take patients to and from appointments in the hospital. I also take items to rooms/floors and take medications from pharmacy. I walk a lot during the day, which has been good, and I get to wear khaki scrubs. How cool.

4.) We survived the epic flood of '10, just barely. We woke up that morning to find the water encroaching on our abode. The night before we had moved our cars, which ended up being a wise choice. We packed up some stuff and moved things out of our shed and waded through knee deep river water with a backpack, suitcase and BellaRose. It took us a good while to get to the north side of Ames but we made it and ended up staying in Grandma Phyliss' old condo for a few days. We came back to find our trailer had not been infiltrated with river water. It got to within 6" of our door, though. We've had to replace our shed, which was a chore, and we are getting our kitchen floor redone, on the count it was starting to warp. All in all we lucked out, since others in our lot were certainly less fortunate that us.

5.) BellaRose is definitely in the midst of her "Terrible Twos". She throw fits from time to time but we have been pretty lucky that she has responded pretty well to our attempts at discipline, i.e. time outs or just frankly ignoring her pleas during hysteria. She is a very active kid who shows no fear and would willingly run off a cliff if you let her. She also has a penchant for dolls and dancing. Truly, she is a princess. Hard to believe in 2 months she will be 2 years old!

6.) What is probably most important is that Elizabeth and I are expecting another child in February. Specifically, its due Feb. 24th. We do not know the sex yet but we have our 20 week ultrasound a week from this Friday so we hope to know by then. We're unsure what we would like to have, since there are benefits either way--BellaRose could have a little sister playmate or a little brother for her to pick on, at least providing her a distraction that moves and makes sound without batteries. We shall see, I guess.

So I guess that is quite a bit of stuff to sum up but if I were to go to great length on all of them I'd be by the computer until winter. There was some other stuff as well that occurred but honestly, most of you who read this probably already know the details or we're just not sharing them. After all, we are allowed some measure of privacy. Its in the Constitution, I think.

Well, I hope this has been informative and I certainly hope to post a bit more frequently then once every six months. At least I'd like to post about the new baby. Keep your eyes peeled and I promise to inform you all on the progress of the new baby and any other goings-on in the Davis household. Au revoir, mes amis et bonne journee!

-Michael

Its Official, Bella is a Walker

Yes, that's right patient readers, our little darling, the apple of everyone's eye--BellaRose--can now walk. I suppose she has been close for some time now, say about a month, taking a a few steps at a time, walking from Mom to Dad only the rarest of times when she "feels" like it. However, as of late, BellaRose has decided to predominantly walk from place to place. This is a sudden shift, as she was about 75/25 crawler, meaning she crawled 75% of the time and only walked the remaining 25%. It should also be noted that she only walked with her Mom and Dad, never with her grandparents.

She really began shifting to walking, though, when we started taking her to Toddler Time classes, the mall's play place and Play Pals at City Hall. I feel this is because she started to see other kids close to her age (whom she now recognizes as actual people and not toys) that were walking. Just like when she started crawling, she started walking as if she could do it the whole time. We knew it was near, since she was constantly sliding along the couch or other things, pushing anything on floor she could and standing without assistance, even while holding things in her hands. We were eager to see her walk since she is now 15 months and we see other kids, much younger, walking. Of course 15 months isn't late, by any means, to begin walking but you want your child to be above average in all categories. I'm sure any future kids will walk a little earlier than Bella did just because they see her doing it. Then again maybe not.

Besides the walking, Bella is a pretty talkative and a mimicker. She copies, or tries to, most actions she sees you do with your hands. She also sings a little. You can tell its singing because its noticeably different than her talking voice. She says "hi" a lot and "dad" She seems to be very intelligent, if you ask me, but I'm partial I guess. She also is starting to enjoy the tv a little more, which is a blessing and a curse. We don't want Bella to become attached to the tv or for us to over use it as some sort of a make-shift babysitter. Plus, too much television watching at an early age has been linked to ADHD. I suppose, though, I'm happy she has some tv shows she likes to watch.

Well, that's about all for now. I'll update more soon, especially if BellaRose begins to drive the car or publish a novel. Talk to you all soon and hopefully Spring is no the way. I much prefer this warmer weather, even if it means rain. Take care now. Bye-bye.

BellaRose Gets the Flu, Family Unites

Like the above newspaper-like heading reads, BellaRose did contract the flu (most likely from her cousins/aunt; they're forgiven) and had a bout of vomiting lasting 6 hours last night.

I was at a friends house when I got a call about BellaRose horking like she never has before. Her mother entered her room, due to ominous sounds of discomfort by Bella, only to find copious amounts of hork in her crib. After sitting with her for a bit it seemed she might be feeling better when just then, round two of 20 individual vomiting sessions commenced. I was still not home et so her Omi came up and helped out with the regergitating child. Finally, I arrived to the scene of the incident and helped comfort my darling child and relieve my wonderful wife of her vomit duties. We both sat with BellaRose for quite awhile, through numerous bouts of sickness, until finally we thought it best for at least one of us to get some rest while the other nurses the poor child back to health. Since mom had been with her in the beginning, I opted to stay up with her. Letting her rest in my loving arms, BellaRose had a few more episodes of illness before finally giving up the ghost and falling asleep due to pure exhaustion. In fact, we both fell asleep in the easychair for a bit before moving to the couch. At about 3 am, Lizzie came out to get us since Bella hadn't been sick for an hour or so and we layed her down in her crib and called it a night. Oh, and what a night it was. I had this ominous feeling that this was only the first of many nights like this, where mom and dad have to comfort a sick child until they fall asleep in your arms and then you have to clean up their "mess". Nothing makes you feel more like a parent than instances such as this.

I felt bad for the poor kid. You could tell she really hated getting sick like that and who doesn't. Lord knows I don't like the taste of stomach acid that lingers for awhile. And to be puking for that long, one can sympathize with her for being so upset. But she slept good and this morning we weren't quite sure what to expect. We are pleasantly surprised, however, with her demeanor thus far.

Since she woke up this morning she has been in high spirits, as playful and as chatty as any other day of the week. Her appetite as well was good and she was equally as thirsty too, which can be expected for a girl who vacated her stomach of all its contents the night before. I tried to make sure her breakfast was at a nice slow pace and it contained easy-on-the-stomach foods. She did real well and after breakfast was ready to take on the world. Later I gave her a bath since I was certain she had some remnants on her person from the night before. She much enjoyed that too, which she always does, and after getting dried off and dressed she was ready for her "nap". This one, however, would certainly be longer than normal to make up for lost hours. She is still asleep now, making this a 3 hour nap and counting. She needs it, even if it will mess up her schedule for today. If she makes it till 4ish she might not need another nap until bedtime. We shall see.

So, the scare of the flu bug may be over though it may come on stronger in the evenings. Only time will tell. I certainly hope she is overit. Nobody deserves to endure horking of that magnitude or scale, especially not a 22lb, 14-month old darling baby girl with eyes like diamonds and a smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts. I guess I'm a little partial. I'm allowed to be. I'm her dad.

Thanksgiving, Birthday(s), Cruise, Christmas, New Years...

So, since our previous post, lots has occurred in the lives of we three Davis'. Of course, everyone's favorite, Bella, celebrated her first birthday on Nov. 16th. We had a weekend affair for her, going to a cabin at Don Williams Lake near Ogden on Saturday. She enjoyed hiking, in which we saw a plethora of deer. I'm now firmly of the opinion that Don Williams Lake is shelter for approximately several hundred deer. I saw hoof prints and actually sitings galore to back up such claims, don't worry. But that's neither here nor there.

Continuing, BellaRose also enjoyed going down to the dock and peering out on the lake, though she continually tried to crawl off the edge. We're entirely certain she would have plunged into the frigid water if we would have let her. No fear at all, that one. Saturday evening, BellaRose enjoyed her first campfire and we all had a good time enjoying the brisk fall weather. The next morn we packed up and made a quick trip the beach to gaze up on the lake once more (further hoof print sitings as well) before heading home.

The following Monday, her actual birthday, we celebrated at home with her Omi, Opi, Grandma and Grandpa (with Aunt Leisa and the twins), opening presents and eating some delicious Barbie cake. She had fantastic time tearing into her cake and presents. She's always been a fan of sweets and gifts, like her father. Weird to think she's already one now. Where'd a year go?

A couple weeks before Bella's b-day, I turned 27. We had a quaint evening, going out to eat at the Spice and I got a couple presents. Elizabeth is an excellent gift giver, though she'd deny it. I always enjoy the bounty of candies I receive. I'm still munching on them nightly. Yum!

Thanksgiving was the week after Bella's b-day, so we asked people who wanted to give her gifts to bring them then. There's little point in having a huge party for her, forcing relatives to drive to our house, which doesn't exist, when we're all going to be together for Thanksgiving a week later. When we have a house and room for it, perhaps we'll have a larger gathering. Anyway, Thanksgiving was enjoyable and BellaRose had a good time hanging with her grandparents. She also got to meet her cousin Roscoe for the first time (same for Lizzie too). Its not that we dislike him, he was just in the Air Force and stationed in Florida and it seemed that everytime he was back, we could never arrange a time or place to meet. Well, now he's out of the Air Force and living in Iowa so hopefully we'll see a lot more of Roscoe. Speaking of which, I need to call him.

Ah, now we are to the cruise. For those that don't know, Lizzie and I purchased a 5-day cruise to the Caribbean. It left Dec. 19th (from Miami) and went to Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Grand Cayman Island. Though it rained at both ports, it was still a great time. We even purt our SCUBA certifications to good use, going diving at Grand Cayman. We saw a sea turtle, an eel, tons of fish and endless amounts of coral. It was pretty cool. We also went to Margaritaville in Jamaica, which was fun too. Either way, it is fun to say we did it and we got some great pictures.

We returned on Dec. 24th, Lizzie's golden birthday, and started making our way back home in time for Christmas. It was an excellent trip and probably the best time to take it. BellaRose stayed with her Omi and Opi, which is her home anyway, and they took care of her. We are truly blessed to have them so close and have BellaRose firmly attached to them too. According to them, she barely noticed we were gone and had a blast with us not there to temper their wild abandon with BellaRose, offering nothing but sweets and never ending playtimes daily. Naps, who needs 'em? Right?

The trip back to Iowa was eventful, what with the storm and all. We spend a lot of time in airports. I read one book and at least three magazines and that's saying a lot for a person that doesn't read all that much, especially in one sitting. But what other choice did we have? It was read or stare at the passers by, counting weird haircuts, foreigners and people with awkward gates. That latter was quite interesting but that's another post in itself.

We luckily made it on the plane to Iowa from St. Louis. We were half-worried the flight would be canceled but as we approached Des Moines, we were met with some bad news. Apparently a snow removal truck was broke down on the Des Moines airport runway so we were being diverted to the nearest airport...Minneapolis! So, yes, in snow storm that was embattling the midwest, we went further north, into the lion's den. We landed at Minneapolis, got some more fuel and were hosed down with some sort of de-icing solution and back to Iowa we went. This time were were successful at landing in Des Moines, a full 2 hours behind schedule though.

We got out, got to our car, which had been sitting in the snow for five days, and after scrapping it off, started making the deadly trek to Ames. The snow plows hadn't been out at all, really, so we were making our own path on the interstate. Other cars decided they could still go 55+ and zoomed past us but most of us making the trip maintained a speed around 25 to 35 the whole way. We made it, no problem, back to Ames around 12:30 am. We were glad to be home and after getting setlled in, we went to bed anxiously awaiting Christmas morning with BellaRose.

We started our Christmas with endless kisses for BellaRose, whom we desperately had been missing since we left. We also enjoyed a new family tradition, French toast a la dad, which Bella enjoyed greatly. Then it was time for me to wrap her gifts only to have them opened immediately following. I know it seems like cross purposes--wrapping the gifts just before they are opened--but it was how we used to do it in my youth, with my mom making my sister and I wait in our rooms,, plagued with anticipation, while she wrapped our gifts downstairs. Though Bella was likely not anticipating much, she still was happy to tear open her gifts, which she thoroughly loved. Her favorite? An inflatable microphone which came complimentary with a sing-a-long DVD of the Backyardigans. Of course, she loves the free item the most. At least she didn't like the wrapping paper the most.

That evening we had dinner with Omi, Opi, Uncle Jordan, Aunt Leisa, Parker and Kale, after which we opened up our gifts. Bella got a giant pink tub full of clothes and toys, though she seemed most interested in her cousins' similar tub full of toys. That's our kid, always curious about others.

The next day we went to my grandparents in Jewell for my mom's side family Christmas. Bella had a great time there though it was a bit overwhelming at times for her with there being so many kids and such loud noises happening almost constantly. She had a good time, again, tearing open gifts and investigating her neighbor's gifts too.

The day after that, we had my parents Christmas at their place in Boone. Bella once again made out like a bandit, getting lots and lots of toys. We also exchanged gifts with my parents, sister and nephews. We gave my parents some glasses we got at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville in Jamaica. We also got them some other random things. My dad thoroughly enjoyed his official Tony Stewart pit crew hat. I'd rather have a Jeff Gordon hat myself, but I digress.

So, in total we had four Christmases and after the weekend we were all just happy to be doing nothing. We spent the week in between catching up on all that we had put off after arriving back from our trip and sorting through all our Christmas gifts. Also, we all three began coming down with the same cold. Bella had a fever, Lizzie had a sore throat and I am just now getting over my sore throat and congestion. Which brings me to New Years.

Last year we didn't do much for New Years so this year hoped to be a bit more exciting. However, since we all were starting to come down with something, it was proving to be just as simple as last years. I ended up going to James and Amy Hawcott's place to watch the Iowa State vs. Minnesota Insight bowl for the evening, which was very nerve-wracking to watch but in the end, I was overjoyed to see ISU win. After a raucous game of Settlers of Catan while watching Tropic Thunder, I left for Ames. I was home by midnight but my two soldiers, Lizzie and Bella, were long since asleep. It was a pretty decent New Years, though I did miss my Lizzie.

So, that should bring us up to date. Currently Lizzie is a week away from starting her last semester, which includes an intership at Creative Counseling Services with Amy Hawcott, and I am more seriously looking into careers. I mostly stay at home with Bella but soon I hope to take on some part time work. There is also an opening at the Story County Jail that I'm applying for, as well as others, so I am hopeful.

That's about it for now. Sorry for the lack of posts. Its been rather crazy around here. It hopefully will slow down soon, though I doubt that. Keep you posted the best I can. Until then, thanks for reading. Later all.

-Mike

Nigh on Halloween

Well, I suppose the first thing to report is that I did not receive a call back from the ISU PD after my day of testing. I wrote about it was well in my personal blog but to put a long story short, it went well but there were 25 of us testing for a single position. Furthermore, its entirely usual for a person attempting to join law enforcement to not get their first attempt. There will be other opportunities. I'm not too discouraged.

In other news, classes are going well for Lizzie. Some weeks she seems very, very busy with a test or quiz or something nearly everyday but then other weeks she has far less "big" assignments. Lately she has been hit with a large number of exams, papers, etc., leaving her weekends not very relaxing. Hopefully soon she can catch a break. BellaRose and I try to give her a break as often as possible. Being a former student myself, I know what its like to have numerous cumbersome weeks of what seems like never ending work. At least Thanksgiving Break is about a month away. That will be a welcomed break.

As far as BellaRose is concerned, she is getting to be a very active, very intelligent, very ornory little girl. She is past 11 months now and on the downward slope to her 1st birthday. Where did the time go? Is almost hard to remember what she was like as a helpless, nearly motionless, sleepy little baby. Good thing we have pictures. Now, of course, she is anything but motionless. She is a prodidgious great crawler and very few things can (or will) stop her from going where she wants. She also shows no fear, and crawls head-first into most situations, like off the couch. With this penchant for extreme crawling, has come many bonks to the head followed by tears. She gets over it quickly, however, and is right back at it. What a kid, eh?

She also pulls herself up to standing now, which is a mixed blessing. It makes her mom and I cringe when she gets so close to wiping out so often plus it only means walking is close and that too an eery thought. Then where will she be off to and how many more head wounds (or worse?) will she get. In addition to all this, she is quite a little sponge, copying many of the sounds and gestures she hears/sees. For example, she copies you when you sneeze or cough and says things like "mama", "baby", "bye" and though I've not heard it, "dada". She also waves nearly every time you pick her up thinking she is leaving yet often doesn't wave at folks when we are actually out and she is being waved at. At least not until we are in the car or something. Not the greatest timing. It will come, I'm sure.

To close, I'd like to post something Bella wrote. I let her punch away in a Word document to see what she could do. Rather clever girl, I think. If you'll notice, she writes "hi", which though its the only discernable word, is a positive sign. The rest seems like a printout from the Enigma machine but still, she's a natural. Maybe a future novelist? Perhaps a codebreaker. Anyway, enjoy. Talk to ya'll soon.

-Michael

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…

-BellaRose