It's Official...

Jack is now crawling and I couldn't be more proud of my little boy! Here's a video to show his latest success!

11 Months

Jack is 11 months old today and would you believe, he still isn't crawling and doesn't have any teeth! He tries so hard to crawl, gets frustrated and just gives up. I do think he might skip crawling and just start walking. My mom taught him how to walk and ever since then the little booger doesn't want to sit and wants you to walk him around the house. Oh well, perhaps one day he'll just take off crawling.

He's been saying Momma since about 5 months old and just recently starting saying Dada. He also does this little shy pose if someone comes up and starts talking to him even though he is the furthest thing from being shy. He has come to love the Lawrence Welk show (thanks Dad), very odd but if it keeps him occupied for a good amount of time I'm okay with it! Given that he loves Lawrence Welk, I think he might just be an elderly person who has died and has been reincarnated in my son! Jack also received his first haircut a couple of weeks ago and is now sporting a very cute cut!

I will say that the past 11 months with Jack have been wonderful and it is hard to believe that he'll be a year old next month. People warned me that they grow up fast and there were soooo right. Hope you enjoy the recent pics!

Remembering Man's Best Friend

As some of you may know by now, the Stulz Household lost an important family member last Friday, August 28th. Our dog, Bubby, was such the sweetest and most loving dog you will ever meet. It was about two weeks ago when he got sick and the vet initially diagnosed him with colitis. My parents and I thought this was just a bump in the road for Bubby and that he would pull through this as he always did, but this time was different.

He spent that weekend in the hospital and had his diagnosis changed to gall bladder disease, but according to the vet the prognosis was good with antibiotics. Bubby was allowed to come home and my parents and I were optimistic that the antibiotics would fix everything. As the week progressed, Bubby didn't seem to be getting better and I think we all had in the back of our minds that he might not pull out of this. Luckily, both of my parents were on vacation and were able to be there for him all week. Thursday night, he made a turn for the worse and my parents were left with the horrible decision of having to put him to down the next morning. The vet said he looked much worse than he did earlier in the week and that there was a good possibility that the gall bladder had ruptured. Even though the decision my parents had to make was hard, the vet said it was the best decision.

Getting the news from my dad last Friday morning that Bubby was gone, broke my heart and brought me to tears. For those of you with pets, know how important they become to you and how attached you get to them. I can remember getting Bubby when I was 14 years old and how excited I was that we finally had a dog. My dad was never a fan of dogs and one of the big reasons is because he said they dragged their butts across the carpet that he layed his head on.

From the day my dad saw Bubby and took him home, he was hooked. Bubby had both of my parents wrapped around his little finger and he knew it. He eventually worked his way in to their bed and slept in luxury from then on. He was more than a dog to the Stulz Family, he was a family member to us and my parents' house just doesn't seem the same without him. I couldn't help crying when I entered my parents' house after he passed because everywhere you turned you saw a spot where he used to lay and now he isn't there. Even though my heart aches, I know he is in a better place where he is pain free and happy.

We miss you Bubby and we love you.