A.G. Out Loud! » Will

Please Pass the Puffs…

Anne — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:36:52 +0000

Will has just started eating “puffs” and let me tell you, Zoey, Leroy and Stella are pretty excited about it. I got a kick out of watching Zoey on our sofa peering anxiously at the puffs, hoping that Will would give her one.

“So close… yet so far away”.

“Yummmmm… makes me lick my chops… Please Will, just one?”

Will thought it was a fun game. He still doesn’t have the greatest hand/eye coordination, but the dogs are ok with that because that means more puffs on the floor for them! Oh the adventures we will have in dog and baby land!

Caption This Photo…

Anne — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 06:36:58 +0000

My First Mother’s Day

Anne — Sun, 09 May 2010 15:54:28 +0000

I’ve been a dog mom for several years now, but this is my first Mother’s Day as a mom to a beautiful baby boy! I woke up this morning and went to check my email when this video appeared on my screen… Enjoy! Thanks so much to my Donnie and to Will for such a thoughtful Mother’s Day gift! I love my boys!

Hope all you moms, of humans and/or dogs, have a wonderful Mother’s Day!

First Word…

Anne — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:51:36 +0000

This morning Don brought Will into our room for me to feed him and after he was done eating we were playing with Zoey. Will loves to look at the dogs and smiles at their every move. I was saying “Zoey” to him and explaining that she is a “Doggy”. Then Will was sitting on my lap and out of the blue, as clear as day, he says…

“Dada”

I yelled for Don to come into the room, hoping that he’d say it again. Sure enough….”Dada!” It was the sweetest thing! Both Don and I got a little emotional about it. I have to admit that part of me was gunning for “Mama”, although I always though it would be really cool (and ironic) if he said “Doggy” first. I’m pretty sure he has no idea what “Dada” means, but just to hear his sweet little voice say anything was amazing! We’ve been practicing all day!

Six Months Already?!

Anne — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:36:37 +0000

Dear Will,

Today you are six months old. I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. It seems like just yesterday that you were kicking me in the ribs and giving me heartburn! You were such a little guy when you were born… I was expecting you to be around 8 pounds or so, but you were 6 lbs. 12 ounces. Now you seem so big at seventeen pounds!

I love how you talk like a monster, play with your toes, push up on your arms and giggle at the dogs. You love hearing music and watching Little Pim with Daddy. Baths have always been exciting for you. You think Mom and Dad are hilarious. You humor me when I change the words to random rap songs to entertain you. Our favorites are Ludacris’ “Roll Out” which has been changed to “Blowout” and Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin” which is now “Big Drooler, William D. He’s a big drooler, droolin all over me.”) Man can you drool!

Everyone is so impressed with how content and easy-going you are. You only get fussy if you’re really hungry or really tired, but we usually can keep you from getting to that point. Daddy is fast to explain that “babies don’t cry” when you do get fussy. You’ll learn pretty quickly that Daddy likes to tease. You’ve been given the nickname “moth boy” by the Christensens because of your affinity for lights. If there’s a ceiling fan that also has a light, well forget about it… that’s just the greatest thing in the world.

We just started giving you rice cereal. I’m pretty sure that less than ten percent of it actually was consumed, but we sure did have fun trying! Then we tried peas and you really seemed to like them. Milky is still your favorite though…I’m not sure what it is about you that makes me want to add a “y” at the end of most words! You recently learned how to bite… it’s hard to be mad at you because you immediately look up at me and smile. I suppose I’ll let it go for now, but when your first tooth comes in, we’ll have to have a talk.

I can’t wait to take you on more stroller rides and play dates. I can’t wait to hear your first word and see you crawl. I’m super pumped to watch our first Iowa Hawkeye game as a family. I can’t wait for so many things, but I don’t want to rush it… it’s all going by too fast already.

I’m so blessed to be your mom. You are just pure joy… so easy-going and happy. I’m scared for the world to touch you because you’re just so perfect. I hope I can be the best mom possible because you deserve the best. I love you so much!

Love, Mom

Revived and Refreshed

Anne — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 06:36:30 +0000

Thanks so much…I needed that. I took a week off of blogging and didn’t even feel that guilty about it. I never want this blog to be a chore and for some reason it was getting to be that way just a bit. I knew this would happen at some point given that I’m stretched pretty thin right now and I’m trying to get a routine down. I can’t say that it won’t ever happen again, but for now I feel refreshed and ready to rock and roll!

This little man is getting to be so big! I just want to bottle him up right now and keep him this age forever because it’s just the best! I know it will just keep getting better too. He finally fits into this great onesie that our friend, Ann Huddleston had made for him. Isn’t that the best!? We always refer to the dogs as “sister Zoey”, “sister Stella” and “brother Leroy” when we talk about them to Will. Will is, in fact, our fourth child. Here’s a close-up:

The dogs are soaking up the sun and thoroughly enjoying the beautiful weather…as am I. I love this time of year because I can keep our sliding glass door open without letting bugs in the house and the dogs can go hang out on the deck. It’s times like these that I wish I had a hammock on our deck. Here are Zoey and Leroy at their posts… Zoey watching for people walking on the sidewalk in the distance and Leroy staring at Obie, our neighbor’s dog. He’s seriously obsessed with Obie…

As for Miss Stella, she is growing up too. You may or may not remember, but for awhile (almost a year) she was getting up in the middle of the night and chewing on our furniture because she wanted to eat. We gave into her most of the time because we were so sleep deprived from pregnancy/having a newborn. Well NO MORE! It took about a week and a half of getting up with her every time she jumped out of bed, carrying her back to bed and petting her until she relaxed and finally she isn’t getting up for food anymore. She also isn’t chewing our furniture. I think watching all those Supernanny reruns in the middle of the night while I was nursing really paid off!

I don’t know that I’ve found the secret to balancing my life now that I’m a mom. What I do know is that this blog is important to me. So A.G. is back!

The Life of a Dog Blogger

Anne — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:25:45 +0000

Oh the life of a blogger… It’s been five months since I had Will and I’m still trying to figure out how to balance my day job, (which is really my nights and weekend job), blogging, the dogs, Will, keeping the house clean, getting the last ten pounds of baby weight off, etc. Some days I do it well, but most days I feel totally inadequate. I envy women who can survive on five hours of sleep, keep their house immaculate, get to the gym every day, and be successful entrepreneurs, all while finding balance between educational/play time with kids, hanging out with friends and quality time with their spouse.

The thing that I’m realizing is that I’m not sure that woman exists.

Most of us want it all… I know I do (it’s the first-born child in me). We may have things together for a day or so, or even a week if we’re really lucky, but then something has to give. I think the real secret to happiness is finding a balance and accepting imperfection. Some days I have dishes scattered all over the house, five loads of laundry to do and dog toys around every corner. I’m learning that instead of letting that upset me to focus on the good things I got done that day. Maybe I had a blast reading and playing with Will. Or maybe the dogs and I were enthralled in a competitive game of catch, while Will watched and giggled. Or maybe I got a nap in so that I didn’t lose my mind.

Where I’m struggling the most in finding balance is with this site. I had a vision of what I wanted to do with this site. I have “internet celebrity” muses who are kicking butt and taking names in this space. Don and I both are avid consumers of social media marketing content to learn how to grow A.G. Out Loud, our favorite being from Gary Vaynerchuk, He doesn’t believe in working smarter, not harder. He believes in working smarter AND harder and hustling your face off to rise to the top.

I’m not sure if that’s in my DNA.

So basically, this is a story about a mom trying to find balance. Isn’t that the universal struggle?

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Will the Talker

Anne — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 06:36:46 +0000

People have been asking for more posts about Will…I’m toying with the idea of expanding this blog to include other subjects besides dogs, but I’m not totally convinced yet. For now, I’ll have some Will pictures and videos here and there. This video was taken on Will’s 3 month birthday. As you can see, he’s a talker like his mom!

Caption This Photo…

Anne — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:36:47 +0000

This picture was taken over the holidays. It was the first time that Will really saw Stella. Priceless!

My How Fast 3 Months Have Gone By…

Anne — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 06:36:52 +0000

I can’t believe it’s been three months since I had Will! I had no idea how my life would change three months ago. It’s like that old MTV show that looked into celebrities’ lives and they’d say “you think you know, but you have no idea”…I thought I knew, but I had no idea. No one can really understand how your heart explodes when you have a child until you have your own. Cheesy, yes… but it’s the absolute truth. I always wanted to be a mom, but I was really nervous about it. I think part of me thought I was going to have postpartum depression or just be exhausted all the time. Not that I’m not exhausted, but looking at Will I just feel so much joy. I still can’t believe he’s mine. I’ve always liked babies, but there’s just something about your OWN child.

So I thought I’d share some pictures that we’ve been taking of Will lately. (Never mind the massive cut on his forehead in some of the pictures from when I forgot to put his mittens on one night… it was my first “bad mom” moment.)

Here’s Will in his hat that his Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Johnson gave to him. It was made with love by Great Grandma Wilma Johnson! Oh…and of course I had to get a picture of Will in his “tough guy” outfit that we received from friends.

I love this picture of my boys…

I have to have Don take more pictures of me with Will…I feel like I don’t have very many because I’m always the one behind the lens.

Happy 3 month birthday, Will! Mommy and Daddy love you so much!