MinneSOOOOOHta and Such

Here's the latest from Katieland.

I recently went to MN to see my sis, bro-in-law and nephew. The last time we saw our nephew, Alex, we had just welcomed him into the world, and he was still in the hospital when we left. Now he is about 5 months old and a little character! :-) Datya let me take care of him the whole time I was there (Thanks, Datya!), and I feel like I had a crash course in taking care of a baby. I changed diapers, changed clothes, burped him, sang songs, read stories, put him to sleep, watched him get a bath, fed him a bottle, watched Datya feed him, played games, performed my duties as godparent at his baptism, etc., etc., etc. (Ok, the ladies also snuck a pedicure in there...) I asked tons of questions, and Erich and Datya answered every single one. I am incredibly amazed at how much Datya and Erich do every day!

Being an auntie is so fun! My favorite part of the trip was putting Alex to sleep. I never realized that you have to convince babies to go to sleep. They are so obviously exhausted, but they do not want to go to sleep and miss out on the fun. I told Baby Alex there will come a time when he will do just about anything to have a nap each day. :-)

Alex is the happiest little baby. He is all smiles. His whole face lights up when you smile at him or when he looks in the mirror. I really didn't hear any full-out crying while I was there. If you stop walking with him, he will give a little wimper, but if you start walking again, he is as happy as can be. Especially when he has a full belly! He will coo and sing like a little birdie.

Datya's big move happens in about a month. I can't tell you how giddy I am that big sis will be 11 HOURS CLOSER! I have tried to not get too excited, but now that they are homeless since their house sold, they have no choice but to move. ;-) YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am not the adoption coordinator for ACR anymore. I was supposed to quit at the end of December, but we couldn't find anyone to take over. I agreed to stay on until we found someone else. Well, we did, so I am just handling Gavin's adoption from now on. He is supposed to go on a home visit on Saturday. That's when a potential adopter keeps the dog for 2 weeks to see if they like him. If this lady likes Gavin after two weeks, she will officially adopt him. She already bought a tuxedo for him to wear, so I think she's pretty attached. :-) I just hope he will adjust to a new home ok and will eat regularly. I don't want him losing weight just as he is making so much progress. He weighs 130 now, so he needs to gain about 10-12 more pounds. He is a very sweet boy, and I love him dearly! Here is a pic of one of his favorite pastimes: sunbathing!

We babysat someone's dog for them this weekend, and they gave us a $50 gift certificate to Outback, so I think Xondervan and I will have a date night tonight. Yum!