2008 Plans...so far...

Well, we were planning to move to Colorado this year and that hasn't changed, but Paul may need to return to England for 2-3 months in order to complete his PhD. So here's our plan so far:

To help us save up money more quickly, my parents have kindly offered for us to live with them, so we'll be moving in at the beginning of February.

I've agreed to an adjunct professor position at the College of Southern Nevada teaching one World Archaeology course. The Tuesday/Thursday morning (8-9.20am) class wouldn't interfere with my mother's job, so she can watch Alec for us two mornings a week and I won't be out of the home long. We will stay at my parents' until the end of the semester, then move to Colorado at the beginning of June. Paul will fly to Birmingham from Denver. Hopefully he'll be done in July or August, then he'll prepare for his first actuary exam that he can take in November or December. We're hoping it all works out, but 'the best laid plans of mice and men'...

In other news, Alec is doing great, the reflux is getting better and he's begun gaining weight-he weighs nearly 18 pounds now! He can pull himself up to stand and 'cruise' around furniture, but he's not too interested in walking unsupported yet. He loves crawling now (since the reflux got better and he can be on his belly) and he's into everything-his favorite pasttime is to tip over the dogs' water bowl and then crawl through it. He loves dancing and will wiggle back and forth when music comes on. Last night he started smiling for the camera-well, scrunching up his nose. It's so funny! This picture of him is his smile.

Alec and Milo have become little buddies (our little boys) and they enjoy playing several games: 'tug' over the dogs' rawhide chips, or Alec will dangle toys for Milo to try and bite or Alec simply crawls all over Milo. Alec actually tends to chase Milo around the house to crawl on him. We are grateful to have two dogs that do so well with our son. I've included a video of Alec and Milo playing tug over a rawhide chip, it always makes me laugh:



Because my parents have two small dogs, training our two puppies even quicker became necessary. (I plan to take them to my aunts' home during the day to play with her boxers. In the evenings they will go for a walk with Paul, then relax with Paul in our room while he works from the laptop.) After reading online recommendations, we decided to get the dogs remote control training collars. The system has one remote and two collars (Innotek Ultra Smart). If the dogs do something naughty we can give them a warning beep sound, then later a shock if they persist. I promise it's not cruel, the dogs just tilt their heads slightly or flatten their ears (it's like the shock you get when you scuff your feet on the carpet, then touch a doorknob). Now they come right away and listen quicker, usually with just the beeping sound. It's made morning walks a lot easier for me! No more barking at other dogs or people who get too close to Alec! I had always planned (in about 2-3 years) to have Maggie take the 'therapy dog' test, so this will really help with her training. Maybe it will even calm Milo down enough to make him a candidate also.

Also, to answer a popular question, we can't plan for another child until we have health care (for Paul & I, Alec is covered). So, it's unlikely we'll begin planning to extend our family until we're a little more settled, possibly later this year.