reading books

Sam loves to read books first thing in the morning when he gets up. Also, when he goes to bed. And, any moment in between.

He signs what the characters are doing and makes animal noises when he sees any animals. I'm sorry, but I just think this is so freakin' adorable. And, no, I am not biased and, no, I don't think it will give him a big head because I say this all the time.

Well, maybe his head is kind of big. He can wear the same size hat as Joe. But, Joe has a small head.

marriage is compromise

Marriage is about compromise. Meeting in the middle. Reaching a win-win solution. I think our dogs nicely illustrate this fact.

After we miscarried our first baby, my grandparents mentioned some friends were raising Brittany puppies. I wanted one so badly, so Joe said yes. Altmiller dogs live inside, sleep on beds, eat table scraps, and are considered adopted family members. Kaufman dogs live outside, perform functions (like bird hunting), and live a farm life. We thought we'd reach a happy compromise somehow with Schatzi.

Eventually, Schatzi needed a friend. She was lonely. We needed another dog. Joe said yes and Doc joined our family. Ah, Doc. Our special needs boy who must lay between Joe and I every night before we go to bed.

Now we have 2 dogs. Two dogs who sleep on our bed, live inside, and perform no useful tasks (like bird hunting).

As Joe often says, "My wife wanted one dog. I wanted zero dogs. Now we have 2 dogs." That's marital compromise. Meeting in the middle. Reaching a win-win solution. Right? Right?

I wonder what he'd say if I asked for a king size bed so we could all fit a little more comfortably. Thanks for being open to compromise, honey.

Seriously, though, I have a rockstar husband. Today, he searched under the bed today for my missing black boot--I was sure it was under there but didn't want to bend over my huge belly to look--and didn't even grumble when he later found it in the back of our closet. AND, he bought me this new Nikon SLR, with which I took these pictures.

pumpkin pie and Coco Puffs

Just another random news update from Casa Kaufman:

• Pregnancy is going well...I guess. We're at 26 weeks and Pudge seems to be sitting right on my bladder and sigmoid colon. I'm glad to have a break from the heartburn, but these other discomforts were unexpected. Glucose test in 2 weeks. Until then, I am eating pumpkin pie and Coco Puffs every night.
• Sam's good. He eats most of my pumpkin pie and Coco Puffs and makes some super funny animal sounds.
• Doc's cardiology appointment went well. He has some mitral regurgitation, which is a fairly normal development in an older dog. Check up again in 6 months. Started on a senior dog food because he's old.
  
• Schatzi got started on weight control dog food because she's fat.
  
• One of the things I love about Joe is that he is not a sports fanatic. However, he seems to have forgotten that this football season and has been following the Vandals quite closely. We've been having too many sports conversations between us. He is heartbroken the Vandals were slaughtered by the Broncos last weekend. Me....not so much. (Sorry, honey).
• On the upside, he is quite a good shot and came in 3rd at his pistol match this weekend!
  
• You may have noticed we haven't had any new pictures up lately. That's because we got a Nikon SLR for our Christmas/Valentine/birthday presents and are still playing with it. Hopefully, more pictures this weekend.

And, that's the news from Casa Kaufman, where the men shoot nice groupings, the women whine about pregnancy, and the child is above average.

Lexicon of toddlerhood

Sometimes, I feel like a broken record:

• Walking feet, please.
• Sit on your bottom.
  
• If you throw food, you'll be all done.
• Keep it in your mouth.
• Use your words, please.
  
• Gentle touch. Schatzi/Doc doesn't like it when you hit/pull ears/climb on them.
• Ooh...stinky feet!
• What does the monkey/fish/snake/kitty say?
• Look! A squirrel!
• I like your kisses.
• Hold hands, please.
• Thank you for sharing.
• Toliet paper is not for Sam.
• If you touch the stove, you'll have to leave the kitchen.
• Careful on the stairs.
• Where's Sam? Oh, there's Sam. (Hide & seek or peek-a-boo is his favorite game).

What do you say all day to your kids?

getting ready for baptism

Save the date! Pudge is going to be baptized April 11, 2010 at St. James' in Lewiston. It'll be at 7:30am mass (yeah, we never learn). So, we've been making the appropriate arrangements.

For you non-Catholic readers out there, godparents and parents have to take a class to prepare for their role in their child's baptism. Three and a half years ago, Team Eddy and Joe & I took a class to prepare for Noah's baptism. Certification was good for 3 years and, I have to say, we've gotten a lot of mileage out of that one class: 4 babies baptized in 3 years...whoo hoo!

However, all good things eventually come to an end...or expire...and we now have to repeat the class. I called the local baptism coordinator and signed up for the class. She also kindly reminded me that presiders often required out-of-town parents to submit a letter from their local priest, stating they are practicing Catholics who are in good standing with the Church.

What does this mean?!?

And are Joe and I included in this definition?!?

Our letter might look something like this:

To whom it may concern,
Jen and Joe Kaufman are members of Idaho Falls Catholic Community. However, in response to your inquiry regarding their standing, I can only provide the following description.

Jen and Joe attend Mass regularly. Frequently, they show up late, dragging a very loud toddler. Instead of paying attention or praying, they can be found reading board books, stacking blocks, feeding loud toddler, or dancing in the pew while they sing along with the choir. They don't remember to tithe regularly and usually forget their envelopes. Their son cries on the way to Communion. Other parishioners seem to have trouble focusing when the Kaufman family sits next to them.

We give them an A for effort, though, and recommend you baptize their second child. They need all the help they can get.

Sincerely,
Idaho Falls Catholic Community

feeding the dogs...sometimes we miss the bowl.

fun in the leaves with Dad