Friendly Donkey's!!!

We were on a drive and there were these cute donkey's alongside the road. We stopped and at first one came up and Clint fed him a muffin. He was pretty nice and Clint got a change to pet him while I snapped a picture or two. Then his buddy came up to see what was going on.

Pretty soon, Clint had two Donkeys practically sitting in his lap looking for a hand-out!

I've been using the front pack for Dane, but we decided to try out the baby jogger for a change.

It was a little chilly so we bundled up Dane really well. As you can see he looked like a marshmallow. But, he was a trooper and stayed warm so we could enjoy a nice spring day!

Yesterday's storm

Yesterday, I said that it was a good day for inside projects... Well, I snapped a few photos of the spring storm and thought I'd share them with everyone!

Today it cleared off a little and we were all able to get out and shake off some of the cabin fever. Of course now the snow is supposed to settle in again for the next couple days.

And I guess this is how the phrase "sleeping like a baby" came to be!

Spring Snow!

This morning after feeding Dane, I took one look outside and decided it would be a good morning to catch up on some sleep!

Really I can't complain... Dane is a good sleeper. He sleeps anywhere from 3 to 5 hours at a time during the night... and usually it's closer to 5 hours... so I'm still getting pretty good sleep. But, I still feel tired so I'll take some extra if I can!

As you can see from the pictures below, it's a snowy cold day outside. Yesterday was so nice. We were able to get out and walk, fish, etc, but today is for inside projects!

Who's mimicking who?


Dane's arms are always up! Especially when we are trying to wake him up!

Look how much he's grown!

Dane seems to have gotten over that initial newborn stage where all they do is sleep! He still sleeps a lot, but we are getting more awake time every day!

We do some "tummy time" every day, and he is already lifting up his head!

I am obviously enamored with him! I just can't get enough of his cuteness!

Dane's two week check up!

When I was a baby, my Mom and Dad called me "Chunkers"…… I was a big baby, and a healthy eater as I am told…..Well Dane is going to live up to his nickname “The Forklift”. Today Dane had his two week check up. When Tanya and I left the hospital with Dane 12 days ago, he checked out at 7 lbs 4 oz. Today he tipped the scales at 8lbs 15ozs. He gained over a 1 ½ pounds in under two weeks. He is going to be just like his father. Anyway, Dane is good and healthy. We will post more pics of the boy as time allows……

A trip to the cabin

Clint, Perry, Dane, and I decided to take a trip to the cabin today. We wanted to start getting it cleaned up and ready so that we can do a little work on it in the next couple weeks. We can't wait to get it insulated and such so that we can spend the night up there. With a little insulation and a wood stove, it should be a good place to get away.

The guys moved stuff for me and I used the shop-vac to clean up all the dead bugs/sawdust/etc. Bones loves to be vacuumed and follows me around until I give in and vacuum him!!!

As I said a couple days ago, we are seeing all kinds of fun birds because the spring migration is on! This is Willow Creek Reservoir and there are a number of different types of ducks in this picture... pintails, gadwalls, mallards, goldeneyes, etc.

As I promised, here is a picture of Porter, our adorable nephew...

and of course, a picture of Dane... Here he's hanging out with Grandpa!

Sam & Shannon are parents!

Clint's brother, Sam and his wife Shannon have now joined the "new parents club". Little Porter Montgomery Houston was born this morning at approximately 0740. Mom and baby are doing very well. We are so thrilled for them!

As soon as we have some pictures we'll ge them posted!

He is so photogenic!!!

So, we are totally biased, but we can't help taking pictures of this guy!

He is always making funny faces and just looking really cute!!!

Big stretch

Checking things out!
Pucker up!!!

1 week old!

Today Dane is a week old. He is doing really well and it's amazing how quickly he has fit into our lives! The weather was decent today, so we were able to sneak down to the river and take a walk. We took the dogs and they got to swim and play in the river.

Dane hitched a ride in a front pack and slept almost the whole time. (It's a familiar position for him. Reminded me of being pregnant!)

It looks like the spring migration is beginning. You can see the swans flying in front, followed by a flock of Canada geese.

Here's a few pictures of the little man.

Dane has an audience as he is getting his "tummy time"!

More of the little man!!!

Yesterday we went back to the hospital so they could do a quick check on Dane. They looked at his jaundice, weighed him, and answered our millions of questions! Good news is that Dane gained 2+ ounces in 24 hours. (he is feeding like a champ!!!) Also, despite the fact that he still is yellow, they aren't really concerned. We are keeping an eye on it and they said it should peak at 5-7 days and then get better. I think it looks even worse in the pictures!

The dogs are doing exceptionally well with the transition. They only get highly supervised visitation, but they just want to love him to death! Even Rebel (who we weren't sure of, is loving Dane for all he's worth!!!)

For everyone who knows Grandpa Bill, they will agree that Dane is already taking after him. He is really enjoying soaking up the warmth of this sunbeam!

It's so hard to wake up!!!

These are my two favorite guys! Isn't Dane lucky to have such a phenomenal dad!!!

Okay, no more pictures!!!

Brock's first wrestling match!

Last night Clint attended Brock's first wrestling tournament. He had 4 matches and won 2 of them. For his first time wrestling, he showed great gumption and did exceptionally well!

Dane Jakob Houston joins us! (Warning... Shameless Bragging!!!)

Sunday morning at about 1:30 I woke Clint up and told him that I was pretty sure I was in labor. With a sense of excitement, we timed the contractions and they were about 3.5 minutes apart. After a little while I called the midwife and told her that I was in labor and we headed to the hospital, arriving about 2:30. When I arrived I was dilated 4 cm, but by about 4 am I was complete and able to start pushing. Unfortunately, Dane was nose up and his head was just too large for me so we ended up having to deliver him via c-section.

Even though he was just over 2 weeks early, Dane weighed in at 8.2 lbs and he was 20.5 inches long. Clint and I are completely enamored by this little guy and he is doing well. We have already taken a ton of pictures and will probably be sharing a fair amount in the near future.
Our first family picture!

Here's Dane with Grandma!
Thanks to all our friends and family who sent goodies to spruce up the room!

Dane is pretty yellow. He doesn't have the jaundice bad enough to get treatment, but if it doesn't clear up in the next couple days we may have to. Since my milk is in, the Doctor thinks it should be okay. Here he is ready to go home. We thought that he looked like he was about to take off into space. He's so good natured though, he took it like a champ and didn't fuss, even after being strapped in like this!!!

Brock's birdhouse!

Clint and Brock hung out today and they built a pretty cool birdhouse! Brock ran the drill like a champ and as you can see the end result is pretty cool! Now they just have to stain it!

It keeps getting bigger!!!

Well, here it is, the only one from the pregnancy... A bare belly picture! It's to fulfill a special request for my awesome mother in law!

For all of those wondering... we are at 37+ weeks and quickly approaching the end. Are we ready? I'm not sure! But we are besides ourself with excitement and just can't wait to meet the little man!

At my appointment with the midwife on Monday I was just about 3.5cm dilated and 85% effaced. I'm not really sure, but based on what the midwife said, that means he should be coming sooner rather than later. But, we have quickly realized that we shouldn't hold our breath, cause he will come when he wants to! So, we will keep everyone updated and hopefully will be posting pictures of Dane sometime soon!

Our new smoker!

Clint is such a handy guy!!!

Our old smoker was huge and not very efficient. It worked fine when we lived in Oregon, but once we moved to Montana it was hard to get it hot enough when we smoked stuff during the winter. So, after smoking the meat outside, we would have to bring it inside and bake it to ensure it reached the right internal temperature! Though the old one worked, it was inconvenient and kind of a pain in the butt!

So, Clint took iniative and built us an awesome new smoker!

Below are some pictures of it with the very first batch of jerky! The smoker worked beautifully and the jerky was absolutely delicious!!!