Pita 2005-2009

We returned from Jackson Hole this past Wednesday to an empty home. Not sure whether we should invest more money for shots just so she could be kept in a kennel while we were gone, I called the vet to ask her opinion one more time. We were forced to make the very hard decision to have Pita put to sleep the day before we left for Wyoming. The vet said there was nothing more they could do so Ryan had the hard task of taking her in by himself. Dr. Short informed us once she saw her again that it was the right thing to do. She was under 5 lbs. (at her healthiest she was over 11 lbs.).

Pita was a great dog, our first "baby." It was hard to come home knowing she wouldn't be here, but we have to believe she's better off now. Here's just a small photographic tribute to our little one - of all she put up with from us and of the joy she brought us. She is greatly missed.

Getting OH so big!

We love long weekends at the Wallis house! Especially when we're not teething and sleep through the night! We headed to YiaYia and Papou's on Saturday to celebrate YiaYia's birthday. Uncle Steve drove down from Chicago for the event so it was nice to catch up with him.


He pushed Phoebe high in her swing which she enjoyed - YiaYia didn't care for it overly much. So we settled on watching airplanes fly overhead. Phoebe has a great set of ears and as soon as she hears anything says "Oh!" and you just see her eyes start searching for the source, be it airplane, dog or fire truck.

She even got some one-on-one time with Papou. Kali entertained everyone by playing with sticks. Phoebe is going to have SUCH a great time at their house this week while we're away in Wyoming.

Dad grilled out his famous steaks but we made sure to save room for dessert! We celebrated with Mom's traditional Dairy Queen cake and even Auntie Kate helped sing "Happy Birthday" via speaker phone.

Phoebe is very much into imitating what we do. Here she is wearing my shoes (yes, I've had them since middle school and will wear them till they absolutely fall apart - I love them but try to only wear them around the house).

And since our old house doesn't have a dishwasher - she's picked up on the rubber gloves as well.

Ryan picked up a new lens for his camera over the week for our trip and tried it out at bathtime. She seems to want to sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" particularly at bathtime - she just looks at you and says, "Row, row, row, row..." till you start singing the song. She's also picked up little actions to "Twinkle, twinkle" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider." She's so bright!

And we finally caved - her bangs were getting so long that we made our first at-home attempt. She sat still for the most part which largely surprised me. They may be a little short and perhaps a bit crooked, but at least they're not hanging in her eyes anymore. We've tried little barrettes but between her fine hair and the fact that they usually end up in her mouth, we had to find a different solution.

We leave Thursday morning for Jackson Hole. We're pretty excited about having some adult interaction/conversation while we're there. Please pray for YiaYia and Papou - that they'll have extra energy and patience and that Phoebe will make a great transition while we're away. And for Ryan and me - we've never been away from Phoebe longer than a night and I know we're going to miss her!

The End of August

Here's a quick catch up on the last couple of weeks. Two Fridays ago, Phoebe and I were at YiaYia and Papou's - fighting nap time and she fell on a baby gate and bit down on her lip. So hard that there were four distinct gashes where her little teeth had gone through her lip - I had no idea a mouth could bleed so much. Honestly, I was horrified. However, she pulled through like a champ and we headed to the Fair one last time with friends.



For those of you who don't know - Phoebe LOVES wagons. Her eyes got so wide when she saw this huge display of them for sale!

We've had lovely lovely weather in Indy recently and have been taking advantage of some great parks in the city. She's not sure about rolling down hills quite yet but she certainly loves to run up and down them!

And of course, the girl still loves her swing-time!


We've also "mastered" the skill of blowing our own bubbles, thanks to YiaYia! She'll be a pro in no time!

She had a red bump on the inside of her wrist that wasn't going away so we ended up taking her to the doctor Tuesday morning to find out she had a staph infection - the pediatrician said it was probably from a hair follicle - who knew!? So we're on medication for 10 days and an ointment that I've somehow lost in the car today, but I think things are clearing up quite nicely. She's learning ALL kinds of words - including "boo boo." She's quick to repeat anything we say and is now referring to herself as "Bebe" and points to herself in pictures and says her "name."

She's still very interested in the phone but usually hangs up on the other person if it's an actual phone conversation. Usually the grandmas are pretty good sports about it and answer when we call back!

Here we're attempting to pose for photos and say "cheese!" Again, it's a work in process, but we're amazed that she even grasps the concept.

On a side note, we were trying to figure out what to do with Pita when we head to Jackson Hole in early September. It just didn't make sense to pay to put her in a kennel when she couldn't even move to drink or eat. All of a sudden, she's eating and drinking on her own. And last night, while Phoebe and I were eating dinner while Ryan was at a fantasy football draft, Pita walked in to get some "real" food. We're just completely stumped - for now, we think she's improving - perhaps she's finally on the upswing. We'll continue to keep you posted.

Weekend in Princeton

We had a real quick trip to Princeton this weekend! After a long day in the sun Friday, Phoebe was up and ready to go before 9:00 Saturday morning. We made it in time for Phoebe to need her nap and were in Patoka for about 30 minutes before Nana and cousin Lucas just couldn't stand it any longer! All things considered, she woke up in a fairly good mood and was ready to play with her Georgia family. Even Chris and Corrie came down from Kokomo with 5 month old Bailey.

It was (Great) Grandma Maralu's 80th birthday on Saturday. She said she could hardly believe she'd seen 80 years. We had a great time celebrating at Vaughn & Kay's home and got to eat lots of yummy food. We'd stopped on the way down at our favorite orchard in Bruceville for our customary apple slushie (which will explain the outfit change for Phoebe mid-day - who knew apples could do that to a 16 month old!?) and a homemade peach pie for Maralu.

Vaughn is a hunter so there was elk, pheasant, wild boar head - all hanging on the walls. Phoebe was unfazed by the animals and actually would look up to them, wave and say "HI!" Phoebe had a great time playing with her cousins Lucas and Ella.

After celebrating we headed to see (Great) Grandma Mary Helen. We took Aunt Carrie, Uncle Mike and cousin Lucas along for the visit and had a good time catching up. She'd been busy cleaning out her attic and showed us all kinds of things she'd saved from newspapers and weddings. We'd be in deep trouble if we saved the way she did - but it was interesting to see how things were done back in the good old days.

Phoebe and Ella had lots of fun outside playing with bubbles. Ella turned 3 earlier this summer and Phoebe proved to challenge her sharing skills. We heard from ALL sides of the family this weekend that Phoebe needed a sibling to work on her little stubborn streak but it's just not gonna happen - at least not right now.

Saturday night, we celebrated Papa's birthday (which is actually this Tuesday). We got him some Colts socks, a ball retriever - not that he would ever need that with his golf game - and an autographed picture of Dallas Clark that Ryan snagged at training camp this month.

We do believe Phoebe was overstimulated this weekend. Between all the animals and people at the Fair to all the family and friends she got to play with in Princeton - this is her at 11:00 p.m. Saturday night. We were laying in the hotel room, all the lights out, and the child just sits up in bed and starts clapping and putting her fingers to her face - she was doing the "If You're Happy and You Know It" song at 11:00 at night! Crazy child - she still made us laugh.

Aunt Debi brought Toby, Cousin Alecia brought Stinky and Nana and Papa brought Annie and Abby so Phoebe had lots of dog interaction while down south. Here she is sneaking a little love in on Abby in Maralu's kitchen.

We headed out around lunchtime on Sunday to try and coincide with Phoebe's naptime. We weren't on the road more than two minutes before she was out. She slept two hours in the car (which is pretty much unheard of anymore) and it made for a quick ride home. And she was still out when it was time to leave for daycare this morning - Ryan stayed home with her so she could sleep in a bit. It was too quick a trip and not enough time with family - we're already excited to see everyone again at Thanksgiving!

Indiana State Fair

So it's the first week of the State Fair and Phoebe and I have already been twice! The Wallis family just can't get enough of farm animals and tractor pulls! We went as a family last night since admission was free and Phoebe became a quick fan of any and everything Fair! I've never seen her wave at so many strangers before!

They had a small petting zoo where we could buy food to give the animals. We weren't going to feed them but after we saw the death grip Phoebe was giving the goats, we thought it only fair to let them eat a bit extra!

This morning we were getting ready to head BACK to the Fair with YiaYia while Ryan went to work and this is where I found Phoebe. Pita is still with us but not moving much. Phoebe has quite the bond with our dogs even if they can't reciprocate.

We got to the Fair before 10:00 this morning while it was still bearable outside. We got to do all kinds of fun things that we've never done at the fair before! YiaYia suggested we start in Pioneer Village and they had this cute little area where kids wore aprons and got baskets and then got to pick up eggs, feed livestock, garden, pick apples, shear sheep, milk cows and ride tractors. Then they got to turn in their wares for cash and buy something at the store. Phoebe made out with a box of Apple Jacks. We haven't tried them yet, but I'm sure they'll be a big hit!

We also got to see the world's largest boars, baby pigs, all kinds of donkeys and sheep. If you've spent any time with Phoebe at all, you know she loves her animals. She was quite enthralled! And we didn't mention anything to the pigs about our delicious lunch in the Pork Tent!

Before we made the loop on the tractor train on our way out, we stopped at the Dept. of Natural Resources building to check out the fish and ALL the water. She was mostly dry by the time we boarded the train and well on her way to a much needed nap!

Thanks for hanging out with us all day, YiaYia! We had a great time at the State Fair - and if Ryan has anything to say about it, I'm sure we'll be back next weekend! Tomorrow we're off to Princeton so another post will follow soon.

Not much...

Not much to post about but pre-season football is on NBC tonight so I might as well do something! Ryan had a successful week in Terre Haute snagging some cool autographs from new and old Colts players. Phoebe is mimicking a lot of what we do lately and very interested in repeating sounds. Here she is looking just like Daddy sitting in the big chair just surfing the net.


Friday Phoebe and I headed to my friend Amanda's house and took advantage of her neighborhood pool after lunch. Phoebe hadn't been in a pool since last Labor Day when we were down in Georgia. I wasn't quite sure how she'd take to the water, but the girl has NO fear. She was running around the pool and I was grateful to have a fast swimmer for a friend!



We did a little house shopping this weekend and toured some model homes. We also did a bit of shopping shoppin. I know we don't officially have school to go out and buy for, but fall is around the corner, so with discount offers in hand, we hit the outlet mall Saturday. Phoebe made out like a bandit. Ryan didn't do so bad himself...and all from a store he swore he'd never buy anything from.


We also hit the Colts Pro Shop on the way home today. It's in the Lucas Oil Stadium downtown right near a train track. Phoebe just kept waving to the train going by. She's a very friendly child - lately she's even been waving and saying hi to semi-trucks as we pass them on the highway.

It looks like we're going to get our summer weather all in August this year - right in time for the Indiana State Fair. Anyone who knows the Wallis family knows we love the fair so the 90 degree weather won't keep us away! We're going to try and fit in one visit before we head down to Princeton for the coming weekend. Great Grandma Maralu and Papa both have birthdays mid-August so everyone is coming to town to celebrate. We can't wait to see everyone!

Where did summer go?

It's been another couple of weeks so here's the latest on the goings on in the Wallis' house. I survived my wisdom teeth extraction - barely. Friday was the best day - Ryan and I even went and saw movie that night since Phoebe was hanging out at YiaYia and Papou's. It all went down hill after Sunday but I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say Hydrocodone and Aleve are STILL my best friends... Phoebe had a blast and got into all kinds of fun while away from us. They brought the wagon inside and the girl entertained herself!


Yia Yia and Auntie Kate took Phoebe to the park and enjoyed the lovely weather we've been having.


Saturday, since I was still feeling good, we ran errands and then took Auntie Kate with us to Traders Point Creamery. How can you say no to ice cream!? They also have animals in their barn (which we discovered you could only see at $4 a pop, so we just looked at the pretty flowers outside instead). Here's a girl after my own heart...










Phoebe is VERY much into giving high fives.



We came over this past Friday after our morning walk and hung out with the family as they were preparing for Katie's trek to Pennsylvania. We got there only to find out Katie's Explorer had practically bit the dust and she was suddenly in the market for a new vehicle. Talk about "real world" happening all at once!

Phoebe opted to hang out in the swing and Papou just pulled up a chair and pushed her to her heart's content.



Here's Phoebe trying out Auntie Kate's new 2006 Honda Accord on Saturday. Nice ride, sis!


We also helped move all of Auntie Kate's stuff out of Uncle Steve's garage - one more step closer to getting his house market-ready! Phoebe got to strut her stuff with Uncle Steve before he headed back to Chicago. The girl has an ear for music and a gift for rhythm she must have inherited from her Auntie Kate!


Did I mention she loves her swing at YiaYia and Papou's???


In fact, she likes ANY swing!

We have Pita on a new experimental drug that the vet said should take at least a week to work if it will provide us with ANY progress. We'll keep you posted, but things aren't looking to improve. Ryan is headed to lovely Terre Haute this week to cheer on the Indianapolis Colts as they begin training camp. Mom, Dad and Auntie Kate head off for Messiah College in Pennsylvania to get her all settled as she begins her first official "adult" job. It's hard to believe school is getting ready to start already! We'll miss you Auntie Kate! Thanks for taking SUCH great care of Phoebe - she won't forget you (no matter what Ryan says!).