Developing Donner

Donner has started training classes!!

We are 3 weeks into the class and she has shown... well... no improvement when it comes to her separation anxiety.  But she is learning the basic commands rather well! All except for "Down." She only "downs" while on her bed or on the bathroom rug. No other rug seems to suit her fancy. Its weird. Oh well. We have 5 more weeks for her to be able to "down" on the concrete of the training classroom so that we can get our diploma!! :)

She already new the "Sit" command. However, I was using a different hand signal, so she had to learn the new one.  We have also learned "Stay." She isn't GREAT at it... but it has a lot to do with the separation anxiety. The further away I get the more she visibly shakes.  :(  We are working on "Leave It." But... I'm not sure how much more I'm gonna work with her on that.  We were told to work on it when the dog gets to something they aren't allowed to have. Well, Donner doesn't get into much (I think she is too afraid to). She does, though, LOVE Ana's unpainted blocks (the painted ones she shows no interest in). One day, I caught her with one in her mouth. As soon as she made eye-contact with me it was on the ground, but I still took the opportunity. I showed it to her, she took the bait and thought I was gonna give it to her. I put it on the floor, waved my hand over it, and said, "Leave it." Let's just say she is now afraid of the blocks! I tried the next day. I just showed her a block and she ran away!  Then I tried with a piece of cheese. I put it on the floor, she ran over, again... waved my hand over it and said, "Leave it." Done. Now she is afraid of cheese. Poor thing. Oh well... at least she gets the concept. :)

Her newest tricks are "Wait" (creating an invisible barrier... say, at the kitchen... that they aren't allowed to cross until invited), and "Take It" (being shown a treat but not allowed to take it unless told). Both she is learning rather quickly. We are also working on perfecting our walking on a leash... but she was decent before... just working the kinks out. :)

Oh... and all commands seem to go out the window when Tim is in the room, but he at least can get her to walk for him on the leash... after a short bout of bucking in the beginning. But... hey!... PROGRESS!!!

On another note: Anastasia is 9 months!! Almost walking! She is LOVED in her Sunday school class! We are told every week that she is a joy to have because she is not as needy as others and plays well (go figure! At home she is VERY needy and does NOT share with others!!).

Tim is still doing well in his class! His GPA is second only to the native speaker, but he is catching him! :)

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I have a phone interview with someone from the Driver Safety Division of the DMV! Here's hoping!! I'm starting to itch to drive again!! Its been 17 months!!

ALSO!! EXCITING!! TIM AND I ARE EXPECTING AGAIN! We (I really mean "I") are 5.5 weeks along, with a tentative due date of December 22, 2010! Of course, that could change after an ultrasound, so we'll see!

Anyway, its getting late and I have to get up early in the morning!! For good reason... I'll post again soon!

Bumps and Bruises

Dear Bumps & Bruises,

Please don't hurt too badly when you come! I know you will come unannounced and stay with us for awhile, just don't leave any permanent reminders of your visits! Thank you!

~Mommy, Daddy, and Ana

Oh Ana...

She has been "army crawling" for a little while now... and I KNEW she could do the real crawl but was refusing to on our hardwood floors and rug. Every once in awhile I'd catch a glimpse of her doing it before she would throw herself onto her belly and scoot across the floor to what she wanted. Well, last weekend it all changed. We went to help a friend pack her house up into storage so that she could move into the barracks and her family to Utah. They had wall to wall carpet. Anastasia loved it! She got plenty of practice real crawling so that when we got home she was ready to go! And now she is everywhere!! She has even mastered crawling with pants on hardwood floor! She makes it slowly, and not without slipping and sliding around, but she makes it!

She even decided to join me in the kitchen while I cooked the other day. She then did something rather new. She pulled up on her knees on the dishwasher! It was then that I noticed that she caught her reflection in the front panel! Babies love mirrors. Unfortunately we only have very small bathroom mirrors. She is crafty! She figured out a way to see her reflection in a kitchen appliance! :)

Also the other day, I came in to get her after a nap. She way awake but laying down. I had to put a few things away in her closet so I turned to the closet. By the time I looked back she was standing in her crib!! Very proud of herself too!!

Just this morning, she decided that she was going to kick it up yet another notch! She pulled herself up, using mostly upper-body strength, to a standing position on the couch! She is still very shaky on her legs... but she is doing it!

Now that she is able to pull herself up on things: Bring on the Bumps and Bruises!!