8 Months Old

I am still getting used to the fact that Huey is no longer with us. Crawford, of course, is oblivious which makes it easier most of the time.

Mom and Dad came to visit Crawford and me while Greer went down to Houston on business in mid-August. It was a whirlwind weekend. Mom was able to see what a good eater Crawford is...he loves his veggies. We even gave him some whole green beans to "gnaw" on. He did better with them than I expected.

He has officially won his teachers over at school. They are understanding what makes him tick a little more. When I drop him off they all chat with him like they are old friends. It is really funny watching him get to know new people. Some people he is just naturally drawn to. He is eating more menu food every week. He'll eat just about anything. We are even giving him okra now. No one from Texas should grow up without okra.

Crawford doesn't seem to be too interested in crawling yet. Several babies in his class crawl and Crawford doesn't seem to care. He does JUMP better than any baby I've seen though. He LOVES his jumper.

For Labor Day we went back to Elberta for a short visit. We sat on the neighbors porch one evening for a some wine and conversation. We are certainly enjoying getting to know everyone out there. One of the neighbors watched Crawford for a little while so we could spend some time working on the property. It was great for us to focus on our cleaning efforts without having to go back and forth between working and cleaning. Some days Crawford is very open to meeting strangers, other times he is little less excited about. He did pretty well on this trip. We did get in the lake one last time. It will probably be too cool to swim next time we head out there. One thing he discovered, he can pseudo jump in the exersaucer. It was so funny. Most babies play with the toys mounted on the excersaucer. Crawford didn't really care for his until he discovered he can bounce up and down in it. Greer and I had a good laugh watching him. While we were in East Texas, we drove to Daingerfield State Park. Greer has good memories of going there as a child. We hiked around the park. Crawford just hung out with us. It was cool. He seems to enjoy being outside regardless of the activity.

We hadn't been home long when we discovered Crawford had an ear infection. It was his first (that we know of). Poor little guy sure was unhappy for a few days. We went to the doctor and they gave us some medicine that Crawford LOVED. He would get so excited in the morning when I got his medicine ready for him.

He is making new face...squenching his nose. I didn't like it at first, now I think it is so funny. I'm sure he picked it up from me or Greer, but it is much cuter when Crawford does it. I also received my first wave this month. Of course I wave bye to Crawford in the mornings when I drop him off. He waved back. All of the teachers were excited and were saying"mom, he's waving at you." Now he does it about 30% of the time. It is sure cute. He also loves to play patty cake, this little piggie and itsy bitsy spider. They all garner cute chuckles. One thing that really makes him laugh...throwing treats to Aggie and Sam (our dogs). He laughs like it is the funniest thing in the world. The dogs might gain a little weight the next few months; at least we are getting some good laughs out of it.

Crawford went to his first Rangers game this month. Greer's boss treated the nursery staff to a baseball game. Crawford was a hit. He enjoys all of the attention.

We had some friends over for my birthday. It was our first big attempt to entertain (cook) since Crawford. We pulled out the china and made a really nice meal. We had a great time. We finished the evening watching Tina Fey impersonate Palin...that was awesome!

I guess that's it for now. It is hard to remember everything from the past 3 weeks. It's a little bit of a blur because of Huey. Crawford is still growing...up to 20 pounds and 28 inches long. I bought his Halloween outfit...I hope he can still fit in it come Halloween. I can't wait to post those pictures!

Houston "Huey" Gibson

Well, I know you all expected to see what Crawford is up to these days...and I'll do another update in a few days, but right now I need to tell you about Huey. Huey was my little angel. I have always said he was the first love of my life. I had to put him down on September 8th due to a long battle with kidney failure.

My mom and I picked Huey out, at what I now think was a puppy mill, when I was a senior in high school. We didn't know what a puppy mill was back then; we just saw his living conditions and knew we couldn't leave him there. Our family dog (Skeeter) had just passed away and my mom really needed a diversion to help ease the pain. Skeeter was her Huey. Little did we know that diversion would be my companion for the next 18 years.

We passed a street sign that said "Houston" along the way home so Mom suggested we name him "Huey"... short for Houston. I thought it was a great idea. We took little Huey home and expected the well-behaved dog that we had in Skeeter. We were in for quite a challenge. He was in a new place with all kinds of new things and he wanted to eat them all. He especially loved shoes. A guest once accused Huey of unzipping a large suitcase just to get to some new shoes inside. I always made excuses for Huey and promised my parents it would get better.

He went through the different phases of puppydom - eating poop, tinkling in the house, playing tirelessly with his ball (barking at you if you didn't play along), etc. He also loved to run away. He would always trick my mom into thinking he was going to stay in the yard...as soon as she turned her head he would take off running down the street. She got to the point where she would come inside and tell me my dog just ran off. I always hated those days because I worried all day at school that we would never get him back. Luckily, a neighbor always called asking us to come get Huey. Who knows, maybe he chewed on their shoe, either way, I'm glad they called.

When I went to A&M, my parents kept Huey for me. At the end of my last year, they were threatening to get rid of him (it was a LONG puppy phase). I, in turn, threatened to not come home any more. I meant it too. I looked forward to my visits home to see little Huey.

I eventually graduated and Huey officially became my dog. It was my first attempt at being a caretaker. I didn't always put Huey first in the beginning, but it didn't take long for me to see what a great companion he was. Lucky for me he was out of his puppy stage and mellowed on the chewing. Regardless, we became buddies.

As I moved from Dallas to Pennsylvania, Tennessee and back to Dallas, Huey was my only constant. He was my friend in strange towns, traveled with me on business trips, "sniffed out" new people in my life. He was my solace when I was lonely and I was his. He always knew my mood and understood just what I needed to cheer me up. Whether lying by my side, giving me kisses, throwing his ball into the air, running in circles through the house, waiting patiently for a bone, or eventually, riding around on the Vespa, Huey and I liked hanging out together. He was even the ring bearer in my wedding. It wasn't even an option to consider anyone else. No one meant more to me than Huey and Greer was marrying both of us. I really think Greer fell in love with him too. It was slow at first, but he understood what Huey meant to me in the end.

I always told people I would not have a baby until Huey passed away because I didn't have enough love for both. Well, Huey lived a long time and I wasn't getting any younger. I think Huey understood what was happening when I got pregnant. He no longer slept on my pillow, he scooted down to my belly. When I was six months along, Huey changed. I put a roast in the crock-pot and then took Huey to the vet. When I called the vet he said it was probably a stroke and there wasn't anything he could do. I wasn't ready to let Huey go. I asked Huey to wait until we had our little baby. He hadn't eaten in days. While I was crying in bed that night I had a thought...give Huey some roast. We always believed dogs should get dog food. What was the harm in trying? Huey LOVED the roast. I told Greer it was off limits. Huey ate the entire roast over the next few days. We also discovered his love for chicken tenders over the next year. Huey didn't relax a lot after his stroke, but he was always calm when I held him. He would fall right to sleep. I had to find a new way to put him on my belly as it grew, but Huey always found comfort in my arms. The feeling was mutual. Huey didn't just hold on until Crawford was born, he almost made it until Crawford was eight months old. That's a lot of chicken tenders.

It is so hard to imagine my life without that little dog. A good friend of mine told me that Huey saw me through some of the darkest times of my life. He was always there for me. He is able to let go because he knows there are only good things in my future. That statement was such a gift to me.

While I love Crawford dearly, dogs bring a different type of love and joy to your life. I could not have asked for a better friend than Huey. I am glad he had the chance to meet our new little boy...Crawford. I miss him every morning when I turn to say "Momma will be home later, be a good boy."

I guess I can still say that. I just hope he doesn't chew on the wrong person's shoes.

I'll bring your ball with me Huey. Be patient...I have quite a few things I need to finish down here first.

7 Months...Running Late

Well, August has been a very busy month. We started at a new school, went on several trips, cut our first tooth. Guess what...we made it!

We flew to Ft. Davis the first weekend of August to visit Geep and and Grandpa. Crawford did so well on the plane. He is becoming an experienced traveler!


We had such a great time seeing Jerry and Susan. We drove to Marfa to have lunch one day. We checked out some art at the local galleries. Crawford has expensive taste. He slept through most of the galleries but did pipe up in one where we could have purchased some art for about $40K. He loved playing with Ebby. I think Jerry enjoyed it too! We are raising another dog lover!


We also did some hiking at Davis Mountains State Park. Crawford did pretty well in his new backpack style carrier. I know Daddy LOVED it. He got a little hot so Grandpa volunteered to hike back to the truck and meet us at the bottom of the trail. Thanks Grandpa!


Greer and I had the rare opportunity to have a night out on the town. Grandpa and Geep took care of Crawford while we saw The Dark Knight and ate at The Reata. Our visit to Elberta was short, but we had a great time. Crawford can't wait until Geep and Grandpa are back in Grapevine.

On August 4th Crawford started his new school. I was a little nervous at first. I got lost trying to get to work because the route I planned to travel was closed due to construction. I called to check on him throughout the day. He adjusted just fine. Probably never noticed the change, but it was hard on me. It is hard leaving your baby with strangers. We donated some fish to the infant class to butter up the teachers. I hope it worked. So far so good. My favorite things about his new school - they puree food for him if we select food off of the menu. It doesn't work out every day since we aren't giving him fruits yet, but he gets school food about 50% of the time. Saves me time and money and he gets fresh food.

The next weekend we drove to Houston to surprise Mimi for her 60th birthday. I arrived at the 3Day Training walk at 6:00am Saturday morning and Mom didn't even realize it was me. Once she did, all she wanted to know was "where is Crawford?" She finally was able to see him when she arrived at her surprise party. Quite a few of the Dills got together for Mom's birthday. John E. even flew in from Lubbock. We had a great time visiting. We stayed through Sunday but had to leave soon after church so we could get back and plan for the next week.


Teeth - okay, I had no idea teeth could be so painful. Our normally very happy little boy has an evil twin. This twin doesn't like to sleep, cries with no consoling, drools on EVERYTHING, and poops 6 times a day. Not to mention those suckers are SHARP! I can't wait until they are all the way in. It will be so cute!

Crawford weighs 18 1/2 pounds and is about 27 1/2 inches long. He really didn't grow much this month. I guess he gave all of his energy to his teeth.

Well, I better close out. I'll report on the rest of August in next month's posting. That's only 2 weeks away.