Friday, July 30, 2010
Happy 1st Birthday, Sydney!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Lucky 13
She loves to blow kisses, even though she won't perform that trick on command. And, my favorite thing is that Caitlin adores Ava and wants to be doing whatever Ava is doing. She follows her around the house and wants to play with every toy that Ava has- even the one in Ava's hand! We are still working with Caitlin on not grabbing toys and we are having to explain to Ava that it's actually a compliment that Caitlin keeps taking her toys- Ava doesn't quite believe that explanation yet...
Another month gone in a blink of an eye and I am loving every minute of it. I am so grateful that I am able to be at home to watch Caitlin grow and change. What a joy she is to us and I am so blessed to be her mommy. Love you sweet girl!!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Where have we been?
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Hannah and Maggie's Visit
Welcome Baby Bode!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Completely Obsessed
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
BIG and lil'
Yes, this is Ava's medusa-esque bed head first thing when she wakes up in the morning. Kind of scary, isn't it? :)
Saturday, July 10, 2010
And so I wait...
For those that don't know Luke's story, I will give the abridged version- I was working at Van Michael's Salon during college and one of the colorists, Obi (yes, Luke really was named after Star Wars, one of the schnauzers was named Vader) was talking about his 3 dogs. He had two schnauzers and one dachshund. Obi told me that his dachshund barked a lot and the other two dogs didn't really get a long with him. He was going to take him back to the Humane Society, if he could not find a home for him. So I offered to take him and within a few days, I was bringing Luke back to a house that I shared with 5 other people while I was going to Tech. I don't really remember if I even asked if anyone minded having a dog in the house, all I remember is that I couldn't let this poor little guy go back to the Humane Society. And so was our beginning together, we bonded right away. It is true what people say, rescue dogs always know they have been rescued and they are forever grateful.
Luke began to have back problems, as most dachshunds do, several years ago. He would jump off the bed or couch and pinch a nerve or a disc in his back. We have always been able to rest his back and give him a round of steroids and pain killers and he would act good as new. However, this last time, he seemed as though he was in more pain than ever before, he was walking differently than before and the slightest movement the wrong way would send his muscles into spasms. Our vet sent us to a specialist to have x-rays ran to see what our options were. Luke's x-rays came back showing 2 bulging discs- one is his neck and one in his back. The surgeon said that even with Luke's age, he was an excellent candidate for surgery, however, they would only be able to address one of the discs at a time. Hopefully, taking care of one disc would relieve the pressure on the other disc, but the surgeon could not guarantee that in several months we would not be back in the same position with the other disc and Luke would need another surgery. The recovery from back surgery is pretty intense for the patient and the parent involving a weeks stay at the hospital, physical therapy several times a day, on-going pain medication, bi-weekly trips to the surgeons office and total crating for a minimum of 6 weeks. This was not something we were willing to put Luke through. He hated going to the vet- the office made him nervous. He spit out his pain medicine unless we were very creative in the food we hid it in and he would have absolutely been miserable having to stay in his crate for 6 weeks.
Would our decision have been different if we had all the money in the world or didn't have two toddlers in the house or had Luke been several years younger... possibly...probably? I guess I will never know for sure. Everyone, everyone that we have talked to has said that we are doing the right thing, the merciful thing. However, having to choose the day and the hour of a living creatures last breath does not feel merciful. It feels self-righteous and like playing god- things that I am absolutely not comfortable with. I have been told that I will eventually feel at peace that we have done the right thing and in my mind I believe that we did, but my heart... still has a gigantic dachshund size hole in it.
And so I wait...
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Ava's Prince Charming
Their relationship hasn't been one free of scandal. There were reports that Lincoln was seen holding hands with another girl on the playground last year and just last month Ava was chasing another boy- there was even a biting incident once, but no one brings that up anymore. All was forgiven between the two and we are happy to report that Lincoln has asked Ava's daddy to marry Ava. Ava has been promised to Lincoln as long as they are both 35 and Lincoln promises to live next door, cheer for the yellow jackets and vote Republican :)
We are happy that these two have worked things out and are now planning their lavish fairy-tale wedding in which Ava plans to wear her Cinderella princess wedding gown designed by Disney and for Lincoln to wear his "prince-suit". We hope that they enjoy a long life together and live happily ever after! You saw it here first! Their first official kiss on camera...