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? :)

I am usually not into matchy-matchy clothes... in fact, this pair of pajamas and maybe one other outfit are the only thing that I've bought for the two of them, but these pajamas were too cute to resist. Ava loooves when the two of them wear these pajamas- she is such a proud big sis! Caitlin usually spills breakfast on her pj's and we usually have to take them off after that, so I tried to snap a picture on the rare occasion that they are both clean (the pj's) and they are both wearing them at the same time!

Caitlin loves hearing Ava on the monitor and going into her room and crawling up on the bed with her... I hope they don't grow out of this stage anytime soon!

And so I wait...

As we sat in the waiting room, a storm raged outside the veterinarian's office... the lights blinked and then the power went out. I looked at Jason and thought is this really happening? and then asked out loud "Is this a sign? Maybe this is a sign..." My heart leaped- maybe we won't actually have to go through with this, maybe they can't perform any procedures without power. And just as I thought that, the power came back on. And so we waited... we waited longer than anyone should have to in our situation. Luke was nervous and shaking- he hates going to the vet and the thunder and lightning wasn't helping. The tech called us back to the room,walking with her head down. In an eerily calm voice she explained to us exactly what would happen and what decisions we would need to make about afterwards. She told us she was sorry and that the doctor would be in shortly and to take as much time as we needed. And so we pet Luke and tried to calm him down even though both of our hearts were beating wildly out of control. And then we waited...

Yesterday, we put Luke down. I hate the phrase "putting an animal down". It does nothing to convey the hurt and anguish and sorrow that accompanies the situation. Luke, our dog for over 10 years, our faithful little buddy, sleep companion, couch sitting friend, under the kitchen table floor cleaner, big protector, bark at nothing, lovable dachshund. I already miss hearing his nails click across the hardwood floors...

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...

Miss you buddy

Ava's Prince Charming

Ava had a play date today with Lincoln, her first serious boyfriend. If I call Lincoln her boyfriend, she is usually quick to correct me and say, "No, Lincoln is my Prince"... geez, mom. We were supposed to meet at the pool, but unfortunately the pool was closed for cleaning, hence Ava wearing her bathing suit for most of the morning. So we headed back to our house to let the kids play. Lincoln, was a typical boy who wanted to play chase and jump in the ball pit, and Ava was a typical girl who wanted Lincoln to play house with her and dress up. Right before they had lunch, they snuggled up on the couch together and I was able to snap a few photos of the two of them looking like an old married couple, watching a Care Bears movie, of course.

Their love affair started when they were only 6 months old and fate brought them together in the same class at Open Arms. They got to know each other in the cozy corner and shared puffs in their bumbo seats. It was rumored that Ava even tried to share her pacifier with Lincoln, but that was never confirmed. It wasn't until the big Halloween Parade that they went public with their relationship.

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...

91 Years Young

Happy 91st Birthday Grandma!

My sweet grandma turned 91 today and we were able to cook her dinner at our house to celebrate. Grandma, who never wants anyone to cook her anything special or do anything for her, specifically requested a pineapple upside down cake for her birthday.

Growing up, we were only able to see Grandma two or three times a year, since we lived 9 or 10 hours away (depending on who was driving), but now, she lives a mere 20 minutes away and I feel so lucky that Ava and Caitlin get to see her every few weeks. Ava adores her and loves to hold her soft hands (Grandma has the softest hands in the world- she says it is from washing dishes all those years) and now Caitlin is getting to know her namesake, too. I love the pictures that we were able to get of the two of them together on her birthday! I hope that they will be able to hear all of Grandma's stories about when she was a little girl and all the trouble that she and her other 11 brothers and sisters got into.

I can only hope that I look as good as she does on my 91st birthday.

We Love You!! Here's to many more pineapple upside down cakes! :)

4th of July Twinkies

We had such a relaxing 4th of July! It was the first one I have spent at home in 5 years. It is a holiday that I have always had to work- what a treat to have everyone at home together. We spent the morning at the pool and then came home for some naps for the girls. While they were sleeping, I finished making my obligatory strawberry pretzel salad (yum!), buffalo chicken dip, and Jason made some amazing wings! We packed up the girls and the food and headed over the Malcoms' house.

Ava and Isa had on the same dress! No pre-planning on anyone's parts, I promise. Ava and Isa loved the fact that they were dressed alike and giggled about it for the rest of the evening. The girls played with sparklers and poppers after dinner and had a blast. The best part about it was that no one's hair caught on fire :)

What a nice and relaxing holiday- Happy 4th everyone!

The Twinkies

They loved playing with sparklers- at first they were standing next to each other, but we quickly realized that sparks were flying way too close to the girls' ponytails, and we had to separate them.

The daddies were in charge of the fun

Sweet girl

Isa was writing her name and drawing shapes

Caitlin was hanging out with Aunt Jen and had a nice seat on soon-to-come Baby Bode

Jason was explaining the dangers of fire mixed with hair to the girls

And Finally... The After Picture!

After over 2 years in our house, the "craft room" can now legitimately be called a craft room! There is a lovely shade of turquoise paint on the walls, an amazing elfa shelf storage unit in place, the random shelf on the wall has been taken down, old wrapping paper has been thrown out and random bags of stuff have been sorted. This was a task that I figured would be put off indefinitely, so it feels like a major accomplishment to have it finished. Of course, "finished" is only a relative term- I would still like to add curtains and artwork and a new desk in here, but the main dirty work is done and I will take the rest one step at a time.

So.... drum roll, please....

BEFORE

... and AFTER

BEFORE
... and AFTER

I love this elfa shelving unit- it is one of the only positive things that came out of the Swoozie's liquidation sale! :)

And just so you can see that I didn't just throw things out of bags and boxes into the shelves, here is my ribbon drawer- organized by color, of course!

I am in love with my new greeting card organizer

I know, I know... organizing is a sickness and I can't help it!!

Maybe there is a group I can join??

Some of my new favorite pictures of the girls, all ready to be hung, as soon as I am 100% positive that I'm going to keep this layout of the room

I am soo excited to actually use this room for more than just storage... on to tackle the laundry room next! :)

Ava's 4th Annual 4th of July Parade

It is hard to believe that this is Ava's 4th, 4th of July Parade at Open Arms. It is always fun to see all the hats and decorations that the teachers and kids create. This year the weather did not cooperate and it started raining right before the parade was supposed to start. So, the patriotic music blasted inside the lobby and the kids marched up and down the hallways instead of around the parking lot.

Ava proudly waves her flag!

An action shot

Ava was too busy enjoying marching in the parade to stop and take a picture!

Daddy and Caitlin came to cheer Ava on!

Ava was especially happy that her boyfriend Lincoln (or as he is otherwise known, her prince) was there- they haven't seen each other much over the summer and she has missed him!

Photo Shoot with Kelley :)

As the girls are growing older and Caitlin is now more mobile, it has been harder than ever to capture some pictures of them together. My friend from Swoozie's, Kelley McIntosh, has an amazing camera and she takes beautiful pictures! With us being unemployed at the moment and having a little extra time on our hands, she offered to take some pictures of the girls.

Kelley has way more patience than I do and she was so sweet to spend several hours with us! We brought several wardrobe changes, but as you will see, once Ava was in her turquoise dress- she would not change. No bribery's of Chick-fil-A milkshakes would change her mind. Ava is normally my sweet, easy-going child, but apparently she woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. She didn't really want to look at the camera, much less smile. Caitlin followed her sister's lead and didn't want to sit in the same place for more than a second, didn't want to look up, didn't want Ava touching her in the slightest... seriously, I was ready to call it quits after the first 30 minutes, but luckily Kelley trudged on.

After taking a few pictures in her grandmother's backyard by the lake, we finally ended in downtown Dallas at an old train depot that has these amazing turquoise doors. They are old and rustic and gorgeous. Caitlin took a nap on the drive over and woke up in a better mood and Ava even smiled for a few pictures. I have all the respect in the world for photographers who deal with this day in and day out and still manage to get that perfect shot!
Thank you Kelley for all your patience in the hot sun with the girls and introducing us to the beautiful turquoise doors! Despite all odds, we got some great pictures and I love them :)

With the one above, these are some of my favorites:

And some of the out- takes :)

If looks could kill...

Fine, I'll touch the stupid purple flower...

Hmmm... how can I get out of this photo shoot??

Should I fake a stomach ache?

No caption needed... this one just made me laugh!

Gotta love this face!

It was touch and go for a while, but luckily no one ended up in the fountain!