Pug Pug

Pug Pug is what the girls called her, and she would answer to it. She was a lover, that wanted nothing more that to cuddle on someone's lap. She loved running down the street, racing the girls, and winning everytime. She would sit ready at the garage door when it was time to take Victoria to school.....she loved car rides.

Stella was stung by a bee yesterday afternoon, and immediately started showing signs of trauma. Vomiting, seizures, labored breathing and finally collapsing. I rushed her to the vet, I was told that she could be fine, and also told the worst case scenario. But who really thinks that your dog could die from a bee sting?! I sure didn't. I left her there, thinking I would be back to get her in a few hours. That wasn't the case. It was anaphylactic shock, and she was highly allergic...her body could not recover. We did things that I told myself we would never do to save a dog. But she was Stella, she was only a year old, and we loved her. I am not sure what hurts more, her being gone or spending so much money for nothing. I have never lost a dog, and I certainly never expected to be such a wreck about it. When I am not crying it's because there are no more tears. I tell myself I need to get it together. I picture her sitting on the lovesac waiting for me to join her, or seeing her wag that curly little tail in hopes that I will pick her up. Life will not be the same for a long while.

New Pictures

Emma had enough of family pictures here...she went off by herself.

Sandy Toes.

I asked my friend Jaime to take some pictures of us, and they turned out great.

Here are just a few.

Please!

Don't let that sad face fool you.

The final stage....her bottle.

Here are a few shots that captured our evening with Emma. Now let me preface this story by saying we are parents that pride ourselves in being consistent with our kids. It all began at dinner when Emma decided that she did not like what was being served to her, and once Emma is in a foul mood, it is best to just let her be. Instead, we tried to give her something that she liked and asked her to say "please" (which is commonplace, and she says 100 times a day). We should have known better than to mess with the grumpy Emma, because she refused to say "please". She simply sat in her highchair and would not do it. So, after 30 minutes, we got her down and tried our darndest to get her out of her funk before asking for the word "please" again. But the mood was here to stay and she just wandered around crying. (Let me point out that she was in no way starving. This is the child that eats all day, and 5 minutes before she was served her dinner she had just eaten a bowl of raisins and goldfish). We were stumped as parents. Never have we had a child test us like this. Her screaming gets worse, something that is cured with a one minute sit in timeout......and at the same time we think, ooohhh, this will work. She will want to get out of timeout and we can ask her to say "please" then for sure. We are so smart. Nope. No "please" for this either. And believe me, we were trying hard to talk her into it. So, next up in our bag of tricks....her bottle. She loves her bottles, and will do anything for one. Ha, not tonight! We actually give her the bottle, but tell her she can't drink it until she says that magic word. Meanwhile she just sits there, not too many tears, just stubbornness in her eyes. She does manage to say "all done" and "down" quite a few times, but never the word that we asked. At this point I am wondering how long she will hold on, and I am beginning to doubt myself as well. But it was a matter of principle, even at a young age consistency is so important. So after countless games of pool (timeout chair is in the game room), we venture to the other room, leaving her there alone. To sit. After 5 minutes I hear babbling, I peek around the corner, she smiles at me and says "please". There you have it. 2 hours later. We fought the good fight as parents, and won......I think. Although I might give it a few days before I ask her to say that word again.

Fun with Friends

All of us at Pt. Loma.

The kids (minus the 2 youngest).

The girls at the pier.

Our dear friends from Colorado were here visiting, and it was wonderful seeing them. Our kids have been friends since they were in our tummies (except for the 2 youngest), and Victoria loved seeing her friend Brennan again. They are still the best of friends, even though they live so far. When they first arrived, Brennan ran over to Victoria and they hugged each other, so precious! Meanwhile, Gabriel (who is Julianna's age) still only has eyes for Victoria...like he did as a baby. He spent the whole time following her around and calling her his "Princess Victoria."

Goodbye Grandpa

He could always find a place for a nap.

Holding his first great-grandbaby.....Victoria.

Victoria and great grandpa....she is 1 year old here.

Kayaking in Kauai.....a precious family trip.

My memories of my grandpa are of camping trips in the tent trailer, Wild Animal Park and the Zoo. Family holidays where he always carved the turkey wearing my grandma's apron. Telling me not to hold on to the side of the pool so much because it would make my fingers raw (and I always did, and my fingers always got raw). As a child my most vivid memories are of him taking out the trash, and falling alseep anywhere and at anytime.

When the first signs of Dementia began, it was very hard for me to accept. My grandparents have always been in my life, and I couldn't imagine it any different. Alzheimers is a horrible disease that takes the mind, often before the body. Some of the things that he began to do was funny, or maybe we just laughed to keep from crying. Eventually he became too much for my grandma to care for and went to an active care center. There my grandma diligently visited him for hours daily, often feeding him. I, however, couldn't bring myself to visit. I told myself that he didn't know who I was. An excuse? Maybe. But it broke my heart to see him that way, I wanted to remember him as my grandpa before the disease. I did go to see him two weeks ago, and it took everything in me to not run from the room in tears. I did manage to get his attention once, and as I looked into those same blue eyes that I did as a child, a small smile formed. It was then that I saw my grandpa, and that is the memory that I took with me when I left. One week after my visit, he went to be with Jesus. When I picture him now, he is whole again and reunited with his grandson, Nick.

Pumpkin Time

A bit too big.

Emma's Pumpkin.

We decided to enjoy the fall like weather and make our annual trip to Nates Butt Farm today. The girls always enjoy picking the pumpkins that they hope will have candy in them (a little tradition that we do with them when we carve them). Emma really had fun this year, since she was a bit too small to enjoy it last year. Once she found the perfect size pumpkin for her she would not put it down. She loved seeing all the animals, and squawking back at the geese. It was a wonderful day.