Mother's Day

Even though it's a bit late, I did want to post some pictures from my first Mother's Day. It was a great day, and I'm not sure why but I was giddy with excitement. Christopher let me sleep in and made me breakfast. The best surprise was the "handmade" gift from Nathaniel- courtesy of Nathaniel's day care.


Nathaniel's hand prints.

Tribute to a Beloved, Faithful Friend

Nearly 11 years ago, my life was going through some dramatic changes. In June, my dog died in a freak incident. In July, I moved to Texas. In August, I started my Ph.D. program, and in September, a furry bundle of joy entered my life. My Golden Calendula (Calli for short) was as cute as can be and full of energy. She brought genuine joy to my life. She continued to bring joy to my life until the day she died...today. Her life was tragically cut short by bone cancer. However, as I think about my life with her, she continues to bring me joy (along with some tears).

Calli was a few months old in this picture

When she was only 6 months old, I learned she had hip displaysia. Muscles were basically all that was connecting her back legs to her pelvis. To help her compensate, I put her on a walking workout program. By the time we were done, no one could tell she had a disability unless she was really tired. I think those many hours of walking marked the beginning of a tight bond between us.

Calli was 6 months in this photo. I was birdwatching
and she went swimming despite being told she couldn't

From that point on, we went through a lot together: a divorce, a year apart while I did a lot of traveling, a graduate degree, numerous moves within three cities, and new additions to our family (I am eternally grateful my son got to meet her). Through those times, she was my steadfast companion and faithful guardian. No one was getting into OUR house without her say so! She took particular care to watch over Kristina; she was even more vigilant in my absence...and when I got back, it was a while before she'd let me out of her sight.

She was a lousy retriever...she only would retrieve if she was swimming, which she LOVED to do. If you threw a stick, she'd go get it. However, instead of bringing it back, she'd lie down and chew on it. Sometimes, she'd do the same with a tennis ball.

Calli had an enormous capacity for love and was enthusiastic in expressing that love. I never doubted how much she loved me. Many of us are all too familiar with her enthusiastic spin when she greeted us. I'm surprised no one has needed knee surgery. Yesterday, although she had been in great pain over the last few weeks, Calli mustered something resembling her old enthusiasm. I came home in time for Kristina to let Calli in the back door. She ran (shuffled quickly) up to me and spun around a couple of times. I carefully helped her as she tried to do her traditional plop to the floor. It had been a while since she had done that.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm crying as I write this...she has been a very special part of my life. We've experienced a lot of pain and joy together over the last 11 years. Just as she has been with me through my tough times, I (along with Kristina) was by her side today. I held her, kissed her, and told her how much I loved her. I told her to go to sleep, and the pain would be gone...and it is...at least for her. The rest of us have to wait for time to heal this wound.

To see more photos of Calli, click here. In the next few weeks, I'll be posting more of her puppy photos.

Christopher

Zoo Time

Nathaniel went to the zoo for the first time when Grandma Cynthia was down for a visit. It was a lot of fun for the first hour- then he became a very unhappy baby. He was definitely overstimulated and wanted to be held a lot (and carrying a 20lb baby around gets really hard pretty quickly). But, we're not throwing away our family membership just yet! I plan on making much shorter trips to the zoo on Mommy Mondays. If any of our Chicago friends are interested in setting up a zoo playdate send me an email. Check out our fun ZOO pictures.

Sweet Sweet Baby

Aunt Laura got Nathaniel a baby toy/book for Christmas. The book hangs on the side of the crib- and the edges are made of different types of material (it also makes crinkly or squeaky noises depending where he grabs it). The first thing Nathaniel does every time we lay him down in his crib is grab the book. We caught him sleeping still holding on to his book.

Playing Footsie

Nathaniel loves it when people play with his feet (and toes). Grandma played footsie with Nathaniel, which he thought was a pretty fun way to spend the afternoon.


Notice Frank (the turtle) is not as exciting as footsie and ended up being tossed aside- poor Frank

Nice View

Grandma Cynthia discovered that Nathaniel likes to look out the window of the guest bedroom.

Help me!

Nathaniel had a runny nose and a cough last week so we took him to the doctors on Saturday to make sure everything was ok. The doctor thought Nathaniel might have an ear infection but couldn't get a good look. It took three people (me, Christopher, and the nurse) to hold Nathaniel down while the doctor cleaned out his ear to get a better look. He fought and screamed with all the might a 6 month old could muster. Christopher set him up when it was all over. Nathaniel's back was to me and he was slumped over and was letting out these heart breaking sobs. He looked utterly defeated- a broken man. The pain I felt seeing him like that was unbearable. It occurred to me that this would not be the only time I would have to stand by helpless while Nathaniel dealt with life's challenges. That sometimes doing what is best for him will not be easy but what must be done.

So- our next challenge is giving him his medicine. It's a big enough struggle even getting the medicine into his mouth. Now how do we get him to swallow it? He ends up spitting out most of it. Any tips from the more experienced parents out there? We need help!