Puppy Update

Mel:

Jazz:


Poor Mel! We took him to the orthopedic veterinarian surgeon today, and Mel hasn't really improved. So he will have to have arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder. The vet thinks it's a torn ligament or some other soft tissue injury, that if left untreated will not improve and will really affect his quality of life. He's such a baby - he was really crying when the doc was manipulating his shoulder. The doc was pretty diplomatic, calling him "quite responsive", then said that his dog was a big baby, too.



After the surgery he will have to have complete rest for six weeks. And he'll have to continue to rest until we can schedule the surgery. We're going to wait until Hannah and I get back from Kentucky on July 17 to have the surgery, because Lindsey won't be able to stay home with him all day.

I was messing with the buttons on my camera and that's how I got the black and white photos of Mel and Jazz. Wish I could say I was being artistic, but it was a complete accident.

Sweet Mel:


Here's Hannah with a picture she drew for me on her "weasel" (we got her an easel with a chalkboard on one side and a whiteboard on the other):

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to me and Lindsey! I can't believe it was eleven years ago we were up at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs getting married. I remember how the weather was perfect but I forgot to put on sunscreen and my shoulders got sunburned in my off-the-shoulder dress my friend Georgine made for me. We only stood in the sun for a short time, but that was long enough to get sunburned, I guess! Mt. Princeton has had a major renovation since we were married - we'll have to go back there again and check it out. I wonder if they still have the places where you can lie right in the creek in the hot water?

Anyway, we don't have big plans for this year. We don't have any plans, actually. We just spent the Saturday together the way we always do. We went to Marigold's for lunch, then to Wag 'N Wash to see the doggie adoption fair (but it was over by the time we got there), and we also went to Lindsey's office to water the new grass he had planted. That's where I got this movie of Hannah playing in the sprinkler:


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Roller Skating, Dog Walks and Father's Day

Hannah's friend next door, Priscilla, goes to roller skating class every Friday, and last Friday her dad invited Hannah to go too. It's called "Pixies", and it's for kids aged 2 - 6. Some of the little kids are really good - it's cute to see a 2 or 3 year old kid out there going to town on roller skates. Most of the kids were at about Hannah's skill level, the "walking-instead-of-rolling-so-I-don't-fall-down-but-I-fall-down-anyway" level. I took some pictures but since I was sort of far away outside the rink, they didn't turn out so great. There were maybe 30 kids in the class, but they had lots of teenage helpers as well as a teacher. Hannah did pretty well for her first time skating. It's a drop-in class, so I think we'll probably be back when we don't have other plans.

Here's a photo of Hannah (green top and blue jeans) looking up at Priscilla during the class. You may have to click to enlarge it because they're so far away.


Saturday we went for a short dog walk off leash with our friends Beth and Tom, and their dog, McDuff. We couldn't let Mel off the leash because he needs to be kept calm. We let Jazz off leash and she did fine. Every time she got a little too far ahead, I called her, and as soon as she heard me call, she came running back, ears flopping. Mel has very selective hearing, so I'm not sure he would have come back just because we called him. Poor Mel, he kept watching Jazz and McDuff running off into the brush exploring, and I know he wanted to go, too. Little did he know that even if he didn't have his shoulder injury, we probably wouldn't have let him off the leash yet. The dogs all got along well, and it was nice to get back out on the dog walking trail again.


We had a great time on Father's Day. As usual, since I get my Avonex shot on Saturday nights, I had to sleep in on Sunday. But we went out for a late lunch (Anne Topper, my mother-in-law with a penchant for making up words, called it "dinch" because it was the afternoon counterpart to "brunch"). Then we went to Manitou Springs, where we walked around, bought some candy at a great old-fashioned candy store, and Hannah got ice cream and a kazoo. It was a good way to celebrate Father's Day.



When we got home, Hannah and I jammed for a while out on the deck (Hannah on kazoo, me on guitar), but she was distinctly underwhelmed with my rendition of "Do-Re-Mi" and "All Star". My guitar playing style is strictly suitable for singing "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" around a campfire and "Sons of God" during Catholic Mass.

Here's a photo of Hannah and Beth when we took Beth out for her birthday (a month late) on Thursday. As usual, it was hard to get Hannah to make a "real" smile! To get this one, I think Beth had to resort to the tickling tactic.

Tea Party

So today I went next door to Priscilla's house to get Hannah and bring her home for lunch. David, Priscilla's dad, mentioned to me that Hannah had invited Priscilla over for a party this afternoon, and wanted to check it out with me. He thought maybe it was Hannah's birthday or something and wanted to make sure there really was a party!

Turns out Hannah had planned a "Winnie-the-Pooh"/"Hello Kitty" party in her bedroom (she couldn't make up her mind which kind of party to have). I helped her "decorate", and set up her little Princess table in her bedroom so I could serve them apple juice in her tea party set, and I made some instant vanilla pudding with "whiffed" cream for their snack. Hannah said she wanted to play "Limbo" for a party game, and she put on her recital costume because it's the fanciest outfit she has. When Priscilla got here, she put on the flower girl dress I wore in my sister Kathy's wedding when I was 8. I played the waitress, called them "Madam" and "Ladies" and poured their apple juice "tea" for them. It was very cute.

Here's a photo:


This is the sign Hannah made to show Priscilla how to get to the party. She asked me how to spell "Go Up", and then put the sign on the wall next to the stairs. I couldn't convince her she had written it backwards, because she wrote the words the same way the arrow was pointing! (Click on it to enlarge it and read the letters.)


Some days, having a little girl can really be a lot of fun!

Puppy Picnic and Poor Mel

Puppies and their mom:

We had a great time Saturday evening at a picnic at our friend Sandra's house (the one we got Mel and Jazz from). Unfortunately it was rainy and cold most of the time! So we just moved everything inside, and Hannah had fun playing with all the dogs and charming the humans.

Jazz and Mel had a great time playing with their brothers, Tank and Max, and their parents, Jasmine and Caspar. Well, Caspar was a little overwhelming (think "Marley"), so he mostly stayed on the deck. Sandra had ended up keeping two of the pups - a beautiful big "polar" named Tank, and Max, who she thought was the runt of the litter, but who was actually bigger than both of ours. The pups and their mom played outside a lot. We were very interested in seeing how all the dogs got along and if they recognized one another. Sandra thought Jasmine (mom) recognized our dogs as her pups, but I don't know. There was also a huge old black Lab named Bruiser. To make sure that Hannah treated him gently, I told her he was like a "grandpa", and she kept asking if he was "really" Jazz and Mel's grandpa.

Poor Mel had an accident while they were playing. We didn't see it happen because they were outside playing, but he came in limping on his right front leg. We hoped it would go away in a day or two, but it hasn't. It's really causing him a lot of pain, and he's been miserable. So for the past couple days Hannah and I have been taking him to vets and specialists, trying to figure out what happened. The orthopedic vet took a lot of x-rays and can tell there's something wrong with his right shoulder, but he couldn't tell exactly what it was. So we have to do "strict rest" for two weeks, along with pain meds, and then we'll bring him back for a check up.

That means no playing with Jazz, no running around in the back yard, no walks on the leash; basically lying down for two weeks. That means Jazz has to be kept quiet or separated from Mel for two weeks, too. Can you imagine trying to keep two Lab puppies quiet and separated for two weeks? It's all I've been doing for the past couple days: keeping dogs quiet, separating them, putting them in their crates, following them around so they don't get rough. And giving a dog pills - pretty easy with Mel. I remember having to give Abby pills, and we really had to fool her into thinking they were treats (wrap them in liver treats, dip them in peanut butter) and she still spit them out. With Mel, I give them to him with a liver treat, and he gobbles them up so fast, he doesn't even notice there are pills there - he evens scarfs them up if the pills fall on the floor. Welcome to the wonderful world of Labs!

We're hoping that keeping him quiet will help to avoid surgery - the vet thinks it might be a strained ligament or some other soft tissue injury, but it also could be a congenital condition called "OCD" ("Osteochondritis Dessicans", not "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder"!). If that's what it is, then the two weeks of rest won't help, and he'll have to have surgery. Poor little guy, we could hear him crying and yelping when they were manipulating him for the x-rays, even from down the hall. He's a very talkative puppy anyway, but this was different. They finally had to sedate him to get the x-rays. We found out he weighs 42 pounds already - talk about a big baby. Jazz is probably a few pounds lighter than Mel, but she's getting big too.

Here are some photos of the "puppy picnic", before Mel was taken out of the game! I'll try to post some videos, but I'm having trouble doing that (again!).

Jazz gets some kisses from her mom:

Hannah and Bruiser:

Also, a couple photos from the night of the big recital! As soon as I get the professional DVD of the recital, I'll try to post it. It was a great time, and Hannah did well, but it started at 6:30, and wasn't over until after 10 pm! And Hannah's second dance was the second to last of the evening. Good thing recitals are only once a year! Hannah's up for another year of dance class, so meet me back here in a year to see next year's show.

Hannah and her friends backstage waiting to go on:

After her premiere, an exhausted Hannah receives flowers and adulation from her fans:

Picnic on the Deck

It's no use trying to have a nice yard if you have dogs. They get the deck really messy, too - all the "treasures" they find in the yard get carried up to their doghouses, which were really starting to smell. So this morning I did a big "deck clean". I washed the doghouses with bleach water and swept and mopped the floor. (Since the dogs hang out there a lot, it doesn't get cleaned very much - they're not picky!)

Then, to inaugurate the clean deck, the girls (Hannah and Priscilla) had a picnic out there. Hannah played her favorite CD ("Kids Bop", which came with a Happy Meal at McDonald's), and they practiced dancing while they ate.



They told me they had new "cheerleader" names: Hannah is "Stacy" and Priscilla is "Rebecca." I don't know where they got that idea, but I know Hannah has been playing cheerleader since she picked it up from a girl at Preschool. She once told me, "Mommy, I can't decide what I want to be when I grow up: a waitress or a cheerleader." I think she finally decided on waitress.

Sunny Day! (And More Rehearsal Pics)

We finally had a sunny morning! Hannah was really ready to play outside today. She's been waiting for days to wear summer clothes - hope it will be warm enough today. Yesterday it didn't get above 50 degrees all day until suddenly the clouds parted just before sunset.

I took Hannah and her new friend Priscilla to the park near our house this morning. Priscilla is just six months older than Hannah, but she's much bigger. They had a good time playing in the sand and on the swings. On our way home, it started clouding up. Figures. Hopefully it will just be a brief afternoon shower.

Dress rehearsal for the recital was last night. Here's a video of Hannah and her friends dancing in front of the stage while other kids were performing. It's a bit dark, but Hannah is the one with the "fringe-y" skirt and short ponytail.



Here are some photos of Hannah and her friends waiting to go on stage:

Rainy Day Women (and girls and dogs)!

It's been raining practically nonstop for the past couple of days - YUCK! I know we need the rain, but what's the point of living in Colorado if the weather is the same as back east? (I know, I know - the weather can be gorgeous back east, but there are many more annual days of sunshine here than in, say, Cincinnati!) So Hannah has been playing indoors most of the time - and so have the dogs. Which keeps Mom busy and out of trouble! One good thing about all the rain: there will be some beautiful wildflowers in a few days.

Hannah had her technical rehearsal for the recital on Monday night. We were at the high school auditorium (where the recital will be held) from 5 pm to almost 10 pm! Hannah's class gets to do a tap AND a ballet dance, and of course, her ballet dance has to be the second-to-last dance of the evening! They kept announcing that "as soon as your child's dances are done, you may leave", but of course that didn't apply to us. Hannah and her friends got pretty antsy by the end of the night, but they were real troupers. Imagine a dark auditorium full of kids ranging in age from three to eighteen, plus parents! A lot of us brought coloring books, crayons and books for our kids (and us!) but the lights were off almost all the time so we couldn't see to do anything. I think it was a lot to ask of a bunch of 3 to 5 year olds - and their parents. Good thing recital only happens once a year!

I'm going to try to post a couple videos of them rehearsing their songs. Tonight they will have their Dress Rehearsal, where we will tape a video of their performance - we're not allowed to tape the night of the recital, but we will probably shell out $35 for the professionally-done video of the recital! These aren't great quality because I just used my digital camera and there were lots of kids waiting for their turns who were playing and dancing around me. One of other girl's parents made a great tape of them practicing at dance class. I tried to post it but I can't figure out how to copy it from the DVD to my hard drive.

Get This Party Started:


Baby Mine:

New Neighbors

David (from next door) and his family moved out yesterday...and the new family moved in this morning already! I was out on the deck feeding the dogs this morning and I saw a little girl in the backyard next door. I told Hannah, "Hannah, there's a little girl next door - she must be our new neighbor." Hannah came out onto the deck and yelled, "Hi!" and waved over the side of the deck. The girl waved back and Hannah yelled, "Want to be my friend?" The girl said yes and Hannah ran next door. They have been playing outside ever since (with a break for lunch). Well, we always knew Hannah wasn't a shy kid!

While they were playing I went next door and introduced myself to the (grown up) neighbors - the little girl (Priscilla, who was 5 in January) is an only child. Quite a change from the 7 kids that used to live there! While we were eating lunch I asked Hannah to tell me about her new friend. Hannah said, "Well, I think she's a black person." I said that I noticed that. I asked her if she had asked Priscilla about that. She said, "Yeah, and she said she was a black person." I said, "Did you tell her you were a Chinese person?" Hannah said that yes, she did. But I don't think Priscilla was very impressed with that. "She said she already knew that." (Maybe the old neighbors told the new neighbors??) Before she went back out to play Hannah told me, "I'm glad I have a new neighbor already!"

Tonight Hannah has her Technical Rehearsal for her recital, which is this Saturday evening. Then Wednesday night is her Dress Rehearsal. Quite a big deal for a bunch of little kids!