My mind has been foggy and distant for several days now, but that doesn’t mean that we haven’t had lots of funny things to share in pictures and videos.

Thursday (June 9), Selah June spent time at Grammy’s.  When I went to pick her up, she was in a delightful and sneaky mood.  She loves to rifle through my bags looking for fun stuff to mess with.  Here she snuck my apple and claimed it as her own.  The final outcome was an apple with a single trail of bites taken out all around it in one big orbit of Selah June feasting.

Friday (June 10), we spend some time over at Kom’s house in the pool with Satie and Sebastian.  I let her take her time playing with the little kitchen on the back porch and didn’t force her to put on her swimsuit until she was interested in getting in the water.  Eventually, she actually did show interest and let me change her.  She on her own stepped down onto the first step and then experimented with stepping onto the second.  I didn’t make her practice her float or get her face wet or try her swim.  I just wanted her to have fun in the water.  And what seemed like the most fun was grabbing pretzels from a bowl on the table, lining them up by the pool, and then dropping them into the water until they were waterlogged clumps of goo.  Doesn’t that sound appetizing?

And she did practice her kicking after all.

Saturday (June 11), we went to Lowe’s and looked at appliances.  Doesn’t that sound like an old married fart’s weekend outing?  We filled up on popcorn from the night before and then loaded up in the car for good drinks at Sonic and an adventure through most of the aisles of Lowe’s.  We had to drive the riding mowers, and we had to run all around the appliances.  We also had to do some walking while holding both Mommy and Daddy’s hands.  I think we’re going to save money on replacing the electric water heater with a tankless gas heater for now and put it towards stainless steel appliances.  It seems to make more sense for the time being.  We also want to paint at least three rooms in the new house, replace the mirrored closet doors in the upstairs bedroom, and tile all three of the carpeted bedrooms.  So we had a lot of things to check out at the store.  Selah June was great for most of it, but then she got a little bored with all of the grown up home repair junk.  I can’t blame her.  I was kind of over it too.

Jeremy had a golf tournament all afternoon, so SJ and I went over to Mom’s house to visit and use her pool.  Once again, she really wanted to get in the water and sit on the steps.  I think that is good given that we’ve been going to swimming lessons every single weekday for three weeks now and she’s really not a happy camper over it.  We sat on the steps and played with the weighted fish and net.  She was happy as a clam. (Although I will say that she was not happy with Grandpa who was using the time to help Uncle Tommy pressure wash the house.  She didn’t like that he was not playing with her.  She did not like that he was using noisy scary equipment.  She didn’t like that he wouldn’t come sit down in the pool with her.  She kept yelling for him.  And when he didn’t respond over the really loud pressure washer, she got scared and kept saying “sorry! sorry! sorry, Gah-pa!  I’m not sure what that’s about.  She’s now associated fear with apologizing.  I don’t know if she means that she wants the feeling she’s having to stop… thus guilt and fear might elicit the same response.  I don’t know.)

We had to get out of the pool because we heard thunder.  After eating some lunch, SJ conned Grammy into going into the toy room and reading books with her.

Sunday (June 12) we went to church and then lunch at Sonny’s.  She was very very tired.  She didn’t sleep well at all — up from 3-7am.  So lunch was a bit of a challenge.

She took a great nap in the afternoon, and then we played outside watering plants and getting wet in our baby pool. Of course I strip her down for water activities (especially before bath time), so she had a couple of funny moments I had to capture for posterity.

June 10, 2016

Here is who Sophie was…

She was the happy little dog anxiously anticipating her “daddy” every time she heard something store outside.  She was the OCD puppy who couldn’t eat unless everyone was home and all her toys were perfectly arranged around (and sometimes in) her food bowl.  She was the one who told us all it was time for bed by standing in the doorway to our master bedroom.  She was the one who sheepishly hid after peeing where she wasn’t supposed to or getting into the trash or chewing up underwear.  She was the “little forest creature” who was much more of a person than a chihuahua.  She was the dog who for 10 years never gave up trying to sneak under the fence to freedom.  She was the one who most always hid her bones for later and then only found them much later when one of us decided to move some clutter.  She slept behind our knees – Jeremy’s first but mine as second best.  She was my dependable ball of love when everything else for so many years was sorrow.  She hated to be dressed up, although she would have been the cutest little deer at the ball.  She sat with Jeremy always, even when Selah June three things at her and yelled at her.  She was his companion through thick and thin.  She worried for he baby.  She followed the baby for food droppings.  She took second stage when the baby demanded all of our attention.  She loved the sunshine and the grass.  She didn’t like other dogs at all.  She was stubborn, never taking a pill without a fight.  She had an endless supply of kisses (for everyone except SJ – though you could get her to give her one reluctantly).  She was the baby’s first word.  She was the first creature we were blessed to love for more than two years.  When others had children, we had Sophie.  Jeremy spoiled her, and we both loved her terribly.

She was strong.  As cancer aggressively ravaged her body, she let it without even a whimper.  She walked through it with us by her side.  She trusted us as we daily dressed her wounds.  She hated the vet’s office, and I hated that she spent the last moments of her life there.  I spent those moments nose to nose with her and gave a piece of my heart to her to take on her way out of this world.  Our world is a little bit smaller because she is gone.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Swimming was canceled due to poor weather today, so Selah June and I took the opportunity to play at home for a few hours instead.  We broke out the play-doh, and had lots of fun rolling it into balls and practicing all our colors.  We’re really good at white, but it’s hard for us to call primary colors anything but red.  Pink?  No problem.  Brown?  Got it!  Orange?  50/50…. But enough with all the blue, yellow, and red bit already!!  ?

Sheila Dunn passed along some adorable clothes.  Two whole garbage bags FULL!!  We’ve been enjoying them immensely.  So cute!

We’ve also been playing with Mommy’s glasses.  She’s just a little academic in the making!!  Stylin’!

Sunday, June 5, 2016

We spent the morning at church and the afternoon being lazy at home.  We’re concerned about Sophie.  It’s obviously not good, and it’s just starting to set in that we might have to face cancer.

Selah June loves Sophie and is very concerned. She’s been really nice to the puppy – a marked change from her typical posture toward the dog.

Sophie is 10 years old this summer.  That’s hard to believe.  It seems like just yesterday Mom and I were picking her out of a litter of chihuahua puppies to bring home. She might have started out as my dog, but there is no doubt in anybody’s mind who has her heart.  Jeremy and Sophie have a unique bond.  He loves her dearly.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

SATIE ISABELLY’S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Our big adventure for the day was going to Satie’s birthday party.  It was at Kom’s house, and all the kiddos were thrilled to be in the pool.  Selah June and I had every intention of practicing our swimming, but it was a bit too raucous of an environment.  We might try again this upcoming Friday when things are a bit more calm.

Don’t for a second think that Selah June missed out at the party just because she wasn’t in the pool.  She had the play kitchen all to herself, and that made her very happy and kept her very busy for the entire party.  She had dishes to put away and food to cook!!

After the party (and before, for that matter), we watched quite a few episodes of Paw Patrol and Mickey Mouse Club.  They’re our favorites at the moment.  We yell “Oh Toodles!!” and sing “Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog!” with Mickey and the gang.  And we bring all of our pups with us to watch the Paw Patrol solve the biggest of problems.

Friday, June 3, 2016

This is the silliness that I encourage on a daily basis…

Somebody really liked the peg game at Cracker Barrel.  We might have also liked to dip pegs in ranch dressing when the adults were busy talking amongst themselves.  (Probably not the first time nor the last time that’s happened [insert vomit face here]). Daddy bought us our own game to bring home.

I think every mother has mixed feelings about naps.  One the one hand, you are very tired and desperately want a break from incessant responsibility.  On the other hand, you want to spend those precious hours soaking in the joy and constant developmental changes that small children radiate.

June 4, 2016

We found out this morning that Sophie has a huge cancerous mass around her right shoulder.  It’s probably the size of a peach.  She’s limping because of it, but it doesn’t seem to be causing her major pain.  We discovered it yesterday.  I noticed in the morning while I was playing with Selah June in her room that the dog yelped when SJ swung something around in her face.  I thought that the baby had accidentally hit her or stepped on her.  Sophie ran off but didn’t seem to be hiding or anything, and everything seemed to return to normal (as normal as constant terrorism by a toddler can be to a 5 lb. animal, I suppose).  Last night, Jeremy said he thought something was wrong with her…that she was walking funny.  We picked her up to look her over, and her shoulder looked way out of whack – like it was dislocated or something – with a huge amount of swelling that was firm to the touch.  I assumed it was an injury she sustained that morning and convinced myself that she has some kind of sprain or strain that would take anti-inflammatory medication and rest to heal.  Jeremy really thought it might be a tumor.

He called the vet first thing this morning, and they gave her an appointment for 9:00am.  Jeremy took her and texted me from the office as news came in.  The vet immediately ruled out everything but a mass.  She wanted to do an in-office test to see whether abnormal cells were present.  They were.  She said that a biopsy would reveal whether the cancer was malignant or benign.  That’s scheduled for Monday.  We’ll hear the results within a week.  Given its size, a malignant result would mean aggressive surgery and treatment with no promises.  It’s likely pushing against nerves that run down her back.

The house is quiet.

May 31 – June 2, 2016

Selah June started swimming lessons this week.  I was dreading it because it proved to be such an ordeal last year.  Seven weeks of driving from Cantonment to Milton only to end at a stalemate was pretty disheartening and exhausting.  It’s amazing what a year can do…

Monday was Memorial Day holiday.  We didn’t have swim lessons.  Tuesday was our first day.  She didn’t know where we were going, so the ride out there was pretty uneventful.  She loved seeing the water and pointed out all the big trucks.

At Carrie’s she started getting a little nervous and was pretty clingy but generally speaking a good sport.  She did great putting her face in the water and reaching for the steps.  Carrie said she showed great breath control and even signs of kicking.  Wednesday she was a little fussier on the way out there in part because she knew where we might be going.  She also knew we would see Malachi, and that was the single bright spot on an otherwise dismal activity.  Carrie was blown away by her perfect float.  She just relaxed into it and could have stayed there seemingly forever.  She also did really well turning herself over into the water and reaching for the steps. I bragged on her all day to everyone we encountered.  We talked about swimming like a fishy and that Malachi was happy in the water – not sad.

She woke up this morning telling daddy, “towel…all done…Malachi, bye bye??” Today she was even more despondent over driving out to swimming.  She pleaded for her bottle the whole way out there.  She kept saying “all done?” Uggghhhh  It makes me so tense hearing her be unhappy for such an extended period of time.  And while I’m at Carrie’s it’s really hard to concentrate on any kind of conversation with Dustin because I hear that she’s upset while Carrie’s working with her.

But she’s doing great.  I have some videos to capture the first few days of swimming in year 2.

Monday, May 30, 2016

We spent the afternoon at Grammy and Grandpa’s house for Memorial Day.  The pool is a little chilly this time of year, so only the kids were brave enough to take a dip.  Miss Selah June starts swim lessons tomorrow.  Today was a nice test of her current attitude about the water.  She seems to be interested — wants to splash but doesn’t want to fall in.  I think it’s a good healthy respect for the deep blue waters.  Maybe this will turn into a healthy and happy enjoyment of them over the next several weeks.

It’s crazy to see all the kiddos lined up together.  They are getting so big!  Jules wasn’t there today.  He was taking a nap at home with his dad.  But Satie and Winston and Sebastian and Liam were all excited to see each other.  Liam had a t-shirt with a little chicken and a magnet.  “Chick magnet.”  And he kept trying to tell jokes.  It’s hilarious.  He blows the lines, and Sebastian blows the response.  Knock knock jokes at 4 years old are complex conversational jigsaw puzzles that end up in unintended giggles all around.

Selah June is beginning to use abstract concepts to accurately describe phenomena.  A few days ago, she really started calling things “fun.”  And it’s not the same activities.  She correctly observes that things that make her giddy are “fun.”  And she assumes that they are “fun” for all the rest of us too.  It’s adorable.  Today, the “fun” thing was listening to the wind chimes on Grammy’s back patio.  She watched in awe and then broke out into dance — a free-flowing body movement that totally captured the feelings of beautiful wind chimes.

She also expressed sincere concern for Sky on Paw Patrol last night.  Sky got caught in a blizzard and fell out of the sky.  She hurt her paw and got stranded.  We almost had to turn it off because SJ was really upset.  Eventually Sky was rescued, but it was a little touch and go there for a while.

And last but not least, we enjoyed a ton of blueberries.  Abigail brought a whole bag full, and then we picked them in Grammy’s backyard.  Selah June LOVES her some blueberries.  I’m sure her poop will be blue tomorrow.  Knowing my luck, it will all come out on Carrie during swimming.

Saturday May 28, 2016

ive been wanted to take Selah June to pick blueberries.  Ab asked me to go a few weeks back, and I couldn’t break away from work.  Jeremy has been watching the website of the local blueberry farm to see when the next round of berries became ripe enough for the owners to open up the farm for picking.  This morning, we checked, and they were open!  So we called Grammy and Grandpa to see if they had an interest in going with us.

They gave us big yellow buckets when we got there.  A full bucket constituted a gallon – $12 of berries.  We very optimistically took 2 buckets with us but soon realized that we’d be lucky to fill up one.  Part of the issue was berry bushes with lots of unripe berries, but part of the issue was a little Selah June who really liked to eat the fruits of our collective labor.  She was eating those berries as fast as the four of us could pick them.

it was only after she had stuffed herself with berries that she willingly carried a bucket and gathered handfuls of berries collected by each of us.

Friday May 27, 2016

This little bear went to “Satie’s house” all day for a very fun-packed time of playing outside and watching lots of Paw Patrol.  She didn’t sleep well Thursday night, and she certainly wasn’t going to make up for it through a good nap at Satie’s house.  There was too much opportunity for fun (and treats!!)!!!

By the time I got off work and made it over to the house, she was fading into a royal mess of a Selah June.  She was sooooo tired.  I eventual gave up on trying to console her little self, and we put her in the car for the trip home.  Within seconds she was asleep.  I hadn’t even left the driveway.

Jess and I visited with the car running and let her take a cat nap.  We decided to try to do dinner.  She did get in about a half hour nap, but she was still a little crazy cakes.  At one point I. The restaurant (in between boatloads of ranch dressing), she got upset at Jeremy and screamed at the absolute top of her lungs.  It was LOUD and sounded just like a police whistle.  Everyone in the restaurant stopped in disbelief.  That sound came out of such a sweet little girl??  No way!  Jeremy popped her on the leg, and she clawed his face off.  It was an extreme state of exhaustion.

We are definitely staring down the barrel at 2.