Visiting friends

We were happy to have our friends Christy and Mitch over this weekend.

They now have three boys, and live in Northern California, so we don't get to see them too often.

We last saw each other in November 2009, when we were both pregnant with the babies shown in the top photo. Dominic is a couple of months younger than Violet.

Cora and William were very happy to see each other again.

John Paul, their 2-year-old, is a sweetheart, too, and made such a nice line of cars after he finished his pizza.

And in the bottom photo, Mitch is proving his Super Dad status by flying Cora and JP like airplanes.

They were in town for a wedding shower, so we got to have breakfast and dinner together Saturday around that.

Hopefully we can make it up to visit them before too long.

Music fun

Dancing to Daddy's guitar-playing!

Recovering and Remembering

I've been going through old photos to scan in and create a photobook of Somer.

Here are some classics...

I think she is just gorgeous in the top one - look at those eyes!

And, in that process, I've rediscovered some great videos that I put on the blog, and that I obviously can't put in a photobook:

Cora at 14 months, playing with Somer with flowers; (I remember this so clearly - I hadn't shown Cora how to do this, or encouraged her to do it - I just heard it happening and grabbed the camera)

Cora at 20 months, piling rubber floor tiles onto Somer; (Somer loved these tiles and for some reason thought they were toys to eat. Most of them have her tooth marks. She also liked to chew my nail files. Weird.)

Cora at 13 months, playing with her diapers with her best friend by her side (This one is more of Cora than Somer, but it does show how much Somie liked hanging out right next to the baby.)

Somer allowing almost-two-year-old Cora to play with her food. (This one cracks me up.)

Cora seems to be handling it well. She comforts us by saying that we don't need to be sad, because Somer is feeling better in heaven, and we'll see her again and play with her when we go to heaven.

I think that because Cora's so young, she just doesn't have the clear memories of how close she and Somer were for her first two-plus years, and that's why she's taking it so well. Somer had been very sick since August, and really, wasn't herself for months before that.

Stace and I, meanwhile, need a bit more time to get used to this unwelcome change. I still look for her on the couch and open the front door cautiously, waiting for her to try to escape. Today is the first day I haven't cried, so that is a step in the right direction.

We will get another cat, maybe even two, but will wait a few months. For one thing, there is no replacing Somer, so it would be stupid to try. For another, we are starting a kitchen project, which will be engrossing, for sure, and will mean lots of open doors. And finally, we will be in England in May, and away from the house and any potential pets for two weeks.

The End

Somer now lives only in our hearts and memories.

She hadn't eaten in about a week, and was now walking slowly and unable to jump onto the bathroom counters to get a drink. When we would help her up, she'd look at the running water, take a lick or two, and then leave it.
Somer spent her last several days staying up on the back of the couch, not responding much to our attention, and not joining Cora at naptime or Violet at playtime.

I spoke to her vet on Friday, and she thought it sounded like it was time to say goodbye. I made an appointment for Tuesday afternoon, as that time worked around other things we had planned, and this particular vet's schedule.

But the later it got Friday, and especially as I tried to go to sleep, it felt like we needed to take her in Saturday. In the middle of the night, Stace and I talked it over and agreed. Her complete lack of eating must have meant she was in pain.

Saturday morning when Stace got up early for work, Somer still joined him in the bathroom for a (small) drink of water, and followed him out to the kitchen, as she has done daily for seven years. I know Stace's mornings will be so lonely and quiet without his early-rising friend.

I could go on, but I won't. Anyone reading this who has lost a pet who was more family member than animal knows what we're going through.

In the end, Stace and I both were with her, wishing her well and thanking our dear Somer for sharing life with us and our girls.

Rest in Peace, Somerset
2003 to Jan. 22, 2011

Fun with Friends

We've had fun with friends the past two days!

On Friday morning, Juliana drove up with Maya and Natalia. As usual, our girls all got along beautifully, and had a great time playing together.

Natalia is getting cuter and cuter each time we see her, and it was so fun to see her smiling and laughing! She just turned three months old.

And I love this photo of Violet playing with the "big girls" in the kitchen area.

On Friday evening, Colleen came over for dinner with Lucas and Liana. Her husband Rigo is on a missions trip with their church to Nicaragua, so he couldn't come along, and we thought it would be good to give her kids some playmates. Cora and Lucas had lots of fun playing a game they called "Balloons Everywhere!" with balloons my Aunt Julie sent as part of her Christmas present for Cora.

Liana and Violet were excited to see each other, and Liana really wanted to hug and touch - and eat - Violet. Unfortunately, she took that a bit too literally, and Violet now has four red marks on her arm from Liana's teeth.

They go well with Violet's black eye and cut, from her pulling Daddy's guitar over onto herself Thursday night. The guitar isn't heavy, but the tuning peg must have caught her in a sensitive spot. Poor baby!

And on Saturday, it was Kelsie's fairy-themed birthday party, and Cora had a great time dressing up and playing.

Cora, of course, isn't always very girlie, but she has been dressing up more often lately. She was even excited to have her hair up, and kept talking about how pretty she looked.

January warmth

Another January, another 80-degree week that reminds us of why we love living here!

I'm not trying to be mean-spirited to our friends and family far from the warmth, but really, if I can't write on my own blog how much we appreciate playing at the park in January, where can I say it?

The only downside is forgetting the sunscreen and then worrying about the children getting burned. And to think that just two weeks earlier, it snowed here!

Genia and I took our broods to our park Saturday and Monday to take advantage of the weather. (On Saturday, Stace played golf with some work friends, and Monday was a school holiday for Ave.)

It's hard to look at how big Owen is and remember that he is just one year older than Violet. The babies, they just don't stay babies for long.

In other news, Stace and I have been busy with our kitchen remodeling plans. We now have four quotes for cabinets and several for countertops, and we plan to start spending some money this week!

Exciting times. He and I are both waking up dreaming about kitchens.

And another little update: Violet slept until 7:20 today! That was a nice surprise.

Johnny's Bike

At the park this weekend, Johnny rode his bike, of the big-boy-with-training-wheels variety.

Cora rode to the park on her scooter, and I encouraged her to try out the bike. At first she was nervous, and it took a little time for her to understand how to push the pedals forward to go, and backward to stop.

But after a few minutes, she was hooked. She rode up and down our paseo near the park, up and down, back and forth. She loved it.

That night at dinner, she suggested we get her a bike with two big wheels. Stace and I told her we'd think about it, as you don't just rush out and buy something as important as a bicycle the moment the kid asks for one. (And, after all, someone's fourth birthday is coming up in just a few weeks...)

A half hour later, Cora asked Stace, "Daddy, are you thinking about it?"

"Thinking about what?"

"Thinking about my bike!"

Later in the evening I made a quick, solo trip to CVS, and when I came home, Cora was disappointed. "Where is my bike?" she asked.

The next day, Cora was thinking again: "If I were Johnny, and Johnny were me, Johnny's bike would be my bike!"
And later, when we discussed going to the park with Genia and the gang again, she said, "I'll ride my tricycle, and Johnny will ride his bike, and then I can ride Johnny's bike, and he can ride my tricycle."

When we actually went to the park, Cora had her trike, and wouldn't you know, Johnny was riding his tricycle, too. I wish I'd had my camera on me - seeing these two big preschoolers (Johnny turned 4 a few weeks ago) on their old tricycles, knees and legs all over the place, was hilarious. It also made me and Genia nostalgic. The days of these two riding trikes are certainly numbered.

Recent Coraisms

Cora was playing with her Little People the other day, and giving them names.
Cora: "This one is Jack."
Me: "That's a good name for a boy."
Cora: "This other one is Jack, too. And this girl is Haleela. And this girl is Haleela, too."
Me: "So there's a Jack, Jack, Haleela, and Haleela."
Cora: "Yes. And this one is Little Einstein."
-
Cora: "Mum, am I small?"
Me: "Yes, Cora, you're small. You have a small mummy and a small daddy, and you are small."
Cora: "But when I'm 58, I'll be tall."
-
Stace likes that quintessentially English product called Marmite, which he enjoys on toast with cream cheese. It's a brown paste? gel? yeast extract product, with a flavor you have to start eating at an early age to appreciate. The other morning, he offered a piece of Marmite-on-toast to Cora.
When we asked if she liked it, she responded diplomatically, "I like it, but I don't like the taste. I do like the color."
-
Stace, trying to teach Cora to accept adult authority/wisdom after she argued that sitting close to the TV won't hurt her eyes: "Cora, you're 3 and I'm 37. Do you think you know more than me?"
Cora: "Yes. Because I go to class."

Somer update

We've reached the final weeks or days of our life with Somer.

Somie, as Cora calls her, spent about two weeks boarded at the vets' office, and five days before we returned home they gave her another steroid shot because she had stopped eating again. She then improved a lot, as we've seen in the past. We picked her up last Wednesday, and seeing our girls so happy to pick her up was quite a sight. Violet waved her arms around and made her "ooh ooh ooh" monkey noise she makes when she's excited.

Somer did fine Thursday and Friday, and went way downhill over the weekend. She hardly moved off our bed Saturday and Sunday, ate nothing, and barely drank. She looked miserable and was nearly unresponsive when we would pet her, even though she was awake. So, we decided Sunday evening we would take her in Monday for the trip we're dreading.

Then, Monday morning, as if she read our minds, Somer got up and started eating. She ate half a can of tuna and a 3 ounce can of cat food over the course of the morning. She also seemed much more lively. So, we didn't take her in to the vet's. We just love her too much to take her in until we absolutely must, and when she's out and about and eating, we can't bring ourselves to do it.

The vet called Tuesday to check on her, which was very nice, and she was glad we've had some good days with her since coming home from our trip. She agreed with our assessment that we won't give her any more steroid shots, and will just take it day by day.

Today, Wednesday, she hasn't eaten very much, though she has seemed very alert and out with us in the house. She also woke me up at 1:30 a.m. for petting and purring, which was lovely.

Back home

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
Or should I say veggie patch...

We returned home to a nice-looking crop of broccoli.

We also returned home with a different baby than the one we took to England. My goodness, what a lot of changes in two weeks!

Violet now crawls all over the place and loves pulling herself up to standing. It's pretty funny to put her on the floor in her room while I fold her clothes, for example, and the next minute she's in the bathroom standing by the tub or toilet.

And yes, moments after the photo here was taken, she pulled the plastic kitchen down onto herself. Thankfully, since it is lightweight, she wasn't hurt.

And eating-wise, Violet now likes food a lot, and wants to eat whenever we're eating.

The next photos are from Cora's football class Saturday. She left wearing her superhero eye goggles she made at Sunday School, saying they would help her run faster.

They helped with something. Our Cora actually scored three goals and assisted on another, her best class yet! At some classes, Cora didn't seem to pay attention very much, but this time she was really into the game.

In other news, we girls went to Burbank to meet with my friend Melanie, who is now 16 weeks along in her first pregnancy! It's pretty darn exciting to have two of my bestest friends pregnant at the same time with their first babies. We went to Ikea, and Cora had a great time at their kids play area, where you check in the child and leave them under Ikea workers' supervision.

Melanie and I looked at kitchens, since Stace and I are actively planning to gut ours. And on Saturday, we got a quote from Lowes on a kitchen we'd love to put in. We want to get at least one more quote before we decide who to go with.

The Trip Home

A few last photos from our England trip...

The night before we left, we spent some time with Mary/Big Nan at her home.

Sue painted Cora's nails, and Mary gave her a ride on her wheeled tray thingy. (I don't know what it's called, but it's very handy for carting around several cups of tea!)

And, photos of Violet having fun in a box, and fun with her cousin...

Our Christmas trip to England, 2010, was one of our best trips yet, one we'll all remember fondly.

Our airplane trip home was nearly as good as our perfect flight to London. Stace didn't get to sit with Cora, Violet and me, because other travelers with infants needed the bulkhead seats next to us for their baby. I was worried about this, but it all went fine. He was a couple of rows behind us, on the same side, so he was still able to be very helpful with the girls. And because he was seated next to a beautiful young starlet, who was as sweet and friendly as she was gorgeous, he didn't mind not sitting next to his girls. Ahem.

And Cora and I were sitting next to an American woman with two girls - one 4, who sat next to and befriended Cora, and a baby a couple of weeks older than Violet. Her husband is English too (and sitting behind them), so we had a lot in common to discuss during the flight. The babies and the older girls all were all well-behaved and slept several hours of the flight. What a joy it was! Funny how traveling with two girls has been easier than traveling with one Cora Rose at certain ages... (though I don't doubt that Violet will be more challenging on the plane as she reaches toddlerhood).

Cora again settled right back into the time zone, on the very first night. Amazing! Violet was wide awake for a couple of hours the first night, but Stace was too, so he played with her while I dozed. Since then, she is sleeping better, but still getting up too early for my liking. Today, a week later, she was awake before 6 and wouldn't settle back down. Hopefully she'll soon start sleeping until 7 again.

Birthday meal

We celebrated my birthday in England, with a meal together with family and good friends.

Here are a few photos from the occasion - great shots of Stace and Cora and Violet with JT, and the requisite bump shot with me, JT and Cora. She has about a month to go now, maybe less!

Eight Months

Violet is 8 months old now, and is blossoming even more.

This little girl can hardly keep from smiling and snuggling, and she recently has started clapping her hands together and dancing.

She's a very social baby. She frequently babbles in baby talk, and likes carrying on conversations with us when we imitate her.

In recent weeks, her second tooth poked through on the bottom and she improved her crawling skills. She also tries to pull herself up to standing.

She now enjoys eating food, so we're giving her table food during our mealtimes. She loves yogurt especially, and will lean forward and make noises for more. In the photo, she's trying out cucumber for the first time.

We've reached the stage where I can give her Cheerios to keep her busy, and crackers when we're out and about and she's overdue for a feeding.

Sleeping wise, I'll appreciate her normal sleep pattern better when we get home! The last few days she's woken up at 4 or 5 a.m. and stayed up for an hour or so. But, again, she's happy and playful when she's awake, so it's not unpleasant.

A nice week together

Happy New Year!Here we are at Dean and Jen's annual New Year's Eve family party. We ate, drank and played Guitar Hero and a dancing video game to help ring in 2011.

Earlier in the day, Stace went to look at kitchens at a home improvement store with Gord, Dean and Jenny. They've put in kitchens in both their homes in recent years, so Stace was getting their advice. And I spent that time with JT, who is now just five weeks away from having her first baby!
Stace playing with the cutest nephew in the world, with Cora's keyboard. It was a gift from Nan and Pop.
Cora's having a lot of fun with everyone this trip! She's been friendly and playful, and much better behaved than our last time in England.

We spent two days shopping, and Stace, Cora and I all got Clarks shoes. Cora's were part of her Christmas present from Nan and Pop, and my brown boots were my birthday present from Stace. Stace got his at Clarks Village, an outlet center where the shoe company used to manufacture their wares. Sue and Jenny also bought boots, and Dean got shoes too.

In the week, we got together with Gord's family at Stace's cousin Karen's home. Look at all those kids now! Gord's mum now has five great-grandchildren - Chloe (14 months), Ben (5 1/2) and Cora, Violet and Euan. Karen and her husband Martin live in a mid-19th century house they've just finished beautifully expanding.