Shaky-Bond-Speare 2000--2012

Yesterday Gus and I said goodbye to a dear friend.  We finally made the trip to the vet to euthanize Shaky.  It was extremely difficult.  I'm finding it really hard to feel okay about the choice.

Shaky started out as my sister Heidi's dog.  His full name was Shaky-Bond-Speare, a compromise meant to satisfy my sister's desire to name him Shakespeare with her son's insistence that he be called James Bond.  I'm not sure the resulting blend was the most elegant of names, but it always seemed to suit him.

Shaky came to live with me when he was nearly 7 years old and we have spent the last 6 years together.  He was a faithful companion.  To him I was second to none but the ball...and the stick... and well really anything projectile.  But if nothing was moving, then he liked me quite well.  Shaky was quite a calm and reserved dog.  He bestowed kisses sparingly and would only offer his bum up for pets.  He had unfailing energy and could outlast even the most determined ball throwers.  I'm pretty sure if we had bought him a pitching machine, the machine would have died before Shaky took a rest.

I remember shortly after I got together with Gus, we brought Shaky up to Gus's parents' river.  I proudly declared to Gus's dad, Tom, that Shaky could not be bested in a game of fetch.  Determined to prove me wrong, Tom sat down with a book, a beer and the launcher and threw the ball all afternoon.  At the end of it he said, "well my beer is done, my book is done, my arm is ready to fall off and he is still going.  I can't believe it."  To add insult to injury Shaky wandered over, dropped the ball at our feet and looked up expectantly, as though he had just spent the last 5 hours having a nice rest.  This was Shaky.

In recent years, Shaky started to slow down.  He couldn't see well anymore and he had developed arthritis in his hips.  It was very sad for all of us to see him having trouble keeping up.  He still enjoyed sitting quietly in the yard on sunny days, surveying his territory and keeping all invading squirells at bay.  He was still up for a good game of fetch, but couldn't see the ball well anymore.  On most throws he simply lost the ball and when he did see it he would lope slowly after it to retrieve it.  He still came for pets, but he'd growl and snap at anyone who came too near his arthritic hips.  Like it or not, we were starting to lose our boy.

After much delaying we made the terrible decision that eventually all dog owners face; we put Shaky down.  One day, I hope I will look at it as the last nice thing we did for a good friend.  Right now it just hurts.  We might have put it off for a few more months, maybe a year, but this way he never had to stop playing fetch.  He never got tired out.  He played till the very last day.

Goodbye Shaky.  We will miss you.

Shaky lost his ball int he river.  Again.

Tug with another dog is rare.  Catching it on camera is special.

Darwyn crawls

Darwyn has started crawling...I'm a little late posting about it.  She did her first awkward crawling about a month ago, shortly after she turned 7 months old.  I've posted a video of her seasoned crawling! Sorry it is sideways.

It has been a lot of fun watching Darwyn crawl.  I really feel that when babies start to crawl so much more of their personality is revealed.  What has become obvious about Darwyn's personality is her quiet determination.  As a non-moving infant she was so sunny and undemanding...determination did not seem a large part of who she was.  Now that she can move, however, she is capable of pursuing her own interests and she does so with vigor.  She is especially interested in learning to pull herself up to standing and attempts this feat at every opportunity.  She has also been determined to learn to crawl over objects and to walk.  She loves to hold your hand and march across the floor (see video below).  She attempts to learn these skills with a single mindedness I do not recall in Max.  When we are out, Darwyn is quite gregarious.  She crawls up to strangers, climbs up onto their laps and gives them a winning smile.  Then she tries to go for their necklace.....

Gaining a room, putting the kids back into separate rooms

A while ago we experimented with sleeping Darwyn and Max together in the same room.  While some nights went quite smoothly, the experiment was mostly a failure.  If one kid starts crying then the other may not wake up.  But when we hear crying on the monitor at night, we leap out of bed and run upstairs at top speed to soothe the crying child before he/she has a chance to awaken the other.  Doing cry-it-out, or just lazily "giving her a few minutes" is out of the question.  Besides, Max's room is also a play room and storage centre for essential baby gear.  When one child is sleeping the stuff is inaccessible.  Darwyn has long since been moved into a different room.

Unfortunately, there are no more rooms.  Her bed is currently in our office, which means that we no longer have an office.  As if on cue, Vibhu has told us that he will move out of our house at the beginning of December, freeing up his precious bedroom for baby Darwyn.  Vibhu's decision may not be coincidental -- I think he was put off by the fact that we re-located the potty and change station into our shared bathroom.  In any case, he's been a great sport about everything.  Under different circumstances I'd be sad to see him go, but we really need his room!

Semi-monthly photo update: September-October 2012

Some new photos to complement Greta's post of Fall photos.

We've been crazy busy lately.  Our children are growing up and we've failed to blog about it.  Things are finally starting to slow down a bit.  My major deadlines at work are now past.  Our family took a hit so I could work hard while on parental leave.

There are more photos from the past two months beyond what's in this post.  They should appear on this blog shortly. We'll try to post more frequently during the lead-up to the new year.

Max would never miss an opportunity to help with renovation.  Ripping out drywall is especially fun.

What childhood would be complete without a tea-party for stuffed animals in the kitchen?

 

 

Baby in a basket!

Darwyn handles her food herself, which is unusual at such a young age.  It's great for us because it keeps her occupied for 20 solid minutes at each meal.

Cousin Viola looking cute...

...and silly!

 

 

Some cute costumes at Halloween.  The froggy in the middle is Max's friend Elliot.  Elliot's baby sister Emily is not in this picture.  Unfortunately, this is the best shot we got.

Product placement whilst carving a squash.

 

 

 

Dennis took this photo.  He told me we should title it "Darwyn versus the pureed squash."
I said, "that looks like Darwyn versus Dennis and Darwyn won." (Notice there is a much smaller smear of yogurt on her face.  Darwyn likes yogurt.)

Fall photos

Just a photo update.  Enjoy!

Darwyn spent the entire walk at the river with her head perpendicular to her
body staring up at the orange leaves.  Eventually she fell asleep.

Oh Canada

Max loves Darwyn a little too much.

The dangers of letting your children associate with the relatives.

Max and Anne spent a while helping Grandma plant flowers.  Between the two of them I don't think there were any flowers left on the plant by the time it was in the ground!

The clan enjoying a big Thanksgiving dinner.  Even Darwyn ate with us.
Her favorite was Grandma Sandi's candied squash.  

Darwyn wears her new sleeper from Grandma Sandi.

Fall at the river.

The leaves were not as good as Grandma Sandi's candied squash.  Who knew?

Hailey sprayed by skunk at 9:30pm

I had Hailey out for a late-night walk with Darwyn in the sling.  On the way home she took a skunk full bore.  She never got within two metres of me after the spraying, yet both Darwyn and I stink to high hell.  Stink by proximity, I guess.

Skunk stink is very different when its concentrated on an animal that's standing right next to you as compared to that diffuse smell we all recognize when a skunk sprayed something a mile away.  Smells like burning rubber.

Vibhu unwittingly let Hailey into the house when he arrived home at 10pm.  He was greeted by Greta and myself screaming "GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!"  I'm sure he'll get over it.  It's not you, it's me.  Luckily, Hailey didn't get far before she was shooed back outside.

Vibhu had no idea she had been sprayed.  He didn't even notice a foul smell!  He even pet the bloody stink-ridden dog with his bare hand!!!

Consensus on the internet is that a hydrogen peroxide / baking soda / dish soap solution is the best remedy.  I drove to the nearest 24-hour pharmacy and picked up two litres of hydrogen peroxide.  We forced Vibhu to wash his hand in the solution.  He complained of an intense burning sensation.  Wuss.

Apparently, it's important to treat skunk stench as soon as possible.  We soaked Hailey in the solution at 11pm, in the dark, in our backyard.  She is not pleased with us.  She will be spending the night outside.

Greta bathed Darwyn, for all the good it'll do seeing as how skunk oil is not soluble in water, even with soap.  I washed my hair in the hydrogen peroxide solution before bathing.  All our clothes, Vibhu's clothes, and the ergo-sling went into the washing machine with a healthy dose of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda.

We did not need this right now.  Life is hectic enough already.  Greta, who is definitely NOT a night person, was a great sport about staying up late to help.  On the bright side, at least we don't lead Heidi's life.

Hey you! Enough with the mashed vegetables...I want that sandwich!

We started Darwyn on solid foods (which is to say, we fed her pureed food that was not at all solid) at four months.  She was initially very excited, and approached the new foods with very amusing facial expressions and enthusiasm.  She has now decided that she is somewhat of a food connoisseur, which is a nice way of saying she is picky.

If I am sitting and eating my meal, she will reach for it eagerly, watch my every bite and smack her lips.  I usually jump up at this point, and whip up a nice bowl of pureed cauliflower.    I strap her into her chair and offer her a bite.  She regards the food with distaste and pursed lips.  I make a silly face, bobble my head back and forth and do a little jig.  Eventually she smiles or laughs at my antics and I ram the cauliflower into her mouth before she can close it again.  My daughter has a very sunny temperament and does not cry at my abuse.  Instead she gives me a toothless grin and then blows a raspberry, spraying pureed cauliflower all over my face and shirt.  She laughs gleefully reaches out and topples the bowl on the floor.  Then she looks back at my sandwich and smacks her lips.

Not to make the situation sound too grim.  Darwyn will eat a few select pureed foods, IF she is in the right mood and IF you make a complete idiot of yourself by making all manner of obnoxious noises and faces.  And if the puree is pear, apple or squash.

She is equally picky about breastfeeding.  She eats only if she is (a) on the verge of starvation AND (b) nothing else interesting is happening AND (c) the breast milk is flowing at exactly the right pace.  Otherwise, she arches her back, screams and bites and claws at my nipples.  I stare at this whole scene thinking about the wonderful bond that breastfeeding creates between mother and child.  I think I may wean her soon.

Darwyn's first experience with solids.


The video below is not very good, but it was her first try of pablem!

It seems that the end to the food related frustration is in sight, however.  We recently started giving Darwyn a few genuine solid foods that she can eat herself, including stringy rice noodles.  She largely failed to eat any of these, but found them very entertaining.  We also received a funky new device from Gus's mom that allows us to put chunks of food in a little mesh bag.  Darwyn can suck on the food without risk of choking.  We have stuffed hunks of orange and banana, as well as frozen pear puree ice cubes. inside this baggy.  Darwyn loves it.  She will eat things she wouldn't touch as a puree if you put it in the baggy.  Perhaps I will see if I can somehow incorporate the baggy into our breast feeding routine too.   I might be more successful at enjoying the bond that develops between child and baggy.

Oh well.  As Eyore is fond of saying, we can't all and some of us don't.