Our Beloved

Joey "The Fox"

July 4, 1998 - April 26, 2012

You will always be loved and missed.

New Beginnings Come With Endings

It was a bittersweet day for our family.  

The Ending.....

The agenda for the day unfolded at the later part of yesterday. We anticipated Kalista's first day of school, but we didn't anticipate that we were also going to be putting our dog, Joey, down that same day.  Joey has been wasting away before our eyes more rapidly in the past few weeks.  He had lost so much weight from his inability to eat his normal large quantities of food due to the tumor in his mouth.  Joey did not look very happy, but bless his soul...he never whined or complained.  Not a whimper at all.

 

Our handsome Joey just finished his gourmet breakfast

Bella wanted to get in some last minute sniffs and kisses

Joey has been with our family since he was six months old and was about to turn fourteen this upcoming July.  He was our 4th of July baby.  He has definitely had a good long life with us and we know he will continue to have an even more fulfilling one in doggy heaven.

Matt had to take Joey this morning to our vet's office, while Jen got Kalista ready for her first day of school. Kalista had no clue what was going on this morning, except the usual dog feeding session.  Joey got spoiled with finely chopped chicken breast meat, all minced up to perfection by our close friend, Beverly.  Bella looked jealous, but also a tinge saddened.  We couldn't quite tell if she was sad because she didn't get any of the gourmet meal or sad because she knew something was going on.

Saddened Bella

We will miss Joey very much. He was a great friend, companion and brave dog.

A new chapter begins, as one ends.

The Beginning...

Kalista started her morning with a little breakfast.  She ate a bit of her hash brown before we had to give her a tube feeding.  Ironically, she hasn't been super hungry when she wakes up.  We'll give it a little more time.  It's only the second day without an overnight feeding...we're a little over anxious for amazing results.

We dropped Kalista off at school and she said "Hi" to her teacher before she  ran to the trampoline.  We stayed for about 20 minutes to see if she would be fine without us. It appeared that she was doing fine on her own.  She would play a little bit and then look up to smile to let us know that we could leave.  We knew there would be no tears as she giggled and ran around meeting her new classmates.  Kalista even waved "Bye" to us through the window. So precious!!!!  Kind of glad that there was no separation anxiety, but at the same time...disappointed that our baby didn't really need us.

Bounce Bounce Bounce

She found another lam-b in her classroom. How funny!

When Jen went to pick Kalista up, she was so tired from the half day of ultimate fun.  Jodi, her teacher, said that Kalista had a great first day. Kalista did her own thing at times, but for the most part...she sat like a big girl with all her other classmates during lunchtime and ate her noodles and Vienna sausages.  All in all....a success!

Bella was super excited to see Kalista when she returned from school.  Kali spent some time hanging out with Bella- petting her, chasing her and even putting all of our dog toys into Bella's crate.  Oh that Kalista!!!!

Bella got a surge of extra attention and pampering today.  We renovated her living quarters and expanded some space for her to roam.  We washed her linens and gave her a spa treatment during her bath.  The princess is back!

Bella found a comfy spot while we were doing laundry

Getting Ready For School

Kalista gets to start school tomorrow.  We got the green light to start a few weeks early.  Since Jen has been going to a Hanan speech and language workshop at the elementary school, Kalista has been dropped off for daycare in her future classroom so she can interact with her new teachers and other kids in her class.

Kalista got her new backpack the other day.  It has Hello Kitty on the front with neon stripes.  Her first mission, when she got her hands on it, was to take all the paper stuffing out of it.  Once that was accomplished, she decided that she would pack the Kung Fu Panda 2 blu-ray case, her stuffed panda and a few other toys in the backpack.

Jen packed up all of Kali's necessary medical accessories and diapers/wipes to bring on the first day of school.  The school nurse will be readily available for any g-tube help during her school days.  Rest assured...Kalista is in good hands!

We know potty training is stressed highly before kids start preschool at age 3, so we have been working hard on that.  Our potty training skills are much improved since we started 3 weeks ago.  Kalista now lets us know if she needs to go potty...of course...when she remembers.  At night, she has been really consistent with her pee-pee skills as part of her bedtime ritual.  All new parents out there listen up....ROUTINE and CONSISTENCY PAYS OFF!!!!  We began by just sitting her on the potty right before bed, just after her PJ change and right before teeth brushing.  Now it's so automatic....  pajamas...potty...brush teeth...sleep.

Big milestone....we are off our night feedings!!!!  Well...this is the first night...not to jinx ourselves.  Per our nutritionist, we have switched back to the higher calorie drink (Boost or Peptamen 1.5) and requiring less volume to accommodate her nutritional needs. This makes for a hungrier kid that eats more.  At least, that is what we are hoping for.

We've got lots of things going on this week and we will continue to keep all of you posted.

Zoo Safari Round 2

Auntie Kim came to visit for the past week and we explored the San Diego Zoo and Zoo Safari (or whatever they call the Wild Animal Park nowadays).  We saw our favorite animals and even a few rare ones that we skip on our weekly visits.

We found out that Kalista is very fearful of snakes when we walked through the reptile house.  She jumped back from the glass and hid her face.  Wonder if that is a natural reaction for all babies...hmm?!?

Kalista is a little explorer now and wondering how this world works.  She tried to see if her arm would go through the elephant's trunk. She also checked out the Polar Bear Plunge ice caves and walked/crawled through them. Auntie Kim had to crawl and follow her since our joints are not as flexible as the good 'ol days. Not to mention that it was one stinky cave and Jen almost passed out from the smell of stinky socks and sweat. Brave Auntie Kimmie!!!!

We caught Kalista posing next to a seal with Auntie. The photo turned out pretty cute.

It was great having Auntie Kim in town. We did a lot of catching up and enjoyed many a laughs with the crew from Yo Gabba Gabba (which is Kali's new favorite show).

Bye Bye Auntie Kim! Until next time...muah!

Be Our Guest

It has been a whirlwind guest month and we love it!!!!

Kalista enjoyed a good week with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Bill. Ironically, we had Flat Stanley for the same week as a homework assignment for our cousin, Ryan. For those who don't know, Stanley Lambchop is a book character created by Jeff Brown that was flattened in his sleep when a bulletin board fell off his bedroom wall.  Poor Stanley!!

Our first exciting trip was to the Birch Aquarium since we had it on our 'to do list" with family in town.  Kalista LOVED it!  We had to hold her in order for her to see all the creatures in each tank.  Depending on who was the closest, Kalista hopped from one set of arms to another.  She was exceptionally mesmerized by the giant sea kelp exhibit. Here are a few other images from our excursion:

 Stanley standing in front of the aquarium entrance

 Beautiful jellyfish in an ever-changing color display

 The stained glass window was gorgeous

 Kalista and Grandma enjoyed the Tangs and Clownfish

The best part of the aquarium was watching Kalista touch a starfish for the first time.  Okay....it was a fake toy starfish, but it took a lot of courage.  We're so glad it wasn't real because she drop that thing like a hotcake.  

We finished our visit in the Shark Reef area and played with all the eco-energy saving activities that were on display.  Kalista loved the Shark Cage because it made the best sound as she ran across the metal flooring.  boom boom boom boom.

Kalista posing in front of a wind-energy blade template

da un...da dun...da dun....eeeeee!!!!! We got chomped up.

Like we said earlier, the Shark Cage was a popular spot among the family. We had a mini incident with the Cage, but it ended up being no big deal.  Notice Kalista's big cheesy smile in the first picture....well...the head, that houses that big smile, got stuck in between the bars.  It sent us on a flashback to the days when we were young and got our heads got stuck in the bars within the stair banister. Every child has to experience it at some point. 

Grandma and Grandpa got caught up in the action too..except no heads got stuck here.

During the week, we made our usual trip to the zoo.  We kind of forgot that Spring Break equals craziness, so we had to brave through the crowds.  Flat Stanley joined us and we think he enjoyed himself. Kalista convinced Grandma to buy her a stuffed panda and would not let go of the little thing until we got home.

We made it to the zoo with Flat Stanley

Kalista clinging on to her new friend

This elephant knew how to pamper himself

Easter weekend was great since we had a chance to spend it with family and friends. We drove up to LA to visit Jen's old roommate from college for her little boy's first birthday.  We also caught up with old friends we haven't seen in a long time.  Kalista had a blast at her first Easter egg hunt and searched for hidden eggs with lil ones her size.  Her stamina was short and found not ONE....but TWO eggs and then called it a day.  It was the cutest thing watching all these little ones running around and comparing their new found treasures.  We hope everyone had a fabulous Easter!

These were the best cake and rice krispie pops!

Kali's first Easter egg hunt