Last Thoughts of 2010

This afternoon, I was preparing to bring in the new year with the my boys and had sudden moment of reflection - to be honest it actually caught me off guard. I was watching them curled up so cute counting their sheep or at least cuddling with them. :) It just got me thinking... 

Wow - what a year! It's been full of ups and downs... not to mention the many challenges and rewards. Through it all, I'm so grateful our family and all we have been given! 

This is the time we are supposed to reflect on things we can do better in the upcoming year. So many of my life lessons have been taught to me by Andre and Taylor. It's amazing how animals cope with adversity - we can learn a lot from them.

So here are some of my resolutions:

• Remember to appreciate everybody and everything - you never know when it might not be there
• Take time to enjoy the small things - including one last tug on a toy before heading out the door to work :)
• Throw a party and celebrate all achievements - no matter how small
• Say thank you and I love you more - people deserve to know they are appreciated, loved and needed
• When all else fails take a breath and smile, it's better than the alternative
• Laugh more - it really is the best medicine!

I'm sure I'll think of more as the new year approaches... but, I think this is a good place to start! 

Happy New Year! :)

Ready Or Not - Here We Come!

Ending the year looking good!

After a wonderful Christmas with family out of state - we are finally back home with our boys. They got to be spoiled by my mom and dad with walks, toys and puppy treats!



Andre got to end the year with his annual check up. Dr. Burns said his heart and lungs were strong and we're waiting on the blood work. With all of his medicines we do a work up at least once a year to check everything out.

Taylor is as crazy as ever! I know he was busy over the holidays because he has been taking lots of naps since we got home - in Taylor style there are big bursts of energy in between. :)

Pretty soon we'll be taking down the Christmas tree and lights getting things back to normal. Guess that means - ready or not - 2011 here we come!

Our Holiday Elves

Aww, look at my cute holiday elves! They have gone from naughty to nice... we are all ready for Santa at our house.

I wonder if the reindeer like dog treats? Maybe we'll leave some with Santa's cookies and milk.

Better get the stockings out!

The Holidays Are Getting Closer!

It's the week of Christmas and everything is crazy! I think it's time for a Starbucks break. :)

They boys are loving the extra doggie cookies around this time of year. They are just like kids trying to convince us they deserve another - they sit in the kitchen and stare at the counter top just waiting for them to jump on to the floor. Taylor even had a stomach ache the other night from too much fun. With those big eyes, he is a little con artist when it comes to treats!

A funny thing happened this morning... when I was driving into work - in the middle of the very light snow/rain there was a huge rainbow! I have never seen a rainbow before snow before. :) It was beautiful - must have been a sign that today was going to be a good day!

Medic... Sock Monkey Down!

On the good side, they won't be able to see or
hear the boys coming next time :)

WOW... the holidays are a battleground at our house!

The boys have been having fun getting into wrapped (and unwrapped) gifts over the last couple weeks as we are preparing for the holidays. They better watch out or Santa may put them on the naughty list.

In the middle of it all, they are finding their holiday toys and celebrating in their own ways. Unfortunately, the holiday sock monkeys are taking a beating. Looks like these two are off to surgery again! :)

The Best Present of All...

What is better than a toy sock monkey? A Tiffany's necklace? I can tell you! A clean bill of health from Dr. Burns - that is the best Christmas gift of all!

It's been six months since Taylor was first diagnosed with cancer. Multiple surgeries and a couple challenging recoveries later we were told today at our four month check-up... Taylor is looking great! Just what we wished for this holiday season - I couldn't be happier! :)

Our next check-up is in two months - we are just including it in our annual check-up to save an extra trip to the vet. We'll keep watching and checking for bumps... but at least we get to enjoy today and the holidays!

Rumor has it our Christmas cards are hitting the mailboxes... I hope everybody enjoys some fun photos of the four of us. We have a lot to be thankful for this year and our little family tops the list!

Thanks to wonderful family and friends we made it through 2010... soon it's on to 2011! (wait, we need to survive the holidays and my final class project first!)

Ready for My Close Up!

Ready for my puppaccino!

TGIF... I'm so excited the weekend is here!

Taylor got an early start to the weekend by spending the day with Jay relaxing and getting cleaned up. He looks so pretty and ready for the holidays! Too bad we already had his photo for the Christmas card, he looks so nice today with his new holiday bandanna.

Andre on the other hand really needs a bath... he is definitely the stinky dog today. Jay gave us an extra bandanna for him, so it looks like it's bath time! You need to smell nice when you get a holiday bandanna.

Thanks to my accounting guardian angel I have night to relax. My homework is turned in and I may finally get my Christmas cards addressed and in the mail. Then all of our family and friends can see how cute our boys are this year!

All I Want For Christmas

There are 17 days until Christmas and our boys are getting restless!

Andre wants my Tiffany's bag under the tree... honestly it would be nice if he would open it a bit more so I can peek inside! He is also interested in a couple other packages.

Taylor is still after our ornaments... no causalities so far (knock on wood) but tonight he is interested in the Rock 'em and Sock 'em ornament. Better watch out Bones... I hear they pack a punch! :)

Good thing Jim's gifts aren't under there yet... there would be no hope for them!

We finally have our Christmas cards after an error with the envelopes... if I could just get this week's homework done I could get started on addressing them. Let the fun continue!

Hello Cindy Lou Who!

"Cindy Lou Who are you in there?"

Our boys are so funny around the holidays!

Andre LOVES Christmas decorations. He comes running when I take out the totes and wants to check out everything as it comes out. Last night I even put a small wreath around him... I have never seen him shake/rip something off so fast! He went running away looking back like he was it trouble. Jim and I were laughing about it most of the night. That's what Andre gets for snooping around. :)

Taylor on the other hand, sits on the sidelines watching and after everything is up he back tracks and checks it out. For some reason this year he is loving my favorite "Grinch and Cindy Lou Who" ornament. It's at about eye level and poor little Cindy is pretty small. Every evening since the tree went up - he walks over and gives her a little kiss with his nose. I keep telling him the Grinch will get him if Cindy gets any bite marks! :)

The holiday shopping is in full swing, we are almost done... just a couple items left and some fun suprises for the boys!

'Tis the Season

Don't mind me, just decorate the tree!

The holiday craziness is here! But in the middle of it all, we got to put up our Christmas tree. :)

Andre was unusually relaxed, hanging out on the sofa and even falling asleep. Taylor was running around trying to get away from the ladder and boxes of ornaments.

Now that the tree is up they are checking out their new ornament - The Grinch and Max. Let's just hope we don't lose any of our pretty ornaments to curious dogs this year!

Now, the bigger question... what do our little monsters deserve in their stockings this year?

O'Christmas Tree

I'm Thankful For...

I am thankful for my little BIG brother!

As another Thanksgiving gets closer... we are reminded for all of the good things in our life. Things we are thankful for:

1. Our Taylor (and his health)
2. Andre's good eye (and the rest of him :) including his spunky personality)
3. Friends and family
4. Cozy slippers
5. Squeaky toys
6. A walk on a beautiful Colorado day
7. Sleeping in with our boys on a cold morning
8. An "A" on homework (especially stats or accounting)
9. Football (guess who?!)
10. Our little family!

Belly Up!

Rub my belly.... please?

Now this is what you call relaxed - TGIF! Did somebody say the dog days of winter?

We are very ready for a calm weekend at the house. It's been a busy week and we are all looking forward to comfy sweats and some relaxation... well at much as you can get while still doing homework.

Andre is probably going to look for Jim's flannel and take a nap. Taylor will keep lookout from the guest bed upstairs. Sigh, the life of our boys, so rough :).

I'm not going anywhere!



If I'm lucky I'll get some cute photos so I can order our Christmas cards!

Fishing Anybody?

Back to the grind and the cold! And no fishing in this pond! :) These guys are way to cute this photo doesn't do them (or the tanks) justice!

It's nice to be home. Earlier this week I was at a conference in Vegas. Yes - it was nice and warm, but I'm happy to be home with my boys! I always miss them while away... these adorable goldfish were the closest thing to pets I got to enjoy. They reminded me of Bonnie and Clyde - my old tennis ball size goldfish. You can laugh but fish do have personalities. (At least mine did!)

Andre's eye is looking great... we have a follow-up in a week or so. Taylor is always so cuddly after I have been traveling. Home sweet home (if it was just a bit warmer).

Our First Snow!

It's here! We got our first snow in northern Colorado yesterday - and we survived!

I wasn't sure we were going to at first...

Andre sat at the door like I was sending him to a torture chamber, after finally going outside he randomly wondered before coming back inside. Almost like he was inspecting the snow... it was cute!

Then our dear sweet Andre brought his wet snow paws inside, go get the towel. :) It's going to be a long and wet winter. 

Taylor on the other hand went flying out the door to play in it... it was only after a while he realized his paws were getting cold and came racing inside. Then he acted like he was being punished by me the rest of the day... maybe he thought I was the reason his feet were cold. Who knows? :)

TGIF! It's going to be a busy day and weekend. Let the fun begin!

Is it Friday Yet?

Look over there... the sky is falling!
Wait, it's just the aspen leaves. :)

It is possible the days are getting shorter? It must be the time change - these early nights just make the days go so fast. There is so much to do and so little time. Don't worry Taylor - I still have time to play!

Taylor gets a day at the spa (ok hairdresser) this week. I got so used to him fuzzy this summer I'm almost sad after he gets groomed to see the fur gone. Maybe with winter coming we'll keep it a bit longer. :)

Andre's eye is healing nicely. Just a couple days left of ointment. I had to laugh tonight - he may not be able to see the food well - but he can sure hear it! :) This dog can hear a puppy treat bag opening from any room in the house!

I need to get started on our Christmas cards soon, I'm struggling with the perfect photo of the boys. Hmm, I may need to get creative this year.

Our Little Dogfather



Our little patriarch

Did you know a dog could lose his voice? Well at least his bark?

After protecting the house last week from the dreaded furnace man, Andre started losing his bark. He sounds like he's straight from the cast of the Godfather. We shouldn't laugh, but it's awfully cute! I do hope it comes back. :) He needs to rest his voice, but he listens as much as I do.



Say hello to my little friend!

On another front, Andre's eye is healing well, thankfully we are only putting ointment on it twice a day. We are trying to do everything we can to keep this eye healthy, he's getting old but it's amazing he can still see those puppy treats!



Taylor is loving the fall, it's a good thing he is getting groomed this week because the leaves from the willow tree keep getting stuck in his fur.

It's really starting to get cold... the snow will be here soon! (sigh) Where did the fall go?!

It's Cold Out There!

Hmmm... how bad do I need to go out there?

It's getting colder and I'm not the only one complaining anymore. :)

TGIF! What a week... the boys, work and homework have been keeping me pretty busy this week.

• Andre is doing well, he isn't fond of the ointment that I need to put on his eye three times a day (only twice a day next week). It's amazing, we aren't seeing the eye-goo anymore. Maybe the splinter in his eye was the cause. I'm still shaking my head over that!
    
• Taylor is Taylor... living and loving life. The other morning he was licking the frost off the grass! It hasn't been that long since he has seen it. It was entertaining. We did our monthly check of his incision. Looking good... and furry! :)

Well, it's going to be a busy weekend of homework (did I mention I hate accounting) and football. Maybe some Christmas card designing inbetween... need to find a good photo of the boys since the Halloween shot didn't turn out as planned. :)

Our Halloween Recovery

What a day! After spending yesterday recovering from our Halloween weekend, we have had a fun filled week (so far)!

Andre got to go to the eye vet today... he developed a small eyelid tumor. No need to be alarmed, we have had these before. Strangely enough, they also found a small foreign body abscess to the top part of his cornea. Now how did that get there?! We were all surprised. It seems it may have been a small splinter... maybe a leaf from the grass? Either way, it's all fixed up and we are on an ointment regimen for the next 10 days.

"Hide me!" :)

We also had a visitor this afternoon... our new friend Bruno. He is new to the neighborhood and found his way to our street. After introducing himself to all of the neighbor dogs, he and I bonded. :) I convinced him to come and sit with me while I called his owners and vet office trying to track somebody down. Finally, I got him to his owners. (sigh) What an afternoon.

Now off to enjoy the night with homework and relaxation. Yes, that is a bit of a contradiction! :)

Happy Howl-oween!

The day is finally here! I love Dr. Seuss characters... I since one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish wouldn't work with the boys... we did our own take on Thing 1 and Thing 2 consumes.

Presenting Flea 1 and Flea 2... I worked so hard on the costumes and wigs... too bad my fleas wouldn't sit still to get good photos. Guess I need to use a different one on the Christmas card this year :)!

"Really?!"

Treats for good sports!



"You get two minutes before I shake this off :)"

Andre and Taylor with their cousin Izzy

Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me...

We are under attack! Tonight a VERY large fly entered our home and is escaping capture (and the fly swatter). We have called in the guards! Andre is hunting throughout the house looking for this pesty uninvited guest... Taylor is hiding over by the sofa hoping it stays away. It's so sad, he is so big, but so scared of the fly. :)

• WANTED: One uninvited black fly - charged with breaking/entering, misdemeanor battery, harassment and creating a nuisance
• REWARD: One pumpkin cupcake or dog treat (depending on the species)

We are on the Halloween countdown! Tomorrow night, the boys will be debuting their costumes at my mom and dad's house. I can hardly wait! Jim laughed... did he really think I would work so hard and not share these cute consumes?!


Don't worry BIGGER/little brother, I'll protect you!

Happy Birthday Taylor!

We should have known back then...
 we were going to have our hands full!

What a great birthday it was! We never knew years ago, what our impulse buy would mean this many years later. I just couldn't imagine life without Taylor (and Andre) in our family!

The boys and I got to enjoy our declared day of rest... this included sleeping in, no homework, playing outside and celebrating the big seven. :) It was wonderful!

We all got to celebrate with gifts of toys and treats... and of course, some Buttercream Cupcakery vanilla bean mini cupcakes (I enjoyed a key lime pie one)!

Taylor wouln't even wait for us to sing!

He bit right in :)

We are looking forward to many more wonderful years to come with our little old men!

  







Last Images of a Six Year Old Wheaten :)

Aww, how can you ever say no to that face!

Tomorrow's the big day - Taylor is turning seven! I can hardly believe it, our baby is getting old. (I guess that means I am old too!)

I have spent a lot of time (when I'm not sleeping at night) thinking about how lucky we are. It wasn't that long ago that we were hoping to make it to the next day - thanks to our wonderful doctors and surgeon we made it to the big seven!

I'm feeling super thankful this weekend! Tomorrow, we will all celebrate our Taylor with Buttercream Cupcakery cupcakes! Now that's celebrating in style. :)

We See the Light!

Isn't it pretty!

Thanks to my wonderful dad, out new chandelier is hanging and lighting up the house! :)

I love the chandelier - it's such a statement! The boys on the other hand aren't so sure! Andre ran from the kitchen all night while we were hanging it... Taylor is scared of the shadows it creates on the walls. You would have thought we were under attack.


I guess they are going to go on a diet until they get used to it. :) Taylor better start coming into the kitchen or he isn't going to be able to enjoy his birthday cupcake this weekend.

Hail to Thee My Alma Mater, Colorado State...

Can you see Cam?
 (Hint: he is the ram walking in the
CSU logo at the middle of the field)

We're back! And this time it isn't for the Vet Hospital. It took nine and a half years, but I finally made it to my first CSU football game. For that matter, my first college football game ever! Jim treated me to an afternoon without studying, what a great date.

It was a treat! I have never witnessed tail gating before, it was fascinating. I even saw one group of people that had a flower centerpiece to their table. How cute! It's funny to watch people at sporting events, we are such pack animals. Everybody was playing games, eating and having a good time. I honestly can't imagine sitting in a parking lot for that many hours just waiting for a game. But, maybe some day I'll try it out and see if it's all the fun everybody else seems to think it is.

Now, CSU isn't that good, but thankfully we got to see a great game! They won (the good part) and it seemed like all of the action happened at our end of the field... even a hit that projected a player's helmet across the field. The sweet old guy in front of us said it was a "Sports Center Moment," I guess that's good. :) I have to admit, I started having more fun people watching the second part. It was a great date afternoon, even with the sunburn!

Back at home, it was a beautiful weekend. We got to take the boys on two walks... Andre was so pooped from yesterday's walk I had to carry him a bit today. His old little legs just aren't what he wants them to be.

It will be a busy week... lots to do at work and the countdown is on for Taylor's seventh birthday next weekend, we need to order his cupcakes from Buttercream. I hope they have a good special!

Can I Eat it Now?

What a week! Before I knew it, it was Friday and the weekend was here.

Taylor got groomed yesterday. This grooming appointment actually snuck up on us! Things have been so busy, I didn't realize until a couple days before it was a grooming week. Taylor's fur is growing in so nicely, and Jay does a beautiful job, except for the scar peeking through - you wouldn't all that he went through this summer.

Of course, we hit the neighboring Starbucks for our after grooming treat. It was cute, our barista passed me the pupachino and Taylor stood on the center console of the car just watching it. He is so patient waiting for his food with his little tail wagging. :)

I am excited that Taylor will look pretty for his birthday photos next week - he'll be the big seven years old! Wow, time sure goes by fast!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Hey, who is in that camera thing?

It's a fall day here in Colorado. Can you believe it, we may get our first frost tonight! This morning Taylor very excited to go running in the rain. Silly dog, now we just need to teach him to shake off outside. :)

I gave him a check-up looking for bumps the other day. Three cheers, I didn't feel anything. Its funny, I swear I can feel some stitches a bit that were deep in the incision. The scar is being covered by fur these days, but if you look good can still see the battle wound. Every month, I check his site for lumps and the node behind his knee area.

I got an e-mail the other day from the Morris Animal Foundation - Canine Cancer Campaign. It seems the Estes Park K9 Cancer Walk was a success. I wish we could have brought the boys, looking at the photos it seemed like a lot of fun! I think we did a good job with our sit and stay participation. Since we were recovering at home, we participated in our hearts! :)

Things to start looking forward to: Taylor's birthday in a couple weeks and Halloween (I'm almost done with the costumes!). Well, off to face the rainy day!

Appreciating the Small Things

Taylor's small thing: a nap with purple dog

The boys reminded me this weekend how important the small things are. A walk on a sunny day, 10 extra minutes in bed, time with family and even your favorite toy. :)

After going through Taylor's cancer treatment this summer I told myself to appreciate these small things more. With school, homework, work and the day to day around the house it's been easy to forget. This weekend, after a wonderful Saturday morning walk and being chased through the house by purple dog, I was reminded to take the time to enjoy these moments! :)

It's funny, some may say they are just dogs, but to me they are like people. You can learn so much from their big hearts. At our house, they are our family.

Walk 'Til You Drop

What a great start to the weekend! After I got to enjoy morning of yoga, the whole family took off on a walking adventure.

It was a beautiful fall Colorado morning. We got bark at tennis and soccer players, other walking dogs and the occasional bike. What fun it is to get out and about with the boys. I always enjoy getting to wear them out so they relax during the day.

As soon as we got home, Andre and Taylor found their corners of the house, cooled off and are now sleeping.



The life of our boys, it's such hard work. :)

Now, the house is off to homework and college football of course! 



Where's My Rawhide?

So what is so special about a rawhide? One found it's way out of the closet into the living room and Taylor was all over it. Andre was interested... but he didn't have a chance.

The passion Taylor had for his rawhide was funny. Nothing was going to take him away. It's more exciting than gum... maybe more like my Starbucks? Something you slowly enjoy! :)

Sigh, the life of a dog. It reminds you to appreciate the small things!

My Three Nurses

Just what the doctor ordered!
Much better than the alka-seltzer :)

The bummer of fall is the days are hot and then the days are cold... I always get a bit of a bug when the weather changes so much. Today is the beginning of that season. :(

But, I'm so lucky... I have three great nurses.

• One brought me my medicine this morning (the good stuff and the bad stuff)
• The other cuddled with me keeping me warm
• The last... well... he just looked at me from his comfy bed. I think he was wishing me well. :)

At least I get to work from home today in my comfortable sweatshirt and not spreading my germs.

Come On, It's a New Week... Let's Go!

Patiently waiting for me to take a trip outside -
or not so much :)

It's Monday morning and I think I'm coming down the the cold going around. Somebody needs to tell Taylor. This morning he was jumping on the bed and running around outside. I guess it was the best medicine because it did put a smile on my face and make my morning better!

I am surprised he isn't more tired, we all had a late night studying and starting this week's homework. I'm so lucky to have such great study buddies. When I get frustrated they always listen, when I'm confused they give me the look of "you'll figure it out" and when it finally comes together they cheer with me. What a team we are!

This is why I'm a dog person. How could you not love something that is furry and loves you back? Especially my boys!

Rare Photo of a Wild Silky Terrier

He really snuggles!

It's Friday, three cheers!

Every now and then I have a moment with the boys where I step back and say "aww, how cute!" I had one of these moments with Andre. Since he rarely sits still to let me take his photo, I took full advantage before running out the door to work.

I suspect it won't be this quiet over the weekend... with the usual football and studying its bound to be a bit crazy. But, with the cooler weather coming in it's looking like there's a walk in our future!

Can't You Tell... Summer is Ending

One of my late summer/fall bloomers

 - isn't it pretty?!

With record temperatures here in Colorado it isn't obvious that summer is almost over. But, the nights are coming earlier and getting colder. My only consolation of summer ending is the changing leaves around the neighborhood and in the mountains. It makes it all a bit more bearable - ok - and the winter boot and sweater shopping. :)


Andre and Taylor are loving playing outside in the early evenings - now if we can just keep the neighbor dog from jumping towards our yard. It's been a bit better but unfortunately still an issue.



Chillin' in the shade



I have been checking Taylor's cancer site for bumps. Just every couple weeks to make sure nothing is coming up. So far I haven't seen or felt anything. I have to admit, I hold my breath every time. If his personality is any indicator - all is well - he is still a love bug that loves to play tug-of-war when I get home at night



Fun in the sun! Now let me back inside :)

I have noticed in the recent months that Andre is getting to be more and more like a little old man. It's kinda cute, but he is moving a little slower these days and his sight (in his good eye) seems to be getting a bit worse. We recently had our eye check-up and got a clean bill of health. So we will continue to monitor. These are small things - out little guy is quite the firecracker and still one of the happiest and spunkiest dogs I know.



Days are still busy... Taylor's birthday and Halloween are just around the corner! Still working on those costumes. :)

Now on with the day!