Why I Love REI:

1.  Dividends!

2.  I was going to buy a new pair of Dansko shoes with my dividend this year to replace my old pair that REALLY hurt my feet.  I got them two years ago and haven't been able to wear them much because if I ever sit down, the top of my feet would ache.  Not sure if pregnancy made my feet higher, or what.  Anyway, Chris said I should try to exchange them.  I reluctantly gave it a try, and guess what!  They exchanged them!  And they didn't have the same pair, so I got some even cuter ones!  I so wish I would've done this two years ago!!!

Two Eyes

I finally got glasses that I can see with!  Does anyone else who wears contacts have a hard time adjusting to their glasses?  I wore them for an entire day and a half and my depth perception was still off and things were looking weird.  How long does it take for things to look normal?  I'd love to be able to wear my glasses and not worry about falling down the stairs.  :o)

18 Month Professional Pictures

Kena

The other sad news is about our cat, Kena.  We had her for about five and a half years.  I had never had a cat before, so it was a fun experience for me.  March 16th was the last time we saw her.  She has a chip that animal control and shelters scan for, and they haven't found her.  We have no idea what happened, but assume a fox got her.  As of today, animal control still had no sign of her.  Going to the shelter was really sad because several cats looked like her, but as I got closer I knew it wasn't.

We got Kena from a shelter as a crazy kitten.  She would run sideways along the vertical edge of the couch and as fast as she could to another location.  After being introduced outdoors a couple of weeks after we got her, there was no stopping her.  She loved being outside and there were times when we wouldn't see her for an entire day.  She was very independent, although she became more loving and cuddly as she got older.  Probably not until about the last year or so, she only wanted to be pet or cuddled at certain times.  But as she got older she got more loving and wanted to spend more time with us.  

You could often find her in the coziest places in our house, especially blankets.  This was taken a few days before her last day.  I was washing Keira's changing pad cover and walked into the room to find Kena curled up on a towel I had laid out.

Kody was so gentle with Kena as a kitten.

Our outdoors kitten.

Kena, we miss you but know you're with Kody!  You were a beautiful and wonderful cat!

Kody

Okay, now a couple of hard posts so I can get on with all of the others.  I'm a bit anal and like to have all of them in order.  I also loved it when I could back date them so I knew when they actually happened rather than when I took the time to write about them.  But I think they removed that option when they updated the blog site and made uploading pictures MUCH easier.

My sister's wonderful dog, Kody, passed away on February 28th.  He graced her with his presence for almost 13 years which is pretty old for a Siberian Husky.  The week before he started acting a little weird and eating objects, like Keira's socks, and then one of Jason's rope toys.  He was able to discard the socks, but not the rope.  The ultrasound that was done didn't show for sure, but we think that it was in his stomach blocking the opening to his intestine.  Surgery would have been very expensive and not a wise choice for a dog at his age.  For about a week and a half he was unable to eat or eliminate much, progressively becoming worse.  On February 28th he was so weak he could barely get up.  Laura had have him put to sleep.  

He has been a wonderful blessing to our family, arriving at a time when Laura needed him so much.  He was her best friend and was always there for her.  He has been through a lot of moving and extended stays with various members of our family but was always as happy, loving, and loyal as could be.  In his younger years he loved to take himself for walks at any chance he could, but as he got older and wiser, he realized that he'd rather be nowhere else than with Laura.

He was my dog, Jason's, best friend.  Jason would become ecstatic whenever he would come over.  The first stuffed toy that he didn't tear to shreds was one of Kody's old toys a couple of years ago.  Even a month before he passed away, Kody always put up with Jason's puppy-like play and love.  And up until the last couple of weeks Kody would still yelp and dance at the thought of going for a walk.

Kody was loved by all and will be greatly missed and could never be replaced.  We're so thankful that Laurie had such a wonderful dog for so long!  We love you Kody and will miss you!

18 Months!

Well I'm quite the slacker and only posted pictures on this post last month and never wrote anything, so pictures are all you'll get, besides her stats.  :o)

At 18 months Keira is 2 feet 8.75 inches tall which is the 81%.

She weighs 24 pounds, 4 ounces which is 50%.

Her weight for length is 37%.

The doctor said she looks great and has no concerns and that she's talking like a two year old.  :o)

 First day of nursery!  She did awesome!

Counting

This is how Keira counts...  2, 3, 5, 6, 8.  Not bad for 18 months!

I really hadn't been trying to teach Keira how to count, but I do count things for her.  Last week while she was taking a bath and I was counting something,  I said "one" and she said "two, three."  Totally out of nowhere!  It was soooo cute!!!