Crazy Baby Week

This week has definitely been a crazy one: work has been crazy and we've had some crazy emotional days, all after a crazy weekend. For several of our friends, it's been a crazy week because of other reasons--new babies!! On Sunday, our former Journey Group friends Matt and Erika (now in San Diego) had their first baby--a boy named Felix, who is so cool he already has his own website. Unfortunately, we didn't know if Felix was going to be a boy or a girl, so this sweet little man received a very gender neutral ubby from his Journey Group friends. On Monday, we talked to our good friend Jason, who's little sister gave birth to her first baby (also Jason's first niece/nephew)--a boy named Oscar! Does anyone else see the humor in that? Felix and Oscar?

Ok, back to babies. So tonight, our good friends Robyn and Danny had their first baby as well--an adorable little girl they named Violet. Here's the happy family of three just a little while after Violet was born tonight--this little girl is already all over the Internets (primarily because she has four aunts and an uncle and an honorary aunt all at the hospital)!!


I can't wait to meet little Violet--she's the only baby friend I'll get to meet any time soon since she's the only one who lives in Lawrence!

Oh, and to continue the baby theme of the week, I found out in the last week that two of my other friends are expecting babies! It's baby craziness! Both of those babies are still secrets though, so I can't tell you who they are. ;)

Welcome to the world, Felix and Oscar and Violet!!

4-0 Jayhawks

This morning I was reading the Journal-World article about yesterday's KU game, and while doing so I realized that I'd only briefly mentioned KU football this season and hadn't really talked about the team much at all. I don't want anyone to think that my lack of KU football chatter in any way indicates that I've lost some passion about the gridiron or my 'Hawks! Apparently there's just been too many other things to jabber about!

Yesterday's game was definitely the most exciting of the three games we've been to this year (which have ALL been sellouts, by the way--at first in KU school history), but unfortunately it was because the game was so close!! While our offense played well and (as usual) was able to score fairly easily, our defense had a very difficult time stopping the pass and getting pressure on the quarterback early in the game. In fact, it wasn't until the fourth quarter that our defense finally came up big and made some huge stops when we were only ahead by one touchdown. Before that last period, Stuckey was about the only defensive player that was out there making big plays!

On offense, we had tons of guys making great plays all day long. Reesing was great, receivers Briscoe and Meier and Wilson and freshman McDougald all had several terrific catches, and backup running back Toben Opurum, who is a true freshman as well, was fantastic! Our offense is so much fun to watch!

I didn't watch the game quite as closely as I would normally because we took a couple of guests to Memorial Stadium who weren't quite as interested in the action as we were (more on our guests a little later), based on the fact that they are 4 and 7 years old. We spent a little more time than normal going back and forth to the bathroom, snack bar, campanile, etc. That's why I'm watching a replay of the game right now as I type and why I loved looking through all of the LJ World's pictures and highlights! The photographers always do such a great job of capturing the action. This one by Richard Gwin might be my favorite of the bunch. I love how their quarterback has his face smashed in the defender's armpit! It's really a perfect representation of how the defense stuck it to those Golden Eagles when it counted!

This Baby Rocks!!

This is seriously the most awesome thing I've seen in a long time. Absolutely hysterical, yet absolutely amazing. Maybe it's because I have such a passion for movin' and shakin', but regardless, I love it!! My friend Tish gets the props for sharing it on Facebook first! :)



I totally want to know more about this baby! Is he/she a boy or a girl? How old is he? Is it not incredible what a little tiny mind can absorb and mimic? If this doesn't make you be careful about what you let your baby/toddler/child watch on TV, I don't know what will. That amazing little brain is taking it all in and is very impressionable! Fascinating, funny and flippin' adorable!

The Old but Good Bathroom

The other night I bought some potpourri for our little half bathroom, and while I was in there I was trying to figure out what else I need to do to make the room complete, and I just can't decide. What I think it needs is color--I'm really having the urge to paint some of the rooms in our house. Chad has made me promise that I won't start painting until we have the outside of the house painted (since it really needs a fresh coat more than the inside does), so I've got to figure out something else to do to complete the room for the time being. I'm thinking somehow I need to add some flowers that would complement my beautiful painted window, but I'm not sure what or where. If you have any great decorating ideas, let me know! Here's the room as it is now.



Taking these pictures made me think about some pictures I took of our old guest bathroom before we moved: the "after" shots of a blog post I'd written about a year before that I never followed up on. I just realized there weren't pictures included with that post, so here are the before pictures of our old bathroom.

Blah.

Now, here are the after shots of our lovely, colorful bathroom.

As much of the bathroom as I can get in one frame, with the shower curtain that was my inspiration.

A new light fixture.

New pottery and new framed photos by me.

New towel bars.

New faucet.

The new curtain/artwork/pottery/towel bars/faucet in the mirror.

Although I'm not much of a decorator, I will say I was kind of proud of that bathroom! I'm still in love with that rusty/burnt orange color, and I miss it! I miss all the warm custom colors of our old house, but I definitely don't miss our old house itself!

Super Brain Yoga

Yesterday I saw this video posted on Facebook and I found it totally fascinating. I'll admit that it seems completely ridiculous and implausible, but it's a news story about a very simple but strange physical exercise that actually improves brain function--in normal people and in people with memory problems and neurological disorders.



Seriously, I know it sounds way too good to be true, but don't those doctors seem legit? I checked out the "Superbrain Yoga" website, and it actually tries to explain the science behind the exercise, which ends up making the whole thing sound even hokier than the news piece. I think I'll just ignore all the mumbo-jumbo and give it a try. Who doesn't want to make their brain work better, right?

A Very Great Day

Yesterday was such a terrific day--the type that you wish you could have every weekend! It unfortunately started a little too early (for a Saturday) because of the early start to the KU game, but it wasn't really that hard to wake up that morning because I was so excited about the day to come. I baked some cinnamon rolls for a tailgate gathering, and then we headed out the door decked in our KU attire. We ran into our friend Terry and his mom on the way to the stadium, and then dropped by the tailgate party of one of Chad's coworkers, who had been there since like 6:30 a.m.! After that we headed to the tailgate of our friend LaRisa, who was celebrating her birthday that day. After lighting the candles on her cinnamon rolls and chatting for a little while, we headed across the hill to visit the tailgate party of some of my friends from college. I was so excited to see these friends--most of whom I only run into every few years. One of them--my friend Heather--I'm pretty sure I hadn't seen since Chad and I got married 15 years ago!

It was so great to see so many of my sorority sisters at once and to get to meet all of their cute little ones too. We hung out and chatted with everyone until right up until game time, and then we rushed into the stadium and made it just in time for the kickoff. The Jayhawks got off to a slow start, but after the first quarter we started to pick up the pace and take control of the game. The only bad things about the game were that 1) my boy Jake Sharp aggravated an injury and didn't end up playing very much, and 2) despite the 75 degree weather, we were burning up in our seats! I'm not sure why the sun was so hot yesterday, but it wasn't just us--our friends LaRisa and Brian and Paula were all incredibly hot too! Chad and I ended up going outside of the stadium at half time and laying down on the cool sidewalk in the shade to cool off!

After the great win by Todd and the boys (44-16), we stopped back by our two tailgate parties before heading back to our car. We picked up some food on the way home, and after eating and cleaning up the kitchen, I laid down with Chad to watch some football and promptly feel asleep! An afternoon nap should seriously be a part of every weekend!

I did manage to get up and get the dogs walked before heading over to my friend Dre's house (which is now less than a half mile us), where she and her husband hosted a fabulous dinner for all of my college friends. It was so wonderful to spend time with these girls after so many years. They are so much fun, and they all look absolutely fabulous--if they look any different than our college years it's because they look better than they did back then! Most of them have awesome little kiddos and it was great to watch them all play together. The only thing that could have made the evening better was if a few other people in our pledge class could have joined us!

While I'm generally pretty good at keeping up with my friends via email, I am notoriously bad about calling people and have never been good at keeping in touch by phone. Since the Internet was not very popular yet when we graduated back in 1994, I didn't do a good job of staying in contact with these friends--which makes me so sad! Part of that was because I had just gotten married and they were all still living together and hanging out all the time--so we definitely had different interests and priorities, but I definitely wish I could have somehow spent more time with them over the last 15 years. Getting back in touch with these girls is one of the reasons I've been so thankful for Facebook. Hopefully our little pledge class reunion will become an annual affair and I will start seeing these girls a lot more often!

It's Over the Top, Right?

I was reading an article today about the recent murder of the Yale student just days before her wedding. It's such a horribly sad story, and I feel so awful for her family and fiance. It's terribly tragic, but also incredibly unnerving, since it would appear that one of her own colleagues committed the crime, based on the fact that it happened inside their building with controlled access. All of this is really just background info so that I can show you this video that was linked to the CNN story I was reading--a video that I think it completely outrageous.

I'd heard of the "reporter" from this video, Nancy Grace, because I'd seen her spoofed on MADTv and elsewhere, and then I'd seen her all over the news when she grilled some woman on the air a few years ago that ended up committing suicide. However, I don't think I'd ever actually watched her show. Now I know why. Holy moly, I can't even believe this lady is for real. Seriously, you have to watch this.



I could go on and on, but let's just start with that ridiculous sneer/evil eye she's giving the camera most of the time. Then there's the bizarre accent that is so incredibly annoying: "Meery! Meery! Meery!" I'm pretty sure she also said "Yeel" several times as well. Don't forget the fact that she was yelling interruptions at her colleague, and interviewing a student at Yale like he was some sort of expert on building security. Oh, and how about the fact that she made a huge deal about a stabbing two miles off of the Yale campus that happened 10 years ago as if it were some sort of smoking gun! Finally, and then I swear I'll quit, I cannot for the life of me understand why in the world she's making such a huge production about the fact that there are not surveillance cameras inside the Yale building. I mean has she really cracked open some huge case here? Is it really even remotely reasonable to expect every campus building to be equipped with cameras throughout? Does it make any sense at all to compare a campus building to a retail store? Seriously, this woman is so completely bizarre to me--the way she acts and the content of her "reports." I can't believe she is the host of a supposed news show. As my brother put it so perfectly just a few minutes ago, that woman is a train wreck!!

Dog Show!!

My friend Max sent met this video the other day and I just couldn't stop smiling while I watched it. It's several minutes long, but it's totally worth watching. If this doesn't start your day in a happy way, I don't know what will! :)

Good Dog

Since I gave Celtic bonus face time the other day, I need to give our youngest a little extra online love today as well. Our youngest but biggest munchkin is such a wonderful doggy I just have to sing his praises a little bit. First of all, I completely missed his birthday (observed) on September 1 because we were so consumed with Hope's visit to the surgeon. Our sweet little guy turned 3 years old around that day--I can't believe he's an adult already!

I obviously wanted to wish Fresco a happy b-day, but I also have to share a couple of recent stories to prove how wonderful he is. The first one is from the other day when we were leaving for the first KU game of the season. The little man is still kenneled while we're gone, which we started after he ate the corner of the coffee table last summer, and which we've continued because he really seems to be comfortable in his kennel. He will open the door to let himself in when we're getting ready to leave, and sometimes he'll sleep in his kennel at night just for the heck of it. So the other day when we were getting ready to leave and he could sense it, he just went to his kennel to lay down and wait. It was so sweet I had to take a picture!

The other story is from Labor Day, when Chad and I were bringing in the last of the moving boxes from the garage into the basement. Chad had walked into the house through the garage with an armful of boxes, and since his arms were full he reached back with his foot to close the door behind him. We both went downstairs to put the boxes in storage, and about 5 minutes later we came back upstairs to find the door to the garage wide open with the garage door up--the door to the garage hadn't latched! I heard Chad yell "Oh no!!" and then run out into the garage, where he found an unleashed and uncollared Fresco, who was just wandering around the garage sniffing everything. Had he decided to run, he could have been a half mile away by the time we got upstairs, but our wonderful little man stayed put without any prompting at all. Now I'm sure if he'd seen a cat or dog or person or rabbit or squirrel or any moving creature out in our front yard he would have taken off, but lucky for us, there wasn't much activity in our neighborhood that morning!

Oh--and one more thing: when he doesn't sleep in his kennel, our youngest pup likes to put himself to bed in our closet, where we've opted to put a dog bed so that he'll quit pulling sweatshirts off the shelves to sleep on. How cute is this little guy?

While our lanky little man still has a few issues, for the most part he's well-adjusted, especially considering the first year of his life was so difficult. We love our sweet little Hoxer (Hound/Boxer) and couldn't be happier that he came to be part of our family!

Surgery Success

I just got back from KC with our little munchkin Hope, who had her stitches taken out and visited Dr. Layton for a follow up. Dr. Layton was very pleased at how the incision has healed--have I mentioned that she is an AMAZING surgeon? She also finally received the results of the pathology report from Hope's surgery. The good news is that all of the margins around the tumor were clear of any cancer. They were all very small margins (1.5-2 cm), but they were clear margins none the less! Because of the location of the tumor, this is the best we can ask for!

We also found out that Hope's third tumor was a grade 2, which is not the least aggressive grade of tumor, but it's not the most aggressive grade either. I'm just so thankful that it wasn't a grade 3!! Now we can put this surgery behind us and go on with life for now, of course being continually vigilant about always checking for that next tumor. Hopefully this time we can make it more than 17 months before we find another one!

Thank you to everyone who called, emailed and prayed for us and for Hope during the last few weeks. Thankfully, she is a tough little girl and is definitely a survivor!!

Playing Dress Up

On Thursday afternoon my friend Megan called me with an awesome invitation. She had two extra tickets to Treads and Threads, Friday night's big benefit for the KU Hospital cancer center. Chad and I had volunteered at this event for several of the last few years, and ironically, this year we decided not to participate. We always had fun, but we kind of just felt like we'd outgrown being "helpers" at the event. When Megan offered us VIP tickets, we were so excited about the opportunity to be actual guests instead of workers!

Since we received and accepted the invitation less than 36 hours before the gala, we faced some fashion dilemmas on Thursday evening. First of all, although the event is black-tie, we didn't have time to rent Chad a tux. He had to wear his black suit, which wasn't really a huge deal since there are actually quite a few guys who don't wear tuxes to the event. Unfortunately, my dilemma wasn't quite as easy to solve, since I could think of nothing in my closet that was appropriate for the evening. I really need to invest in a little black dress for just such an occasion. Since our Journey Group was meeting at our house (to watch football) on Thursday, I didn't have much time for last-minute shopping. I emailed a bunch of friends to see if anyone had a dress I could borrow, and several of my wonderful friends offered outfits from their closet. However, at the last minute I decided to just run by TJ Maxx on the way home to see what they had. I managed to find a couple of dresses with potential, and then with the help of my JG girls I picked out the best one for Friday night's event! I ended up leaving work a little early on Friday to find some cute black shoes, so I was all set for our evening by about 4:00!

I was a little self-conscious on the way to the Speedway, only because I was afraid most people would be in black, while I was wearing shimmery champagne. I hadn't really realized how shimmery the dress was when I tried it on in the store and for my friends! Once I got there, I felt a little better since tons of women were wearing much flashier gowns, some of which were even full-length. Still, since I don't particularly love standing out in a crowd, I think for my next formal event I will try to go with basic black!

All fashion dramas aside, the event was terrific, which wasn't surprising at all since my friend Vikkie is the event planner and always does an amazing job. The decorations were fabulous, the food was great and the entertainment extensive. Michael McDonald was the headliner, and while were weren't necessarily big fans, we were shocked by how many of his songs we knew!!


We had a terrific time with our friend Megan and her husband Chad (at left), who we'd met on a couple of occasions but never really had the opportunity to hang out with. We also got to hang out with my very old friend Devon, who I first met when I was her counselor at Kanakuk back in 1991. We both lived in Lawrence for years without knowing the other was here, so it's been so nice to get reacquainted with Devon thanks to Megan!

Although the evening was great fun for the most part, there is so much alcohol served at this event, there is definitely some questionable and downright disturbing behavior by some of the guests as a result. We saw one middle-aged woman barfing out the door of her limousine, while just a few feet away a young man urinated in the middle of an open field in full view of tons of people, just minutes before his date did the same!! ACK! It was so disgusting. What is wrong with people???

Bad behavior aside, the evening was a blast. For more pictures, check out Vikkie's album from the event!

Celtic's Pet Peeve

Since Hope has gotten so much face time on the blog lately (and by the way, we still haven't gotten the pathology results from her surgery, but she's doing really well), I thought tonight I would share a funny story about our little old man Celtic. I should start this story by explaining that in the last few years, Celtic has developed an incredibly strong aversion to certain beeping noises. Oddly though, it's not all beeping noises--just certain frequencies make him lose his mind. For example, the microwave: okay; the George Foreman grill: not okay. The computer or phone: perfectly fine; a digital kitchen timer that we bought about a year ago: complete hysteria. Our Garmin Forerunner or watch: no response; the smoke detector when the battery goes out: massive panic. You get the picture.

So over the weekend Chad was watching some US Open tennis, and I was sitting in our bedroom doing something or other on the computer. We don't watch much tennis, so we were a little taken aback at the annoying scream/grunts employed by several of the players--especially Venus. Maybe you get used to it after a while, but for us it was almost unwatchable.

Anyway, as I was sitting there on the bench in our bedroom, Celtic came up and started clawing the crap out of my leg nervously, and I had no earthly idea why. I kind of ignored him, sent him up to bed to snuggle with Chad, and then walked into the kitchen. A minute later, Celtic came into the room and climbed up my leg, trembling all over. It was then that I realized what was making him crazy: Venus Williams. The frequency and cadence of her screaming/grunting ground strokes were apparently extremely similar to the other appliances in our home that Celtic has determined are completely evil. I asked Chad to mute the TV, and Celtic relaxed immediately. Apparently, Venus was unwatchable to him as well!

As I was telling this story to my friend LaRisa at work this morning, I realized that screaming tennis players reminded me of the old SNL sketch where Melanie Hutsell played Monica Seles in "At Home with Monica." Monica would just be doing everyday things like opening the fridge or passing the butter, but she would let out one of her trademark yells each time she did even the most mundane task. It was flipping hilarious. I totally wanted to find one of those sketches online somewhere so I could post it here, but a few searches turned up nothing. Hopefully Chad and I aren't the only ones who remember this sketch, and the rest of you can recall the hilarity and laugh right along with me in your mind! :)

Wine Country Wedding

Over the weekend we went to a terrific pre-Labor Day BBQ hosted by our friends Leigh Ann and Nate, which reminded me that I need to get my rear in gear and actually talk about their wedding that we went to a few months ago! Our trip to California at the end of June was centered around this fantastic event!

Nate and Leigh Ann's wedding was held at the beautiful vineyard home of Leigh Ann's uncle in an adorable little town in Sonoma county called Healdsburg. We arrived in Healdsburg late in the morning on the wedding day, and spent an hour or so walking around the lovely town square and shopping in the touristy little stores. By the time we checked into our hotel in nearby Geyserville early in the afternoon, it was SUPER hot out (I had no idea the climate was so different in wine country than in San Fran), so I took a dip in the hotel pool, which was really quite nice! My friend Emily and her husband Ashford arrived a couple of hours later, and in the early evening we all rode over to Leigh Ann's uncle's house together in the Hummer that Em and Ash had gotten as a rental car.

The wedding itself was absolutely perfect, which isn't surprising at all since Leigh Ann is a meticulous planner and an amazing host. The setting was gorgeous, with her uncle's vines directly behind the gazebo. The weather was wonderful, with perfect temperatures in the shade even though the sun was a little hot. The music was very unique and meaningful to the couple--completely non-traditional and very fun. Leigh Ann looked absolutely gorgeous (see my favorite photo to the right) and was flanked by her sister and her fabulously fun friends. The ceremony was one of a kind, especially because Nate's best friend from high school was the minister! Everything about the wedding was personalized and perfect!

The reception was also at the family vineyard, with incredible wine (obviously) and fabulous food. We ate at perfectly appointed tables out on the lawn, which were each named after a band instead of simply given a table number. Each band was a band that Nate and/or Leigh Ann had seen live, and since they came to the Old 97's show last year in Lawrence, we got to sit at the Old 97's table, of course! This fun and unique idea is just the kind of incredible detail that goes into every gathering Leigh Ann plans. I've often thought that she missed her calling as a party planner!

During dinner we enjoyed live music from a band, who went on to provide dancing music after dinner. We talked and laughed and socialized with our friends, mostly current and former friends from KU Endowment, late into the night. Everyone had such a great time, and thankfully, the celebration didn't end there! The next morning we all gathered together to jump onto a bus which took us on a wine tour that Leigh Ann had also planned! We stopped by four different wineries that day, all with beautiful views and terrific wines. After learning how incredibly complicated the wine making process is, I came to appreciate why good wine is so expensive!

Chad was such a good sport on the wine tour, because even though he isn't a wine fan at all he actually tasted almost all of them! There were only a couple that he might actually drink, one of which I remembered because the staff at Dry Creek Vineyard nicknamed it the "porch pounder" since it was such an easy-drinking white!

After a long day of wine-tasting, we all gathered together in a local park to eat massive amounts of food cooked up by Leigh Ann's dad. It was a fun and exhausting day, but after a few hours of down time by the pool we actually managed to go out and enjoy a little more food with Emily and Ashford late that night. Spending so much quality time with my friend Emily, who moved to Utah over a year ago, was such an added benefit of this California wedding. Emily and I had a great time hanging out, but it made me miss having her in Lawrence that much more!

We obviously had an amazing time at Leigh Ann and Nate's wedding celebration and were so very thankful to have been invited! They are such terrific friends. If you're interested, here are tons more pictures of the wedding and wine tour!

Not Laboring

I slept way in this morning and found it incredibly hard to get out of bed. This is why:


Note that my body is surrounded by three dogs of various sizes and talk shows are on the TV. Snuggling with the puppies in bed is just heavenly! I think I could have laid in bed like this all day, but now I'm off to get some leftover boxes in the garage unpacked. I must do something constructive on this day off work!

Happy Labor Day, everyone! :)

Never A Dull Dog Moment

So here's the funny, coincidental story of my day yesterday. As I was driving home over the lunch hour, I came up over the top of a hill on Bob Billings Parkway and this little white, very wet doggy almost stepped out into the street in front of me. Thankfully he saw the car before stepping off the curb and he headed back onto the sidewalk. I pulled over onto the next side street and jumped out of the car with Hope's leash (which was still in the car from dropping her off that morning), half afraid that I would scare the poor little puppy and he would run away into oncoming traffic. Thankfully, I crouched down low and gave a whistle, and the little munchkin came running right into my arms! I leashed him up and walked him to the car, where he jumped in like he'd known me forever!

I got him home with the intention of leaving him in the garage while I ate, so that I wouldn't have to do doggy introductions or monitor his activity in the house or yard. He wasn't having any of that though. He was determined to go in the house with me, so I left him in the laundry room while I let Fresco out, but Celtic was completely aware that there was a strange, wet dog in our house. I let them sniff each other through a crack just to make sure my little stray was friendly, and since they seemed to like each other just fine, I let him out into the kitchen and then shooed him out the back door. Thankfully Fresco is super friendly, because the little white dog had marked about 10 places before Fresco even realized he was in the back yard. Fresco was slightly alarmed about the strange dog peeing all over the place--he sprinted straight at the little guy with his hair on end, but then stopped and sniffed and made friends as soon as he reached him. It was probably not super smart on my part to trust Fresco so much since I didn't know the little stray at all, but thankfully Fresco was very welcoming to the stranger!

I monitored them all from the deck for a while, and since things seemed to be going well I went back in to scooped up a bowl of cottage cheese (my new favorite food) that I could eat while watching them through the window. Pretty soon Fresco had decided he wanted to start wrestling with the little guy, which didn't work so well since there was at least a 50 pound weight difference! I went out to settle everyone down and took a few pictures of our visitor. He was a pretty cute little guy!

Celtic gets to know our visitor a little better.

He was such a little cutie!

Fresco kept batting at him, trying to get him to wrestle and play. Fresco tries so hard to be gentle, but the little dog wasn't having any of it!

I put the little guy in the laundry room for a few minutes so he could dry off while I finished my lunch, and he barked just once or twice before he laid down and relaxed. As soon as I was finished eating I loaded him back in the car and headed to the shelter. He was pretty good about riding in the car and only got into my lap on one occasion. Unfortunately, when we got to the shelter, there wasn't a lost report on him and he didn't have a microchip. For the first time since I'd met him, he seemed shy and scared when I took him into the building. I felt so bad, but since he had no collar or tags it would have been difficult for me to go looking for his family! I know the shelter will be the best place for his family to come looking for him. Plus, I knew it wouldn't be good to keep him at home once Hope got home from the hospital. She usually thinks small dogs are toys and probably would have started swinging him around by his tail. He definitely picked the right Hope-free day to be a visitor at our house!

Home With Hope

If you're my Facebook friend you might already know this, but we just got home with our sweet little conehead. She's a little unhappy about wearing her cone and is having a hard time getting comfortable, but overall she seems way more alert than after her first two surgeries!

It's been a very long day, as this morning I took our furry, four-legged daughter to KC at 6:45 a.m. Just before 9 a.m. they had called to say they were already putting her under anesthesia. At about 10:15 Dr. Layton called to say that the surgery had gone as planned and Hope was doing well. Dr. Layton felt good about the amount of tissue she took around the tumor and didn't think Hope's backside would really look that strange once she healed up. Hopefully the lab results next week will be good enough that we can put this whole round of cancer behind us!

The Sweet Girl's Surgery

Today we went to KC to visit Dr. Layton, who checked out our little munchkin and took a sample of her tumor to confirm that it was, in fact, a mast cell tumor like her others. The good news is that Dr. Layton has time tomorrow to do Hope's surgery, so I'll be taking Hope back to the hospital at about 6:45 a.m. Dr. Layton was encouraged by the tumor's small size, and she is hopeful that she can get a couple of centimeters around the tumor without damaging any of Hope's "girl parts." (Seriously, what is it with my family and gynecological cancers!!:) She thought she may have to leave those parts even more deformed than they already are, but that's a small price to pay if it buys our pup another healthy year and hopefully more!

I feel so bad that Hope has to go through this all over again. The funny thing is, she doesn't seem to have ANY bad feelings towards the hospital or the staff who has hacked up her backside on two previous occasions. The staff kept commenting about how sweet she was and how she didn't know a stranger. She was so happy to see everyone and she never complained when they took the sample or took her blood. They even commented on how smart she was because she remembered exactly which exam room she was in! Maybe our sweet girl is secretly a genius even though we tease her about being a special needs dog!

If not special needs, it's definitely true that she's special.

How cute is she?