Before I get to any of the happy, fun things we did this week, I have to talk about my dog, Mara. She's sick. Please pray for her or send good vibes into the universe or do something. Thursday night Mara was foaming at the mouth and making hiccupping motions. I thought she was going to throw up so I hauled her outside. I had James on the changing table, changing his diaper when I noticed that Mara wasn't throwing up outside, she was laying on her side having a seizure. She was foaming at the mouth, convulsing and paddling. I scrambled to get the phone and call Kris at work, panicking and telling him he had to come home right now. Now Mara was walking in circles on the driveway with a noticeable limp in one of her front legs. Kris told me to get her back inside and keep an eye on her. He'd come home as quickly as he could and he'd call his mom (who has worked in a vet clinic for as long as I can remember - at least longer than the 15 years I've known Kris!). A few minutes later, Nana called and asked me to describe what happened. Kris came home shortly after that and we kept an eye on Mara, trying to get her to eat in case her glucose levels had plummeted. She kept bumping into cupboards and furniture and I told Kris I thought she was blind in her left eye. Throughout the evening and into the night, Mara kept getting worse again. She was drooling and was starting to get more agitated. Around 1:45am she had another seizure. This one was a little worse as she lost some bodily control. After that she just kept walking in circles in the bedroom. Kris couldn't get her to calm down. And she was panting and panting. Around 3:30am, Kris decided enough was enough and he carried Mara downstairs (she couldn't go up or down the stairs on her own) and put her in the car. She was burning up with fever and drooling/foaming more and more. She was really agitated and not herself. Kris and Nana took her into the clinic where they gave Mara an IV, some valium and an ice bath followed with some anti-seizure medication. Mara's been at home with Nana and Papa since Friday afternoon where Nana and Linda (a veterinarian friend who's staying with them) could keep a close eye on her. Nana and Papa have been wonderful, giving us regular updates on our poor, sick puppy. It looks like she either had a stroke or she has a tumor. Right now she's just on steroids, no other medication and Kris said (I make him talk to his parents whenever they call - I just can't talk about Mara without bursting into tears - like I am now) that she may be getting a little better with each day. It looks like she'll make it back home with us, but she'll never be the Mara that she was. My puppy! I just want to hold her and pet her. She's going back into the clinic tomorrow for another evaluation. We don't know how old Mara is, but we think she's in the 9-10 year old range. We've had her for six years.

OK, let's move on to some happy, fun topics. First, I uploaded 200 pictures last night! The first 100 are in the album labeled 3-16-07 to 4-5-07. The second 100 are from 4-5-07 to 4-14-07. Have fun browsing! I didn't fix red eyes or anything since it took me hours to go through the 400+ pictures on the camera, rename them, file them away and upload 200.

Last Tuesday was ECFE class and Annika decided that Daddy was going to class with her that day and Mommy was going to stay home with James. Kris tried to convince her that Mommy could go to class, but she was having none of it. She only wanted Daddy to go with her, so he did.

Wednesday we went out to lunch with Gramme and Auntie Krystle to celebrate Gramme's birthday. Annika was so excited to see both of them, talking about them all morning as we were getting ready. Happy Birthday Gramme! After lunch we browsed around the bookstore and then went to the library. Annika played with the stuffed animals there while Kris and I picked out some books for her. As we were getting ready to leave, Annika started melting down. She wanted to go to the conference room where they do story time. I explained to her that no kids were coming that day and that the library lady wasn't going to read any books that day. Luckily she didn't melt down to a tantrum but accepted what I said and willingly left to go get in the truck. I'm glad she likes story time so much! When it starts back up again in June, Kris will have to take the kids again. I think he's dreading that though - having to take care of both on his own out and about.

Thursday was our play date with Madalyn and her mommy, Michelle. This time it was at Madalyn's house and I took Annika over. We stayed for almost two hours and Annika had a great time. She played with Madalyn's Little People toys, her dress up clothes (check out the pictures of Annika as a bride) and her doctor kit. I think I need to get Annika more dress up clothes. She has a couple boas and some necklaces but no clothes, really. And Annika had fun playing doctor too and asked to play that again on Friday. She had such a great time that she started crying when I told her it was time to go. These great big crocodile tears streaming down her face from her big brown eyes. It was heartbreaking! Michelle and I assured her that we could come play again some time and that we would see Madalyn again on Tuesday at ECFE class. Annika willingly got in the truck to go home but once we were on our way, she cupped her face in her hands and started crying again. I felt terrible! My poor baby just wanted to play some more with her friend! We will definitely have to schedule more days to play.

Today, after church and lunch we headed to our big park in town to play. It was a gorgeous day today, a perfect day for the park. Annika had so much fun! She chased a couple groups of older kids. They weren't sure what to make of this little girl running after them yelling "Get back here! I'm gonna get you!" That's what we say to Annika when we play chase at home. She also really enjoyed the swings, going on them multiple times. She especially liked the tire swing because it swung her in circles too. And of course she went down a bunch of slides a bunch of times. Slides are always a big hit with her. We were there for over two hours and it still took some convincing to get her to leave.

Kris got both motorcycles running today. We've renewed our tabs online so as soon as they come, we're ready for our first ride! I've been jealous of all the other motorcyclists I see on the road!

James is just the greatest little baby. Friday night I had a CAbi party and James was great throughout the whole thing. Deb, my consultant, even commented on how he didn't cry once all night long (and she was there from 6:30pm to midnight!). He really is that good too. As long as his needs are met, he is the most content, happy baby. He even wakes in a good mood most of the time, giving me great big gummy grins as I change his diaper and prepare to nurse him. We are just so lucky to have two amazingly great kids!