Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Memorial Day and Birthday photos from Grandma Barrow

My Mom sent me some great photos from Charlotte's first birthday party as well as fun photos from the memorial day BBQ at our house. We wanted to share them with you!

Memorial Day and Charlotte's first birthday 2009

Read More...

Thursday, June 4, 2009

I wish pets could live forever...

Today was a sad day for my Mom, Dad, Kyle and I. We had to put our beloved cat Tugger to sleep. He was shy of 16 years old and was fading fast. Over the last few months he went from being the slightly-portly but healthy, beautiful cat we loved to a shadow of his former self. His balance was failing him as were his kidneys and quality of life. Kyle and I opted to not attend the appointment today and said our goodbyes yesterday with a few scratches under his chin and kisses on his nose. This left Mom and Dad to be the ones by his side as he slipped away but they assured us that they didn't mind. He left his body peacefully and he gave the gift of peace to my parents by his willing surrender. We had made the right decision and we knew that he would be happy to see his old pal PeeWee as his paws padded across the threshold of heaven. There they would be agile once more, romping together in their nightly wrestling match.

Our beloved pets live for a fraction of the time that we are on this earth leaving us to experience the full cycle of their life and death...and then the void they leave behind. But the joy they brought by their uncomplicated and unconditional companionship makes the pain of their loss more bearable. How sweet it must be to live such a simple existance. We only hope that in their blink-of-a-life they found joy in our presence as well.

We'll miss you Tugger.

Love,
your family

Read More...

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Turning ONE is so much fun!

Well, our little Charlotte is now 1! It really is so hard to believe. Was it only a year ago that we were just a family of three? Becoming a family of 4 has been so awesome and we count our blessings daily for our little Charby.

We had a great little party for Charlotte last weekend complete with ice cream cookie sandwiches. YUMMY! Thanks Grandma Barrow! Charlotte loved observing all of the action and looked cute in her birthday crown. She totally dug in to her ice cream and picked up chunks of it with her little hands until they froze! She received many nice gifts and was very attentive during the gift-opening session. What a nice day!

Charlotte also had her 1 year "well-baby" checkup with our pediatrician. Her stats are as follows: 17.5 lbs, 29 and a quarter inches. Overall, she is a peanut although her build is much more solid than that of Lorelei at the same age. She is taking steps on her own quite often now and even stops and changes direction! She still only says about 6 words, but why talk when Lorelei can do all of the talking for her?! Charlotte still gives us heart-attacks with her climbing and she can completely disassemble a room in a split second! But that sweet smile and personality continues to melt our hearts. What a joy she is.

Here are some photos:

2009-05-29 Charlotte 1 year old, may 29, 2009


2009-05-30 Charlotte 1 year old, may 29, 2009


2009-05-30 Charlotte 1 year old, may 29, 2009

Read More...