We were fortunate enough to spend 12 days at the beach. We had such a great time and had lots of fun splashing in the pools and digging in the sand. Barnes loved jumping on the lily pads on the small ropes course over the pool, Anna Kate loved going down the slide in the baby pool and Celia loved the beach. She crawled around for 2-3 hours each time we took her. She does not get her love of sand from her mommy!
Last week, on July 21, we lost our sweet Georgie. She was great and so fun when she was a young dog. She loved to play tug of war and chase a ball. When we got her as a puppy, we picked her because she was so fearless. All the other puppies were hiding underneath a little puppy play pen, but not Georgie! She took about 5 steps away from the playpen, planted her teeny feet on the ground, and started barking like a big dog! That's when we said, "we'll take that one!"
When I was pregnant with Barnes, people warned me of how some dogs respond negatively to new babies. But Georgie loved him from the moment he came home. She wanted to sleep under his crib and be his protector. When he was small, she would patiently lie beside him on his blanket, in hopes that he would play with her or touch her. She would nuzzle him and lick his little foot to get his attention. When he got bigger and could sit up, she would lay bedside him in the floor and roll on her back with her feet in the air. He would laugh and try to grab wads of her hair. She really loved him and enjoyed the baby.
But when he was around a year old, something changed in her. She became nervous and shook constantly. We tried medicines and other calming remedies and nothing seemed to help. She eventually retreated to my closet or under the bed. Most days she would only come out to eat or go outside. Through the years it seemed to get better sometimes and then get worse at other times. But she was never the sweet dog from before. She had days where she'd fetch a ball, but many more dark days when she hid in my closet.
The vet finally said that he thought she had a cognitive degeneration and we put her on heavy medication. Georgie was too sick and nervous to go on. She lost weight and was losing hair and we decided to put her to sleep. It was terribly sad, but the kids had her a happy meal party and she had her own cheeseburger happy meal. She devoured it! We let her eat all the treats she wanted and spent lots of time with her on that last day. In the end, she had such a peace about her. I think she was ready to give up and not be miserable anymore. Barnes has been very sad about losing her. He is old enough to have bonded with her. The house has been so quiet and I never knew how many crumbs three kids can drop! Georgie always cleaned up for me. We will miss her but we know she's pain free and fetching tennis balls in puppy heaven.
Rest in Peace
Georgie Pumpkin Barnes Perry
April 13, 2002 - July 21, 2014
Celia will be one in less than a week. What an action packed year it's been. She's such a sweet natured, happy baby all the time. Here are a few pics from the last few months. She's finally started crawling. It's more like an army crawl on her belly but she can go everywhere!
Bbp and AK both got tubes put in their ears last month. We are super excited to report that there have been zero ear infections since they've had them in. Very thankful that they are finding some relief. Ear infections can be a source of constant pain. Brad was out of town, so poppy stepped in to help with the big kids, while Gammie kept Celia. They both have fancy ear plugs for their ears so they can swim and play all day. They were both champs after surgery! So proud of them.
Barnes and I attended the Chick-fil-A mother/son date knight at the pink palace. It was lots of fun. We got to watch a movie in the planetarium, take a carriage ride around and have our photo made. It was a fun activity for moms and boys. Can't wait to do it again next year.
We've had fun the last few weeks exploring our new neighborhood and making a few new friends. We are thankful that Brad doesn't have such a long commute and is usually home with us each day by 5:30 or 6:00. What a difference it makes! The kids look forward to him coming home instead of constantly asking why daddy can't get home when the other dads in the neighborhood were getting home. We are thankful. We've been to the splash pad, the zoo, and to the sprinkler park. We also went and watched and listened to blue grass music on the square.
