May Days

Wow...where did the merry berry month of May go?  You know, for all you 'burgh folk out there, I will always hear that Eat n' Park commercial in my head when thinking of May :)  Anyway...

I promise all of you I have not given up on the blog and I do hope those of you who read my blog in the past are still around.  It's just been a rather busy and exhausting month!

As you all know, May started with the passing of our sweet Kona.  The same day we let Kona go, Reece had his two month vaccinations.  He was quite the trooper and only cried just until I was able to pick him up a few seconds later.  He stopped crying, snuggled against me and fell asleep.  I hope the four month vaccines go as smoothly!  Just two days later, Reece's Pappy and Nana B showed up for a wonderful visit.  I am so glad that even though we are half way around the world, in just 11 weeks of life Reece has been able to meet all of his wonderful grandparents.  He is a lucky little boy to have so many loving people in his life.  Of course he shmoozed them all with his charm and adorable smile.  I'm sure that charm and smile will be used later in life to get out of trouble, but at least I'm already on to him :)

I celebrated my very first Mother's Day and loved every second of it.  At first it was kind of surreal...I kept thinking, "wow, I'm a mom!"  I mean, I knew I was a mom, but it really hit me now that I have a day to celebrate my new status that I'm actually doing this mommy thing!  Crazy!

Reece started "school" (I don't like saying day care...it just sounds ugly) this month...the day after Mother's Day was his first day.  He is the youngest baby in the infant room, but he holds his own with the other kids :)  Again, that charm and smile has all the ladies who work in the infant room just eating out of his hand.  It makes me feel so good knowing how much they enjoy having him around and hearing how content he is during the day.  I know they are doing a wonderful job with him and Reece doesn't seem to have any adjustment issues.  The military CDC's (Child Development Centers) really are phenomenal facilities.  My favorite part of the day though is when I get to pick him up and as soon as he lays his eyes on me when I'm in the room, I get one of those big gummy grins that I love so much and my heart just melts.
The downfall of "school" is that Reece also caught his very first cold the other day.  He has a stuffy little nose and a junky cough that just breaks my heart when I hear it.  He is getting a lot of rest though so I hope it won't last too long.  Warm baths, some saline drops in the nose and lots of cuddles are helping him along as well...the cuddles may be helping me more since I feel so badly for him :(

May also brought around the arrival of our boat.  Carlos has been looking and looking, all the while educating himself about boats and even renting boats from the marina on the Navy base to get comfortable and practice his fishing (I'm still waiting for a fish, but he'll get there).  My husband has a grin from ear to ear over the arrival of his boat.  It makes me happy to know that he found something he really enjoys and that it is something we can all enjoy as a family.  The first boat launch will probably be this weekend, but Reece and I will most likely sit this one out.  We want to make sure everything is smooth sailing (no pun intended) before we board :)

So today as I celebrate my 32nd birthday with my hubby and Reece, I realize its been one crazy busy month, but a great month nonetheless (with the exception of Kona).  Carlos baked me a birthday cake and sang to me in only the way Carlos can...and has since we met...very off key and VERY LOUD, but it makes me laugh every time!  I opened presents with my two men and am now ready to drift off to a good sleep after a fabulous day.  Only 6 days remain in this merry berry month and I intend to enjoy every last one of them!

I vow to not go as long between blog postings again so don't give up on me just yet :)

The boat has arrived!

Reece enjoying his Bumbo

Reece and Mommy out to lunch

Another Angel

This is just an update to last night's post.

Kona passed away this afternoon.  He went peacefully with lots of hugs and kisses from the two of us.  Kona essentially told us last night that it was time to let him go.  We know he is watching over us and his little brother Reece.  We miss him like crazy, but we know he will always be with us.  He is surrounded by other dog friends now and munching on doggie biscuits...without having to do tricks to get them now :)

We love you Kona!

Man's Best Friend

Had you asked me two weeks ago what was the hardest thing in life I've ever had to do, I would've responded with "give birth."  We all know I did not have one of those fairy tale births of just sneezing and out popped a baby.  I incubated for 41 weeks, was nauseated for most of my labor, had back labor so the epidural wasn't 100% effective, and I pushed for almost 3 hours simply because I was so exhausted.  I remember it all like it happened yesterday and yes, it was the top contender of life's most difficult moments until this past weekend.

When my dog Kona started becoming a little under the weather two weeks ago, we thought a trip to the vet and maybe some antibiotics later we would have our Kona back.  So when the days kept ticking by and he wasn't getting better, just worse, and we were left without any answers, Carlos and I became extremely frustrated.  Fast forward to Thursday when we were able to get a CT scan done on Kona because we had already maxed out all the other tests that could be run and nothing was conclusive.  We had the images put on a cd and thanks to a friend of mine back in Pittsburgh, we were able to have a veterinary neurosurgeon (yes, there really is such a profession...I was shocked too) read Kona's CT scan images we had emailed him.  While we were prepared for what we would hear (denial could only last so long and his symptoms weren't fooling two people in the medical profession), it still didn't make it any easier to hear him say the words: brain tumor.  Alas, we had our answer, but it was devastating to know there is nothing we can do.  Carlos and I don't know how to be helpless.  We are in professions that help people and treat them and do things to give them a better quality of life and we are not able to do a darn thing for one of our own family members.  How is this fair??!!

So, back to the hardest thing I've ever had to do...
I think it was a couple of things from the weekend...one was actually have a conversation with Carlos about letting Kona meet his maker.  The second was watch my husband suffer over the thought of losing his dog.  Sure Kona is "our" dog, but he and Carlos have a bond that I can't compete with and never cared to.  Kona loves us both unconditionally, this I know, but he truly is Carlos' best friend.  So while Kona and I had a talk on Saturday about how much I love him and I cried pretty much all day, I have also decided I can and will do whatever is best for my darling dog.  Never did Carlos and I think that we would leave Guam without our precious pooch and that is what makes this so much harder.  Kona should still have quite a few more years and we are angry that his life is being cut short.

I would take the pain of giving birth any day than the pain of losing Kona.  Because in the end, the pain of birth resulted in a beautiful baby boy and tons of joy, but the pain of losing a loved animal only results in sadness and a void.

Kona is still with us at this time.  We know it will probably just be a matter of time, but as for now we are just letting nature take its course instead of interfering one way or another.  He does not appear to be suffering so we are just taking this day by day.