Goodbye, Banana

On Saturday morning, we had to say good bye to Ana Nicole. It was (and still is) a hard thing to do, but we could not let her suffer anymore. She came home with us Friday night and we took care of her, giving her her meds, feeding and monitoring her. She did as well as she could, but as the night wore on, she seemed to be in increasing discomfort. We were scheduled to have her back at the vet by 8am Saturday morning so they could check her out and see how she was doing. By 9am the vet called us to let us know that Ana was running a fever and her x-rays looked really bad. Dr. Stephens had discussed Ana's case with a few other vets the night before and they all agreed that Ana probably had diffuse lymphoma and not the foreign body that we first thought and had probably had it for a while. Ana had already been through so much and was not getting better. She was such a sweet, gentle natured, beautiful cat and we are going to miss our Big Haired Texan Girl, calico style! Especially IML!

1 down, 8 to go

Our calico cat, Ana Nicole, has had a real tough time the last little while. She was her normal self until about 3 weeks ago when she started vomiting after every meal. We had recently changed her food and thought that was the problem. We changed her food back to her regular diet, but she just got worse and it was obvious that she was really sick. We took her to the vet on Tuesday and yesterday she had open abdominal surgery for a perforated bowel. She had a small bowel resection with anastomosis. This is a big surgery for a human and even bigger for a cat. Ana spent the night in the hospital last night, but is home with her personal nurse tonight. She is doing very well considering what kind of week she's had. She's a good kitty and we wanted to at least give her a chance. We are just thankful that we are fortunate enough to care and provide for her this way.

Dancing Queen 2

Emerson, Angela and I headed up to Austin last weekend for an overnight girls trip. We went with our good friends Dena, Parker and Susan to the Nutty Brown Cafe to see Bob Schneider. Emerson rocked it like no one else! This girl danced the night away and clapped big after every song. We had a great time with our friends and can't wait to see them again!

Dancing Queen

Emerson recently started Kinderdance at school. Emerson loves to dance and we thought she'd love the class. Her pediatric orthopedic surgeon says that dance will be a good activity for her, in lieu of gymnastics, so we thought, lets get her started as soon as possible. The class is held on Tuesdays and she has to wear her "dancewear". According to Emerson's teachers, she did great at her first class and had great time. I think she looks scrumptious in her pink tights! And I LOVE her very real ballet slippers!

Happy Mother's Day

Emerson gave me two cards and a flower for Mother's Day this year. The little flower is so sweet, the white part is her hand print. We celebrated this year by taking Grandma and Grandpa out to eat at Rudy's Bar-b-que on Saturday and Chinese take-out on Sunday. I love weekends where I don't have to cook! It was a great Mother's Day.

Using the big spoon

For Mother's Day dinner, we decided to stay home and order in to avoid the crowds and the cooking :) I served Emerson her pork fried rice on her little plate with her little fork, but she decided that she'd rather eat right out of the take-out container with the serving spoon. And she went to town. Girl likes her some pork fried rice!

Beautiful

Lately, we have been blessed in South Texas with wonderful weather. Sunshine, warm, slight wind. We have been enjoying being outside in the evenings, doing yard work, chalking, lounging (sometimes with a cold beer). We are blessed.

Two Things

That Emerson loves.....her Dad and chicken!

Spring Fling

Emerson's school hosts a Spring Fling every year to raise money for charity. This years theme was Fiesta. We all attended the festivities. Emerson saw all her friends and her teachers and had a great time.

Blowing bubbles with Dad. Emerson LOVES to blow bubbles. However, she usually ends up putting the wand in her mouth and the bubble end up coming out of her mouth rather than from the wand. We're working on it.

Emerson getting her hand painted. She ended up with a ladybug. She was so excited and showed if off to anyone who would look at it.

Making a maraca out of dried beans and paper plates with her teacher, Mrs. G. Emerson just loves her teachers. And I am thankful that they love her and take such good care of her. I wouldn't be able to get through the day if we didn't have this school or these people in our lives. The school reports that the Spring Fling was a success and raised almost $3000 for local educationally based charities.

Happy Birthday Bubby!

A few weekends ago, we were lucky enough to be invited to Taylor's 6th birthday party. It was held at the San Antonio Zoo and what fun it was. The party was in a special area of the zoo, just for kids. The kids (and adults) got to pet and feed the goats, pet a hedgehog, pet a snake and pet a lizard. The zoo provided everything needed for a fun party...drink, cake, food, decorations, plates, etc., and a dedicated zoo staff member to host. We love the zoo and go several times a year, so we were thrilled to be invited to this party.

Emerson and Cassie petting the hedgehog.

On of the beautiful birds that call the SA Zoo home. He lives in an area by the party area and was whistling at all the kids.

Taylor, the birthday boy. This is the best photo we go of him....he never sits still!! :)

Angela and Emerson watching the fish.

It's not a party without cake! Thank you, Balcun's for inviting us to the party. We had an awesome time! Happy birthday, Bubby!!