My Puppy Came

For over a year Zuri has been asking for a dog.  For over a year we put her off for one reason or another.  We had seriously talked about getting a dog last summer after my trip, and less than a week after I got back, Zuri was quick to remind me.   

Mom, you said when you get back from Japan that we could get a dog.  So I did, but the timing just wasn't right.

We were going to adopt a dog from a shelter (read dog, not puppy), because honestly I didn't want to go through the trouble of having to housebreak and do major training of a dog.  We continued to debate on the best time and had agreed (to a point) that later in Spring 2015 would be a good time to adopt.

Weeeeeellll, J has two sisters who own dogs.  One sister had a female, the other has an older male puppy--neither of them neutered.  Guess what happened?  That's right.  Puppies.  Puppies that neither sister wanted to care for.  The clincher?  They would be born sometime in December.  Oh, Christmas present anyone?

So J and I talked and decided to take one of the puppies.  They were an Australian Shepard, Black Lab mix, and most of them turned out all black with a distinguishing white spot somewhere on them.  We debated between two puppies: the one we got, and the other had a big white patch on her nose and going up her forehead and down her chest.  The second was the most distinguishable among the six puppies and we went back and forth on which puppy we would take.  Ultimately, we decided on our puppy because she wasn't as "shaggy" as the other.  With Kai, we didn't want a long haired dog (plus the extra maintenance of long hair).

Zuri got to meet the puppies for Christmas, and she knew that one of them would be hers.  She also knew that her puppy wouldn't be ready to come home until February.  We kept telling her right around Valentine's day, but we wanted the actual day to be a surprise.

J's sister (Alisia) who had been caring for the puppies (she's the one who has the dad), drove up to deliver the puppies all to their new homes (the puppies were all sold in under an hour once she put them up for sale).  She tied some balloons to our puppy's collar along with a cute fabric envelope that said Zuri's name.

J and I met Alisia and Rendall outside and rang the doorbell so Zuri would answer the door.  When she opened the door, she was in shock for a moment, then not sure if what she was seeing was true.  Her question was, "my puppy came?!"  When she realized her puppy was really here, she teared up and was so excited she couldn't wait to hold her.

It ended up being perfect timing because Zuri was off-track and could spend the time bonding with her puppy.  Hence the reason for my lack of posts recently.  Between having all three kids home, a new puppy, and Kai's surgery, I have been busy!  I'm hoping to get all caught up on everything by the end of March, so there might be some marathon posts coming up, along with lots of pictures of the newest member of our family!

Surgery

Our Little Mister had surgery a couple weeks ago, and all things considered, it went really well!  Kai's cholesteotoma was much larger than the CT scan had shown, and had started to eat away at his bone.  His doctor said that the way it was progressing, it would have eventually eaten away at his brain!  So scary!

As it was, they were able to successfully remove the infection--or at least almost all of it.  There is the possibility that there is still some that is on his facial nerve, but the doctor didn't want to mess with it for two reasons.  First, the surgery was already in the four hour mark, and he didn't want to leave Kai open much longer due to infection risk.  Second, he didn't want to risk damaging the nerve and leave Kai's face paralyzed.  Again, scary! 

We have a follow-up CT scan in about six months to see how Kai is doing and to see if there is any residual cholesteotoma in his ear. 

In addition to removing the infection, they also reconstructed his ear canal and moved his eardrum.  They widened both ear canals and put tubes in his right ear.  

Since his surgery, Kai's mood has very markedly improved.  He is vocalizing more--doing a lot of the high and low pitches that we haven't heard in almost a year.  He even took his ballard and was running it alongside his bed wall (although it doesn't have the same stimulation as the crib bars).  Overall he has been much happier and content--definitely more like himself. 

I can't tell if his hearing has improved since the surgery, but he is more alert and seems more aware.  Whether that is due to better hearing or not being in constant pain (or both!) is hard to tell, but it is so good to have him happy again!

More to Come

We've been busy bees over here, but never fear, more blog posts are coming. 

Meanwhile, here's a little cutie pie for you!

Exploring Aldourie Castle

We arrived in Scotland on Saturday afternoon.  The other girls had also arrived the same day and they all wanted to relax for the evening, so we went to the local grocery store, picked up food for the next day, and spent time getting to know one another.  For Sunday we decided to take it easy, sleeping in and then planning on what we were going to be doing for the next week.

By around noon I was getting antsy and wanted to explore, so Emily and I went for a walk.  After the non-stop pace in Japan and Amsterdam, it felt as though we were wasting away our time in the cottage.  I vented my frustration with Emily, who took what I was saying personally (I hadn't meant for that), and we had a little argument.  It was the only time the whole trip that we really got upset with one another.  We gave each other a short time to cool off, and afterward, I think we were closer for it.  I realized that our pace was going to be quite a bit lazier with the five of us, and once I adjusted my thinking, I took advantage of that and got plenty of sleep--after all, I hadn't really been able to sleep in over five months since before River was born.  Having a newborn really wrecks your sleep, and the bed in the cottage was really comfortable.  I was still going through postpartum stuff, and although I don't get depression, I do go through a phase that I call "baby coma," where I tend to be a little more withdrawn and quiet.  While we we go-go-go in Japan and Amsterdam, I didn't really notice it, but when we were just chilling with the other girls, I found I was too tired/restless to sit down and play endless games of Monopoly with the others.  I found myself falling asleep and just being aloof, which isn't like me.  At the time I didn't catch it for what it was--I just thought all the lack of sleep was finally catching up to me. 

As Emily and I explored the castle grounds, we met up with the rest of the group, who had finally ventured out of the cottage to look around as well.  Since we were staying in the cottages on the castle grounds, we were given free reign to explore, and we took advantage of it.  

Aldourie Castle:
Aldourie Castle is located just on the shoreline of Loch Ness, within 500 acres of private estate, and has become part of the incredible landscape of the Scottish Highlands.
An idyllic and enchanting setting, Aldourie Castle is just 6 miles from the Highlands’ capital city of Inverness, on the south shores of Loch Ness, the most iconic Loch in the world and home to the Highland Games. Hidden amongst wilderness you could be anywhere yet just minutes away guests have instant access to the main travel networks.

Aldourie Castle is of Scottish Baronial style and Grade A listed property. It was originally known as a 17^th Century mansion house and was later extended to include an arts and craft wing in 1903. Impressively, the Aldourie Estate belonged to the same family for 250 years until it was bought privately in 2004 and subsequently underwent a generous £10 million development winning it the Sotherby’s UK Restoration of the Year 2011 award. Since its grand restoration the Castle has welcomed family groups, couples, weddings and other celebrations to enjoy its wonderful calming ambience and welcome atmosphere. A medieval castle to the core, Aldourie features hidden doors, old family portraits and vast fireplaces. It epitomizes Scottish history in both its interior and external characteristics.

 The castle gardens:

Exploring the grounds:

We saw a doe.  I had had my camera tucked away, and by the time I pulled it out, I was only able to get this shot

Loch Ness

A chair at the end of the path, it overlooked Loch Ness

 We found an old graveyard:

 A bright yellow mushroom--too bad there wasn't a ring of mushrooms

Some very unusual trees:

 When we first saw this tree, we didn't realize it was covered in ivy.  They have a neat way of taking care of it.

A little creek 

We met up with the rest of our group.  Nikki is the one in front, bending down.  Jamie is in the middle, and Alex is the one walking away.

 We came across this abandoned building.  We were thinking maybe old stables or something.

Ferns

 So beautiful--when I think of Scotland, this is what comes to my mind:

Emily and Nikki sparring.  They did that a lot

 Back to our cottage: