Promise

It's been a hot, long and hard summer. But this morning, Benjamin and I stepped outside first thing in the morning to hit the park. First thing in the morning is the only time it's been bearable to go outside - so we've been trying to take advantage of that lately, as there are relatively few inside places you can successfuly take a toddler to burn off some energy. And when we stepped outside, what did we discover? That it wasn't horrible! Then just now, I stepped out to our carport to grab a few things from the car, and I was struck by the lack of humidity - the absence of hot, muggy air assaulting me. It was refreshing and gave me hope. Hope that this summer might finally come to an end. Hope that we'll be able to someday soon go outside without slathering on sunscreen, without being consumed by misquitos. Hope that the Fall may really arrive, and end this summer that seems to never end.

Catchin' Up

So, I'm right smack-dab in the middle of my Day o' Fun! This is a new tradition that Mark and I have established, where one of us is assigned a day (or more realistically, a part of a day) where the other person takes on all B-dogg duties so the first person can have their Day o' Fun. This also has to be a time when neither of us are working (otherwise it's not really a day o' fun - it's a day o' work) - so it can be hard to find. We've been planning our days o' fun for a while now. Mark's is on Tuesday.

So what am I using my day o' fun for? NON-STOP COMPUTER TIME!!! Working on the computer is incredibly limited these days, largely in part because our computer area is the one place in our home that is off-limits to Ben (just too hard to babyproof, and that flickering power button on the CPU is too tempting for him to push). So he hates, hates, hates it when one of us is in here and he is not. So that pretty much limits the computer time to naps and after bed. I'm pretty worthless after Ben goes to bed - I pretty much stick to reading or watching TV or reading email or other people's blogs, but never anything "productive" like responding to emails or posting on my own. And now Ben is transitioning to one nap a day, so it's even harder to get on the computer.

So my day o' fun is going to include briefly updating this Blog, downloading pictures to our Picasa picture site, organizing our digital photos (so I can find the dang things - the names of the folders are all over the place, which means whenever I want to transfer a photo, I have to hunt through all the folder to find it), and if there is time, maybe deal with a few things in my inbox. Ahh, the sheer pleasure of being on the computer.

Except of course, that I HATE the computer right now for losing all my photos from our Jacksonville trip somewhere during the so-called "Safe Delete" process of downloading the photos off our camera to the computer. That actually made me really sad, as we had pictures from our visit back to Starke, Ben's first trip to the beach (which included some very artistic (well, artistic for me)) photos, and our friend Kevin's wedding. Boo. :(

So to summarize the last couple of months - we enjoyed a week long trip to Illinois where we visited many, many friends - my friends from high school, and Mark's friends from college. We returned home to enjoy a brief weekend visit from Grandpa Howard, and then hopped back on a plane to attend our friend Kevin's wedding in Jacksonville, FL. Our trip to FL was actually very special for us. We went to visit our old haunts in Starke, and it was a fairly emotional experience. Even though we've been in Houston longer than we were in Starke, it's where our marriage was established, and we both have such fond memories there. We drove by the old house, took a walk around the block (where we had walked almost daily with Buster and then Will), visited the Starke Winn-Dixie (which has been remodeled), drove by the Walmart (which, surprisingly wasn't there anymore!), got drinks in the Taco Bell drive through, and took Benjamin to play at a pretty cool park. And that was all just on Friday! Saturday morning we took Ben to Jacksonville Beach - his first trip to the beach! He liked the sand, but was a bit intimidated by the water. Then we went to Kevin's wedding reception (no, I'm not brave enough to take a 14-month old to a 1-hour long Catholic wedding - so Mark went alone), and went for a dip in the hotel pool. Sunday we visited downtown Jacksonville and Jones Hall (where the JSO plays) before hopping on a plane to return back to TX.

It's good to be home. We've both been catching up on odds and ends and preparing for the next change in our lives. First, Mark returns to work next weekend (boo), and Ben starts school! After 6 months of searching, deliberating and doubting, we've decided to enroll him in a Montessori program three days per week. I'm a bit nervous about the transition - it will be hard on both of us - but I'm confident once he gets used to the program and the teachers, that he'll have a blast.

Whew, I think I'm caught up! Check the Picasa website later today for new pictures!

Healing

It has been such a long time since I've posted, and so much has happened since that last post, but since I don't have time right now to write about it, I thought I would just provide a brief update to give you all some relief from reading the sad post about Will when you check to see if I've updated my blog (be it weekly, daily, hourly) :)

But first, thank you all so much for the thoughtful comments and emails. It's amazing to see the amount of support that friends provide in times of grief.

The day after Will passed, I came down with a nasty cough. My mom and Mark also got it too. So we spent the last half of my parents' visit sad, sick and utterly exhausted. My mom amazed me, though, as she continued to cook, clean and play with Benjamin despite actually having pneumonia (which she was diagnosed with when she got home). I eventually also got diagnosed with pneumonia and had to take two rounds of antibiotics to fight it off, not to mention also fighting the nasty side affect of taking antibiotics without eating yogurt. :) I coughed so hard that I ended up bruising a rib, or pulling a muscle in my side, or something to that affect, so I also was taking some pretty strong pain meds to seek some comfort and try to continue to chase a 13-month old baby around. Fortunately, Mark had some time off and let me pretty much sleep and go to work, except for when he had to go to work himself. It was a difficult few weeks. We're still dealing with the aftermath of having our lives so out-of-order.

But then, I did get better, my ribs healed, and that nasty side affect went away - all in time for a glorious reunion with our friends in the midwest! We spent 7 days in two homes reuniting with my friends from high school, and Mark's friends from college. I hope to post some pictures and stories from these few days - it was such fun (although also somewhat exhausting chasing Ben around in two baby-free homes, along with the re-emergence of some sleep issues). And then we just finished with a fantastic two-day visit from my Dad.

So chin-up, life is good with the Griffiths. And we'll post more soon!

Goodbye, Will

Tuesday afternoon (June 24) we said goodbye to our second four-legged son (Buster was our first) and longtime friend, Will.

Over the past months, Will began to deteriorate. About two weeks before his passing, one of his eyes began to bulge, and he became even more disoriented (he's been mostly blind for a while now). We took him for rounds of evaluation with our vet, and then with a veterinary opthomologist. He was put on a heavy cycle of drugs to control the bleeding in his eye (which is why it was bulging) and manage the pain. A week before his death, the vet opthomologist gave us two choices - remove his eye immediately, or increase his pain medications and remove it the following week. Not sure that we should put Will through this surgery at all, we opted for the latter to buy us more time for decision-making and began thinking that it was perhaps time to say goodbye.

In the following week, Will began to deteriorate even further - becoming very lethargic and disoriented. While it was sad to see, it also gave us more confidence that we were making the right decision. We also found a very large tumor on his side - which my Dad later diagnosed as a type of cancer - which ultimately was what was killing him (and causing the bulging eye - a symptom we were looking at as a root cause).

Will's death was certainly painful and sad. Not only were we mourning Will's deteriorating health - but also in a way, it felt like saying goodbye to a strong link back to who Mark and I were as a young married couple early in our adult lives.

We fostered Will soon after we lost Buster (who died unexpectedly (also from a tumor) in the middle of the night). I remember getting to know this new dog with some reservation because he wasn't our Buster. We didn't even intend to adopt him - simply foster him for the rescue society. We wanted another dog to distract us from the pain of losing Buster. But he quickly grew on us, and we decided we had to keep him.

Will was with us in Starke as we were trying to make our way in the world - while I studying engineering, and Mark auditioned for "the big job." He was part of our celebrations and tears through those ups and downs of getting further and further in the audition rounds - but not quite making it.

He kept Mark company while I spent two semesters away interning at Disney World. He kept me company during my last semester of school when Mark moved to Houston to begin his symphony job.

He got my apartment infested with ticks. Oh, the ticks.

He was with us as we moved into our first purchased home. He rolled around in the backyard in glee, and explored the house to Mark's and our delight as we would comment "look, he likes it!" He ate dog biscuits while we drank wine in our empty house after closing.

He remained patient and undemanding as we brought home our new baby, who consumed all our time, energy and focus - so much that even remembering to feed and let Will out seemed like a struggle. He did not hold a grudge when I snapped at him so many times for getting underfoot or begging just a little too much at the dinner table.

He was a good dog.

In our grief, I am also made aware of the intense beauty in life. Exactly how this connection is made, I am not sure. But I know there was beauty in his passing, even if it was hard.

There was beauty that he held on until my parents' visit. To provide us with support, to also say goodbye to a Granddog they so loved.

There was beauty that he had enough energy for one last family walk around the block. A walk that helped us say goodbye. That allowed each of us to hold his leash, to pat him with encouragement when he lay down to rest. That allowed us to watch Benjamin watch him walking one last time.

There was beauty that he was still interested enough in food to eat a piece of cheesecake at Benjamin's belated family birthday celebration.

There was beauty that I heard him get up from where he had laid all day in the living room to try to make his way to our bedroom to sleep with us during his last night.

There was beauty that my dad found the tumor on his side, and assured us that we were making the right decision to not operate on his eye.

There was beauty that our very cold, unpersonable veterinarian agreed to give my dad the medicine to euthanize Will, so we could do it privately at home.

There was beauty that my training course got out two hours early on the evening we decided to say goodbye, so that I could make it home in time to spend some time with Will, say goodbye and then get Will's body to the vet before they closed at six.

There was beauty that Benjamin took an unusually long nap that afternoon at just the right time, so we could all be focused on Will and saying goodbye.

There was beauty in sitting out in the grass surround by my family as Will rested his head against Mark to go to sleep for the final time.

Rest in peace, Willy Boy. You are a good dog. We miss you.

New Pictures!

Mark updated our Picasa site (link to the right) with pictures from the last few months. Enjoy!

Ben's One Year Update, Long Overdue

At long last, an update on our lives over the last few months.

We now have a walking, talking little boy! What a change from the newborn we brought home one year ago. Below are some photo highlights from the last few months:

Over the past few months, we have enjoyed many visits with family and friends. The first was an afternoon with Great Aunties Tita & Elisabeth!

Later in the month, we travelled to Dallas to visit The Other Griffiths and help cousin Nathan celebrate his first birthday!

Nathan likes our present! (A Gertie ball)

Benjamin helps Nathan check out his new gifts.

Benjamin teaches Nathan and Josh how to rake their fingernails on the air conditioner intake.

And the party!

Nathan really devoured his cake! He ate the whole slice!

The three Griffith boys:

In early April, I took Benjamin to the Children's Museum. He had been once when he was just 6 weeks old. He was able to play a lot more this time. :)

It was really special for me, because it marked the beginning of actually being able to do fun stuff together, instead of just toting my baby around with me while I ran errands, etc. Our visit was brief, so that we could get home in time for a nap, but we had fun in the toddler room, buying a few presents in the gift shop, and then eating lunch together in the atrium while we watched all the other kids pass by. I hope we'll enjoy many more fun activities together in the coming months.




Later in the month, we celebrated my 30th Birthday! We had a little celebration, just the three of us. Kept it simple in anticipation of Ben's first birthday just around the corner.




I think Benjamin would have made a very pretty little girl! :) Ben seems to think so too - although, Mark wasn't quite as pleased with this look.

Then, Gramma & Grandaddy Griffith came for a brief visit! We invited the grandparents in for the pre-bedtime naked rolling time (which has really turned into naked running around his bedroom time). Benjamin decided to read a book with Gramma. Fortunately for Gramma, he made it through the book with no accidents!

Early May, Benjamin got his first ear infection. Poor guy! He was very miserable, but still sweet and much cuddlier than usual. We tried our best to keep him comfortable until the antibiotics kicked in.

In mid-May (honorary) Auntie Melissa & Uncle Ryan came to visit us for their Babymoon! We had great fun catching up, going out and overwhelming them with baby information (they are expecting triplets!)

Ryan tries out the ride-on toy we picked up for Benjamin at our local children's consignment shop.

And we celebrated Mark's 34th birthday!

Early in our visit, Melissa offered me a "tasty homemade cookie" that she had brought along. I was way too suspicious, and refused to eat it. Poor, innocent Mark on the other hand, dug right in. Here is his reaction after being told that he is eating a gourmet dog biscuit.

Mark and Ryan took an early morning bike ride to Downtown (20 miles round trip I think?). No one was on the roads (it was Sunday) and they apparently had the whole city to themselves. Sounds like it was an incredible experience!

We went to Caninos & a local Mexican pastry store and got an assortment of fruit and Mexican pastries. Here, Ryan is offering some pastries to Benjamin.

The end of May/beginning of June Grandma Susan came for a brief visit on her way home from a conference.

During her visit, we took Ben to get his first haircut! Here's the before picture with Grandma.

Benjamin dealt with the experience very well. It helped to have the paci and to get to sit on Dad's lap for it.

The final look! Ben seems to like it!

In June, The Other Griffiths (Uncle Dan, Aunt Robyn & Cousins Josh & Nathan) and Aunt Sarah all came out to help us celebrate Ben's first birthday! They were all such a huge help (thanks, you guys!) in getting ready for the party and helping to keep things going. We had about 35 people attend! (Unfortunately, I did not get any good pictures of the whole group - just individual snapshots)
But before the party began we had a few days of fun visits to catch up, and see how all three Griffith boys have grown!

"Who are these guys?"

Ben and Josh enjoy some time in the play area together while Nathan naps.

Aunt Sarah is fun!

Who knew a salad spinner could be so entertaining?! I think this was the driest salad we've ever had!

Benjamin and Cousin Nathan are big pointers!

Look at Nathan's balance on this scooter! He even held on tight and let me push him around the living room on it! Benjamin too? Nope. I tried to, but he insisted on having his feet on the ground.

And now, it's party time!

Check out Ben's "One Year" shirt!

I thought it might be a blowout, because we said the party would start at 4:00, but our first guest did not arrive until after 4:30! And then everyone arrived all at once! Here's uncle Dan and Benjamin waiting for festivities to begin:

And time for the Birthday cake! We held off on giving Benjamin any true sweets (cookies, cake, etc) in anticipation of that first bite of cake.

It was quite fun to have a room full of our family and friends singing Happy Birthday to Ben. I do think he was a bit overwhelmed by the whole experience, though.

He wasn't entirely sure he liked it...
It took a little coaxing from Mark to even try it. "Is this really food? My food is usually cut up for me!"

He did take a few bites - but he wasn't totally convinced that this is something that he wanted a whole lot of.

And before too long, it was time to GET OUT of the high chair!

After the party was over, we took the opportunity to take family pictures with Aunt Sarah, and the Other Griffiths in our front yard

And finally, Ben's latest accomplishment - walking! I don't remember the exact day he took his "first step", but in the last couple of weeks, he's gone from a tentative step here and there to bolting across the room!

Now, let's see what Ben's second year brings! While we definitely have the feeling of "Whew, we made it!" through the first year of Ben's life, I'm sure we'll be sentimental of his baby days as he begins his journey through toddlerhood.