Sadness

Today was a very tough day for our family. With very heavy hearts we had to say goodbye to our beloved Gabe. Most of you know that we found out before Christmas that he had a large tumor growing next to his heart. In the past few days he stopped eating and appeared to be in much greater pain and was having a difficult time breathing. It was very difficult to see him struggle and we know he is happier now. Painfree and trotting (nah, probably swimming) in heaven.

I write all of this as tears stream down my face. I cannot tell you how sad we are. Gabe has been with us for so long that he is as much a part of us as we are of each other. Dumb college kids with no concept of resposibility, Taki and I visited the local shelter one afternoon and couldn't leave without him. He was a tiny 7 week old puppy, could you resist? : ) Here we are, almost 13 years later. Gabe has been through everything with us. Moves to 6 different homes, 3 different states, a cross-country trek, and most importantly, the birth of our children. He has been the kindest, sweetest, most loyal dog and we simply love him so much. Gabe, we will miss you more then I can express with words.

(sorry for the picture overload, count yourselves lucky I didn't dig out the old prints and start scanning away....)

Night Night Gabbers

This is the scene we happened upon after Sophia alerted us that Gabe had gone to sleep. She even gave him her woobie AND little pillow. Both of which she would never sleep without. Granted she ripped it right off him when it was time for her to go to bed. He stayed like this for over an hour. That, my friends, is love(with a smidge of laziness).
haha-just noticed she also gave him a lavendar drawer sachet. guessing to ward off his "stinky butt" as she likes to say.

Kisses, Hugs, Love & Cheese

Puppy Love

I love my doggie so much that I cook for him...


Feed him letters to make him smart...


I always make sure he gets exercise and strength training...




And last but certainly not least, I make sure he always looks as pretty as I do...

The Numbers Are In

Today I had my 6 month shots. I screamed my tiny head off but I did get big girl bandaids this time which is way cool. Here we go:

14lbs 10oz (allthough I was a jumping bean on the scale so this may be a little off)
26" (75% percentile!!!!)
16" Head circumference (almost up to the 10th percentile)

Oh, and by the way....
This is my dog! STAY AWAY!

Oops!

I forgot to post my 5 month numbers!

Weight: 13 lbs 1oz.

Height: 24 1/2"

Current Interestes: "petting" Gabe, spitting up and splashing in the tub.

Future Goals: sitting unassisted, not spitting up and a double pike off the diving board.

Oh, and mom thought it would be funny to put Gabe's Christmas hat on me. I wasn't amused.

Logan

On Tuesday mornings Logan comes over to my house so nanny Becca can watch him while his mom teaches a class. Logan is going to be 2 in January so he's an older man. Don't worry dad, I'm not interested since he likes to cuddle with Gabe on Gabe's bed which is SO stinky not to mention hairy. Boys!

The Results Are In

Today Taki took Gabe to his 9 year annual shots/check-up. He weighed in at 59lbs (which is an all-time low) and knee high" tall. Ears checked out good...which is a first but they said he has some arthritis in his knee. We are to give him aspirin if it seems he's bothered by it. I can't bear the thought of Gabe getting old. I wish he would just slow down already : (

Here are some then and now pics of our first baby and favorite son...

Leaf Me Alone!!!

Saturday was leaf day at the Karras homestead. We love the trees but we don't love the 2 feet of leaves they shower us with this time of year. We figured we might as well show Soph how the whole raking of leaves thing works so she'll be prepared for helping us out next year : ) We tried to teach Gabe a few years ago but that dew claw thing made it a bit too challenging to hold the rake. Sophia was more interested in eating the leaves then anything else. And yes, those are two different outfits. We can't seem to make it through a day without at least 4 outfit changes lately....and it's not because she's a diva...more like a diarrhea-va

Gabe

This is my brother Gabe. He's become a bit overprotective of mom & dad since he found out I was on the way. I suppose he's claiming his territory : )