Friday, September 19, 2008

Vet VIP

As much as we love our dog, is seems he has been a veritable money pit ever since we got him a year and a half ago.  Two bouts of giardia, a neutering exercise that got complicated because one of his "boys" decided not to descend, never-ending shots, skin allergies - well, let's just say that we are very lucky that our fantastic vet is about a block from our house...  If only they had a frequent member card.

This time around things were a little more serious.  Over probably the last six months, Ollie had developed a tumor on his back.  We had noticed that it was there, but we thought it was a result of his skin issues due to allergies.  Once the skin allergies were resolved and the bump was still there, we decided the bump deserved its own vet visit.

They determined that the mass was indeed a tumor and not a cyst, and although it was benign, it needed to come out.  There goes a little more of Baby Dub's college fund.

Surgery was this past Wednesday, and he did just fine.  It was an in-and-out surgery, so we dropped him off in the AM and picked him up after work.  He was still pretty drugged up when I picked him up, and looked incredibly confused and pathetic wearing a pressure bandage on one shaved leg and a cone.

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They shaved a pretty nice swath of hair off the little guy and he got 10 stitches with what looks like fishing wire.  He's on the books to head back to the vet in 10 days to hopefully get his stitches out, just in time to frolic with his friend Puka.

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-cw

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Oliver the Soldier

Every morning we get up, put the O-Bear on the floor and he does this army crawl thing. Had to capture it on film. His tail wags and he is so stoked to start his day that he scratches his belly the fun way...



He is also known to use this same technique:

- on hardwood floors
- on couches
- on stone floors
- on trex decks
- on lawns

Makes us laugh every time.

-b

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Summer, Please Don't Go

Brian & I hosted what will likely be our last big bash for some time this weekend, inviting about 100 of our closest friends, relatives & co-workers to our lovely Greenlake Home on Latona.  I thought of it as our last chance to have folks over to a home that still looked like adults lived there, rather than the romper room I'm sure it will become in the next month & for years hereafter.

Fortunately, I had this week off (between jobs again!) which left me with plenty of time to prepare.  Brian's mom, Louise, came over a little early on Saturday to help with set up (and supply her lovely Hawaiian pupu appetizers and some of Grandma G's brownies).

There was plenty of food, including a kids corner with pb&j and mini corn dogs (which I saw adults sneaking off with when they thought no one was looking...)

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And a TON of children!

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The adults had fun, too...

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And even little Ollie was kept occupied, primarily by children chasing him all over the yard & house.

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All in all, the afternoon & evening was a success, and we were thrilled that so many people were able to come.  We were also very thankful that the weather cooperated!

Sunday we spent recovering in front of the dismal Seahawk game, putting the house back together and enjoying another lovely fall day in Seattle.  Tomorrow I start my newest career adventure at Microsoft. 

-cw

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Oliver Goes International

I guess you could call it a "babymoon" but I'd rather not. Instead, we'll say that Brian and I thought it would be nice to get out of dodge for a few days while we didn't have to bring a stroller, car seat, five days of food, the pack n play & a whole extra suitcase for our player-to-be-born later. 2008 Whistler 003

Instead, we brought Ollie with us for a long weekend in Whistler, BC - the site of our first weekend away back in '03, three New Years Celebrations since we've known each other and our beautiful wedding back in March of '05.

This was Ollie's first real vacation trip, and definitely our first foray at taking him out of the country, and I'm happy to report it all went splendidly.

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A few things we learned:

  • There is a difference between hotels that "allow pets" and ones that are "pet friendly."
  • Oliver LOVES playing in the water, especially with other dogs
  • While you only need proof of a rabies vaccination to bring your dog in/out of Canada, you have to show proof of a whole bunch of other shots in order to bring him to doggie daycare.
  • Vacation while pregnant is VERY different from vacation when not pregnant - for everyone involved.
  • Tropic Thunder is absolutely as funny as everyone is saying.
  • We will likely not be traveling the Sea-to-Sky Highway again until after the Olympics in '10. Construction made what is usually a trip that takes just over an hour into a 2-hour ordeal from the mountain to Vancouver. But once they are done with that road, it'll be spectacular!

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All in all, it was a very nice weekend full of R&R, lots of play time with Ollie, some good food and nice weather. Brian even got to go golfing at Big Sky! Now we're back home, trying to prepare for Baby Dub's arrival in just seven short weeks.