"C" is for climbing

Dan always said he would prefer our children do extreme sports than traditional team sports, and it is looking more and more like that might be the case. Rock climbing might interest Shad, as of this point climbing ANYTHING interests Shad. The list includes but is not limited to: the stools, the kitchen chairs, the bookshelves, the window, the couches, computer desk, the closet doors, the fridge, the bathroom cupboards, his crib (fortunately he is too short to get further than his knees with his arms above him for most of these things) his toys (the ball popper is one of his favorites to knock over and climb on), me, and of course poor Solo. Shad is at the point of obsession. Today he woke up during his nap and started to climb around and then fell asleep and fell over again. This picture of him at the bookshelf was followed by a less flattering one of his eyes closed, not from the flash but because he was so tired he couldn't keep them open. Don't worry though, he was still climbing. Apparently, he inherited his dad's will to never give up. Maybe he will be like his cousin, Zayden, and climbing flag poles by the age of eight. It wouldn't be the only thing they have in common. I am ready to admit my son has some red in his hair. Now if I could just figure out how to keep "C" from being for concussion since I obviously can't completely prevent the climbing we could all relax a little.

If Dogs Could Talk . . .

Generally when pondering this question, I think it would be a great thing if dogs could talk. After all I am a vet tech and it would make our job much easier if the patient could just say, "it's my right thirteenth rib that hurts," or, "I ate three packages of floss last night," or, "I'm not really sick but if I act like I am and refuse to eat then they offer me steak," etc. I also think it would be nice at those times when I am feeling down and my dear sweet dog comes up to snuggle to know what he would say if he could express what his eyes show. (Although it might sound something like, "honestly lady, you think you have it bad, I get ignored all day and find going out to the bathroom super exciting because it means I am not being climbed all over by that wierd little person you brought home or being kicked out of bed. . . .") Or, it might be what his eyes express which would be nice. The reason this all came up though, was because the other night I was horrified to realize just how much the dog really understands. Dan and I were having a casual conversation when a certain three letter word starting with "S" and ending with "x" came up. To our shock Solo jumped off the bed and excitedly headed down the hallway. This may not seem significant to many people, however if you have a dog that is allowed on your bed you probably understand that in order to have privacy sometimes they need to be banished from the room. Now, Dan happens to be a major sucker for those puppy-dog-eyes, which means every time Solo gets locked out he gets some treats or a bone to chew. So, why was the dog so excited at that three letter word? He actually recognized it as his personal treat time. Now, I at first thought there is no way on earth it was intentional, so we tested it a few more times. Each time it was said Solo once again got excited and then finally perturbed that nothing was happening. Sadly, for him no one got lucky that night, and I was grateful that the dog can't talk to tell you all the other things he may or may not understand. Mostly, it was just a little spooky and reminded me not to underestimate how smart he is. After all, he is smart enough to realize that if you come when called that just means your play time ends short, and if the door is open make a break for it, because you may not get time to play later.

Juvenile Diabetes

Almost two years ago my nephew Ashton was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes. While it is treatable there is still no cure and Ashton checks his blood sugar levels between 8-10 times daily and gets about 5-6 injections daily as well. They have learned to make it just another part of life, but it is certainly something that you have to care for each and every day. In recent weeks other members of our family have been diagnosed as well and just point out how far reaching this disease truly is. Each year my sister's family has done a walk for a cure to help get Ashton involved in a good cause and raise money for research to find a cure. One amazing thing they have learned is that in Ashton's lifetime researchers expect to find a cure for this disease! In hopes to make that as soon as possible I am including this link so if there is anyone who happens to come across this page and wants to donate they can go to his donation page(all money raised goes directly to research to find a cure):http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=87593866