i honestly cannot describe to you how much i love this dog.
to the core. i have never in all of my life loved an animal this much.
to call him animal is ridiculous. he is my family, my best friend,
my boy, my buddy.

and every single solitary day i wake up and i still see this smiling face,
well, that is the best damn day ever.

i love my Boob.

and i did just type that for the world to see :)

新年快樂

happy new year.
even from the cat.
the Boob would have joined in that
wish but he's snoozin'.

health, happiness, peace...
all good things
for the coming year.

(first 2 photos Laura Coffey)

the neglected blog update, with a party no less!

she turned 5 a couple weeks ago, but the big sha-bang was today. and mom has really put the camera down lately to enjoy the activity and missed a lot of moments... like the one when she signed the special birthday chair with this name: "E**** Lotta". yep. chose Lola's (of Charlie and Lola fame) best friend to use as her last name it seems, and we're fine with that. the bday party was held at our local museum of natural history, and was a huge hit with her and all of her friends. she was especially pleased to be in this special birthday chair :)

they made their own buttons to wear.

did some coloring.

made FOSSILS. ours is in the kitchen. fossilizing.

toured some of the museum of natural history.

dug in the sand for shark teeth

and found an entire set

opened a few gifts

blew out exactly 5 candles

and i caught at least one nephew (Alex) on camera in his totally rad sunglasses...

e with cousin Colin

this was the best i could do of my brother's boys
(Alex, Ethan behind Dylan, Colin).
after cake, they never stopped moving!

E had such a blast and as we drove away, Aunt Dawn and Uncle Brad couldn't hear
her waving and yelling "I will love you!" and "Be careful!" (she is forever
the one giving instructions).

as we pulled off, she had me roll her window down so she could yell to her
granddad and her other aunt and uncle,
"I love you guys!"

my god we are so blessed.

this is Jiji.
This is where Jiji sleeps when
she isn't camped out on our bellies,
chests, heads, or any body part she
can find.

a little bed.
for a little kitten.

just for her.

or so i thought.


this is Ransom.
Ransom is not a kitten.

even having put on a few pounds, he's dreaming big
if he thinks he can curl up in this bed.

but you can't blame the lug for wishing.
and Jiji? she knew he'd give her the bed back.

eventually.

i have to say, she's pretty sweet for sharing
and giving him a turn
:O)

the budding artiste

The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.
Francis Bacon

(photos by dad)

5 has arrived!

and she couldn't be happier! we surprised her with some (very early morning) bday gifts after baba decorated with some ribbon the night before... we had a 2 hour drive to another neurosurgeon (right? what a way to spend your bday!)- we wanted a second opinion regarding her spine/brain MRI's from a year ago and walked away very impressed with this physician- thorough, personable, and even took the time to show us the MRI and go over it with us all in detail. We have learned that watching and waiting is in fact appropriate at this time. we will be repeating another MRI within the next 2-6 months to see what changes (if any) have taken place since she's grown about 6 inches in the last year. overall, such great news that there is no surgery in her immediate future. i knew 2011 was going to shape up nicely! here she is with Aunt Karen who took some time out from her hectic schedule to meet us for the appointment and pass along even MORE gifts (thank you Aunt Karen!!).


there will never be an easy way to couple such a wonderful celebration with the anniversary of the loss of my mom, the grandmother that E will not meet in this life. i can only say that while E's presence in our life in no way dulls the pain of losing her (just as our presence in E's life will never dull the pain of losing her parents in China), her pure love and joy reminds us of all the reasons we should continue to celebrate- my mom- what she gave to us- what our lives have become. there is so much to be thankful for. what a gift that is. i trust mom is here in spirit, smiling with us. and she'd want things no other way. she had no time for tears. :O)

happy birthday to the best kiddo i've ever known. we are incredibly blessed to be witness to her ever emerging beauty, both inside and out.

meet Jiji~!

A few of you guessed correctly, a pet of her very own, and there is nothing she's wanted more than a cat :) We found her through our local pet rescue, she's 5 months old and incredibly sweet and curious. While I'm happy to have another cat, it seems a bit surreal and as with any relationship, it will take time for a bond to form. E is completely in awe of this (early) birthday gift and couldn't fall asleep last night for her excitement. Jiji (pronounced Gigi) was chosen after the cat in one of her favorite anime films, Kiki's Delivery Service.

Ransom isn't as thrilled as E, and seems a bit depressed, but he'll come around. He acted the same way with Gambit and he was second to come into the family at that time. I am giving him tons of extra loves and reminding him he's my boy and no one, not anyone, could ever replace him :)