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Monday, December 26, 2016

Connors First Birthday Party!

The amazing cake by: http://www.kimscustomcakesandcreations.com/

"Dirt pudding" favors :)

Matching shirts for Connor and Big Brother Noah!

(from Etsy)

Digging in!

"Here little brother, let me help you open that awesome looking truck..."

Party success! :)

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CONTROL YOUR ANGER FIRST IMPRESSION IN KIDS

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Twin sisters make it to the Miss Korea finals for the first time in contest history

Article: Twin sisters make it to Miss Korea finals... first time in contest history

Source: Yonhap News via Naver

1. [+109, -15] Theyre both pretty

2. [+83, -9] Despite being fraternal twins, theyre both pretty. Cant fool blood.

3. [+83, -12] All of the ajusshies in their thirties and forties are in here~~~ whoever at Naver implemented comment analytics should get an award ????????????? its hilarious looking at it

4. [+75, -12] Ajusshis hard at work in this article ??

5. [+53, -15] Their parents must be doubly proud~!!

6. [+16, -5] Ewww all the commenters are men in their thirties and forties in here

7. [+12, -5] I wonder what their parents look like for both fraternal twins to be this pretty

-

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Our first Levels class is a success and we visit Dr Neal!

Yesterday I taught my first Levels class at Canine Affair Center! Two people who had signed up didnt show so we might be able to bring a couple people in from the wait list. I used Hardy as a demo dog for clicker training and he was super! Then when I put him in a crate to wait, he yelled at me so after giving him a warning, he got "too badded" out to the crate in my van. After class, I worked with him a bit and he generally remembered everything. We are still working on loose leash walking with my chair really hard since what he learned with John walking doesnt just transfer to the chair (something I learned from training Laurel - the puppy has to learn both skills).
This afternoon, Laurel had an appointment with Dr. Neal. He checked her ruptured ligament and thought that it was healing nicely however, he wants her to rest for another two weeks. He doesnt think it is going to be a chronic injury and it shouldnt interfere with her ability to do her job or play dog sport games (like agility). Of course, the movement we want to avoid - having her pivot on that foot - is exactly what she does when she is playing with Hardy! However, she is being very good at self regulation and will put herself in her crate or lay on my bed instead of tearing around the house or yard with him. Dr. Neal looked at Hardys eyes which are still goopy at times (and Laurels are starting to be goopy some too) and gave us some antibiotic ointment to use with both. He also looked at an upper tooth behind one of Hardys adult teeth - it is a baby tooth that is resisting coming out. He suggested we just leave it until it comes out on its own. Hardy weighs 36.7 lbs now and seems to be growing nicely.

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Hardys first class at Canine Affair Center

This morning Hardy and I attended his first class at Canine Affair Center - a basic obedience and manners class with Mary. There were two other dogs, both adults - a very large 1 1/2 year old Wheaten Terrier and a Golden Retriever. We worked on watch me, sit, down, stays, come front and left finishes. Hardy was terrific! We worked particularly on sit from a down; something he seems to have forgotten. Although we didnt work on walking during class, we worked on keeping a loose leash walking into and out of the training hall.
Hardy is still exploring the house and loves coming across one of the cats; neither of whom is nearly as happy to see him! Apparently Laurels foot is bothering her because she is taking it easy all by herself. Tomorrow Im teaching my first Introduction to Training Levels class so I am working hard to get ready!

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Hardys first time in vest out in public

Over the past couple days, Ive come to realize that Im having a flair of the rheumatoid arthritis in my chest wall. Besides being tiring and painful - its hard to breath; Laurel gets worried because she knows that Im having a problem but when she alerts and I take my medications, the pain caused by the rheumatoid stays instead of going away. So she alerts more and really doesnt like to be away from me. Unfortunately, here in Canada, there are more times when we have to be apart than when we are at home - sometimes just because Im in another part of the house and she needs to stay in our bedroom or because Im taking a class or doing something with Hardy.
Although I have worked very hard to keep Laurel from suffering separation anxiety, I hadnt considered that we would need to work on her being okay when she knew I was having medical problems and she had to be away from me. We are trying to use her love of pigs ears as a way to distract her during these situations and it seems to be working, at least for short separations! Hardy knows that something is up with Laurel because she isnt as interested in playing and he seems to be trying to figure out what is going on.

We took Hardy out to a restaurant for his first public access experience (dressed) during the K9Helpers club meeting on Wednesday. Another club members dog was with us as well. Hardy sat with me for a couple minutes and then Sue put him on the floor in a down stay. He put his head down and did a beautiful job. A short while later, he was sleeping. It was a terrific success!

Yesterday, Sue and I decided to go to the Six Nations reservation to get some moose hide for moccasins. We decided to not take our service dogs because the reservation is sovereign land and not covered by the service dog laws of Ontario. We didnt want to offend anyone and felt it might be considered disrespectful. We also didnt want to run into an access problem. It was the longest time I had left Laurel while she was struggling with knowing that I was having medical problems. John was home with the dogs and said that from time to time Laurel would let out a tragic mournful howl. I heard it just as we were coming into the house and it broke my heart. Wed had a lovely drive and a pleasant afternoon but that kind of ruined it all. It also enforced my determination to help Laurel be okay if she has to be away from me and I am having the medical problems she alerts to. Also, Ill do whatever I can to avoid this with Hardy and hopefully being more aware will help.
We also have a mystery on our hands right now. The other day, I left Hardy out in our little side yard while I took a shower. Sue knocked on the door and asked me if I had put Hardy in the back yard with Yarrow (a white Standard Poodle owned by K9 Helpers). Of course, I hadnt and we have no idea how Hardy got from his side yard to the back yard. Obviously, he went over or under the fence separating the yards but the back yard is about 7 - 8 feet lower than the side one. He must have either slid down a wall or fallen but he seems to have survived it without any damage and fortunately, he and Yarrow were getting along just fine.

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First Sweet Potatoes

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First Aid

It is very important to always have a first aid kit available in your house and your car as you never know when an accident may arise! Please find below a compiled list of top five items that should be an immediate addition into your family’s first aid kit to ensure safety. Every kit should keep the basics of: butterfly sutures, gauze, floss or fishing string, surgical tape, adhesive dressing, etc. but it’s time to revamp the technology in a medical kit to ensure family and those around you safety.

If you haven’t yet, add these necessities to your first aid kit to guarantee you have everything covered:

CPR GUIDE
When treating someone with an injury, it is common for caregivers to panic and forget all of their basic CPR and first aid training. Have a pocket guide that will refresh you.

CPR BARRIERS
When doing CPR on someone other than your loved ones, it is a very good idea to use a CPR One-Way Valve barrier, and you can purchase the face valves or the higher end versions that look more like a mask.

IDENTA TOUCH&KNOW: with these kits, anyone can test drugs and chemical substances to ensure when alerting authorities / figuring out next steps to help those in needs what the exact problem is.

PHONE HAND CRANK BACK-UP POWER USB BATTERY CHARGER

Perfect for powering up your cell phone and tablet when you cant find a power outlet, provides a last line of defense for staying connected to those that matter in a time of need.

EMERGENCY FIRST AID & TREATMENT GUIDE APP

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UNDERSTAND FIRST THEN FOLLOW TELUGU QUOTATIONS

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Winning and losing Matthews first Sports Day

Matthew finally had a chance to experience his first Sports Day at school yesterday after it was cancelled due to rain a couple of weeks ago. This time around we had no problems with the weather aside from it being exceptionally warm which must have made it uncomfortable for the participants!

The event was actually held in the evening, which I thought was a good idea to allow working parents a chance to attend. Unfortunately, as is often the case on big occasions, I wasnt very well and struggled with a fever of 39C and a sore throat but wanted to make sure I didnt miss Matthew competing. I was relieved when the headmistress announced that it would only take 40 minutes, although slightly less relieved when the racing hadnt finished after an hour and a half!

Matthew took part in two events: a race in which he had to pick up a variety of objects and place them in a bucket, which was at the very start, and a race where he had to pick up coloured sacks and return them to a hoop at the start, which was at the end. In his first race, he did very well and actually won - he was thrilled with this as hes always come second in practice! In his second race, however, he picked up too many sacks and so came last as he did more than everyone else. Unfortunately the sacks werent laid out very well and the colours didnt match either his team colour (blue) or the colour of the hoops and so it wasnt obvious which sacks he should choose. He ended up picking up four sacks while everyone else collected only three, and was in second place until he went back for the extra sack.

At the end, there was an egg and spoon race for mums and dads, which neither Louise nor I took part in! Louise actually said that she would have participated if she had been wearing more appropriate footwear - athletics has never been my strong point so despite Matthew seeming keen for me to race I cant see myself ever taking part!

Maybe the Sports Day in my primary school was super-organised but it all seemed a little chaotic - there were no announcements about what the races were and who was taking part, no programme (Im sure we had one when I was in school) and no medals (maybe thanks to all of David Camerons cuts: but I wont get all political!).

Other news: Matthew fell out of bed last night! We were woken in the night by a large thud and then some crying, which didnt seem to be coming from Daniels baby monitor and so Louise went to investigate. She found Matthew standing up in the centre of his room, looking a bit shaken, and it turns out that he fell out of bed. We recently removed the protective foam bumper which he had been using since he moved into his full size bed when he swapped rooms with Daniel in May.

Gramps has bought Matthew a Spiderman watch and wallet! He was wearing the watch this evening, and hopefully will take to using it as he can now tell the time.

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First food !!

We gave Connor rice cereal for the first time tonight! James took pictures, this one is overexposed and blurry, but you can see his eye color well. It appears as though we have a green eyed boy! :) His eyes often reflect what he is wearing, so some times they look bluer or almost black but I think his real eye color is a beautiful olive green shade.

Here, we go, first bite!

Hey this stuff is pretty good!

More please!

Youre going too slow! Here, Ill eat my fingers while Im waiting for the next bite.

Connor then actually got really upset and uncharacteristically cried for a while before I could calm him down. I guess we should not have tried to feed him with a slow spoon when he was hungry.

Weve since tried cereal again (when he wasnt super hungry) and he enjoyed it much more. Woops!

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We attend our first AKC STAR Puppy Class go out to dinner

Hardy, Brent and I attended our first AKC STAR Puppy Class at Fortunate Fido this morning. It takes about an hour to get there but at least we arent doing it during rush hour! The STAR program is kind of a pre-CGC (Canine Good Citizen) class developed for puppies in which you and your puppy not only have to pass a evaluation but you also have to attend all 6 classes run by the AKC evaluator. There is only one other puppy in the class, a lovely Border Collie one week younger than Hardy owned by someone I knew a long time ago (in my other life) in high school when we rode horses together. We have our instructor/evaluator, Anne and an assistant, so we have plenty of help! This week, we learned what the program would entail and worked on handling our dogs, "4 on the floor" greetings, and loose leash walking. Both puppies did a great job and we even had enough time to let them play a couple times. Although they are about the same height, Hardy definitely has the weight advantage on his side!
We dropped my power chair off at the medical equipment place on our way home so that it could get some repairs and maintenance done this coming week while my van is in the shop getting the body work done from when it got run into in Canada. That means that other than when Brent can take us places, Laurel, Hardy and I will be home together all week. Im thinking up things we can do that wont require Laurel to move too much while keeping Hardy busy.
Then, this evening we headed back to the west side to have dinner with some very good friends, Don and Alice at one of our favorite restaurants. We took Hardy with us because the weather was cool enough that he could stay in his crate in the van for part of the time. Before we went in, we took him to the grass and he quickly did his business! Don and Alice had gotten there early and when we went in, we found that our table was at the very back of the restaurant right in the major traffic pattern for all the servers carrying food out from the kitchen. I had my manual chair and we had to go through all the other tables which were very close together and filled with diners. Hardy had to go behind me - something we havent actually worked on but, he did it like a little pro. We had him go as far under the table as possible in front of Brent and he was very good; not perfect, but hes just 5 months old now. He stayed with us through our salad course and when our main dishes arrived, Brent took him out to rest in the van. We tend to take our time when we are out with our friends and I didnt want Hardy to have a bad experience. At his age and point in training, I want to make sure that when I have him out in public, the time is about him and how he is doing, not about eating dinner or running errands or spending time with friends.
To top off a great day with our little guy, when we got home and he finished greeting Laurel, he came over to me and started alerting to the rheumatoid in the chest wall. I asked him if I should take my meds based on his alert or whether I should wait for Laurel to confirm. Just then, she joined us with her own alert so I took my medications and snuggled in bed with my two amazing Labs! And sure enough, just as they both had known, the rheumatoid "struck" about 50 minutes later but the pain meds were already on board so it wasnt too bad.

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Shepherd Lincoln Our First Year

One night, a very, very long time ago, two young kids were sitting on the bench in front of house. There was a young boy who had walked over to hang out with a young girl and they decided it was nice enough outside to sit and talk.

As they were talking, the subject of children came up and the young girl said, "I want to name my first girl Lauriana. I always wish my parents had used my middle name as my first name, instead of Megan." The boy looked at the girl, smiled, and replied, "I like the name Megan. It suites you... Ive always thought my first son would be named Shepherd."

"Why?" Megan asked. " Bryan....Its not because you love German Shepherd dogs...right?"

"No!" Bryan laughed. "Because, I want my son to be a leader. To know others will look up to him and that its an important job. I want him to help others find their way. To be a light and a guide."

"Well, if we get married and have a son, well name him Shepherd."

"Sounds good. If we get married and have a daughter, well name her Lauriana."

--

Shepherd,

Before your father and I met, before we fell in love, before we dreamed about our future kids names, you were planned. You were always on the horizon and you were destined to be ours. Before Bryan and I got our lives together, before we married each other and bought our house, you were on our hearts. We knew you would come. You were foretold to us from the very beginning. God nestled you right in our hearts, He prepared us to have you, to hold you, to love you and raise you.

He knew the giggles we would share, He knew your first words. He knew the struggles we could face as mother and child. He saw the love and strength that would come from it. He knew how close our family of three would become.

I doubted for a long time, my boy. I was angry at God. How could He give me such a desire to have you and to have Lauriana and years went by with nothing. Finally, in the beginning of 2012, I gave up. I told God I couldnt bare the sadness. I couldnt hold onto any potential children anymore. I needed to let go.

On September 5, 2012 I found out I was pregnant. My immediate instinct was that it was a boy, that it was our Shepherd. It was a miracle. I was not supposed to be pregnant. It was not supposed to be possible... but there you were.

Week later it was confirmed in front of our family that you were a boy.

We were so happy. So blessed. And while the longing for Lauriana was still there, we were so happy to have our Shepherd boy.

We had a bit of a rocky start, you and I, but luckily, we made it through and you were born.

You have the best personality. Always happy, unless you are hungry. You love your daddy, you love your Papa, you moderately tolerate me.

The first year of your life has been full of the highest highs and the lowest lows for me. You have pushed me and stretched me more than anything else in my life. You have shown me my strength and a whole new level of love. Love I have never experienced. Love I dont know how to show you or give you properly. Im not equipped with the tools, because my childhood was different.

But I will do anything for you. I will learn any skill, read any book, right any wrong, fix my flaws, counsel with anyone I can to grow you into a smart, capable, wonderful young man. I will give up my dreams for yours to become reality. I will put you first. I will love you more than I was loved. I will give you more than I was given. I will teach you and learn from you all the days I have left.

You are the light of my beautiful life, kid. When things get hard. When I feel the clouds roll in, I hold you and things become clear. A weight lifts and I breathe again. You are my joy.

Your daddy and I, we adore you. You wont remember, but even now as we counsel you to make better decisions, to not bite, to not hit us with your beloved golf clubs, we giggle behind your back because you are so cute. So strong. So decisive. We pretend we arent, but we are putty in your hands, Bud. Hopefully you dont catch on....

But for your own sake we pretend so we can mold you into a good kid. A good man. A man of God.