Dress Up

I'm not sure what age it's supposed to start, but for Tali, dressing up her dog started this morning. Tali LOVES wearing Mardi Gras beads and plays with them almost daily. Today, after she put them on me, she decided to put them on Jackson. He was a pretty good sport. Poor dog.

More Freebies from Whole Foods

Earlier this year, I wrote about how Tali got a free shopping bag and mini bag of chips from Whole Foods. Today, she got a new gift - two chocolate chip cookies! This girl literally ate her way through the grocery store today with free samples (mini muffin, cheese cubes, chocolate cake, grilled salmon) and then the bakery thought she was so cute that they gave her two cookies. I only gave her one and she had a blast. Who knew that one little cookie could make such a big mess?

When She Grows Up

I find it funny when people try to predict what their young child will be when they grow up. My guess is very few of these predictions actually come true. But, for fun, I'm going to give it a shot. Here are my top three career choices for Tali, based on her preferences as a one-and-a-half year old:

Chef - Tali is a fantastic eater. With the exception of mushrooms and lettuce, she will eat almost anything you put in front of her. For example, on Saturday she had an olive tapenade on bread and today she had red beans and rice.

Veterinarian - Tali loves dogs. Loves dogs. Her new favorite place is the vet's office (we've been there a lot recently). Every time she's there, she plays with the other dogs waiting for their appointment. She gives random dogs hugs and kisses and giggles every time they whack her with their tail or kiss her face.

Actress - Tali puts on a show for everyone who comes over. It's hard to explain, but she simply shows off for guests. It's always very cute, and very funny.

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

The culprits.

Poor Jackson has had the worst week of his life this past week.

On Tuesday evening, he began hesitating when jumping up on the sofa. He also didn't want to go upstairs. So I called the vet on Wednesday and made an appointment to go in on Thursday. The vet determined that he had a bulging disk in his back so he gave him an anti-inflammatory shot and a prescription for the next week.

On Friday morning, Jackson threw up. Within the course of the next two hours, he threw up three more times. So off to the vet we went - again. The vet didn't feel anything large in his stomach or throat, and in order to avoid the unnecessary stress of an X-ray, the vet decided it would be best to assume that he ate something he shouldn't have. So Jackson fasted for the day. I gave him a bit of food (a chicken and rice formula - not his usual) and water the next morning and he threw up again.

We took Jackson back to the vet on Saturday morning and they did an X-ray. They saw something small at the top of his large intestine and determined that he needed surgery immediately to remove the blockage. The vet found a chapstick cap and two office-type rubber bands. He must've picked up these things outside since we do not have any of those items in our home.

Jackson stayed at the vet that evening, all day/night Sunday and all day Monday. I picked him up at 5:15 this afternoon, brought him home, offered him some food (which he refused) and water. At 7:45, he began throwing up the water (three times). I spoke to the vet and apparently he drank too much. He seems to be doing okay now but I must watch him closely tomorrow.

Poor little Jackson. Such a sweet dog. Such a terrible week.

Tali Speak

Tali is finally starting to say some words and it's very exciting. However, unless you are me, you won't understand most of them. So here's a little dictionary to help you out:

Done: done
Bah bah: bye bye
Zzzzz: vacuum
Nah bah: too bad (what I say to Jackson when I punish him to his crate - she repeats or says it if he goes into his crate on his own)
Uh ah: uh oh
Uh uh: this is naughty/wrong (but I'm going to do it anyway!)
Dah dah: dog
Da: what's that

Her Mother's Daughter

Meet Mini-Me.

Life Without

I know I've said this before, but I simply cannot imagine Tali's life without Jackson. She truly loves him. She gives him hugs and kisses all day, he has the ability to calm her when she cries (I simply ask her "where's Jackson?" and she stops crying to go find him) and they play so well together.

H took this video of them playing a few weeks ago but somehow it got lost in the shuffle and I never had a chance to post it. After about 5 minutes of playing together, H decided that he should capture a bit of it on camera. This session lasted 10 minutes - giving me lots of time to get the dishes done - yipee!

Bye Bye

Gran's in town and today she and Tali played a fun game. It made us laugh. Hope it makes you laugh, also.

First Animal Sound

For the past few weeks, Tali has been making a panting sound in reference to Jackson and other dogs. (Jackson doesn't bark, so, to her, that is what a dog sounds like.) Today, I decided to teach her how to do that on command. It took about two minutes.

Dancing in Circles

Over the weekend, H and I bought Tali some new toys. One of them is a piano, and it has quickly become a new favorite. She likes to press the music keys and dance in circles until she gets dizzy and falls down. It's very funny to watch.

Here's some more. Post fall.