The Phamily Blog

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And once again, Thank you to Chrystal for always finding the coolest videos to share!

Last week we had some fun with our infant educator, Alysse. She always comes with super-fun things to do and this time was no exception. She pulled out a big sheet from her Mary Poppins bag and I knew we were headed towards an hour of messy FUN! Today she introduced Gabby and Cameron to "Ooblik" aka cornstarch and water. Who knew?

The consistency is so weird. It looks very wet and slimy but once you touch it, it just feels cold and not wet.

Gabby was fearless with this stuff. No texture issues with her!

Cameron thought it was pretty fun too but was a little more reluctant to get down and dirty like Gabby!

She could have played for HOURS if I would have let her.

We added some rice to see if it would create a cool texture but you couldn't really even feel the rice in there.

Concentrating REALLY hard.

If you've never played with Ooblik before, I highly suggest it. I had a hard time sharing all of the fun cooking utensils we brought out. Cameron had to repeatedly ask me for the spatula.

It really is interesting stuff!

Introducing CAIN!

10:05 PM 10 Comments »

Meet the newest member of our family, Cain. Is he sweet or is he sweet? I am so in love with this boy, as is the rest of our family. He is the perfect addition!

We have been discussing getting a dog for Cameron (well, the whole family but especially for Cam) for about three months now. I have been going back and forth between what kind of dog to get, big or small, long hair/short hair, puppy or adult, from a breeder or a rescue and I gotta say... I'm glad everything fell into place the way it did.

Originally, the plan was to get a dog around Christmas time and give it to the kids as their "Santa" gift. That was until the wee hours of Wednesday morning...
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It was sometime around 3:15am that both Nguyen and I were frantically woken up by the blaring sound of our house alarm system. It was my worst fear (well one of them.) We both looked at each other and were absolutely panic stricken. We knew that in order for this alarm to go off, either a side/back door or window had to have been opened. I was most worried about my babies and how scared they must have been from the sound of the alarm and I definitely was worried that there was an intruder in our home and that Cameron would be running down the hallway at any moment. At that point, Nguyen and I split up. He made his way carefully through our dark house towards Cameron's room while I grabbed the telephone and called 911, heading for Gabby's room. Meanwhile, the alarm is still blaring.

Gabby was actually asleep (I have NO idea how...the alarm is viciously loud) but she woke up once I started talking to the 911 operator. I stood in her dark room waiting for Nguyen to make his way back with Cameron but he never came back and I really started to worry. I didn't want to go roaming through the house with Gabby, and I also couldn't leave her in her room all alone. So I waited for the police to come which seemed like an eternity. Ten minutes later, they had finally arrived on my front porch and I still had no clue where Nguyen or Cameron were.

I followed behind the officer and he asked what my husbands name was. He began calling out for him and we heard Nguyen respond from our master bedroom. He had the door shut and had NO clue I had called the police. Looking back, it was actually a little comical and the officer probably thought we were nut jobs. Anyhow, I am not sure if the officer thought Nguyen was being held hostage or what but I saw him put his hand on his gun and I freaked out. I immediately shouted for Nguyen to come out and he did, thank God! When he finally did come out, I realized he was on the phone with the police as well. :)

The officer took a look around and we immediately realized our side door to our garage was ajar. Any attempt of opening this door would sound our alarm so we're certain this is what happened. It's not the type of door that could easily become open from wind or anything, which is why we're fairly certain someones hand opened that door. It makes me sick to think about it and I am so grateful we have an alarm system!

Anyway, that night/early morning we couldn't go back to sleep and we were obviously shaken up. Nguyen looked at me and said "I think it's time to go ahead and get a dog!" Though we're sure the alarm system would be plenty to scare off any predators, the thought of having a dog that would bark before something like this happened and potentially scare off someone is comforting. Not to mention if someone, God forbid, did get into our home, we think the bark of a 150lb Great Dane could be a little intimidating. And so it was settled. We needed to get a dog with a BIG bark STAT!

So that is how we came to find our big boy, Cain. He is a Great Dane and at 13 weeks, weighs in at 47.4 pounds. His hands are bigger than my own and his legs are thicker than my arms. His blood lines trace back to the largest Great Dane in the world, as seen in the Guinness Book of World Records and his older brother weighs in at 160 pounds.

I have loved Great Danes for as long as I can remember and I am just in heaven with this ~~little~~ temporarily medium-sized guy. I think a Great Dane is actually a very wise choice for our family. They are "gentle giants" but are also known as protectors of their families. Already, Cain fits in so well with us. He is low energy (which I love) but he does still get the urge to play and wants to be walked and horsed around with like any other puppy (which he made me aware of around 5:45 this morning.)
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Because he is already 13 weeks old, he has had some practice with potty training and we started him on a leash yesterday which he did pretty well with for the most part. I definitely have some work cut out for me but he is so worth it. I am so happy to have a big dog in the house and Cameron is absolutely over the moon for him. Also noteworthy: my husband, aka "the guy who doesn't really care for animals" just GUSHES over Cain. I've never seen him like this with an animal ever so that's really sayin' something!

Welcome to the Phamily, Baby Cain!

Happy Healed Heart Day, Gabby Goose!

7:00 AM 8 Comments »

I can't believe only a year has gone by. It feels like so much time has passed since my sweet little Gabbers went under the knife. I am sure this is due to the fact that she has changed so much in the last year, achieving milestone after milestone after milestone.
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I've read over those posts numerous times, and the feelings of fear and sadness are blatantly clear. I'm so glad we're passed that and I am so glad that everything turned out the way it did. We are so very fortunate for this little fighter who has changed all of us in more ways than we could ever explain.
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July 31, 2009

Yuck. I don't love looking at these pictures. I hate seeing my girl so uncomfortable but I am reminded that this was necessary in order to get where we are today. She is HAPPY, healthy, and most imprtantly, thriving.

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I thought nothing could slow her down before open heart surgery but seeing her now, constantly on the go...I realize how much more energy she really does have. She's truly unstoppable!

Happy Open Heart Surgery Anniversary

to the sweetest, spunkiest "Little" I ever did know!

Water Therapy!

3:19 PM 10 Comments »

We've been trying something new lately with the 'licious. We finally got approved for weekly warm water therapy and I'm not sure I have ever seen her more excited or enthusiastic over something like she is when we enter the pool deck.
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We've officially been going for three weeks but these pics are from her very first session. Here she is with Miss Elena, checking things out.
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Miss Elena kept trying to make Gabs do things she really would rather not do, but alas, she completed her tasks and all was well in the pool.

"Wait...what? Why do I have to lay down? I don't want to get my hair wet."

About a half hour into the session, Gabby started getting really happy and VOCAL.

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I'm certain that every senior citizen that walked into that pool for water aerobics not only got a "Hiiiiii!" but also got blown a big fat kiss as well. She was too funny.

See? Absolutely giddy!

I am so glad we have the oppurtunity to do this. Not only is this fantastic for her strength, balance, mobility, tone, etc, etc... The amount of joy she gets from this is priceless. I predict she will be a little fishy by age four. ;)

Gabbers and Gracers do Music Therapy!

8:00 AM 9 Comments »

Normally, we do weekly music therapy sessions at Sheridan's house but since he is still fairly fresh out from open heart surgery, we're completing music sessions as a duo with Gabby and Gracie for the remainder of the month.

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting at our house and Gabby couldn't have been more thrilled!

She loves (like seriously, LOVES) Miss Jonna, Gracie's mama. I have seen Gabby get jealous when Jonna interacts with Gracie, her very own daughter. The nerve!