Time To Turn Six

Lewis and Molly (his BFF)

So a rabbi once said that there's a beautiful contradiction and recognition of joy with a reminder of sorrow. There's no tears without honoring laughter. This weaves beautifully with yogic belief, we cannot have one without the other. Joy only exists because of sorrow, and sorrow only exists because of joy. They are brothers to one another, and like all siblings, they're closer than they care to admit. We are continuing to occupy that fullness of our beings. We have all sorts of beautiful contradictions in this celebration of Lew's life. We are humbled and inspired by LJ.  This day is so bittersweet. We lost and I hurt and I want it to stop. I want to let it go and find acceptance.  But we also won and I bubble up with love and he continues to teach us so much. And he is here.  And he is happy. And I breathe out gratitude for his place right next to Nate's, right there in the middle of my heart. Happy birthday Noodles Applesauce.

“But now I am mostly at the window
watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly 
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against the garage
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.

This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends,
time to turn the first big number.

It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I could shine.”

~Billy Collins, from the poem “On Turning Ten”

Circus of the Senses

Wednesday, Lewbug's Kindergarten class got to have a field trip to see the Big Apple Circus.  It was featured on the local news.  Have a look see. (sidebar: LJ's favorite act was the dog riding the pony!)
I had so much fun chaperoning the field trip and getting to experience such a wonderful opportunity for my boy.  So grateful!


DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG

Surprise, Surprise

Surprises all around.  I thought for sure LJ and I both would be fighting back tears this morning.  Boy was I wrong.

He drove his especially-for-school "sticker-blinged" out car right onto the wheelchair lift, said hi to Mr. Patrick (a bus driver we had a few summers ago) and waved bye to me.  And just like that, my little one is off to his first day of Kindergarten.

His teacher's name is Mr. Lewis so he's got that going for him;) His daddy and grandpa Bop have engineered an adaptive pvc lever to help him independently open his own locker.  (Nate is jealous since he never had a locker in Kindergarten!)  Incidentally, Mr. Mr. Lewis had knowledge about LJ's love for adaptive skiing so he adorned LJ's locker with a sticker of a bi-ski athlete.

"A grand adventure is about to begin."

- Winnie the Pooh

 

Bread Chronicles: Part Deux

So those of you that aren't new to the blog will know that LJ is quite the foodie.  Since Josh's birthday (the kids gave him some Pullman Loaf pans- fancy schmancy pans that cost up to $50! Here's a video from America's Test Kitchen if you're not familiar with the pullman-loaf-pans).  As a result, we'

ve been up to some bread baking here on the home front at LewBug's request.  Here are our most recent creations:

LJ and Josh's Sandwich Loaf from Last Week

LJ and Molly Baked Challah for our Friday Night dinner this week. It was the best!

If LJ Had a Pinterest Account, It Would All Be Food Shots

And these are a few of his current faves:

PS America's Test Kitchen and Barefoot Contessa get lots of airtime at home!

No Stage Fright Here...A Graduate

LJ In the Spotlight_PreK Graduation June 2014 from Jenn S on Vimeo.

Last Friday night, LJ had a cute preschool graduation ceremony.  Here are some memories from the night.

After party batting practice with friends

Randoms: Total Communication Approach

A mystic mamma said that confident communication is possible when you realize you can choose to grow rather than say you can't.  Around here, we are definitely open to communication.  All types.  American sign language, signing exact English, augmented communication with a device and of course speech with verbal output.

Based on LJ's latest IEP, he is persistent in communicating his wants and needs in the classroom.  He will tell stories and recall activities that he participated in. He does this by pairing his speech with signs and AAC.  His wonderful speech therapist and special education teacher said "Although he has significant weakness in strength, coordination and intelligibility for speech, he is persistent and takes his time for speech."

He takes his time with speech.  Lately, I take my time with speech.  (No more "crazy mom" and getting stressed by the process).  The sharp words and self-doubt inside my head no longer have my permission to reside there.  Life is teaching me to move a little bit more gently.  A little bit more slowly.  LJ is teaching me to be more gentle with things as they come and as they go.

And so another preschool year is coming to a close.  A big transition this year.  The structure of the Reed School has been profound for LJ.  The integrated classroom has afforded Lew Bug opportunities which range from social opportunities, recreation, academic and therapeutic. He has progressed leaps and bounds.  Its bittersweet, but we are soon going to have to say farewell to our extended "school family", this familiar place, the big open arms of wonderful educators and therapists who have helped us along this journey.  But we are surrendering to everything in life that truly matters.  It's not a trajectory but more a deepening of understanding.  It is with a playful curiosity, that we trust LJ to rely on his own wings.

For Lew's debut in Kindergarten he will attend one of Arlington county's only elementary schools with a Communications Program and a Total Communications/ Deaf (HOH) Program.  LJ will attend the Communications Program (click here for deets) at Patrick Henry.  What matters most in life, this series of big steps and little steps, is that we slow down to take the time to notice them.  We have met with our new Communications Program "family" and are much less stressed and breathing easier about the transition.  The teachers are dedicated, assertive, curious and seem so with-it.  LJ will also have a dedicated speech therapist in his classroom that will be working side-by-side with the special ed teachers.  While it is a self-contained classroom, I am trusting the process.  His IEP stipulates that he will get to be integrated with all the other peers at lunch, recess and specials.

I knew we were on the right start when Ms. Hill said in the IEP meeting with his current IEP team this year (for next year), you can go ahead and put whatever you think works.  If we need to "Mama and I will just get together and have a meeting and...we can just change it then."  Whatever it takes to get LJ where he needs to be.  I like her a lot.  And the other special ed teacher's name is Mr. Lewis so we have that going for us too!  We've got the new communication device paperwork signed by our doctor and we submitted to insurance and we are on track for a great year (assuming the device arrives by September)!  We are right behind you, Lew!

And on a similar vane, I'm feeling proudly victorious about getting Lew's private speech therapist to agree to come do sessions at our house instead of the clinic.  We have been at the same clinic since LJ was a baby, but it is not wheelchair-friendly.  Now that LJ is 38 lbs, it is no longer possible to keep carrying him up and down the steps to get to speech therapy.  Routines are changing.  Spring break is upon us and before we know it, Summer break will be here.  My heart is wide open and ready for the unimaginable.

Snow Dance!

Bearing in mind the old phrase, "Wherever you go, there you are."  Starting from where we were,  and getting on track to the life of my dreams-becoming a ski bum (and also a painter).  Family vacations could just be the best cure if they could bottle up the cold, crisp Rocky Mountain air and magical, blue skies.  This kind of existence is blissful.

What I'm trying to say is that we stopped to try and enjoy the view.  We're taking the week off from therapies, school, appointment-making, shoveling, doctors, cleaning and errands.  We chose blue skies, fresh air and good people (Anna and my cousins:) to travel with to Park City, UT.  We'll get back to all that other stuff next week.  Instead we chose to embrace the magic of creating something that did not exist prior to us dreaming it up and making this here vacay happen!

“Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it.” 
- Chinese Proverb

I let go of the things I must do and shifted to the things I wanted to do.  I wanted to feel steady on my skis as my legs moved through the snow and my arms and poles flowed with the wind.  There is always space out in the vastness of the mountains.  I wanted to flow with the energy of the earth... to the sun... and sing my songs of pure, unabashedly, tone-deaf tunes as I let go of expectations for myself and carve tracks down the mountain channeling my inner child.  There is always space.  I let go of shoulda, coulda, woulda's.

We've had a wonderful time so far.  Moments I've wanted to pause, savor and remember.  The kids crunching snow underfoot.  The spirit of this town.  Roaring fires.  Games.  Birdsong from the woods lining the chair lift path.  Coming home exhausted from barreling down the slopes.  More-than-eager little boys here and there and everywhere.  Drinking it up, slowing it down, reveling in it, every last drop.

Go LJ go! With his new friends, Tom and Wendy.

Cousins at breakfast time! Mindcraft...

Getting on the lift with his new friends, Hunter and Adam!

We are so fortunate there are some really great people in this world- altering the trajectory of our world.  The folks at the National Ability Center have been amazing.   After last year's trip to Vermont, Nate was a real pro and LJ took to it well, just like we thought he might.  LJ took to it with even more enthusiasm than last year.  Nate happily volunteered to skip ski school the first two days and enter the fold of family skiing right by LJ's side.  So love!  We're so grateful. Thankful for all NAC volunteers' wide open hearts, patience, hands and strong quads! The adapted skiers and boarders were equally so inspiring giving LJ high fives and encouraging words of "right on, dude!" 

LJ Tree Skiing with Hunter

Nate the happy camper

Daft Punk LJ

Apres ski hot tub with Anna!

Huge thanks to all who give their time, talent and that make this sport possible and without barriers to all those who participate!

But as amazed as I am of LJ, his brother and his friends (and their turns), I still lost that dream that I initially had for them. My pain can only be measured in love, and both run deep. I lost something and it undeniably hurt and someday that hurt will slow down, fade, hopefully gracefully.  The biggest insight from from this ski trip is the idea of fragile beauty.  Now, I dream of the Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist, Alex Bilodeau honoring his brother Frederic, with CP, saying Frederic would have won three times over...and dream of that being my boys.  The interviews of Bilodeau warmed my heart and jerked tears from me.  Grateful tears mixed with the other.

It was just last week that I marveled as Nate supported LJ under his armpits, sock-clad and fresh snow fallen outside, skidding across the living room hard-wood floor and "rockin' it" to the finish line.  Such a wonderful duet. And surprisingly contrary to losing the dream, I have a different perspective. A new dream.  My dream gets a little crazy and I don't just dream I'm walking hand-in-hand with LJ and Nate.  I actually dream LJ is winning a gold medal.  And so is Nate.  And they are both actively participating and sharing their passion for the sport of skiing together.

But, as with all things, I have no idea where this adaptive skiing thing will lead.  For now, I keep practicing;  carrying helmets, poles and skis and doubling back for lost mittens and hats.  I'm carrying it all the way down the line straight to our own awards ceremony, standing on a kitchen stool as our awards podium.  My anthem is lots of kid laughter.

Without attachment to the end point.  "Wherever you go, there you are."  This moment is all we really have to work with.  I pick bliss. We will see where this leads.

This is Gratitude!

Gratitude is when things happen by surprise that create more daily joy in life.  That happened this morning as Lew Bug was getting on his school bus.  Lewis' beloved school bus aide, Ms A, had a green (that matches his glasses) and blue rainbow loom, rubber bracelet made by her daughter for my Lew Bug.  Evidently, he had been admiring a few that Ms.A was wearing earlier in the week. Oh my heart.  Today is a happy day.

PS If you haven't caught on to this rainbow loom craze, you can learn more here.

Pssst! We're 5!

LJ: two weeks old, Georgetown University Hospital DC

Unreal.  What a rocky beginning.  He's five, but still my baby!  Going thru all the photos gives me an entirely new appreciation for how far Lew has come.  What an amazing, smart little guy.  I cannot say I can't imagine life being any different.  Sometimes the best way to let go, is to honor the pain we carry. But it is as it is.  Our hearts have learned to grow from the past.

He has always had the kindest heart, best head of hair, the most infectious smile and the biggest bear hug on the planet!  And now he's even brighter, has the most generous spirit, is quite funny and he's becoming a fantastic story teller (possibly letting the world know what he's thinking soon with the aid of a new Dynavox Maestro) on top of all that.  His favorite thing to do at school is tap keys on the keyboard in the computer room followed closely by eating snack; at home, Just Dance Kids on the Wii is at the top of his list, mimicking the movement with the flick of the remote…realizing and feeling the motions and independence that most of us take for granted.

As they say, change is the only constant.  Learn to flow with the changes in your life whether difficult or easy. They are the same sides of the coin.  Day by day, moment by moment, we grow, we change. Bring on the rain.  Bring on the sunshine. There's always still a part of yourself that's always been there.

I feel so lucky to see LJ grow.

Feed Your Soul

Life Is Good...but SO Full

LJ's New Shades

We're here.  It has been a busy April.  Nothin' major to report.  Just the usual with the two kids, therapy, doctor appointments, after school activities, IEP meetings, traveling etc...

Lewie is gettin' good at driving his power chair.  No more banging his head.  He sleeps thru the night every couple nights or so.  The trick was a combo of 3 mg extended release melatonin & a regular 3 mg tab of melatonin at bedtime.  But...it could also be due to the addition of a new medicine LJ has started taking which has a drowsiness side effect.

We met with a new Pediatric Neurologist at the beginning of the month.  And she gave us lots of nuggets of information.  She recommended we try Baclofen for LJ's fluctuating tone and muscle discomfort.  NIH says Baclofen can be used to act on spinal cord nerves and reduce the severity of muscle spasms.  Dr E also referred to his particular type of CP as "Choreoathetotic".  We'd heard he was dystonic but this was a new term to us.  I googled it and the definition I pulled up was "a form of cerebral palsy characterized by choreiform (jerky, ticlike twitching) and athetoid (slow, writhing) movements."  Sounds sorta accurate but its just a label and I've dropped those. 

The Phsyiatrist we see for his physical medicine/rehab wants to try another Botox procedure (for LJ's right wrist flexor, right pec major, and right calve) but the neuro thought we might have longer term progress with the oral medication. So rather than put him under anesthesia again, we will see if the Baclofen helps. He is on a low dose and we may consider increasing the dose with time.  In the meantime another side effect is seizure, so we are closely monitoring him.

The dentist reported that LJ has no cavities! The Developmental Pediatrician was also a good visit.  We discussed LJ's sleep issues. He prescribed a sleeping medication if things get particularly bad and the melatonin doesn't help enough.  But we really have tried not to use it.  It's called Clonidine and it's typically used to treat high blood pressure but drowsiness is a side effect. The Developmental Ped also said another medication to consider down the road might be to treat anxiety.  He could see that LJ has lots of worry and given his overall picture it might help reduce his anxiety.  Rather than Ativan though he would like to see him on Intuniv for antianxiety/antidepression.  When he's a little older we may explore a play-based psychiatrist for LJ have therapy and determine what is the right route. 

Ophthalmologist says Lewis' eyes look healthy, nothing wrong with the integrity of the actual eyeballs.  However, I had sent her a video because his right eye was overactive and floating up a lot. She had us come in for an exam.  She says it's not uncommon with kiddos who have had strabismus early on.  She calls it "Dissociated Vertical Deviation" or DVD.  Here is an interesting article outlining how DVD has eluded explanation for over a century!  The doc advised that this is really more of an aesthetic thing and that while surgery would indeed correct it, the problem never goes away and would need to be re-operated on in the future.  When given the old "What would you do if this was your child?" she responded that she wouldn't operate until it was cosmetically necessary or LJ had formed an opinion on it.

In other news, the lil is farsighted!  He needs glasses.  He has trouble seeing things close up- which starts to make sense regarding his iPad and inaccuracy clicking buttons in PQ2GO. He chose his own glasses and very much enjoyed shopping for them.  It was between round blue ones or squoval (squarish-oval) green ones.  At one point he got so excited he knocked my bottled water all over the display.  Fun times.  At least it was only water.

I had a getaway to NYC for a night to celebrate Nanny's birthday.  Josh manned the fort.  I had the most amazing time eating good eats, laughing lots, celebrating my mom, sleeping in late, a nice little massage, and a play off Broadway.  The kids were all adorable when I got home.  The whole fam damily went home to Florida for my nephew's bar mitzvah this past weekend.  He did so amazing.  Didi and Bop came along for the fun.  We had lots of bribing going on to get big brother to wear his jacket and tie for the festivities.  First it was a choice between wearing his jacket or his tie.  But then just to get him to wear one, we negotiated for Nate not to have to wear his dress socks.  In the end, the boys looked like little mini men and we had such a wonderful time with old friends and family.  But trips are always lots of work.

On one final note, we have some bittersweet news.  We have decided to sell our house and look for one that is more handicap accessible or can be made more accessible.  We've chosen the end of the school year to put our house on the market so that we can use the summer to find a place that works for us, hopefully very close to where we are now.  But its been crazy, crazy, crazy busy trying to get the house ready to go on the market.  I hope you all are not as pooped as I feel after reading all of this.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Potty Fairies Don't Exist

At least this time around.  Apologies in advance.  Feel free to skip this post if potty talk doesn't interest you.  When Nate was potty training, we tried to play a game, "aim for the Cheerio". (Yes, we were silly enough to have floating cheerios in our toilet bowl). Then we tried the M&M thing. A candy bribe for each time there was a success.  Neither game must have been enough incentive though.  One M&M for each time he produced? He was over it.  But then the Potty Fairy showed up on the scene. At almost 4.5 years old, he was fully potty trained.  The Potty Fairy was similar to a Tooth Fairy.  Instead of money Nate got a small prize, like a match box car or a board book.  Mostly whatever I could find from the dollar store since it was such a long process;)

Fun letter to Nate from one of the Potty Fairies....

We weren't sure whether LJ would have either the strength to hold himself up long enough or the muscle awareness/control to work on potty training.  (Let alone whether we needed to enlist the Potty Fairy).  Bring it on cerebral palsy!  I have it on good word the Potty Fairy would have gladly delivered treats as success demanded.  However, he did it!!  He is using a plain, regular ole potty seat with handles on it.  When he feels he needs to be taken, he uses his left hand to sign potty.  The sign is the letter "p" shaken from side to side.  We help him get on and off the seat and he waves us out of the bathroom to take care of business.  And the thing that gave him enough desire to use the potty?  This beautifully crafted stamp chart.  1 for Pee.  2 for Poo. (Thank you Anna!)  No glitter glue, no candy, no bells, no whistles.  Just the desire to be like his peers at school and his big brother.

LJ is potty trained for the most part!  We've had a few accidents here and there, but its usually if we haven't planned our outings well enough.  He still wears a pull-up at night, but I am just so proud of him.  He's been coming home dry from school for the past month now.  His teacher and Bop are now working together to engineer something for the bathroom at school to prop him up while at the same time using his only functional hand to pull up his pants independently.  There's a grab bar already, but the problem is LJ only can use one hand.  No small task when his tone frequently causes him to lose his balance and he can't stand on his own.  If anyone knows of something like this that already exists, it would be great to not have to re-invent the wheel.

I'm so ecstatic not to be lugging a million pull-ups along with me every time we go out.  Potty fairies, potty charts, and big-boy pants....we are now a diaper-free household.

{photography with red portrait} capturing the bday boy

There are probably 365 reasons (if not more) I'm grateful for all the love and support Anna shows our family.  Anna is our caregiver & she's affectionately called "Nona" around here.  Well, she and her business partners own Red Portrait, a photography studio in Alexandria.  Ever talented, so passionate and the most beautiful person inside and out.  Well, she gifted us a gift beyond measure by coming to work on LJ's actual birthday and taking him out to do a surprise birthday photo shoot!!!  Here are some of the moments she captured.  Just brilliant.  I am captivated.  Words cannot begin to thank you enough Anna!  You have been such a blessing to us and you have impacted LJ beyond measure.

Balance and Other Matters

Wow, I have to apologize for the long time since I've posted a blog entry.  Why wait to live life right?  We're living it now.  Let me reintroduce ourselves and give the LJ fan club a teeny, tiny update on the progress and challenges we've faced this past month. While I feel like I might be juggling most times, I have come to realize I am really, really juggling all of the time. Life is all about the art of a balancing act...

With the start of school for both boys..... new routines have taken shape (I can thankfully say this finally).  For me, I've also squeezed in some additional yoga teaching which I am still absolutely loving.  I have so much deep gratitude for all that this opportunity has afforded me- more awareness, appreciation, stillness, presence and reflection.  There is almost no end to the positive things. 

Still, some things remain frustrating.  We're still fighting with our insurance companies over one thing or another- from picking an occupational therapist that is not 15 miles from our home and also that is handicapped accessible...to payment for the power wheelchair which we finally got at the end of the last school year.  One thing after another.  { So side bar here, if you live in the metro area and take your child to Children's National Medical Center for therapy, one word of warning.  They can discharge your kiddo from therapy even if their goals have not been met; on account of their long, long wait list!  It's crazy to me.  Anywhoo, that's the reason for trying to find an acceptable alternative to the pediatric OT situation }  Doctor's appointments to therapy sessions to my own doctor's appointments followed by a rather large speeding ticket ($200=lead foot) in order to get there to said appointment on time in DC rush hour.  Ouch, that hurts!

The motorized chair is coming along.  Conflict enters the equation again though.  Are we doing the wrong thing when we promote LJ's use of the power chair?  We feel torn that we are not working harder on his gait trainer and walking abilities.  We sometimes feel that the incentives are not inline.  Nonetheless, LJ is enjoying the chair very much!  In typical toddler fashion he doesn't listen when we tell him to stop, danger might be looming.  He is a dare devil, often heading straight for the steps despite a ramp being several feet away.  His left hand is the dominant hand so the joystick to steer the chair is on the left side.  LJ also primarily signs to us with his left hand, so that makes for lots of stopping and starting.  We also got a new articulating arm extender gizmo that connects the iPad to the chair.  Suffice it to say there is a lot going on with the wheelchair and it takes a very long time just to get from the school exit to the car, with all the signing, and attempts to self-regulate the chair speed (LJ has learned how to use his pointer finger to switch the chair speed from low to high).  I will post a video soon but this teeny, tiny post is not so teeny, tiny.

Right arm/hand mobility:  We are still trying to resolve his right arm tension and since the DMO (dynamic movement orthotic) glove was not successful we've recently gotten a splint for his right elbow to stay extended.  We chose cast material over splint material since little Lew is a bit of Houdini and gets out of every splint that's ever been made for him.  He was given a color choice so he picked blue and promptly came home and had good friends Anna, Nate and Hannah sign his cast.  Still doesn't seem to do the trick at least from a therapeutic sense. Too much fisting is still going on with it ...he's supposed to wear it at night but its a full-on cast...don't see that happening in our future. 

Mobility/gait:  Rt foot is turning out onto the outside edge when he walks with assistance... we recently had his foot orthotics adjusted and he walks better if he wears them.  His hamstrings are very tight too.  Who knows, perhaps LJ had a growth spurt setting off the change in his weight bearing, but we're keeping a close eye on him.  We've submitted a letter of medical necessity to our insurance company appealing for a new walker.  Hopefully we should get it approved.  If so we'll be ordering LJ's new gait trainer, a "Mustang".  Why are all gait trainers named after animals?

Good fun:  We had a one night sleepover with Nanny and Babu so Josh and I could go to a wedding overnight in NYC.  I felt kind of guilty when I was away, thinking about how I shouldn't have left the kids on such a busy weekend...but it was so nice to relax with Josh on the train, take walks window shopping in the city and eating good eats.  Thank you so much to the extraordinary Anna and Caroline for alternating shifts during our absence to hold down the fort.  And as always to Didi and Bop for all their helpful assistance with pick ups and drop offs.  Here is one of the activities Nanny did with Play Food.  LJ and Anna's project are the eggplant penguins...Nate's is the the monster truck made from green peppers.

Communication program PQ2Go:  Oh! Somehow, very inexplicably, it was deleted on our weekend away.  No idea what happened to our back up copy...but long story short, LJ was frustrated about getting a thought across and I could not figure it out.  I tried to resort to PQ2Go only not so fast.  It was completely gone.  After much frustration trying to find it, contemplating perhaps rebuilding it, or maybe see if we could copy the school's PQ2Go version back onto ours.  Two days later, the lovely Bridgid from school was able to sync up the school's version of LJ's customized communication. AWESOME. 

And a major milestone- Lewis turned 4 today! We had a bowling party for his class friends and friends from outside of school.  Uncle Jon and MJ (Josh's uncle and aunt) were visiting from Massachusetts so they got to participate which was good fun.  I'm not sure who had a bigger blast.  The adults or the kids.  I got a strike but it was only on account of the bumper guards!

Nate's newfound love is fishing... Here's evidence in his latest art project (not for school.. but just hunkered down at his desk).

He's had lots of soccer games and birthday parties this month.  Yesterday I chaperoned his class field trip to the fire station.  It was awesome to see such inquisitive, polite kids.  One boy asked what the firemen used the ax for and the man replied, "if the fire's getting really hot, we chop a hole in the side of the house to let the heat escape." The boy responded with another question, "and then who puts the house back together?"  Hah, that's someone else's job.  All the adults had a good chuckle.  Oddly enough (or maybe not), Nate was most impressed by the ambulance.  He told us he liked the stretcher part that hooked onto the back of the ambulance and had a hydraulic lift to move it up and down.

Annie is adjusting well to living amidst the chaos.  Nate just adores her and I love watching the two play.  He gives her giant hugs when he gets home from school and Nate has also enjoyed playing tug of war with Annie and her rope toy.  Most often Nate follows Annie around the house trying to get her to obey his commands.  Or he winds up laughing so hard he falls over when Annie gets hyper after her walks and tears from one end of the house to another.  And that's the current news by us.  Hope you are all doing well. I'm going to sign off as the utility company is doing some work on the transformer box & I've just been informed that I will lose power for the next three hours.