Happy, happy birthday Dad! We love you!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Happy Birthday, Dad!
Happy 75th Birthday to my Dad, Bill Sinclair, today! What a great 75 years it has been... my Dad was born in Detroit, served in the Army in Hawaii, got his Civil Engineering degree from Lawrence Institute of Technology, worked in Birmingham as an engineer, became Rochester, Michigan's first city manager, then served as city manager in St. Joseph, Michigan for twenty years. He has been happily married to my Mom, Hilda, for 45 years in April!
Happy, happy birthday Dad! We love you!
Happy, happy birthday Dad! We love you!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Oh Happy Day!
To begin with, Happy Birthday to my mother-in-law, Lyn Bos! And if that didn't make for a day of celebration in and of itself, she is also getting married today!! She and Jay Zylema are in sunny, warm, beautiful Hawaii right now and will be tying the knot! We are all so excited for them and can't wait to hear how it went.
CONGRATULATIONS Lyn and Jay!
CONGRATULATIONS Lyn and Jay!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Kyle Skates on Thin Ice
Okay, well I don't really know how thick or thin the ice was since it was at the rink downtown, but Kyle went ice skating for the first time ever! He did REALLY well. He started out with the little "walker" for skating, then went around holding my hand, then was on his own! He did fall a few times, but was unfazed by it.
Here are some pictures from the big night. He already keeps asking to go again. :-)
"Stretching" before he goes out.
Skate time.
Our rink in town; it's temporary. They pull it up and in the summer it's a walkway. This is where the farmers' market is held in nice weather.
And ignore my voice on this video clip, I've got the cold we've been passing around here.
Here are some pictures from the big night. He already keeps asking to go again. :-)
"Stretching" before he goes out.
Skate time. Our rink in town; it's temporary. They pull it up and in the summer it's a walkway. This is where the farmers' market is held in nice weather. And ignore my voice on this video clip, I've got the cold we've been passing around here.Monday, February 16, 2009
Happy Nine Months Erin!
Erin sadly welcomed her nine-month birthday with two ear infections. There has been a lot of sickness going around and she caught all the crud. Motrin has been helping her feel better, but she’s been having a rough time of it. At the doctor’s today she weighed 17 lb 9 oz (25th percentile) and was 26.5 inches (20th percentile.)Erin is zooming around with her hands and knees crawl. She is very fast! She pulls up on everything and has been cruising the couch. She tries to climb the stairs, and can manage a couple stairs… but we don’t let her! It doesn’t seem that walking is going to be too far off.
Erin says Mama, Dada, baba and some other “words” now. She seems to be saying Mama discriminately because she will say it when I enter or leave the room. She also seems to be saying boo when we play peek a boo – which she loves! She still likes to growl, and loves it if you growl back. We do some pretty long volleys of growling back and forth with her!
I haven’t done much sign language with Erin, and am not sure how much I will do because I think it may have contributed to Kyle talking late. (Kyle probably knew 100 signs and used them all the time.) We have recently been doing more and all done, and today she signed all done to me! I’m a little inspired to teach her now since she caught on to it so quickly.
Erin still just has her two bottom teeth, although it really seems like the top two aren’t far off. She loves eating real food, but still isn’t too crazy about baby food. Of the baby food she does eat, she loves vegetables and doesn’t like fruit too much. Just about the opposite of other babies!
As Erin gets older she plays more and more with toys. She has ones she likes, and speeds to the playroom to look for them. She also likes books, although she mostly chews on them at this point!
Erin continues to be a happy, smiley baby and very easy going.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Four years ago: Mulligan's story
On January 31, 2005, I was on my way to meet my friend Stacy and her girls for lunch. I had stopped by the cement plant to see Mike on the way, and was coming down Hagar Shore Road. There was snow on the ground and the temperature had hovered around zero for days.
I passed a dog hanging out by the side of the road, so I turned around. I was greeted by the dog and he was very friendly. I knocked on the door of the nearest house, but there was no answer. Not wanting to leave him out loose and in the cold, I left a note with my number and loaded the dog into the car. A couple hours later a man called me back. He said the dog wasn't his, but had been hanging around for several days. (Don't even get me going here on why he would leave the dog out in zero degree weather without doing anything about it.)
I happened to have my camera with me that day, and snapped these pictures of Mulligan the day I met him:
I got the big veto from Mike on bringing him home, so I had to drop him off at the Benton Harbor Humane Society. Several days later I managed to talk Mike into adding the dog into our family, and Mike and Kayla went to meet him.
I had to wait for the Humane Society's mandatory ten day waiting period, and Mulligan was set to come home on February 11 after he was neutered. I got a call the afternoon before and was told he had tested positive for heart worm so they could not do the procedure. My choice was to pick him up and treat him myself for the heart worm or they would put him down.
This was hard to swallow. It's expensive to treat heart worm, and I'd only just met this dog. I couldn't be the decider of his demise, though, so I got him. He loved me after our first trip together was to the groomer for a flea bath, LOL.
Mulligan began to fit right in, and several days after his arrival we began the heart worm treatments. 
Several days after that I arrived home from work to find a VERY sick dog. Mulligan quickly went down hill; I talked to the vet twice during the night. I was on their door step when they opened at 7:30 the following morning. At that point Mulligan was barely hanging on.
The diagnosis was Parvo. An extremely serious illness that only a quarter of dogs survive. Because the treatment was going to be significant I had to sign a form okaying the expected costs. I called Mike and he said to do what I needed to do. I signed it, but in my heart thought it was a moot point. As I watched Mulligan lay there with an IV and oxygen mask, I didn't think he was going to make it much longer.
It was touch and go for a couple days, and we had a serious set back with a secondary infection, but after a week in the clinic's ICU Mulligan came home. He was their miracle dog and the staff at Nickerson was thrilled for him. Our now 70 pound dog was only 35 pounds when we brought him home he'd lost so much weight from the illness.
When Mulligan finally got home we'd sunk nearly two grand into him. Mike looked at me and said, "This is the last stray dog you bring home." Not ten minutes later I went to let one of the dogs out and there on our porch was a dog. Just sitting there minding his own business. And no I didn't get to keep him, LOL.
Mulligan's first couple of years with us was filled with mischief. There were times it was exasperating, but he was such a nice dog. Fortunately he has moved past much of that and for the most part behaves himself. He has been very healthy, thankfully.
Most importantly he has become the protector and lover of our children. He watches out for them, and puts up with a lot from them. 
He loves me even though the kids distract me and I sometimes allow his water dish to go dry or am late with his dinner.
Mulligan and I were lucky the day we found each other. He is truly a member of our family, and I think fate has him right where he belongs.
I passed a dog hanging out by the side of the road, so I turned around. I was greeted by the dog and he was very friendly. I knocked on the door of the nearest house, but there was no answer. Not wanting to leave him out loose and in the cold, I left a note with my number and loaded the dog into the car. A couple hours later a man called me back. He said the dog wasn't his, but had been hanging around for several days. (Don't even get me going here on why he would leave the dog out in zero degree weather without doing anything about it.)
I happened to have my camera with me that day, and snapped these pictures of Mulligan the day I met him:
I got the big veto from Mike on bringing him home, so I had to drop him off at the Benton Harbor Humane Society. Several days later I managed to talk Mike into adding the dog into our family, and Mike and Kayla went to meet him. I had to wait for the Humane Society's mandatory ten day waiting period, and Mulligan was set to come home on February 11 after he was neutered. I got a call the afternoon before and was told he had tested positive for heart worm so they could not do the procedure. My choice was to pick him up and treat him myself for the heart worm or they would put him down.This was hard to swallow. It's expensive to treat heart worm, and I'd only just met this dog. I couldn't be the decider of his demise, though, so I got him. He loved me after our first trip together was to the groomer for a flea bath, LOL.
Mulligan began to fit right in, and several days after his arrival we began the heart worm treatments. Several days after that I arrived home from work to find a VERY sick dog. Mulligan quickly went down hill; I talked to the vet twice during the night. I was on their door step when they opened at 7:30 the following morning. At that point Mulligan was barely hanging on.The diagnosis was Parvo. An extremely serious illness that only a quarter of dogs survive. Because the treatment was going to be significant I had to sign a form okaying the expected costs. I called Mike and he said to do what I needed to do. I signed it, but in my heart thought it was a moot point. As I watched Mulligan lay there with an IV and oxygen mask, I didn't think he was going to make it much longer.
It was touch and go for a couple days, and we had a serious set back with a secondary infection, but after a week in the clinic's ICU Mulligan came home. He was their miracle dog and the staff at Nickerson was thrilled for him. Our now 70 pound dog was only 35 pounds when we brought him home he'd lost so much weight from the illness.
When Mulligan finally got home we'd sunk nearly two grand into him. Mike looked at me and said, "This is the last stray dog you bring home." Not ten minutes later I went to let one of the dogs out and there on our porch was a dog. Just sitting there minding his own business. And no I didn't get to keep him, LOL.
Mulligan's first couple of years with us was filled with mischief. There were times it was exasperating, but he was such a nice dog. Fortunately he has moved past much of that and for the most part behaves himself. He has been very healthy, thankfully.
Most importantly he has become the protector and lover of our children. He watches out for them, and puts up with a lot from them. He loves me even though the kids distract me and I sometimes allow his water dish to go dry or am late with his dinner.Mulligan and I were lucky the day we found each other. He is truly a member of our family, and I think fate has him right where he belongs.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sick boy week
Our week was quiet because Kyle came down with a pretty nasty cough and cold, curtailing some of our activities. We did get some quality snuggle time in, and watched the newly released Space Buddies (the puppies from Air Buddies and Snow Buddies.)
Here are some recent pics to catch up on, since I've now gone a week with nothing new. Enjoy!
It still surprises me to just see Erin standing.
"Really mom, I need a new diaper."
Kyle and Daddy
The Bos girl cousins... Isabel, Chloe, Erin, Claire and Nina.
Erin looking a little puffy.
My little firefighters.
Erin doing one of the same things Kyle loved at that age... standing at the door.
Here are some recent pics to catch up on, since I've now gone a week with nothing new. Enjoy!
It still surprises me to just see Erin standing.
"Really mom, I need a new diaper." Kyle and DaddyThe Bos girl cousins... Isabel, Chloe, Erin, Claire and Nina. Erin looking a little puffy.My little firefighters.Erin doing one of the same things Kyle loved at that age... standing at the door.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Super Bowl Sunday
For the past few years we have watched the Super Bowl at the home of our friends Tom and Jen Woodley. They always have a nice gathering of people and it's a fun time. The event starts in the afternoon, and with all the snow we have had this winter the yard was perfect for winter horse shoes. I watched from inside... the snow really is not my thing! I also bundled and unbundled Kyle a number of times since he couldn't seem to make up his mind, LOL. Erin also stayed inside, and got a lot of attention from Tom and Jen's daughter, Jessie. She is a great babysitter, and we'd use her in a heartbeat if we didn't live half an hour away. Here are some pictures from the party.
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