Life With Ella

Life is beautiful and we miss the shit out of Bug.  Sunny and I are both super sad about Bug.  We probably break down crying a few times a day.  Ella is doing just fine.  I guess we prepared her for Bug’s death.  It also really helps that we have Towby.  He is getting a lot of attention.  He seems like he misses Bug.  She was a great dog and we were so lucky to have her for as long as we did.  On Sunday, Ella asked me when school started.  I told her that on Tuesday, we all had an orientation where the kids and parents would be in the classroom together for 45 minutes and then the kids could go out and play and the parents had to stay in the classroom to find things out about the school year.  Then I told her that her first day of school was Wednesday.  All of a sudden she yelled, “YAY!!! Miss Alicia!!”  This made us feel so good that Ella was excited to go back to school and to see Ms. Alicia.  We’re excited for Ella.  This should be a great year for her.  She has grown so much over the summer in so many ways.  I think she’s also ready to be a “big kid” in the classroom.  She told me that if the younger kids were having trouble, she would want to give them a hug.  I think Ella got a lot of hugs her first year.  Today, Ella and I had lunch at Crossroads Cafe and then Stella and Juliet came over for an afternoon movie.  They all go back to school on Wednesday so it was a special before school movie afternoon.  Ella had so much fun that she cried when they left. Ella was running around the garden at Crossroads pretending that she was a fairy. We went to Southpaw pet store and Ella visited with a new friend. Helping mommy cut the artichokes for dinner. Our beautiful beagle boy Towby. Tonight Ella was adding texture to dry erase artwork by using a toothpick to make white lines.

We woke up this morning and Bug was breathing really heavy.  Sunny and I decided that we needed to take her to in and put her to sleep.  I went over to Helen and Ron’s and asked them if they would take Ella for a little while.  I told Ella that we needed to take Bug to the vet and that we thought that she was going to die today.  Ella looked at me and said, “Really?”  I said, “really”.  Then I told her that she was going to go over and hang out with Stella and Juliet – she yelled “YEAH!” and jumped out of bed.  Once Ella was next door, Sunny called the vet and asked them if we could bring her in.  They said that we couldn’t come in until 10:30.  It was only 9:00 and Bug just seemed like she needed to die.  We kissed her and hugged her and told her that it was ok to die and that she was the greatest dog.  We both just sat together and cried.  About 5 minutes later, Bug died on her own.  It was actually so peaceful and I am so happy that she did it on her own terms.After the very sad morning, we went on with our day as planned – for our sake and for Ella’s sake.  First, we met Bronwen, Georgia and company for Dim Sum.  Ella really loved seeing her cousins and it was great to spend time with David and the girls.  After Dim Sum, we came home and rested for a little while.  At 3:00 Ella went to Taekwondo class.  She loves it so much.  She gets into the studio and starts running around, chasing the other kids.  She kind of got zoned and silly by 4:30 but that’s a long time to stay focused!  We came home from class and rested again and then Ron, Sunny, Ella, Juliet, Stella and I went to see the “Broadway” version of Beauty and the Beast.  The girls really loved it and had a great time.  What a day and night.  Life is quite incredible. Ella and Georgia at brunch. Ella and Bronwen at brunch. Does she look like she’s having fun or what????? Getting ready to go see Beauty and the Beast. This would have been the perfect shot if Ella wasn’t blinking but you can feel the love.

Life is beautiful, but then there is fear, loss, grief, hope…we are going through this right now with our oldest dog Bug.  Bug hasn’t been doing so well but for a dog who is going to be 16 in November, she’s been doing incredibly well.  Lately she hasn’t been coming upstairs at all – she sleeps downstairs in the living room and she has been breathing really heavy.  Her back legs are really weak, she’s blind and deaf, but she is still such a beautiful being.  She loves us and LOVES to eat.  Today, Sunny and I decided to take her to the vet to see if there was anything that we could do to keep her comfortable and make sure that she wasn’t suffering.  So far with the test results, her heart seems ok, lungs ok, she’s not anemic and they are looking a little more carefully at her stomach/liver x-ray.  She came home all drugged up from getting x-rays, probably feeling a lot better than we are and just is kind of chillin’.  When we came home with Bug from the vet, Ella met us in the hallway.  She looked at me and said, “So how is Bug doing?”  I said, “She seems to be OK – they didn’t say whether there was anything really wrong.  We are going to talk to the vet again tomorrow.”  Then Ella said, “So they said we should keep doing what we’ve been doing?”  I looked at her and said, “Exactly El – how did you get so smart?”  She said, “I’m a kid, all kids are smart.”  I then said, “Well not really all kids Ella”…and she said, “What do you think we are hockey stick players?”  End of conversation.  We met Jaeden for dinner at the Public House.  They both had a lot of energy – were acting pretty goofy and then after they ate, we took out the iPhone/iTouch and it turned into the most beautiful playdate of 2010. Ella in her special polka dot, striped, sparkly shoes outfit. Parallel iPlay! We gave KJ this pimpin’ sweatsuit for his birthday. The Kim/Arean clan was away from a few days…as soon as ELla found out they were back, she was knocking down their door!Welcome home friends!!!!!!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day – one of those days when you wish you had an outdoor pool to go relax in.  I think it was above 90º yesterday!  Ella and I went to the Exploratorium and I followed Ella around as she ran from place to place.  She had a great time but I can’t wait for her to be able to read and then things will be taken to a new level and it won’t be all about pushing buttons and blowing bubbles.  After the Exploratorium, I took Ella to her swimming lesson.  Ella did a great job.  Sunny came home with tickets to the ball game.  The Giants had a fantastic game on Monday night with the heat, so we decided to go and they had another incredible win!  I took Ella to the Coke slide and the trolley car and then we ended up at Blush when we left the game.  What a beautiful day and night all around. Can you find Ella and me in this photo? Here, Ella is creating a huge bubble wall.  She was very patient. Ella’s sweet little hands. We were in a human kaleidoscope. A musician hard at work. In front of the Coke slide. Running to the trolley car. Taking the shot in front of Willie Mays!

Ella and I will be spending this week together since she doesn’t have camp or school and I haven’t gone back to work yet.  We started this week out going to Pier 39 and the Aquarium of the Bay.  I heard on the news that they caught a shark by Alcatraz and brought it to the aquarium.  It was the biggest shark there.  I told Ella about it (we share an obsession of sea creatures) and she said that she wanted to go and see it.  Rachel came on our little adventure with us.  After the aquarium, Ella did her bungee jump and then we had lunch at the Crab House.  Later in the afternoon, Ella and I went to family swim at the gym.  Ella was pissed off that the family swim was inside – she really wanted to swim in the outdoor pool.  It was really hot today.  Bug seems to be doing a little better.  We’re just happy for every day that she’s around…she doesn’t seem like she’s in any pain – just senile and old.   I am really going to miss her when she’s not around anymore. Ella and Rachel at the aquarium. I feel like  this is the 50th time I have taken this picture, but it’s cute every time. Ella has always wanted to touch the ray.  I think the last time we were here with grandma and papa, Ella did touch the ray, but was still a little scared.  Today, she totally took control and stuck her hand in the water and touched the rays a whole bunch of times.  She was so happy and did not want to leave. Here she is really getting into it. Patiently waiting for the ray to come close. Looks like she was giving the ray the finger huh?  Ella likes to use that finger to point.  Let’s hope she doesn’t use it to point at the wrong person. Can’t you just feel her happiness? Ella’s sweet little hand touching the ray. Ella and her pinwheel – simple pleasures. Ella went super high today on the bungee.  She still doesn’t want to flip. This was once a real shark – 600 million years ago.  It was the size of a bus.  I’m really happy they don’t exist anymore.

Tonight we had the girls over here for movie night.  They are going away early tomorrow morning so we took the girls so that Helen and Ron could get ready for their vacation.   I already took my ambien so this typing is becoming difficult.  The girls all had a great night.  We ate clams (except me) broccoli, and brown rice pilaf.   Dinner was great – thanks Sunny.  After dinner the kids played some imaginary games while we were waiting for the chocolate chip cookies to bake.  Ella seems to be gravitating more to Stella these days but we are constantly reminding her not to exclude Juliet.  She really doesn’t exclude her, but she seems more interested in Stella.  Probably a developmental thing.  We just want to make sure that there are no hurt feelings.  When the cookies were done and the pop corn was popped, we went upstairs and watched Madeline.  It was a sweet movie and the girls really loved it. Ella and KJ.Helen and KJ checking out my new ukulele. Ella and Stella shoved themselves in the tiniest part of the livingr oom to play with these Princess and the Frog dolls. Our beautiful girls.  I hope these friendships last forever. 4 beautiful girls watching Madeline. Yummy cookies.Have a great trip Kim/ Arena’s we’ll miss you!