More pictures of Oliver

Hi!

Oliver's looking so cute...I had to share more pictures like a proud mom!

I have no idea why he got in the bathtub...I guess he was just curious about the place he sees me in so often!

Oliver is better

Hi!

I'm so pleased because Oliver is doing much better!  He's eating on his own and as you can see in this picture is starting to feel playful again. 

Poor Oliver!

Oliver is sick. You can tell from this picture that he's not feeling well. It's very sad. On Thursday, July 3rd, he suddenly stopped eating. He would eat a few treats, but wasn't really interested in them and only took tiny bits of his food. After watching him grow more and more lethargic and still not eating the next day, I took him to the emergency vet office on Saturday, July 5th. They had to put him under anesthesia for an exam. They did a thorough check including bloodwork but couldn't find what was wrong. They told me to try other enticing foods like baby food, salmon, and tuna and bring him back if he didn't get better.

Well, he didn't get better. He didn't eat any of the exciting foods I offered and was VERY sleepy all the time. Typically Oliver is like a shadow, following me around and sitting with me while I work. But he was so sick he wouldn't get out of bed unless I forced him. So, the vet made a referral to a veterinary specialist in Greenville. On Thursday, July 10th, I brought him in and he spent the whole day there getting more bloodwork, a urinalysis, an ultrasound...but nothing came up as wrong. Nobody can figure out what's wrong with him. It's the first time he's ever been sick other than some ringworm in the past. The specialist inserted an esophageal feeding tube because if cats don't get nutrition, their liver fails. Oliver's liver looks good, but without the feeding tube, there might be damage.

So, I fed him for about a week through the feeding tube. This is not easy because the tube gets blocked and becomes useless easily. He had to go to the emergency room twice to get the tube unblocked. The second time, the vet put him on a liquid only diet so it would be easier to send down the feeding tube. He also gets anti-nausea medicine three times a day and once a day he gets an appetite stimulant. I feed him every four hours through the tube.

He's been doing a little better this week. He's eating some food on his own which is very good news. He's also up and about more. I'm glad he's feeling better but still a little nervous because we have no idea what happened. I'm still supplementing his own eating with the liquid diet, but not quite as much or as often. I hope he's back to his normal healthy self soon!

Sunroom

This is my new sunroom! Isn't it WONDERFUL?!

It's so welcoming to come on in, sit down, and enjoy some cool lemonade while listening to the birds sing. And, I have a pair of hummingbirds that love my garden so everytime I sit out here I can watch them playing, drinking from my flower's nectar, and chasing each other. It's a beautiful thing!

Even when it pours down rain...and I do mean POUR...I can sit out and enjoy the sounds without getting wet!

Chase Frederick Wedell

My cousin Michael and his beautiful wife Katie have their firstborn child. Chase is so adorable and I can't wait to meet him!

Violet Rosetta Perez

Iris, my cousin Valerie's daughter, has a new baby sister! Violet was born this May and although I haven't met her yet, I already adore her! I mean she already knows the best color ever :) Don't the sisters look good together?!

Valerie and Rick are great parents...look at them already protecting little Violet from the sun's harmful rays. I wonder if Violet knows how cool she is?!

New roommate Rachel

Rachel is my new roommate. She moved to Clemson to be nearer her father in December. She comes from Murietta, CA, Arizona, and Boulder, CO. Although she was born in Louisiana, she is more fond of the West and especially misses Boulder. She's working in commercial sales which is nice for her because it allows her to work from home usually. The best thing about her is her two dogs, Corona, her chocolate lab, and Sierra, her black lab. Corona is the alpha girl and loves attention. She will flop into our laps for a belly rub! Sierra is sweet and loving, and especially likes her head rubs. Corona and Sierra are so cute together - they love on each other all the time!

We have a baby gate up so that Oliver has his own space downstairs, and the girls are upstairs. Oliver doesn't seem to mind the dogs and has even run upstairs to sit on Rachel's bed between Corona and Sierra. They have also kissed noses together. It's very cute.

Matt and Suzanne

This Christmas, my brother and his wife Suzanne hosted all of us on Christmas Day, and I stayed with my brother and his wife while I was out there. They did such a wonderful job of making us all feel welcome and cared for! I was proud of them both. This picture is from their wedding day about two years ago. They were married at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and I think they look beautiful and happy in this photo!

One of the strangest things about my little brother is that he actually loves the Chicago Cubs baseball team! Now, he's never lived in Chicago and the team isn't exactly especially victorious (I have to be very careful about what I say or he might disown me) but he's still loyal. The rest of us love the Dodgers, as any true baseball fan should, so I don't know where he got his weird adoration from!

Matt and Suzanne have an annual pass to Sea World; in fact Matt proposed to Suzanne there! They were able to participate in a dolphin experience and really loved it! I did something similar once when I went to Hawaii and it was AMAZING!!! I highly recommend it for anyone who's never tried it before!

Daniel and David

Whenever I go to California, I visit my good friend Annette. She has two adorable sons, the younger son, David is a little over a year, and her older son Daniel turned four in November. They're great fun to play with and I always have a wonderful time with them. Daniel just began pre-school so he's learning a lot of new things and working very hard!

David, is a better climber than a monkey! He can get himself on top of anything and turn on/off Annette's computer, play his own DVD's, and reach for anything off the tall counter above him. He's so cute!!!

Family pictures Christmas 2007

Here are the five of us, cousins...we take a picture together once a year and my grandmother has a wall in her house with each year's picture since the year I (the first grandchild) was born. It's the greatest thing to look at!!! We are (from top to bottom): me, Valerie (the blond, elder daughter who is most artistic), Tiffanie (the brunette, youngest of us all and very athletic), Matt (my brother, the entertainer, and manager of Pechanga Resort and hotel), and Michael (the fireman and middle of his family).

This is ADORABLE Iris! She is a little over a year old, funny, smart, brave, and the apple of all of our eyes! Oh, and she's Valerie and Rick's daughter.

Katie and Michael are expecting their first, and Valerie and Rick are expecting their second child this year so we thought this would be a cute picture!

My dad

Hi!
I hope everyone is having a good new year. I know it's been awhile since I blogged so I wanted to post. I'm especially excited about my dad, so I thought I'd share the story.

A few years ago we had a real scare with my dad's health. During a routine physical, they discovered he was anemic and after tests discovered cancer in his stomach was causing the problem. During surgery, the doctors found that it was more extensive than they originally thought and they had to remove three quarters of his stomach. He had a fabulous doctor though and with follow up and care recovered well. He was fine! He goes in for check ups frequently to make sure it didn't spread and nothing else came up. It was a trying time and my poor dad went through a lot but it all came out fine in the end.

Recently however, his check up revealed anemia again. Of course we were all very frightened. He had more tests and they really are very uncomfortable kinds of tests so I felt bad for poor daddy. His cancer doctor no longer worked with his insurance so it was also scary to have new people working with him.

After a rough month of tests and waiting, he got his test results back this week (just in time for his and my mom's birthday!) and everything was fine. Apparently there was irritation in what was left of his stomach...perhaps from the previous work or whatever else...and that was causing the problem. We were still a little concerned because they biopsied a problem area in his intestines (whatever that means...doctors can be so vague!), but that came out clear as well.

So everything's ok and we're very grateful! My mom and dad are incredible people...inspirational really because they have made such a difference in my life! So we're celebrating them and their life this week!