Day +161: A Little Ray of Sunshine

It's day +161 and we have an official new addition to the Meyer family! Spud arrived early - we picked him up on Sunday at about 1:30 pm. I think we are all falling in love! He is darling and has a perfect personality. It was definitely worth the wait for the right little guy! He has kept us quite busy the last couple of days, thus the reason that it has taken me this long to get a post up.

I was pretty much up with him the entire first night - he was crying and just heartbroken to be away from his first family. But, I applied some tough love with a crate the last two nights and he has made excellent progress already. He went from 10 pm - 6:15 am last night without a wimper and with no accidents in his crate! I was very pleasantly surprised and hope that it is a trend.

Getting a puppy has so far accomplished exactly what I was hoping it would - and more, to my surprise. We spent most of the last two days outside playing with Spud and just playing together while he sniffed around and enjoyed himself. I was looking for something that would help Max and Alex get up and off the couch a lot more and Spud seems to be doing the trick quite well so far. He is just the little ray of sunshine that we all needed right now. I said to the girl at the rescue organization that we adopted him from on Sunday that the boys really needed a friend right now and that I was sure Spud would be that for them and it is working out perfectly. Max has loved taking him out, feeding him, playing with him and just generally loving on him.

Alex also loves him, somewhat to my surprise. He seemed a bit nervous about getting a dog as he has been a bit more apprehensive about dogs since an incident that occurred a couple of years ago. He was accidentally knocked down on our driveway by a neighbors pup and had to go to the emergency room in an ambulance to have his head checked out because daddy was out of town! Anyone would be a little nervous about dogs after all that! But, we have caught him many times just sitting on the floor next to little Spud, stroking his soft back and talking sweetly to him. He also cried last night because we weren't going to take Spud to his soccer practice with us! Obviously he is bonding with Spud too.

Ellee has taken to him as well. She was playing in her little playhouse on the deck with him on Monday evening, making him some dinner (one of her favorite things to do). He was just following her around as she talked to him and told him all about the dinner she was cooking. It was adorable. She has already nicknamed him and is calling him "Spuddy Buddy".

We are enjoying this new little life. I have probably had to tell him "no" about 50 times while writing this blog as he is picking up toys to chew in here, scratching at the carpet, chewing cords, etc, etc. But, it's worth it. He is bringing a ton of joy to all of us which definitely outweighs the work. I even found Matt cuddling up with him on the couch the other evening!

Spud is the big news around here this week. Other than him, we are starting to get into our new routine. Max has tutoring every day, Monday thru Thursday for an hour to an hour and a half with a great teacher. He really likes her and is enjoying their sessions. I am working with Max's classes room mom's to find ways to get him connected with his class. We are thinking of using Skype regularly and may see if the doctors would allow a visit here or there to the playground at recess or something (probably with gloves and a mask for protection but at least he could see some buddies for a bit). Alex's teacher has started sending things home for me to work on with him until he can attend school and we are enjoying that too.

Max seems to be feeling better this week than last and the adenovirus seems to be almost gone. Here and there he still complains of his stomach a little bit but overall he has done well getting through that virus which brings me some comfort. We haven't been back down to the hospital since last Tuesday and don't have plans to be there until this Friday for our scheduled Day Hospital visit and medication infusion.

After a tough week last week, things are looking up a bit. I can definitely say that the three children that were lost have impacted my life in a positive way. They have reminded me how fragile life is and how we need to live in the moment and appreciate every minute that we have together. I can say that I am taking the extra time just to do that - to slow down and hug or cuddle a bit longer, to listen better, just to be in the moment as much as possible.

Thank you to all of you that have signed up to walk or given one of us a donation! Max's Mighty Mob is growing by the day and the funds keep pilling up for Dr. Davies and the Hematology/Oncology and BMT units at Children's. It brings me so much joy to see this progress and to know that all of you are behind it...helping us to say "thank you" and to show Max the amazing love and support that has surrounded him throughout this journey. If you plan to walk and haven't signed up yet, we would greatly appreciate it if you could sign up by September 18th if possible. I want to place a t-shirt order by then to be sure I have enough for everyone that plans to walk. Just a reminder - to sign up or donate, see my instructions from the blog post on August 27th.

As always, thank you all for your continued thoughts, prayers and support. It means the world to all of us. More soon...

Peace and love,
Kristi (and Matt, Max, Alex, Ellee and Spud)