32 weeks

No picture of me this week, just a blurry pic of the chipmunk that I'm incubating :)
Look at those cheeks!

Happy Valentine's Day
xoxo
-the bejos clan

The dentist

Bejos boy had his first appointment this week with the dentist.
He loved it and was a good little patient.
A TV on the ceiling, a frog with teeth...what could be better?

our artist

Our town held a snow festival this weekend filled with events. Truckloads of snow were hauled to the middle of town and a ski course was set up down one of our main streets. Another area held kid activities, a beer tent, and entertainment. We braved the snowy road conditions and headed in to meet up with some friends.

Bejos boy was quite tickled with the big pile of snow in the middle of the square and took up playing with the other kiddos. And then suddenly we were in the middle of a snowman building contest that mr bejos and I didn't pay much attention to. I figured bejos boy was too little and wasn't getting what was going on so mr. bejos went to get a beer and I kicked back watching him play in the snow. But then he too was visiting the "accessory table" piled high with carrots, potatoes, coal, and various costume items with some serious intent on his part.

From my point of view I saw this.

When the hat blew off for the third time I was pulled in to help secure it better. It was then that I saw the masterpiece that my 2 year had created.

Besides the tubular oddity on the top of the head I was floored by the actual composition of the face. We named it the melting snowman and joked about it as the competition continued, pointing out to the judges just how original this sculpture was. To our utter surprise bejos boy was included in the awards ceremony and won us a nice and tidy gift certificate to our local Ace Hardware.
Rock on bejos boy!

Groundhog Day

We have had, as  most of the country has, extremes in weather from week to week. Last weekend was rainy and cold and led into a snowy start to the week. The weather suited our mood last weekend as it allowed us to stay inside and mope for a few last days. This weekend however, we were determined to get out of the house and believe in Punxsutawney Phil's prediction of an early spring.

This time of year I crave the warmth of sunny summer days and so, without fail, we head south to where we can shed a few layers and bask in the rays.

We brought the backpack in which to carry this little man, but he would have nothing to do with it. 2 miles he tromped through the desert. As long as we had a mini snack at every cairn and played hike and seek along the trail he kept on moving.

Heartbreak

This is a hard post for me.

This weekend Mr Bejos took Cooper on a typical walk in the woods. Somehow Cooper experienced what we think was a blown disc in his back and was unable to use the back part of his body. While there were initial signs of improvement Cooper took a turn for the worse today.

We drove into town tonight with a decision about care weighing heavily upon our shoulders. Cooper, perhaps the most gentle and caring dog I have ever met, took that awful decision out of our hands. Moments before we arrived Cooper passed away.

It was still not easy to say our goodbyes, but it left us with a sense of peace that we were about to make the right decision and that he was no longer in pain.

While we don't expect the next few weeks to be easy ones, running into reminders of our very furry friend each and every day, we are left with wonderful memories. Cooper had endless patience with our not-so-gentle 2 year old, and they were great playmates from very early on.

The very morning he was afflicted we captured this typical picture of Cooper and bejos boy.

Cooper Bryan

2008-2013