Home of the brave

It has been a tough few days for us. As most of you know, we had a terrible incident Thursday night. Our family dog, Baxter, unfortunately bit Elise on the cheek. Although it was definitely not a minor bite, it also definitely could have been much worse. She is doing well and the 6 stitches she had to get are healing well. I will say that the night in the emergency room was I think our most difficult hours as parents yet. Very, very traumatic for all of us. It is a complicated situation, and although a dog bite is never ok, David and I both truly believe that he was scared and was only acting in his own defense. Up until Thursday night, he has been extremely patient and well behaved with the kids. In addition, as you are well aware, we are living in a very chaotic situation right now- are limited to small areas of the house, and have constant (VERY LOUD) workers in and out of the house. This has been not only affecting us, but our animals as well. The usually laid-back Bax has been pretty stressed out lately. I "rescued" him almost 11 years ago and he and Tiger were our "babies" for the first 5 years of our marriage. I have been doing my best to keep it together for Elise, but it has been hard. I have a really bad habit of replaying events in my mind, and although I am so glad that we were right next to her when it happened, I am having a hard time keeping the visual out of my head. Today has been much better. Except for when we have to change the dressing, the tears have been minimal- for both Elise and I. We have been boarding Bax at the vet while we figure out exactly how to handle this difficult situation. We love our dog, but we also know that we cannot keep him any longer. We both agree that it is our job as parents to protect our children to the best of our ability, and that means that Baxter cannot live with us anymore.
In spite of the sadness that has been upon us the past few days I will say that today I think I was the most proud I have ever been of our daughter. She didn't think twice about wanting to be in her ballet recital, and was such a trooper through the dress rehearsal last night. She has been running a low grade fever and technically probably shouldn't have participated, but that was the first thing she asked when we were waiting in the emergency room, "can I still go to my ballet recital and dance with my friends?". We just didn't feel like after what she had been through, that we could take this experience away from her. Her face is quite swollen and discolored, and the bandage is big. She bravely faced her classmates as they stared intently (not maliciously, just curiously) and answered the questions well of those who asked.



And I know I am biased, but I think these are two of the cutest parrots I have ever seen. Their "shake a tail feather" routine was adorable and seeing her up on the stage brought tears to my eyes.



Here are the girls getting ready for their performance....

Checking themselves out in the mirror....

She had so much fun, as has been replaying her performances for us (fully costumed, of course) all afternoon. I am so, so proud of my little lady and I love her so much. I am heartbroken that this accident happened and feel so horrible that she has had to go through so much. I know she will feel better each day, and am just trying to focus on that....

We are having a "slumber party" at my parents this weekend due to the extreme fumes at our house. Last night didn't go so well, and so we are really hoping tonight is better. Lila and Bennett are not great sleepers when they aren't in their own beds, and I think they were confused when they woke up last night (at 2 a.m.). So, between the incident and that, David and I (and my Mom!) are pretty sleep deprived. Hopefully we'll all get some good sleep tonight. On the positive side, the fact that there are polyurethene fumes means we are one step closer to the floors being finished! Can't wait to get into that kitchen!

Going to hit the hay!

Goodnight!

Love, Nicole