In Memory of Captain Louis Szolusha 10/16/02-1/24/17

Here is the picture where it all began. Keith chose Louis from this picture when he was a few weeks old. He then went to Ocala, Florida in early January of 2003 to pick him up and bring him home. 

It wasn't long until Keith got Louis a companion. Brittany and him were a loving little couple. 

Keith said that they got along very well and together they had a litter of 8 little pure bred pugs, with 6 that survived. 

Louis was a stunning pug. He was lean and fit and loved to run. He played frisbee for hours and hours in his younger years. He could jump 3 to 4 feet in the air as well. 

Keith kept the only male black pug from the litter. Here Louis is being the encouraging father giving Touis tough love. He taught Touis very well and Touis did a great job of playing tug of war with Louis the 5 years that they lived together. 

Louis and Touis were great together. It was a love, hate relationship.

They slept together, ate together, went on walks together and did everything together.

It was funny when I went through the thousands of pictures from over the years. I thought it was Touis that was always in my lap, but the more I looked the more I found Louis in my lap like in this picture below.

I have so many pictures of Louis sitting at the top of the couch. He would be in this position or ....

in this position biting the couch. It was a way he appeared to calm himself. 

Throughout his life he always loved to snuggle in or under blankets. Grandma Susan made him the blanket below. Little Grammy also sent several sweaters which he loved to wear throughout the years. 

All of the kids loved Louis and Touis. Touis died of stomach cancer a couple of years ago when he was 10 years old.  It was really sad to hear of this news. It was even harder the day we had to give up Touis over 6 and a half years ago. 

Touis couldn't handle when Axel started walking. He felt like there was too much competition and he wanted to be the alpha dog. The behaviorist told us he would continue to hurt Louis until he did officially become the alpha dog. Although it was hard, it appeared to be the best thing for the family.

We loved both dogs so much. They were really like kids before we had Axel. 

Here was one of their favorite places, the garden that Keith worked so hard to maintain at our old place in Los Altos. Louis' favorite food to eat from the garden were tomatoes.

Here is the first time Axel walked Louis. He was about 11 months old and couldn't quite stand on his own yet. I held on to him for balance.

Here is a picture of Phoenix walking Louis nearly 5 years later. 

He was truly the sweetest dog. He loved all of the kids and tolerated all of them "loving" on him whether it was gentle or not. He completed our family. 

Although Louis really started going downhill the past year he had been showing signs of aging for over 2 years when he first developed pneumonia. He had pneumonia for the 3rd time around Thanksgiving last year and for the 4th and final time earlier this week. His arthritis was extremely severe and he could barely walk at times. He would shake often and cough often. The vets think that he must have had something else going on within him. We had the option of putting him through several tests to find out the root cause of the pneumonia but everyone agreed that he was in a terrific amount of pain and that he would continue to suffer.  

On Monday night after the kids were in bed Louis started shaking and throwing up. Keith and I knew immediately that he likely had pneumonia. What I didn't realize is that he wouldn't be coming home like he usually does. Instead, Keith came home at 10:30 to have the talk with me about putting him to sleep. I was mad and angry. I don't exactly understand euthanasia in animals and don't believe in it for adults, but after talking through it I do understand animals can't communicate like humans can and that it was the ultimate best thing for him. Keith went back to the vet and was able to say goodbye to Louis. Louis breathed his last breath (after they took him off oxygen) just after midnight. I was able to weep alone and read the bible which gave me peace about the situation. Keith was able to weep and talk with his mom at the vet after he said goodbye.

We told the kids after school and pick up on Tuesday. Phoenix seemed more upset about it than Axel. The most concerned was Rubix though. He looked throughout the entire house to find Louis. He continues to look outside and go to his bed. Animals have such a profound effect on infants and the human persona. We are very lucky to have had Louis in our lives. May he rest in peace.

Axel gets 2nd at Pinewood Derby

What an exciting night. Axel did great for his first Pinewood Derby. We are so proud of him. All of the hard work paid off. The hours of research, looking at videos, going to the Cub Scouts of America store multiple times lead to a great finish. Axel finished 2nd overall in his pack and 1st in his den.

Here is Axel with all of the cars that raced tonight. It was a bummer that more kids did not participate, but it was fun regardless.

This was one of 6 heats. He won 4 and got 2nd twice. 

 Here is a picture of Pack 505.

 Axel excitingly receiving his second place trophy!

 And there it is. The results. It was a close call between second and third, but he won 2nd by a couple of tenths of a second. This was even more exciting because the 1st and 3rd place finishers were older Webelos.

Here is Axel's car. Car number 8 next to the winning car number 9.

 You can see that the other kids were older just by looking at the picture below that includes the top three finishers for speed and the two who won best design and most creative design. We are excited to go to districts on February 11th.

 Here is a cute picture of Louis in the kids tunnel. This is where I found him after putting Rubix to sleep when I got home tonight from the Pinewood Derby. Poor old man!

Phoenix Turns 4 years old!

Well, it happened. Phoenix turned 4 years old yesterday. It is hard to believe 4 years have past. I have loved every minute of it. She is such a sweet little girl. She has more spunk and more girl to her than I would have ever imagined. On Wednesday I was able to make mini cupcakes for Angela's so that she could celebrate with her friends at daycare. Here is my beautiful girl!

There is that smile!

On Friday I took her to get her pictures taken. We had to change locations because JcPenny's closed down. We tried Picture People. I didn't purchase as many photos because it was 5 times more expensive than what I usually pay. Here is a picture of Phoenix dancing before we headed to Picture People. She loves to dance and sing. Unfortunately, she has a voice like mine, which means she is a little off key, most of the time. :)

I had scheduled the pictures for after Rubix's 1st nap, but he decided to sleep in and not take a morning nap. As a result he was very tired and fell asleep right when she was done taking her pictures. He had a nice little catnap before he woke during the transfer to the car. Luckily, he managed to take his normal afternoon nap and woke just in time to pick up Axel from school.

This is the picture I purchased for the wall. Now all I need is a frame so I can hang it. :) I do have to say the printing of the pictures on site with a wait time of under 10 minutes was pretty nice and convenient, especially because we had to go pretty deep into San Jose to get to Picture People.

I purchased two 5 x 7's of this. The only Grandparent who said they like that size our Gma Sonia and Gpa Bruce so they will be getting this in the mail. The other goes to my work. 

I purchased two more sheets of the following 2 photos. They do 4 x 6's here instead of 3 x 5's. The rest of the family will be getting one of these. The other pictures were not that good, except one, but these two were so cute I wanted to get a fun action photo that captures Phoenix's personality.

I don't have Pheeny's stats because Kaiser has a rule where they won't schedule a wellness check until after their birthday. Since her birthday was on a Saturday we will be going this Thursday when I am off of work.

Rubix is starting to tolerate more and more foods. I found these crackers that are rice that are teething crackers. He appears to be tolerating them and rice well now because he is able to handle the Necoate Nutra rice cereal. We added avocados this week and just started peaches today. 

It is amazing as how quickly they learn things. The first time he ate the crackers he choked on a piece. Now he bites and chews without any issues. You can see he has the funny gene too. He is being silly by looking up and then laughing once he gets a laugh out of us. 

So Phoenix finally got her Jump House. It was a pink and purple castle with a prince and princess on each side. Because the day didn't go as plan this was my only picture. I am a little bummed that I didn't capture a picture of the entire jump house or all of the girls playing in it, but life goes on. The rain held off until just after 4pm which meant the jump house got a couple house of solid use.

Here is another funny photo. I was busy in the kitchen so I didn't get to take photos like I normally do. When I finally asked Keith to take a picture the X was missing! So it says Happy Birthday Phoeni, but no one knew the difference since we call her Pheeny. HA!

The girls enjoyed a tea party with paper mugs that they decorated with stickers.

After the tea party they enjoyed yummy homemade pizza and then cupcakes!

Here is the birthday girl!

Finally time for cupcakes. And just like that Phoenix is 4. When I tucked her into bed I told her that she was just about to make her entrance into this world. I was trying to explain to her that she arrived at 10:29 pm, but the entire day is considered her birthday. Initially she looked really sad and said, "So I am not 4 years old?" I said technically you are not for another couple of hours, but the entire day is called your birthday regardless of what time someone is born. Finally I said, "Yes you are 4," and kissed her good night.