Healthy Hopper

These photos loaded in reverse.  Since I have only a few minutes, we will roll with it on this blog post.  Hopper is doing great!  Thank you, Emily W., for bunny sitting while we were in KY (another post about that soon).  I was shocked to see Hopper had doubled her size in the few days we were gone.  I took a photo in the carriage for reference.  I’d say little Hopper is about full grown now.  Maybe about another week to go.  She is completely weaned and doing great.  Emily did a little research and found that Cotton Tail bunnies can get aggressive at puberty since they are ahem… a very matey breed.  I believe Hopper to be female so we are hoping for the best.  At this point, she will be a pet.  If she starts biting, she may be on her own.  I’m confident she would survive fine.  She is extremely healthy.  For fun, I bought her a guinea pig harness.  Although it was extremely entertaining to watch, I’m not sure it’s very realistic as Hopper can easily wiggle out of it.  I love the look of “FREEDOM!!!!” in the first (supposed to be last) photo.  It will be fun to see where our bunny adventures lead us this summer.  I promise the next post will not be about the bunny.  ;)

Hopper Update

Hopper is doing great!  Suzy is convinced that the bunny thinks she is the new mommy.  I asked her what that made me and she says, ….. “Ummm…. I think it thinks your like its sister or something.”

My favorite part of today was when she asked if she could put Hopper in her baby sling.  I was surprised at how very much he seemed to like it!  She would place it on the floor and he would snuggle into it.

This has been such a fun time for us.  I am officially going to be very sad if little Hopper doesn’t make it!  The good news is that all systems seem to be functioning very well so I think the prognosis is looking up!  :)

Hopper is still hopping

So far, so good!  Hopper made it through the night!  I found myself at HEB at 10:00 buying kitty milk replacement.  I was in line with lots of men and boys buying flowers.  They were preparing to honor their mothers.  I was being one.  ;)  He took a little milk last night and then again some this morning.  It is a real concern that many bunnies literally scare themselves to death.  So, I’m trying to balance allowing my children to really experience this and giving the poor little guy a fighting chance.   This morning, I decided to give him a little more freedom and see if he would spread his feet a little.  It worked!  We let him hop around Suzy’s room and he really seemed to relax and even hop up to me and Rob.  He was not a huge fan of the stroller, but it was a very brief encounter.  He has currently decided that under her dresser is the best den option.  His little bowels still aren’t moving much, so I’m not too worried about the carpet.  Plus, I’m going to be steam cleaning them soon anyhow.  I’m actually hoping the freedom with help him in that area a little bit.  I had a bunny once that was litter trained.  If he makes it and can become friends with Tux, that may be the route we take with him.  I may be getting a bit ahead of myself at this point.  But, I do believe that since he is taking formula and survived the first night, his odds of survival may be up from 10% to 20% now.  Since he was able to lick some of the formula off of my finger, I’m also guessing his chances are decent for being able to hydrate and feed himself in the next week or so.  That would be huge for his survival.

Rabbits, Monkeys, and Almost a Tiger

Tux found a new friend tonight.  I know I should have left him for his mother to find him.  Please don’t hate me.  I realize he has a 90% chance of dying in my care.  But Suzy has named him “Hopper” and I believe he will have much to teach her.  Just as my childhood experiences with death and care had so much to teach me.  Plus, Tux destroyed his little home and the chances of Hopper surviving on his own are likely just as slim as in our care.  Time will tell.

The rest of this post is primarily for those that do not know as much of my childhood.  This ain’t my first rodeo.  ;)  I was always catching random wild life as a kid and nursing it back to health.  I am a bit prideful when I think back at how I really did have an unusually high success rate.  Granted, I lost my share of little squirrels, bunnies, and birds.  But I also saw many grow into old pets or be set free.

It may have started with my dad.  Or maybe it was my step-mom, Lyn.  It’s hard to say who is the bigger softie.  But it seemed my dad’s house was always crawling with little critters when I was a kid.  The most unusual pets we had were several monkeys and raccoons.  I know some of my friends find that strange.  But, really, it seemed so normal for me as a kid.  I remember my dad being really disappointed one time when he found out we lived in a housing zone that would not allow for a domestic Tiger.  Yeah, that might have been a little crazy.  Although, many of the great danes and St. Bernards may not have been all that different…  Anyhow, here’s a little trip down my memory lane.  I’m excited to be sharing a little part of my own childhood experience with my sweet girl.  I’m glad I have a husband who is tolerant of me and my crazy attempts to have good ideas….. in my head.  ;)

R

April 2012 Sample Shots

Our favorite way to go camping…. In the backyard!  

Introducing….. Mrs. Pillow!  Yes, It’s Andy.  No, he does not prefer Mr. Pillow.

Such buddies.  Suzy likes to help.This is how Andy likes to enjoy the pool.  With a snack in hand on the sidelines.I am in the stage of life where I can spend four hours organizing the toy/therapy room and it is completely dismantled within moments.  Sigh.  I’ll take that in trade for how well they play together and the fun memories we are building.  I will also be less likely to spend that kind of time on organization for the foreseeable future.My little fisharooni.Suzy finally enjoys the top down on the convertible.  Woohoo!  She has her plans for “Butterfly Land” in her hands.  My little planner with big dreams.We are so excited to have a Dallman who lives near by.  Welcome to Austin, Bekah!  Welcome to our crazy lives!  I pray that I can be a support for you like your mom was for me when I was your age.  :)A favorite past time.  Drive through.  This days menu was all about the salads.  Yet another reason my toy room often looks like a tornado has come and gone.Suzy is old enough to follow the directions for her own Lego creations.  Crazy.I look forward to more May adventures!

Going Green but not Crunchy. Or maybe just a little Crunchy….

Rob and I watched the documentary, “Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead” the other day and decided to give juicing a try.  Not a hard core fast or anything, but just add more veggies into our diet.  Plus, I joined a farm share and accidentally signed up for the 4-5 people a week portion.  Needless to say, we’ve had a few extra “greens” around here this month.  Thank you, Amy Rose, for the juicer loan.

My favorite helper is always eager to pitch in.I hated to waste all the fiber, so some of it we do as smoothies and the rest we have begun to COMPOST!  I know, crazy.  Crunchy crazy.  But oddly rewarding and fun.

Andy was eager to try the first few recipes.  New is good.  The verdict?

Blech!

Not. A. Fan.  ;)

All about the butterflies

We are all about the butterflies this season.  Even Morgan’s Wonderland had an interactive butterfly wall.Suzy has become quite good at catching butterflies.  It’s rather impressive.  Reminds me of my childhood.  I was always catching random wildlife and bringing it home.  It may have started with her class fundraiser for Joni and Friends Wheels for the World.  This special group of 5/6 year olds raised……  well, see photo.  Enough for 30 wheelchairs.  As they brought in cash, a butterfly was added to the school walls so that the kids could see the “butterfly effect” of their good deeds.  For the full story, her teacher has a blog.  The butterflies kept following me all the way to my seminar in Dallas where one of my attendees takes the purchased wheelchairs into the fields on the mission trips.  I’m hoping to see her photos and share them with the kids. Joni skyped in with Deanna and it was such a fun surprise for her.What a fun stage of life.  What a fun season….