R.I.P. Maximus

Rest in Peace Max 2001-2009

It is with a very heavy heart and sorrow that I cannot explain that I tell you we lost Max yesterday to canine lymphoma.

Our gentle giant fell ill Thursday night and after days of fighting what we thought was exposure to rat poison we lost him Sunday around 11:00 a.m. Miri time.

Max was brought into our lives in 2002 when our friend Deby's husband Curtis liberated him from his miserable life of solitude on an apartment balcony & brought him to our house. Kenny & I said we would foster him until we found him a good home, but fell in love with him & realized he fit into our lives perfectly. He became an Albrecht.

We named him Maximus after the Gladiator (and his middle name Magoo because he was so goofy!). He was such an incredible dog. He couldn't even run when he first came to us, a result of being trapped in a small space for a long period. Within weeks his hind quarters developed muscles and strength from running and playing with his new brother & sister. He became the physical specimen that was a German Rottweiler.

Funny thing about Max - he had no idea he was a Rottweiler! He thought he was a Laborador. He jumped up into the air after toys with such grace & had such a love and affection for people. He loved his "cousins" (our nieces) and his "grandparents". He was a bull in a china shop due to being 120 lbs. and not knowing his own strength and always made for constant entertainment.

He loved to snuggle - as you can tell by the photo with Kenny & Sydney. This is how we woke up every day - with Max wedged in between us - snoring in our ears - head on our pillows - arms wrapped around us.

We are so grateful to have known him. Our house & hearts are so empty in his absence.

Sydney Smiles

She is such a happy little girl & gives us big gummy grins like this one!
This is Sydney with our Amah Roslin. I have her watching Syd for an hour everyday Monday - Friday so I can run errands & she watched Syd for 4 hours Tuesday so I could go to happy hour & meet Kenny's friends. I only stared at my phone 1/2 the time.

Fun Photos

I heard the cats going nuts earlier today & found a 3.5 - 4 foot monitor lizard inside our atrium. This is him saying hello to me from the glass window.

Here is another photo of him. I thought he might be the same one that Max & Wolfie were playing with in the back yard the other day but this one is much smaller. This one hung out for a couple hours then left via the rain sewer grate.

Bag of cat litter - wish I could get our cats to do that!

This poster was hanging in a doctors office that I went to yesterday. Cracked me up so I took a photo of it.

Birthday's!

Sydney turns 8 weeks & Heather turns 38!

Sydney gave me a big ol' gummy grin for my birthday making it the best year ever. She came with Kenny & I out to dinner & slept the whole time.

She is growing like crazy & is a little over 10 pounds now. She is much more alert & has huge eyes that follow our every move. She is almost able to hold her own head up & works hard on her neck muscles. She hates tummy time but we do it daily. She is really strong when she kicks & can hold things in her hands if she chooses to.

She is still eating every couple hours during the day and every 3 or so at night. Kenny gave her her first bottle a couple weeks ago & we are trying to do a night feeding via bottle in hopes it will make her sleep longer. Last night it worked - I got to sleep for 5 hours straight which is something that hasn't happened in over 2 months.

We are exhausted but loving every minute of it.

Doesn't this make your neck hurt?

She's saying "I'm hungry NOW"!

Joanie & Chachi are so happy our friends gave us a pack 'n' play!

Posing for Mommy.

And then she's down - and asleep.

Trip to Kuala Lumpur

Sydney 6 Weeks & Trip to Kuala Lumpur

Sydney turns 6 weeks today. Monday we boarded a plane for Kuala Lumpur. You can tell from the photo below that she was very upset by this. :) She slept on a pillow on my lap for the whole 2 hour flight until I woke her to eat before we took an hour cab ride to the hotel - she slept in the cab also. What a great little traveler!

We are in KL to get her passport & birth certificate from the US Embassy tomorrow. Kenny has a monthly class in KL so we piggy backed this trip & he is working at the office here this week while Sydney & I enjoy the modern conveniences of a big bustling city - like shopping! We hit Baby Gap & Motherhood yesterday. Mommy here has learned to shop at the stores you WANT to hit FIRST - don't lollygag around & then hit the stores because by then you might have a cranky baby who is hungry & have to find a dressing room to feed her in. Ahem. :) So today we are going to shop first - browse second! She is doing great in her Bjorn carrier (thanks Jan & Steve & Rebecca!) as long as I feed her first...we get lots of looks.

We fly back to Miri on Friday & are hoping for the same sleepy Sydney but you never know.....time to feed sweet Syd & hit the mall. New photos below!

Sydney on her first plane ride - that's my lap she's lying in.

Syd partying it up at dinner last night - before she woke up & demanded to be fed too!

Syd at home after her bath - which she loves! She still isn't sure of what to do with her hands.

Sydney is 5 Weeks Old Today!

Happy 5 week birthday Sydney!

Here is a photo from today above - she has such big eyes & tries so hard to focus them - like in this shot - so hard she crosses them. They are the coolest color too - a dark blue/gray.

She's getting much more active but still has the favorite pass times of sleeping & eating. We are getting ready to take her next week to Kuala Lumpur - her first travel adventure - to get her social security card & passport at the US Embassy. Taking a 6 week old on a plane should be fun (haha). She & I are practicing using our Bjorn carrier so we can get some shopping done in "the land of magic"!

Photos below are from the past week - Thanks to Robby & Clair for the swing - she loves it for at least 10 minutes at a time (which for her is a long time)!

She is kicking like crazy so today I got her some toys for her ankles to help her find her feet with her hands.

My new Facebook Photo

Syd rocking out in her swing

Syd enjoying her favorite activity

Sydney

Here are some new shots of Sydney - mostly doing her favorite thing - sleeping! :)





Yes we are obsessed with her. :)