Remembering...

Christy
June 11, 1998 - June 8, 2007

Happy 14th Birthday, Alayna!

So my little sister's birthday is today. Since I dug out embarrassing old photos for Andy's birthday, I simply had to do it for Alayna's birthday as well! :)

I LOVE this picture! Andy and I were staying at a friends' house when Mom was having Alayna, and Mrs. P did a great job capturing the exact moment when I found out I had a little sister!! You gotta love Andy's expression though. (I think he was hoping for a little brother!) However, home videos prove that he soon got over his "disappointment" and simply adored his baby sister...for awhile at least!

My first time holding Alayna at the hospital. She was sooo tiny!

11 years ago today, we brought our puppy, Christy, home with us. It just happened to be on Alayna's 3rd birthday, so she felt it was HER puppy. Oh my, this picture makes me want to cry. Alayna and I just got done watching the movie "Marley and Me" and I was crying buckets at the end. I had originally said I would NEVER watch that movie because I heard it was a sad dog movie, but curiosity eventually won out. We watched part of it last night, and the rest this morning. It was a sister "bonding moment" that's for sure as we sobbed together. What a sad, sad movie!

Even though we are 10 years apart in age, Alayna and I are the bestest buddies....most of the time! I still tend to be that annoying big sister, but hey...that's my job! Especially in recent years, we have had lots of fun together doing "big girl" things like shopping, getting a manicure, watching movies together, and just talking. The last time I went shopping I took Alayna along because I wanted her opinion on the clothes I was trying on. When your little sis becomes the one you turn to for clothing advice, you know she is getting older!

Since we got our hair styled similarly in the recent past, many people have started saying that we look sooo much alike. Personally, we don't see the resemblance, but its rather amusing to hear people always saying it! (at least it is for me...not sure how thrilled Alayna is about that though!) Our personalities are rather opposite, but I think we balance each other out rather well. She brings out my crazy side, and I do my best to bring out her serious, think-before-you-speak side. ;) I can't wait to see how our relationship will continue to deepen over the years. I am so thankful for my little sister and the LIFE she brings to our household. We often say...life would be so dull without Alayna around!!!

I love you, Alayna!!!

Hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Just a glimpse of my goofy lil' sis!

Last one, I promise!

It was a rare and special treat for Christy to be able to run around and explore "freely". We were always rather cautious with Christy because we weren't sure if she would just take off and not return! She definitely had a mind of her own! There was the one time she escaped out of the house and ran in the middle of our busy main street causing cars to slam on their brakes....

And, yes, you'll probably notice my arm is in a sling in this video. This was shortly after I injured my shoulder. Ahhhh, the memories! :)

Thanks to all who have endured my reminiscing moments these past two weeks! I shall now move on to new things :) I am sure seeing videos of a dog is getting quite old for some of you....

Snow & Giggles

This was Christy's first time out in the snow. Of course, it was all new and exciting to her. We found her enjoyment rather amusing! Seriously, the giggles are out of control in this video! (I won't mention WHO the main giggler was...but his name starts with an A) I wonder if the thought, What kind of family did I get myself into? didn't roll through Christy's head at times such as these. :)

Hiccups & Training 101

Christy has the hiccups in this video :)

Andy was trying to teach Christy to fetch in this next video. However, he would throw the toy and the treat at the same time. Of course, Christy would only go after the treat and not the toy! I don't think we ever successfully taught our dog to "fetch!" which is indeed sad seeing how she was, after all, a golden retriever. Hmmmm...

Of Fashion Statements & Picky Dogs

I cringe every time I watch this video. Not only the big plastic glasses look, but apparently, white stockings, culottes and sweatshirts were also "in fashion" in 1998. No, wait a minute. What am I saying?! I was never "in fashion" as a young teen! :) I look back at pictures of myself around this age and wonder, What was I thinking??? Oh, well....there is more to life than staying "in fashion"....right? ;-)

Okay, back to the main purpose of this video :) Christy is 4 months old and is getting sooo big! Its amazing to see the difference between 3 and 4 months of age! She was always an extremely picky dog when it came to her treats. Normally, dogs eat ANYTHING and everything...but not her! She would sniff at a dog treat, and then push it away with her nose if she didn't want it. She only liked her "beggin' strips" and "snausages" :)....not the hard dog biscuits.

Barks, Buddies & Belly Rubs

The Best of Friends - The Worst of Enemies

I am not sure who is cuter in this video - my 3 year old sister, Alayna, or my 2 month old puppy, Christy!

Sleepy Puppy

Christy always fell asleep in the strangest places and positions! This time we caught her underneath our kitchen cart, looking rather comfy. :)

This ended up being her favorite position to sleep in her whole life!

From Water Rat to Fluff Ball

I know I have been posting a lot about my dog, Christy. It's just been fun to go through the home videos and the pictures, remembering all the fun times my family had with her. So consider this your "warning." I still have about 5 or 6 videos to post on my blog over the next week of Christy's first year. After all these blog entries, I may have to change the title of my blog to "Treasured Tales: A Glimpse of a Dog Lover's Heart"! Well, if you ever lost a pet, you would understand what I am feeling. :) It may have been 2 years already, but you don't get over something like losing a dog that easily. At least I don't....

Here are 2 more videos of Christy when we first got her. In the first video, she is enduring her first bath. She was indeed an odd dog. You see all these pictures of golden retrievers swimming in water, but not Christy. She absolutely HATED water her whole life.

After her bath was over, she turned into a fluff ball! She then had fun playing with her towel. Now, I must apologize for the "zoomed in" look in this next video. This was one of my first times using our video camera, and I didn't realize that I was able to zoom out! So for much of this video, you will only see parts of Christy as she is playing with her towel.

Also, while I was recording this video on my camera, Alayna was in the room with me watching it. She kept laughing when she heard me on the video, which, in turn, caused me to laugh at myself. After several attempts, this is the best I could do! You will notice at one point, the camera becoming rather shaky and you will hear a short "snort" of sorts as I am trying not to laugh at myself. :) I was rather amusing as a 12 year old!

Forever in Our Hearts

Christy

June 11, 1998 - June 8, 2007

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

She Likes Me!

Especially in the earlier days, Christy was adjusting to a new house, a new family and a new bed. My poor Mom actually spent a few nights sleeping out by her crate to help her adjust. In the mornings, I would take her outside so she could "do her duty". The one morning, I am not sure how it happened, but my lil' exhausted pup decided to take a snooze on my foot. Notice my whispered declaration about this matter. :)

Cute and Cuddly

Our New Puppy

On August 1, 1998, Alayna's 3rd birthday, we travelled to the farm to pick up our new little ball of fur. My grandparents lived near the farm, so we stayed there for the day. We had fun playing with our new puppy in their backyard!

In Loving Memory...

As we quickly approach the 2nd anniversary since Christy, my precious golden retriever, died, I wanted to do something special on my blog to remember her. For the first year of her life, we took a bunch of home videos. I thought it would be neat for the next couple of days to post parts of the videos on here. It won't be the best of quality since I am just holding up my camera to the TV as the video is playing, but you'll get the general idea. :)

Although its been 2 years, I still miss my dog very, very much and watching these videos brings tears to my eyes. I was only 12 when we got her, so my earlier memories of her are dim, which is why I am glad we caught some special moments on camera!

This is a video of the first time we visited her at the farm. She was only 2 weeks old! We didn't know which one was going to be Christy at the time, but later on we figured out that Mom was holding her in this video. I was holding her sister. :)

Just so you know, there is no sound on this video. For some reason our video camera didn't have sound that day. Don't worry. Your hearing is not going!

Stay tuned for more Christy videos in the upcoming days!

10 Years Ago...

Happy 13th Birthday to me!

- A Christy cake -

It was my first birthday with my adorable dog. However, this dog was anything but adorable when she decided to jump up on the table and lick away the icing on the corner of the cake my mom had just decorated! Soooo, my mom, being the smart lady that she is, decided to cut off that corner making it look like Christy had taken a "bite" out of it.

At Christy's "obedience school" that winter...

I am not sure how successful that schooling was seeing how Christy had a stubborn mind of her own (as seen in picture above)!!