Special Olympics. . . . .

Our group at the 2010 Special Olympics. LILLY did so great on her first trip to Special Olympics.

Us being introduced at the 2010 Spring Games!

Posing for a quick photo before the games begin!

Shakira and LILLY has some true bonding time on the ride over. :)

Last Thursday was my favorite day of the whole year-- Special Olympics!! I am certain that Special Olympics was one of the main reasons I became a EC Teacher. Most of you who know me know that I am NOT at all competitive when it comes to much of anything, however a whole other side comes out when it is Special Olympics. My kids will take home a medal each year--I make sure of it. :)

Special Olympics was a big test for LILLY and she did great! On the ride over to the games she was in the back seat with Shakira, Tara, and Ms. Flossie. As you can see from the picture she spent most of the ride sitting on Shakira's leg. Shakira thought this was absolutely hilarious! LILLY did really well at the games. Of course she was the center of attention for most of the day and she handled the pressure quite well. She had TONS of kids approaching from all different angles dying to pet her. She loved the attention. I must admit there was one event that proved to be rather difficult-- the tennis ball throw! LILLY was certain each kid was throwing the ball for her to get. It was pretty funny.

LILLY was absolutely exhausted when we got back from our trip. She crashed for the afternoon. It was so neat to get to take her with us on our favorite trip of the year. :)

LILLY is amazing, wonderful, etc. . . . .

This a picture of Josh and LILLY. Josh absolutely loves everything about LILLY. He just lights up the moment he sees that LILLY is there that day. He would sit and pet her all day if he could. Too cute!

Sorry for the delay in blogging. Getting back to work and in the swing of things has been crazy! The last few days have been really amazing with LILLY. Yesterday at school was so great. She was a natural in my classroom. She acted as if she had been there her whole life. She was so in tune to the kids and their special needs. In my classroom I have two doors-- one to the hallway and one to our playground outside. Yesterday both doors remained open most of the day and LILLY never went out them without being told. My assistants were thrilled with the fact that they got to interact and pet LILLY yesterday. She did great when they would ask her to do something as well. She seems to really work for about anyone who ask her to. I have several pictures to put on the blog from yesterday and I hope to get them up tomorrow. Unfortunately, today I was out of the classroom again for Teacher of the Year stuff. However, it worked out that I was done around lunch today so I came home and got LILLY to go shopping with me. I had a birthday gift I needed to get and thought it would be great training experience for LILLY. We spent over an hour in Marshalls and LILLY did great! I was so impressed with her. She walked right beside the cart and was really focused on what I was doing. (Probably because she was afraid I was going to step on her again.) The only thing we need to figure out is where she needs to go when I pay-- I couldn't quite get that down today. She wanted to stand and try to back away from the counter when I needed her closer to get everything out of the cart and get it paid for. Overall it was a great trip. I seem to get a little more comfortable each time we go out together.

More pictures to come tomorrow. . . . . .

Loving Spring Break . . . .

"Please mom can we please go swimming!!"

LILLY is the best beach friend ever. She loves laying under my chair.

LANIE is working hard to win over Amy. I think they are becoming pretty good reading buddies. :)

This has been a wonderful spring break spending time with the dogs, family, and good friends. I absolutely love the fact that my grandparents are sweet enough to let me bring both dogs down here when we come. The dogs truly love spending time on the beach everyday. We all enjoy going down on the beach and watching them run, play, and swim each afternoon. LILLY has been great on our 3 mile morning walks and LANIE continues to keep us all laughing. I now have two very different dogs, but I like to think I just have the best of both worlds!

LILLY is FREE!!!

Here are a few pictures of their fun times today. I think the two of them are loving being sisters. Thanks to Amy for being a wonderful photographer. :)

LILLY is really enjoying her freedom from my waist! This video is of her and LANIE loving the beach today. Be sure to watch the whole thing and check out when LILLY goes completely under the water. Don't worry Terry-- I checked the water for sharks before I let her go in. ;)

What a fun day with the dogs--I love spring break!

Last day of umbilical cording!!

I am so happy to report that this is our last day of umbilical cording and boy am I excited! It has been a true learning experience for me and for that I am very grateful, but I will be so happy to allow LILLY to be a more normal dog for a few days. Today was very low key and relaxing. I love Easter at the beach with my family. We just spent the day on the beach, eating a great lunch, and hanging out. We took both dogs for a long walk. LILLY did great and Paul did great working with LANIE. LANIE still struggles on the beach-- she is so focused on the birds she really can't get her mind to settle down at all.

I can't wait to write tomorrow and let you know how our day goes as a normal dog!! I can't thank everyone enough for listening to my stories about our last 14 days umbilical corded together! LILLY is a great dog and my love for her grows each day! THANK YOU paws4people-- I am forever grateful.

Umbilical Cording- Day 13. . . . .

What a wonderful day we had on the beach today! LILLY is a great beach dog for. We took a long walk this morning and then spent the entire rest of the day on the beach. The weather was absolutely perfect. As you can see from the pictures LILLY laid right with me all day as I read, slept, and just rested. It was perfect. I thought it would be much harder to be umbilical corded to her on the beach, but it really wasn't that bad at all. It is hard to figure out where to attach the leash with a bathing suit on though :)

Tomorrow is our last day of umbilical cording and I am so excited to actually get to see her and LANIE actually get to interact, play, and learn to love each other. Happy Easter everyone!

Umbilical Cording- Day 12. . . . .

LILLY's first bus ride was a HUGE success!! Yesterday my class had our monthly trip to the YMCA to swim. She hopped right on the bus and was not afraid at all. She even walked out on the lift as I got my kids on and off the bus. Once we started moving she went right under the seat and laid right down. She stayed under the seat until the bus stopped. I was a very proud mom! Paul was sweet enough to meet me at the Y to watch LILLY while we swam. I have followed all the rules with this umbilical cording, but I couldn't quite figure out how to hold one of my kids and swim all with LILLY attached to my waist. Kyria and I decided it would be best if someone met me there to sit with her. It was so hot in the indoor pool area so Paul was periodically take her outside for some fresh air. I think between the heat and the chlorine she needed a break every once and a while. The bus ride back to school was great too! At least we now know she can ride the bus for field trips!

Right after school we got right in the car to head the the beach! YAY! Spring break-- I thought it would never get here! LILLY and LANIE did good riding down together. There were a few times I think they got on each others nerves, but for the most part they did great! However, once we arrived at Topsail they were wild as can be!!! For the first time since I have had LILLY she truly acted like a puppy!! WOW. . . I didn't think my belt buckle could handle any more tugging. After about 15 minutes both dogs settled down some, but boy were they excited to be here.

They slept great last night. They are well rested and ready to go. I plan on sitting on the beach all day. Let's hope LILLY can settle down pretty quickly so we can both relax a little. I will update later to let you know how it goes.