Today Tim came home from work at lunchtime and we scattered Kiwi’s ashes on the hill out behind our house.  It was an emotional goodbye.

But along with death comes new life.  Yesterday I visited Loretta and her new baby Christopher (born on Tuesday, the same day that we lost Kiwi).  He’s a real cutie.

And here’s my sweet boy, tromping through our backyard in his boots without a care in the world.

As many of you know, we had to put Kiwi to sleep on Tuesday evening.  The change in her health occurred rapidly (that afternoon she was still playing with her toys), but by nightfall she was struggling to breathe and could no longer relax comfortably.  We had a vet come to our house around 9:30 pm and the whole experience was very peaceful.  I have no regrets about that night or how we spent our final week with Kiwi.  The weather was beautiful and we went on many family walks together.  My only regret is that her life wasn’t nearly long enough.  And now Tim and I are struggling with a grief that is greater than I ever could have imagined.

Here’s our last picture with Kiwi:

Lex is handling Kiwi’s death better than Tim or me.  He does ask about “Wee Wee,” but he readily accepts whatever answer we give him (”Kiwi isn’t here.  She died and is in heaven.”) and then he’s easily distracted by a toy or a book.  And I use him as my distraction.  His nonstop activity level has helped me stay busy during these difficult past few days.

We love you Kiwi.  Our family will not be the same without you.

Lex is now officially weaned.  Tonight was the second evening that I put him to bed without nursing him first, and he’s adapted to the new routine remarkably well.  This is definitely bittersweet for me, because I’ve really enjoyed having that special time with my son.  But it will certainly be easier for someone else (like Tim) to put Lex to bed at night now.

Here’s some random shots taken at various parks:

We’re still taking Kiwi with us whenever we can.  Yesterday we went on a “field trip” to a nearby construction site so Lex could see some excavators in action.