Earrings and a new puppy

So two big things have happened in the past few weeks. First, McKaylee got her ears pierced!! Although she had absolutely no idea what it meant to have her ears pierced, she just beamed at the idea of having "earrings just like mommy's"! I was a little apprehensive as I held her in my lap in the "ear-piercing chair" at a Claire's store in our local mall, but I knew she would be delighted at the final product. We picked out some cute pink, flowered earrings and away the lady went with her ear-piercing gun. The whole situation lasted less than a minute and McKaylee started crying immediately, but the moment we handed her a mirror and she saw those sparkling earrings in her ears, the tears just melted. She was so proud of herself and showed off her new earrings to anyone that looked her way!

Although it was exciting just for the fact that it was a little milestone in her life as a girl, it was also exciting for a different reason. Just the fact that her immune system was strong enough for us to even consider this was enough to delight my soul. A few months ago, ear piercing would have been out of the question as it would have put her at risk for developing an infection which could have landed her in the hospital. Unfortunately, when you are on chemotherapy, life just doesn't get to be normal. And as silly as it might seem to be overjoyed at something as simple as pierced ears, it's just another wonderful thing she gets to experience in her newly-normal childhood!

Our second big thing that has happened recently is we got a brand new, baby puppy. My mom and I have been tossing around the idea of getting a puppy for awhile, but never seriously pursued it. I mean, you've got the potty training, the crying at night, the chewing on everything, all of the stuff that can drive you crazy with a new little pup. Not to mention that I am currently "life-training" a toddler which entails many of the same lessons, potty training, crying at night.... maybe not so much the chewing thing. Well, blame it on puppy-fever but at some point we changed our minds and just randomly decided that we were ready. My husband didn't really seem too bothered by our decision because my mom and I had already decided that we would share the responsibility of the dog. That way, neither one of us would get too overwhelmed with the day-to-day care of a new puppy. So last week we got a 6 week old little girl and named her Bella. She only weighs a pound and a half and is probably the smallest dog I have ever laid hands on. Landen loves her because she will snuggle up in his lap but also loves to pounce on her toys which absolutely brings him to tears with laughter. McKaylee, on the other hand, started off adoring her but has now decided that she is scared. It all started the first time tiny little Bella discovered McKaylee's tiny little toes. Then she discovered that biting them was just as enjoyable as looking at them. This led McKaylee to believe that Bella, her adored puppy-friend, was going to actually eat her. So constantly throughout the day I am having to remind my sweet girl that she will not get eaten by a one pound puppy.....I've yet to convince her.

But again, as exciting as it is to have a little puppy in our house again, I'm just overjoyed that we are at a place in our lives where this can be possible. No fear of germs, no fear of sickness, just enjoying the simplest things that I used to so often take for granted. And at the end of the day as I look at my beautiful daughter, earrings in her ears, running from her toe-eating puppy, it brings tears to my eyes as I watch her finally enjoying her childhood for what it is....for what it always should have been. They might just be earrings and a new puppy, but they're such a reminder of the beautiful miracle of life that God has blessed us with.