Rest in Peace, Gus

Gus, a dog in our extended family, died yesterday (we think he sneaked some chicken bones). Pamela loves animals and still misses her Aunt Pam's cat Simon who died nearly ten years ago. She has a huge collection of Beanie Babies and loves all the pets in our extended family: Elvira (an elegant white standard poodle), Loa (the laziest sweetest dog on the planet), Arwen (the hyperactive beast), Lexxus (the rambunctious white pit bull), Buddy (a friendly little guy), and Oma and Opa's fish. Gus was a brutish-looking pit bull with the heart of a sweet kitten. All you needed to do to make that dog happy was sit and pet him and throw him a bone. When I broke the news to Pamela, I told her that Gus is now playing with Jack (Laura Ingalls Wilder's dog) and chasing Simon in the happy hunting grounds. This is a picture she drew of Gus on his way to his new home.

Today is the last day in which Pamela will find pieces for the Barbie "fish trap/jail". While building a puzzle, I asked Pamela what she might see in the locked box, and she anticipated correctly (more green fish pieces). I am spotlighting this expectation because tomorrow I will put something different in the locked box (a pink fish). I am interested to see her reaction when she opens the locked box tomorrow. I am hoping she will be surprised, which will be an opportunity to spotlight that emotional reaction.

Something exciting happened when we played Guess Who? today. We play it once or twice a week, and usually David is her helper (making sure she responds correctly to my questions or answers). Today, she played her round all by herself. With a couple of lucky guesses, she narrowed her choice down after only five questions and guessed the person's identity correctly! I had about ten possibilities left by the end of the game. She smoked me fair and square.

Next Episode of Barbie Kitty Condo Project
Previous Episode of Barbie Kitty Condo Project