August has been full of travel, birthdays and a bit of heartbreak. The month began with our final week in Italy....
Gio continued with his new passion for rock climbing.
Temps continued in the high 90s so we spent many hours at the town pool.
Our little mouse...
While we were in Italy our dear friends Nicola and Patrick took care of Jagger. Here he is sleeping in a very dignified position next to his best friend Isaac...
...and hogging all of the ostrich bones.
Our final night in Italy at our town's festival.
And then we were heading back to SA. Our flight from Bologna to Frankfurt was Gio's 200th airplane ride!
Documenting the moment.
Checking out the "HUUUUUGE" airplane for our second flight to Johannesburg....
....which took off at 10PM so Maria fell quickly to sleep.
When she woke up it was her 4th birthday!
The Lufthansa crew was very sweet to Maria- they all came to wish her a happy birthday and even brought her a present.
Back home and ready to celebrate.
The next day we headed to Maria's urologist to check in since she had contracted yet another UTI that last weekend in Italy. We agreed that she would have some surgery next week to finally (hopefully!) correct the problem.
Jagger at swim lessons.
And then it was time for school to begin (August 9th).
With big brother off at school Maria and I had some time for brunch....
...and a pedicure.
Jagger listening attentively at the school assembly.
Maria has her papa's eye for cool bikes!
Gio began some swim training with two fantastic coaches. South Africans take swimming very seriously so Gio is lucky to be getting this exposure.
Another Belli birthday this month- Jagger turned 1 on August 11th!
We headed off to celebrate with the rest of Jagger's litter.
We met at a fantastic dog park in Joburg where Golden madness ensued. Swimming, wrestling, running and general chaos.
Just before the Js pushed sweet Isaac into the water! (Isaac is an honorary member of the litter since he is only one day older and came to every puppy class with the Js).
Singing Happy Birthday...
Clockwise from bottom right corner: Jagger, Jasmin, Isaac, Jonty, Jade & Jedi (sister Joss-Lynn was missing as she was in heat).
It was a super fun party!!
A night out to see Trevor Noah!
Signs of spring!
Gio's new passion for climbing means we had to find somewhere in Pretoria for him to practice. Success our first weekend back at The Climbing Barn!
My favorite part about the place were the 9 dogs on sight!
Time to repair Maria's urinary tract. Checking in at the hospital very very early Monday morning.
A little apprehensive but staying brave.
With a lot of waiting around today the iPad (and Peppa Pig) saved the day!
Procedure over and awake from the anesthesia. Not too happy but relieved it is over.
Finally allowed to eat! She finished the entire tray (quite unusual for her!).
Once Maria was back in school I was able to return to puppy things. I took Jagger to a retirement home for some visiting.
He was a big hit!
Another day, another doc for Maria (this one to check her ear tubes). Jagger came along for the adventure.
Back to the pool!
...with Jagger, of course.
When you try to quickly pop into the mall to run an errand....and walk out with a brand new dress.
A girl and her favorite dog.
Another retirement home visit.
Need to be prepared for anything!
Jagger loved this woman and did not want to leave her room!
Eating at our table is not for the faint of heart....
The weather is slowly warming up by the mornings are still frigid! Hard to drag Gio (and his friends) out of bed for school.
Party time! Finally time for Maria's celebration.
But first, Starbucks.
Birthday party at Bounce (trampoline park).
Paw Patrol cake!
Maria with her favorite "big girl" Malia!
Sleepover antics.
Snuggle buddies.
We got the call last week that Jagger needs to be withdrawn from the Guide Dog program. Repeat scans on his elbows show that they are not in good enough shape for him to continue the training. It is such bittersweet news after all of this time and devotion to the program. We were given the option to keep Jagger and we gladly accepted.
While the news was difficult for me, Maria took it with pure joy!
Gio finally got to invite Jagger into his bed (a no-no for Guide Dogs!). Jagger is going to enjoy his life without so many rules....
Our dear Oscar is still in the program so I need to focus my work on him now. Luckily he is an easy puppy and always eager to go on outings! ____________
September is already here (I am a bit behind on the blog). This coming month Jagger will have surgery again on his elbows and we will visit Mauritius. More soon!
