Sunday, November 9, 2008

Apparently it's possible to be morbidly obese, yet malnourished . . .

Poor Cleo. After just two months of pet ownership, we made our first-ever trip to the vet. We discovered that Cleo has been hitting the birdseed a little too hard over the course of her three-year life, and is overweight. She's supposed to weigh 30 grams, but tips the scales at 50. (Mind you, she looks just like all the other parakeets at the pet store, but what do I know?) Ironically, she is malnourished too -- the vet said her seed diet with raw veggies has not provided balanced nutrition.

The solution? Jenny Craig for parakeets: she must switch over to lower-cal pellet food and take a vitamin supplement. We are treating her for a possible digestive infection of some kind, which means I have to catch her twice a day and give her medicine from a teeny dropper.

Cleo is not amused by this process (although she doesn't seem to mind the liver-flavored medicine -- yummo!). Aaron and Nathan, on the other hand, LOVE watching the whole procedure. It's better than TV, candy, or a trip to the zoo, judging by their reactions. Clearly, we lead boring lives. :o)

In people-related news, Anya Rashi is trying out some new words. "Domino" is the funniest, which requires a tongue flipped in and out of her mouth to make a sound like "mun-ah-min-uh." She is also saying the favorite phrase of every not-quite-two-year-old: "I do it!" This week she started calling Peter and me "Daddy" and "Mommy" instead of Dada and Mama -- she sounds so grown-up!

She's logged a few time-outs this week, most notably for taking a plate off the table and walking into the family room to hit Nathan on the head with it for no apparent reason. Good times. Oh well, you only hurt the ones you love, right? We had our dear friends Scott and Molly over this weekend with their three children, and there were some serious 2-year-old territory issues between Anya Rashi and their daughter Morgan. It was pretty funny to see two such cute little girls scowl and face off over the coveted Wiggles book.

On Friday, we took Anya Rashi to lunch at one of the Indian restaurants in our city. We may not go to that particular place with her again . . . almost every dish on the lunch buffet was quite spicy, and she would only eat naan and gulab jamun. No surprise there -- she's got quite a sweet tooth! She's been dragging a chair over to the counter by the boys' Halloween candy and saying "more?" It's nice to know she has "inherited" something from me. :o)

7 comments:

Julie & Patrick said...

If we could only have a nickel for every time they say that "I do it" phrase we'd retire young, right? :)
Sounds like Anya Rashi is turning into quite the independent woman!!

Sorry to hear about Cleo. Somehow "catching" a pet to then have to administer meds twice a day does not sound like a picnic.

Julie R

Tina and Todd said...

Funny...are you sure a bird is easier than a dog:)

ColleenC said...

Poor birdie (and poor you!). Sounds like your little girl is really coming into her own (both fun and exasperating to watch! We are having our own "early two's" over here so I can really empathize.)

Amy said...

I hope your bird gets better soon. I am sure you are taking excellent care of Cleo. Anya Rashi sounds so intelligent and super cute!!!

Lynda said...

Sananda loves those spicy snacks that you can buy at the Indian grocery. She also loves to look at Anya's pictures. Wished we lived closer, they would have a great time playing together.
Love the "playdough in the doll mouth" picture.

Cindy said...

I have very bad luck with birds. We tried to have some pet finches and they all died within 3-4 months of entering our home.

Barbie, Donkey, and Skittles were very sweet birds but unfortunately are no longer.

I would love to see a picture of your chubby Cleo.

Sounds like Anya Rashi keeps you on your toes--there's nothing like it, huh? We have a chatterbox who talks from sunup til sundown--EMY--and I wouldn't have it any other way. I loved this post.

Pam said...

So funny!! I can totally see the whole plate thing. ;)