It Happens In a Blink...: February 2009

Are We Crazy?

Or maybe just absolutely insane? On January 10th, we added to our family. Not just one pup, but TWO!!! Since the passing of Maddy I think that Rob felt I was really missing having dogs around. I'm sure he was too. Rob grew up with dogs. I did not. Striker and Maddy were my first dogs, and they were both the most awesome dogs for 13 years! I never imagined life without them... and then I had to live it.

I would ask Rob about adopting a dog(s). I even looked into getting a full bred Labrador. That was nice and pricey! I had actually started visiting the Humane Society just around Halloween. I guess I was in need and I also knew that Maddy's time was short. I didn't want to have a house with no dogs. Well, after Maddy passed, we lasted a mere month!!!

Check out our new additions!! They are both boys and are litter mates, which we think is really cool. They are a Labrador/Border Collie mix. We know the mom is a full bred YELLOW lab (yes, yellow) and their dad is a Border Collie. We adopted them from a litter of 10. We were all so excited to bring them home!

This is Scooby. He seems a little pooped out. Guess the excitement was too much for him!

Scooby again. Scooby is the taller and leaner of the two pups. He also has the cutest markings on his feet. He looks like he is either wearing socks or boots!

This is Boudreaux (boo-dro). Rob calls him our cajun dog! Boudreaux is actually French for 'buddy.' When I was teaching in Texas one of my students had a black Lab named Boudreaux. Rob and I always hung on to that name for 'someday.' Well, 'someday' came January 10th! Boudreaux is smaller than Scooby but is more stocky. He seems like he's got more of a Border Collie look with Labrador hair. He's got white toes and a splash of white on his nose. He's a cutie but also EXTREMELY skittish!

Like I said, I guess there was too much excitement for Scooby! He couldn't keep his eyes open!

These next pictures were taken two weeks after having the dogs in the house. When we first got them, they were both pretty skittish of everything. After all, they were born and put in the shelter right away, so they hadn't really been socialized outside of that. Every little thing freaked them out, even the TV. Oh, and going up and down stairs was out of the question. Rob had to carry them down the stairs of the deck for the first weekend they were at home with us!

But they adapted pretty quickly. Soon enough they were charging up and down the stairs. Potty training wasn't hard, but it wasn't easy. Since they were 6 months old when we got them, they were pretty much crate trained... but since they hadn't spent time inside anyone's house, they were not house trained. They both did fine going outside when we took them, problem was that they didn't know how to tell us they wanted to go outside! So we had to watch them like hawks for signs of needing to go out.

I had heard about dogs ringing bells to let their owners know they needed to go out, so I did some reading on the internet. Soon enough I was ready. I hung some bells from the back door and soon enough they caught on. It was amazing how much easier it made things! I will admit that before the bells, I was getting a little tired of keeping up with two kids and two new puppies. But the bells have worked out and now Boudreaux (who prefers to be outside) rings them constantly. He rings them so much that Scooby never has to! Ha ha ha ha ha!

Boudreaux...

Scooby...

It's funny, because just like kids, these two are so very different. Scooby is our chewer, so we keep an eye on him. Boudreaux is much more sneaky and I worry about him always trying to outsmart us. He has gotten one rabbit so far.

They are both extremely mild mannered! It's unbelievable the way they act for puppies that are 8 months old! At first I didn't know what I was getting myself into. But now that we are almost 2 months into life with them, I am amazed at what they do and DON'T do. I pretty much attribute it to the fact that they have each other. So instead of looking to chew something up or bite on the girls, they just rough house with each other. They are also very sweet and VERY obedient. They have learned 'sit,' 'down,' and 'leave it' so far. 'Leave it' is nice because we can keep them away from the girls' toys. They are so well behaved it's amazing! We'll have to keep you updated on how they're doing.

Oh, and the girls just adore them! Taytum, who really never went out of her way to give Striker or Maddy the time of day, comes into our room each morning and sits with the dogs, loves on them and plays with them while I finish getting myself together for the day. Regan will love on both dogs and often goes to them for kisses. Both dogs are very gentle and are already used to the girls climbing and lying all over them.

Regan's First Graduation

This was Regan's first time to take her own Little Gym class. Before this she used to tag along and just get to watch her sister. Now she knows she gets her own time each week. Here are some pics of her enjoying her "show week"...

Helping with the bells...

Doing a little warm up...

Playing with the parachute is a highlight of Little Gym. He she is listening for the next direction...

And waiting patiently for a 'ride' on the parachute with her classmates...

This is Regan just before she got to do her 'parachute slide.' The kids lie down on the edge of the parachute and all at once the parents lift the edges. The kids go sliding into the middle. They all love it and it's often followed by screams for "MORE!!!" It's amazing how still Regan can be while at Little Gym. I am sold that this place helps them with listening and direction following!

Again, sitting patiently. This time we are under the parachute, in our tent, singing a song.

One thing Regan absolutely LOVES to do is swing on the bar. Most of the time I can't get her away from it to do anything else. We often refer to her as our little monkey... She even grabs a hold of the edge of the kitchen table at home and tries to swing. Crazy kid!

Granny helps a bit on the big balance beam...

And some peek-a-boo through the big doughnut...

Here she is receiving her very first medal... (to hear the sound on the video, make sure to pause the music on the blog first)

Seems as if Regan is just as proud of herself. She wore that medal for DAYS after this class! I finally had to put it away so that we could keep it safe!

More Little Gym

Once again Taytum graduates from Little Gym. At the end of each semester they have a "show week" where parents and siblings get to come inside the gym with them (we usually watch through windows) and see the skills they have learned and/or are working on. Here are some shots and videos of Taytum on her day of "show week." (OK, so there are waaaay too many pics!! Oh well!)

Here is a video of Taytum doing her floor routine. She went through it so fast the first time that I was not ready. The kids do their routine one by one while everyone sits and watches. Taytum was first and I did not have the camera ready. So here she is doing it again for me...

This next video is of Taytum on the balance beam. That's one of her teachers, Mr. Mark. He's great with the kids and he always says that Taytum does wonderful on the beam. Check it out for yourself...

After the routines were over, Regan got to join Taytum for a little bit of play time as well.

This last video is of Taytum getting her medal. Each child is awarded a medal at the end of the semester. It's a big deal to the kids, as you can see by the look on her face...

And a few after pics. Taytum is always very proud when she gets her medal! Holy cow does she look TALL or what??? Where does she get that from???

Bug Faces

Taytum and Regan's granny (my mom) is quite the artist. Funny how I didn't know this until I was in high school, but I guess that's what having 4 kids does to you... doesn't allow you to pursue some of the things you love. Anyway just after the new year the girls got to spend some quality time with Granny. Here's how they looked when they came home...

Two months and many, many new words later, this is one of Regan's favorite subjects. She likes to talk about and remember when Granny painted a bug on her nose. She'll even pretend to paint one on herself and everyone else. She of course ends by telling you that she had to tell the bug, "Bye-bye," because after all, we did wash it off the next day!

LET'S GO BLUES!!

Just after Christmas Rob and I took the girls and Granny and Gramps to a hockey game. It was so much fun! Regan was captivated the entire time... we even stayed through the whole game! It looked like it was going to get ugly (the game that is) in the 3rd period when the Blues went down by 2 goals. Total bummer. But with like 2 minutes left they scored to come within one. It was a nail biter right until the end. While Regan didn't care who won, Taytum was quite upset to see her team lose. Here are a few pics of the girls in their hockey getup. I think these are some of the best pics I've taken of them in quite some time...

And one of Mommy with her little Blues fans!

I almost forgot that Taytum had us in stitches as we left the game. In order to avoid the atrocious prices you have to pay for parking, we parked a few (or more than that) blocks away and hoofed it to the arena. It was decently cold when we got there, but down right freezing (with whipping winds) when we left. So as we started our trek after the game someone said, "How far is it to where we parked?" Taytum piped in by yelling, "I DON'T KNOW, BUT IT'S SOMEWHERE BY THE CHURCH!!!"

OK, now that I've read that, I guess it was one of those 'had to be there' moments! Oh well, it was funny to all of us!

Our Crazy Regan

It seems as if there is never anything but craziness in our house... I guess except for the times when one of the girls is throwing a fit! Here are some more times we've caught Regan in the act! She is always being silly!

Don't ask me why, but she's got this THING about putting on everyone else's socks. It doesn't matter if they're clean or dirty or if you're still wearing them. She finds a way to peel them off of you and she even gets them on to her own feet...