Family Morning at Marymoor

 

Starting out on the trail.  I was so excited when I first got to the park, that I played a little too rough with a tiny dog.  I kept accidentally stepping on him with my big feet.  I found plenty of other dogs to play with after that, though.

 I love jumping back and forth over these fences.  I don't even need a reason.

 I check in with my human every once in a while, for a treat.

 By the end, I was pretty tuckered out.  I would run ahead and then take little breaks in the grass to catch my breath.

Little brother was worn out too.

Halloween

 A couple of weeks before Halloween, my humans carved some pumpkins.  I don't really understand the point, but I definitely wanted to eat the insides.  I even managed to sneak a few bites of the pumpkin seeds, before I was caught.  After that I just hung out with Little Brother, and we watched while they continued to work.

On Halloween night, my human insisted on trying to get me to dress up.  I let her have her fun for a while, but hats are not my favorite.

Yesterday, my human and I (and my little brother) went for a walk around an outdoor mall.  I like walking around here because there is lots to see!  Whenever we walk by this pool in the photo, I try to get my human to let me swim in it.  I guess it's not that kind of pool, though.  She made me just sit by it for a picture instead.  Whatever.  My favorite store to walk by is Lucy, because they always have a water dish outside for me to drink out of.  I also met two Labradors who were so good at walking next to their human, that they weren't even on a leash!  I wish I had that kind of self control!  Maybe I'll get there eventually....probably not.

A Lazy Weekend

 

This weekend my humans and I relaxed and caught up on some movies.  My favorite was World War Z.  Although, I think I will continue to have nightmares for weeks.  Good thing my humans let me sleep on the corner of their bed with my head on their pillow (whether they know it or not).

 

Other shenanigans included:

 

 Apparently Lee got very close to his first bite of pizza.  He has to wait a couple more months though.  I feel your pain Little Brother.

 

He also practiced sitting up, and I took this time to clean him up a bit.  Spit up is a delicacy in my book.

 

 On Sunday, my human Elise and I went on a run.  Then we spent the afternoon watching movies with these two. 

I like to follow Little Brother around the house, wherever my other humans carry him (he still can't walk yet).  When he's hanging out in his room, I hang out in his room with him.  I even got him to share his blanket with me the other day. 

SQUIRREL?

 My human and I went for a brisk, Fall run at a nearby park, a couple of days ago.  We've only been to this park a couple of times, because it is usually so busy, but it was pretty quiet this time.  She enjoyed the changing fall colors.  I enjoyed looking for squirrels.  This looked like prime squirrel territory.  I didn't find any, but it won't stop me from being on high alert the next time we go.  We did run by a little white dog who seemed not to notice me, and a yappy little wiener dog.  The wiener dog definitely noticed me and ran all the way to the end of his extendable leash before his owner reeled him back it.  I gave him a little bark too, as we ran by.  It's been cold and rainy the past couple days, so now it definitely feels like Fall.  The rain doesn't bother me, but it takes a little more convincing to get my human to go outside.  Maybe I need to make her a coat out of all the hair that I shed....  *Google search:  How to sew with no opposable thumbs*

 

This is my little brother and me, waiting for my human to get ready for the day.  He's getting better at holding his head up.  I'm just waiting for him to start crawling so he can follow me around the house.

I snuck in a few licks while I was at it.

Yesterday morning my human, little brother, and I went to Marymoor.  There were not too many dogs there, but I had fun running around by myself.  I especially enjoyed these new sawdust piles!  I just wish I could have gotten a dog to play "king of the mountain" with me.

My new friend Leia and I had a lot of fun playing together, over this last weekend.  She eventually got a little more comfortable and stopped whining for her human.  I kept her company so she wasn't lonely.  She actually managed to wear me out!  Then when I tried to rest, she got right in my face to get me to keep playing!  I was doing the same thing to her, when she first arrived at our house, so I suppose it was fair.

 

She eventually crashed as well, and we both took a nap.  I even shared my spot on the couch and let her sleep closest to my human!  I hope she appreciated that gesture!

This is my new friend, Leia!  My humans say that she is staying with us for the weekend, and I am SO EXCITED!  She likes to play, just like me.  So far we have only stopped playing because our humans made us go to bed last night, and for a few mini breaks to catch our breath.  I think she misses her human, because sometimes she wanders around and whines for him.  I will just have to try to distract her this weekend. 

This is what it looks like, when we're getting ready to go for a walk or a run.  The trick is to keep Little Brother happy in his stroller, until we get out the door and start moving.  My human puts him in there right before we're about to leave and then piles a bunch of toys on him, hoping one of them will keep him occupied.  About 50% of the time, he starts screaming and she has to take him out of the stroller and bounce him around a bit before trying again...and hopefully getting out the door.  This process is definitely a lesson in patience for me.  When I'm ready for a walk, I'm ready right away.  I need to have a talk with Little Brother about this. 

After our walk we all relaxed in bed for a little bit.  We got chased by two different dogs today, and were ready to chill out!  I don't know why so many people in this neighborhood do not keep their dogs in a safe yard!  Luckily my human and I are fast runners! 

Today is National Dog Day!

 We took a nice walk around the neighborhood.  I got to meet a new little dog and said hello to an older lady that walks everyday.  After that I decided to put my feet up, and my human let me control the remote.  Animal Planet it is!

It's turning into a rainy day, so animal planet and cuddling with my humans sounds like a good National Dog Day to me!

I didn't know if my humans and I were ever going to get out of the house today.  They seemed content to lounge around in their pjs.  This afternoon, we finally went on a little adventure.  We went into town and on a walk along the Sammamish River.  I like this path, because there are lots of bicyclists that ride by.  I have to resist the urge to chase after them.  My humans always discourage that.  We stopped by one of the benches for a photo op.  I feel better now that I've had a walk, and am ready to chill out for the rest of the evening. 

Helloooo out there!  I am finally starting to recover from sleep deprivation, and am going to update you on the past 2 months.  It's kind of a blur, but try to follow along.  I will summarize the best I can.

Where we left off....
My human was on the brink of explosion.  I was just waiting and waiting for her baby human incubation period to be over.  She was starting to have trouble bending over to pick up my tennis balls, so it was time. 

Finally...on June 12th, at 1:05pm, what I was told was now my "little brother" was born.  He was 7lb 12 oz, and 19.5 inches long.  No wonder my human looked so ridiculous by the end.  I wasn't there, but apparently it took 30 hours, and then it was 2 more days before my humans came home.  My grandparents kept me company until then.  Once they came home, this little squirmy thing made lots of strange noises.  It took me a couple days to not stress out about these sounds (although they still keep me up at night) but since then, I've had the urge to go wherever he goes.

 

I learned pretty quickly that I needed to sleep whenever he slept, so that I still had energy for my normal shenanigans. 

A few weeks after he was born, we went to a fun party for the 4th of July weekend, and I made a new friend.  This little guy, named Cruzan, was fun to chase around.  I tried not to stomp on him with my big feet too much.

 

Before I knew it, a whole month had gone by.  My little brother grew a lot that first month.  He grew to 22 inches long and 9lbs 14oz. 

 

I like to keep an eye on things in my brother's room, by squeezing behind the rocking chair whenever my humans are in there.

A couple weeks ago, my grandparents came to visit.  They are taking care of my best friend Mackie, so I got some quality time with her while they were here.  We wore each other out!

I keep an eye on Little Brother while we're outside too.

 

 Last week Little Brother turned 2 months old.  At the rate he is growing, he should be able to throw the ball for me in no time!  He weighed in at 12lbs 8oz and 23 inches long.  My humans keep complaining that he's already growing out of a lot of his 3 month size clothes.  Work on that throwing arm kid!

Also last week, my aunt and cousin came to visit.  In the morning, I snuck into their room and quietly curled up on the bed with them.

Sometimes my human sings to Little Brother.  It's not great.

When I get really bored, I sit and stare at my human and our mini human until they get the hint....

...and we go to Marymoor Park.

 

Getting ready to head home from the park this morning...life is good.

 

 The end. Back to more regular posts now.

My human Elise usually stays in bed longer than Brandon, so I wait in bed with her, until she gets up.  I'm supposed to stay by her feet, but once Brandon gets up, I sneak up towards her, until I'm sleeping by her head.  This morning I was really antsy, so I got as close to her face as possible and just stared at her.  Eventually she woke up and got the hint.

After my humans take a shower, I like to watch the water trickle down the drain.  I'm really tempted to jump in and play with it or lick it.  Instead I save my bathtub time, for when it's dry and I just need to cool off.

I know I've discussed my love of naps before.  The only thing better than a nap, is a nap with one of my humans.  She was kind of hogging the couch at first, but I squeezed my way in.

When the front window blinds are open, this is my favorite place to relax.  I can keep an eye on the neighborhood, and squeeze in some naps, while I'm at it.  Jet came over and played today, so I am pretty worn out.  Napping on this comfy chair was just what I needed this afternoon.