Meet "Indi"

Originally known as...Indi (indigo blue)!
From Kirsten:

Indi is doing well, he loves to chew toilet paper off the roll in the bathroom, or steal the roll if he can and tear it up in the back yard – how fun is that??? He also LOVES to play ball, in fact he lives for it. He is very loving and will out of the blue jump in your lap for a snuggle, but since he is a pup he is gone as fast as he appears and back to playing ball. He is the messiest drinker in my house which has made me fully aware that wearing socks in the kitchen is a bad idea LOL. I wouldn’t trade him for the world! I love him as much as my other 2 kids and he has fit right in to the family. He has started his obedience training, and a little bit of tracking. I am supposed to get together with Sandy [Boston's trainer] when she gets back from Texas to start birds.

When I saw this picture, I nearly fell off my chair. Indi is the spitting image of his Daddy, from his color to his eyes, to the shape of his head and ears, to the curls on his back and his tail feathers. Such a beautiful boy! I have no doubt that Sandy will fall in love with her 'Boss Man's' son! We're looking forward to hearing all about Indi's career!

Meet "Sunny Fairway"

Originally known as...Sunny! From Pam:

Sunny Fairway Cherokee Bear (her official AKC name) is the girl who loves to play, and when I say play I mean play. She really doesn’t care when, many morning’s at 2:30 she brings me her tennis ball.

Fairway has the opportunity to play with her brother Indi (Indiana) on many occasions. Indi’s mom, Kirsten takes Fairway tracking each Friday and then a fun play day follows with her brother. She rests and sleeps much better after her play days.

She loves to bring in sticks, logs, and branches from outside and then eat them. I thought that she wouldn’t be able to bring in the big stuff from outside. However, she figured it out quite quickly. She really likes to chew on just about anything!

She is the best girl ever and a joy to have as a roommate. She is very spoiled needless to say!


Sunny and brother Indi:

Meet "Cayson"

Originally known as...Cayson. : )

From Jill and Geoff:

Life With Nine Dogs, Now Life With Two Dogs!

This is something I never thought we would do-EVER! After all, one year ago when Bailey gave birth to her nine little pups we were also chasing after a 7 month old baby. Nothing can explain the experience of watching little lives come into this world and witnessing Mama Bailey knowing just what to do.

It was an anxious early morning when Bailey gave birth to the first pup shortly after midnight. The first half of the pups seemed to come one right after another. We had an assembly line of delivery, cutting the cord, weighing them, identifying, and putting the squirmy fuzzies under a heat lamp with their other brothers and sisters. Then there was a two hour break before the last four were delivered - the last one being around 9:00am. 9 puppies in all! Holy Moley we did it!

All were marked with different colored string so we could know who's who, except the last one who had no collar. We fondly called her "Nudie" because we only had 8 colors of string. Looking back the two months we took care of the puppies, it went by in a flash. It was a whirlwind of soiled newspapers, weighing puppies every 2 days, giving them baths every day, and I've never gone through more Clorox wipes in my life! We had lots of help from family and friends who would visit them, help us with the maintenance, and gave the puppies lots of love. By the time they were 7-8 weeks old they were an ambunctious bunch and traveled all in one tumbling herd. They loved exploring our backyard! One by one they left us to live in wonderful loving homes.

I have to admit though - I felt symptoms of "empty nest" and a weird sense of quiet settled over the house. I know Geoff felt the same. We were down to two little boy pups. One I was determined to keep because he had a big white spot on his chest and also seemed to snuggle with Geoff constantly. The other puppy we were keeping for Ryann to surprise Bryce on his wedding day. These two brothers became Cayson and Wrigley. Cayson became the new permanent addition to our household. He has been a joy and a terror all in one. I don't know how many times Geoff and I had the conversation, "We're fed up with the chewing! Maybe we need to find him another home!" These words were said often in anger, desperation, or through my tears over something Cayson ate or demolished. Thank God we never followed through!

Cayson is a part of our family. Though he is night and day different than his mom Bailey, he is a snuggly, loving dog. Most importantly our daughter Addy absolutely adores him! They have a special bond and it very cute to watch Addy climb on Cayson, give him hugs, lay on him, and play together. He's the dog that likes to climb inside her playhouse and give her big wet "hit and run" kisses as I like to call them.

Cayson's big downfall is his separation anxiety when we leave. Here's where the "terror" part comes in. He literally destroys everything and will take anything in reach through the doggie door. Later we'll find it in pieces in the middle of yard. He's taken 2 tv remotes, rugs, coffeepot, Addy's sippy cups, wine bottles, steak knives, toys, books, curtains, bills, & money (I'm sure I'm leaving things out). Not to mention he gave our deck a new look by tearing off the lattice, chewing on the ends of the deck and manicured our yard by eating grape vines and tree limbs. I can honestly say life with two dogs, okay just Cayson, is an adventure.

Mama Bailey is still our sweet natured dog and has mellowed out a lot in one year. Her eyes look much older and wiser and she moves a little slower. She puts up with a lot between Cayson and Addy, but she is still our reliable wonderful dog. Bailey and Cayson play really well together and Cayson puts some spring back in Bailey's step. We know Cayson has had lots of mishaps in his first year of life but when we're with him he brings us so much joy. He has become known in our householdand "Cayson Buddy", "Mr. Gentleman", and to Addy (now 19 months) it's, "Caaaaayson. Caaaaayson come!"

Cayson
Cayson and Mama Bailey
Mama Bailey

May her dreams stay big

Yesterday KK was promoted at preschool from the 3 year old class to the 4 year old class. If the heavens opened and dropped the perfect preschool into our lap, it would be the one we have found for KK. We are blessed to have found a school where there is no doubt that the teachers and staff truly love each of the children. Thank you for a wonderful year, Ms. Joanna, Ms. Alisa, and Ms. Michelle! KK loves you!!!!
At the end of the promotion ceremony they played a video of the kids asking each of them what they wanted to be when they grow up. KK's answer: "I want to be a puppy and a horse. And a kitty too!" "Why?" "Because I want to be those aminals!" They showed a million precious photos from the school year to the songs "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts and "Let Them Be Little" by Lonestar. The words couldn't be more perfect.

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
and each road leads you where you want to go,
and if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' 'til you find the window,
if it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,
But more than anything, more than anything...

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but you never forget,
all the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
and you help somebody every chance you get.
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
and you always give more then you take.
But more than anything, Yeah, and more than anything...

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah this, is my wish.
So let them be little,
'Cause they're only that way for a while.
Give them hope, give 'em praise,
Give them love every day.
Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle,
Let them sleep in the middle,
Oh, but let them be little.

We also have a birthday to celebrate today! Happy birthday Joe, we love you!!!! (You'll always be little to me! xoxo)

Out with a splash

(The puppy posts will be delayed for a couple of days...I hadn't realized that we had so much going on this week. They'll be worth waiting for, promise.)

Today, KK had both her last dance class and last swimming lesson for the season. Her swimming in particular has improved SO MUCH over the past couple of months, thanks to her incredible teacher. Meghan is so wonderful, I wish she could just move in with us because I'm pretty sure she could get KK to eat more than ants (see previous post). She has turned our girl into a little fish who is so happy in the water that I have a heck of a time getting her out. Thanks Meghan, you rock!

Tomorrow morning we have KK's preschool "promotion ceremony" from the 3 year old to the 4 year old class. Holy smokes, we're going to have a FOUR YEAR OLD!

Trying not to blink

I'm afraid summer might disappear in two shakes of a lamb's tail this year! The weeks are already flying by, even though it seems the snow just melted days ago. We have planted zero flowers and done zero yard work. I hope the weather is nice next weekend.

For Mother's Day, KK's preschool held a Mother's Day tea, and the kiddos sang this little number for us (Grandma K and Auntie Sunshine, you'll appreciate this one!)

On Mother's Day weekend we paid visit to cousin C's house to see Grandma M and to play. It was a perfectly relaxing day. We went to the park for our traditional "toss in the air on Mother's Day" photo. This might be the last year I can do this - she's only gained a few pounds since last year, but it seemed like 20! Daddy is working with KK on learning to ride a bike. (Thanks for the loan, cousin C!) For some reason, this just isn't her thing and she is still showing very little interest. We'll keep working on it. KK isn't interested in riding a bike, but she does have a few outdoor interests. And now I know why she is never hungry and doesn't eat much. She and a neighbor boy were squatting down on the sidewalk the other day. I noticed she was eating something. "What are you eating KK???" "Ants." So there you have it.

This was a busy birthday weekend. Today we wish a happy birthday to KK's cousin H, We love you sweet girl! We also celebrated Uncle Ray's birthday with a party today.

Speaking of birthdays, there are nine furry little birthdays coming up soon. Watch for updates on the B/B puppies!!!! I hope to post one update per day for 9 days, beginning on May 21. I thought they were cute a year ago...wait until you see them now!

Vegas = Grandma time!

Daddy and I went to Vegas last weekend for a wedding. KK stayed home and partied with Grandma K and a couple of Grandma's friends, and boy did they have fun! During the four days we were gone, we didn't worry even once because we knew that things were going great here at home. We completely relaxed and it was awesome. Someone even snapped a picture of me sound asleep at the pool, looking passed out with lopsided sunglasses and probably a little bit of drool (I won't zoom in close enough to see if they caught that!) I will not post that picture here, no way. Instead, here are some pics from the wedding weekend.

Hanging out at the Green Valley Ranch pool, where we spent the majority of the weekend
We look so well behaved here, but a few hours later it was a much different story... It was a bit windy during the ceremony, so getting their candle lit warranted a high five! Julie and Dean The gang with Julie and Dean (that's the Vegas strip in the background. We had so much fun at GVR, we never even made it to the strip!) The only time I wasn't completely relaxed was during an 80's metal hair band concert we snuck into (Steel Panther). I left halfway through, proof positive that I am getting old!

We had a wonderful weekend, and as you can see KK didn't miss us one little bit:

Congratulations, Julie and Dean! And Grandma....thank you for everything. xoxoxox