Adler Gets a Haircut

I love it when we send Adler to get her hair cut. We only do it about two or three times a year, much to the chagrin of the groomer but if you had to pay over $100 a pop to get your dog groomed, you wouldn't be going every other month either as he suggests! Of course, it's worth every bit we spend since he spends almost three hours working on her from bathing her, to cleaning her ears, clipping her toenails and cutting her hair. Of course he also has to blow dry her as well which takes a considerable amount of time but needs to be done. (I guess dogs with long coats need to be blow dryed or they can get some skin infections or something.)

Adler is so soft when she comes back from the groomer. Her fur is like silk and she smells so great as Tom gets to select a nice doggie perfume for her. He says the groomer has like eight different scents to choose from. Anyway, here's a picture of our princess. Check out the nice manicure they gave her perfect little paws.

Happy Easter, Love Austen

Easter was a much better holiday than Xmas for me. For one I'm not teething anymore (I have 12 teeth now - my dad counted but I was trying to bite him while he was counting)and I am walking now so I got to participate in my very own Easter egg hunt.

Of course my dad thought he had to make the hunt easy for me being that it was my first time and all so I had to do it quickly to really challenge myself. I have to say the plastic eggs were probably my favorite gift for Easter. Oh and grandma got me a truck. I like that too especially now that I can say truck. And, I also like the magnets that I got from the Easter bunny. They stick to our front door! I'm so excited about that considering our refrigerator is stainless steel and they only work on the side and it's not enough room for me to play.

Oh well...maybe daddy will paint some of our walls with magnetic primer and chalkboard paint so I can really have some fun!

Happy Easter, Love Adler

Easter wasn't so fun this year. My parents didn't let me go to Grandma's house. They said the yard was too muddy for me to play in. I had to stay home all by myself for 8 hours or so.

I guess it wasn't so bad. Austen wasn't around so I got a good nap in and my mom and dad bought me some great balls that I love to play with. Of course Austen got some too so it's hard for me to tell which ones are mine and which ones are his. But at least my parents don't yell at me when I play with his.

Oh, the other downside of Easter. Check out this picture. My parents made me wear those dumb ears. I thought they were done with dressing me up for holidays?! Well, my picture is exactly what I think of this costume!

Chasing Adler

Now that Austen is walking, he and Adler can have more fun. Austen is great at throwing Adler's toys to her and giving her commands as well as feeding her treats (wait to see the latest video I have on this!). Now he has mastered the chase. That's chasing Adler around the room trying to catch her and get the toy that's in her mouth.

Our 80-pound Berner girl is an extremely good sport. She moves carefully around Austen, lets him touch her and even gives him the toy sometimes as she just plays along with our delighted 14-month-old. The two are becoming the best of friends and I keep telling him how lucky he is to have a dog. Many little boys ask for dogs but only a few have them!

Enjoy the video of Austen chasing Adler. Note Adler's playful growls and even a half bark. Of course as Austen gets older it will be important to teach him that not every dog is like Adler.

The Best Vacumn Cleaner for Austen - Adler!

Adler hates it when we try to take her out when Austen is eating in his high chair. She realizes that if she goes out during this time then she misses all the good food that Austen drops from his high chair or that he tries to feed her.

Now Austen is a pretty good eater but he delights in giving Adler his food too. We've resorted to making sure Adler is nowhere near his high chair when he's eating because she wins Austen over with her begging just as she does us. Besides, at her annual vet appointment last week we learned she's still down a good three pounds from last year and we'd like to keep her that way!

Austen is Walking!

It happened. Austen finally let go and started walking! It began late last week with one or two steps but now he is taking 15-20 steps at a time. He's so excited to be mobile on his own that he likes to laugh when he is walking - (at least without his shoes on. He's still getting used to his baby New Balance shoes with the thick soles.) Of course Adler is excited too and more often than not, accidentally bumps into him making him fall down. I guess that's what happens when you have an 80 lb. dog and a baby who is trying to walk. Good thing it doesn't bother Austen. He falls down and then wants to try again. Pretty soon he'll be running - or so my friends with kids tell me. Can't wait for that to happen, I say sarcastically. I'm sure it will be real fun to try to take him anywhere now and expect him to sit in the stroller! Goodbye shopping malls!