Opossum!

There was an opossum in my yard tonight! My stupid people wouldn't open the door for me. I would've totally torn that dirty rodent to pieces.

Firsts

The other night Lily had just taken a bath and was ready for bed when the Pattonville Fire Department came through the neighborhood. An SUV, ambulance and pick-up pulling a flat bed trailer slowly came down the street with their lights and sirens on with someone on a bullhorn saying "Come out and see Santa!" We had forgotten they do this every year. It was perfect because Lily hadn't seen Santa yet. So, my people put her coat and hat on and took her outside. Instead of elves, firefighters assist Santa. Katie handed Lily over and the nice fireman set her on Santa's lap. Lily didn't cry at all, just stared at Greg and Katie with a look like "What are you doing to me?" Here's the picture. I think it's funny that Lily's in her pajamas. Of course, I watched all of this from inside the front door. Btw, is it just me or does Santa look like he can't be much older than 20?


Last weekend, we got our first big snow of the season. I'd say a good 6 or 7 inches fell. I had a lot of fun running in it. My people took Lily out to see what she would do. She just sat in it until her bottom got cold, then she cried. I bet she likes it better once she's walking...maybe the next snow storm that comes through.


And just for your viewing pleasure, here's a picture of me relaxing on the couch. This is as far as my people will let me get up. It seems pretty silly to me, they may as well let me get all the way up.


I don't know if you noticed the edging on the coffee table. My people just added that this past weekend. Something about protecting Lily while she learns how to walk...

Merry Christmas...Go Elf Yourself

I've been working a new routine with my family. Click on the Elf Dance below (I hope the link works). Enjoy!

Elf Dance

Putting Two and Two Together

Last night I heard my people talking about how they've made hotel reservations for their trip. They've also been discussing how they want to handle the drive to South and North Carolina after Christmas. A few weeks ago they mentioned having my reservations made at the kennel. I'm really not liking the sound of all this. I even heard Katie telling Greg that the kennel offers five different kinds of "suites", but only have "studio apartments" available the week after Christmas. I definitely don't like that sound of that! If they're going to put me in a kennel, they should at least have the decency to reserve the Penthouse Suite for me, don't you think?!

On another, more exciting note, Lily took her first steps this week! She's still not really walking, but I'm sure she'll be chasing me around the house in no time. I can't wait.

1 Year Check-Up

Here are Lily's 1 year stats:

Height: 28-1/2"--25th percentile
Weight: 16.11 lbs.--First percentile, barely hanging on to the charts on this one.
Head: 18"--70th percentile

I've been convinced that my new little friend is a genius. That head size confirms my beliefs. Here is a conversation from the movie "So I Married an Axe Murderer" that gets quoted in the house after Lily's doctor's appointments. Enjoy.

Stuart Mackenzie: Look at the size of that boy's heed.
Tony Giardino: Shhh!
Stuart Mackenzie: I'm not kidding, it's like an orange on a toothpick.
Tony Giardino: Shhh, you're going to give the boy a complex.
Stuart Mackenzie: Well, that's a huge noggin. That's a virtual planetoid.
Tony Giardino: Shh!
Stuart Mackenzie: Has it's own weather system.
Tony Giardino: Sh, sh, shh.
Stuart Mackenzie: HEAD! MOVE!

---

Stuart Mackenzie: I'm not kidding, that boy's head is like Sputnik; spherical but quite pointy at parts! Now that was offsides, wasn't it? He'll be crying himself to sleep tonight, on his huge pillow.

Happy Birthday

Lily's big bash was this past weekend. At least, I think it was. My people rudely locked me in the basement for the duration of the party. It was torture hearing all those people and kids talking, laughing and eating without me. I'll find a way to get them back. Anyway, I found these pictures on the computer.

It looks like she could have used some help with that cake.

Nevermind, she appears to have figured it out.

This is one of her more dangerous gifts. This lifelike lion makes all sorts of scary noises.

Tigers and Birthdays

How 'bout them Tigers? They beat those silly Chickenhawks to make it to the Big 12 Championship game. Woo-hoo! Now they just need to pull a win off against Oklahoma on Saturday, then it's off to the Championship Bowl game. Who would've thought?! Lily wore her cheerleader outfit all day on Saturday so she could cheer her Tigers on against Kansas. When game time rolled around though, she went to bed. Some fan she is. Bailey and his people came over to watch the game with us. I don't think Bailey is a true fan though. He laid by the front door for a good portion of the evening. I think he was trying to subtly let his people know that he was not happy about being at my house and was ready to leave.

Lily turns 1 on Friday. Can you believe it?! We're getting ready for her birthday party this weekend. She's doing a lot of new things, but isn't quite walking yet and still has no teeth! Her favorite thing to do right now is to "spy" on things. She likes laying on her belly to look under doors, tables, couches, etc. She especially likes when someone goes into the master bathroom. She tries to peek under the door and stick her hand through the crack. Sometimes when the person comes out, she and I are sitting right there waiting for them.

I'm hearing rumblings around the house about how my kennel reservations have been made for the end of December. I don't like the sound of this. I'll have to do some more investigating to figure out what's going on.

Tiger Spirit

Lily went to her first Tiger football game. While she was having fun cheering the Tigers on to victory, I was having fun staying with my cousins. Hawkeye and I got to go on walks every morning. I enjoyed walking so much that I didn't even mind being hooked to the same lead as him. We only got tangled up a few times.

Here are some pictures of Lily at the game. It was the Blackout game, so the family was dressed appropriately.

Cheering in the stands

Sleeping at the tailgate

Playing with Rory after the game. These toys taste great!

Of course, Lily was a Mizzou cheerleader for Halloween. She visited a few houses on the street and was a hit.

New Cousin

Here are a couple of pictures from Lily's first overnight stay at Grandma and Grandpa's. My new cousin Hawkeye is posing with her.

The Camera's Been Unloaded!

Here are some recent pics. Enjoy!

A camping meal worthy of a picture. I wish I could've been there.

The BD camping. He thinks he's quite special.

The chair is finally magic!

Waiting for mama to finish drying her hair one morning.

Lily LOVES playing with shoelaces. Hours of entertainment.

My buddy. You can tell how thrilled I am.

Again, can you sense my excitement?

Just woke up from a nap.

Awesome bed head.

Fun Weekend

My people went camping on Saturday night, so Lily and I got to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Wagner. It was Lily's first overnight stay and she did great. She only stayed with us Saturday night. Grandpa picked me up on Friday and I got to stay the whole weekend. I have a new cousin, Hawkeye, who I get along with great. I don't have a picture of him yet though. He's a malamute and looks similar to my cousin Nome. I hear that Bailey Dog got to go camping with our people. I'm not sure why I didn't get to go along. I'm not too upset though. I got to hang out with my cousins and watch the Mizzou/Oklahoma game. Life is good.

Go Tigers!!

Once again, my people neglected me and did not allow me to watch Mizzou dominate their lowly competition. This week, they destroyed Nebraska 41-6. I found this awesome video of the crowd on youtube.



Jersey's tall person described it like this:

If it's not obvious ... to the losers that WEREN'T at the game, the wave wrapped around the stadium about 40 times. Every time it hit the Nebraska section, the stadium would BOOO then cheer as soon as it hit the Mizzou fans again. Classic.

Walks

I see that Bailey and his tall owner are training for a half marathon. All I have to say to them is "You're crazy." It's been a while since I've gotten to go on a walk, but I've been on two in the last two days. Boy, am I tired! Katie took Lily and I out on Monday. It was the first time I had walked with the stroller and only one owner. I had a feeling Katie would throw me back in the house if it didn't look like I would cooperate, so I did good for her. I only pulled hard enough to be a little annoying, not to make it impossible to handle me and the stroller at the same time. It was a great time. I love walks! I was super tired when we got back though and all Lily wanted to do was pull on my tail. That made it nearly impossible to lay down and relax, since I constantly had to get up and move to get her off my back.

The entire family went for a walk yesterday evening. Here's a picture (There was no way they were getting me to pose next to that stroller thing).

It turns out we have our own Star Wars kid here in the neighborhood. There was a boy who looked to be about 11 years old in his front yard with a double light sabre practicing his jedi moves. When we walked by, he would do all sorts of twirls and jumps as if he were actually attacking us. It was hilarious.

Lily's going to "Laptime Storytime" at the library today. I'm a little bummed that I don't get to go. I wouldn't cause a scene. Promise.

Blue Angels

Greg and Katie took Jeff and Sam to watch the Blue Angels perform over Labor Day Weekend. I'm glad I didn't get to go. I would've been a nervous wreck if those loud planes flew directly over my head. Lily didn't seem to mind too much though. She ended up falling asleep on Samantha.

How rude!

My people know I love the Tigers and yet they abandoned me while they went to see Mizzou beat Illinois 40-34 this past weekend. If I was there like I should have been, the game would not have been close at all. My ferocious barks and cheers would've intimidated those orange wearing pansies so bad, they would've hid in the locker room. Here are a couple of pictures my people took that day.

This was the highlight of my day. I spent the rest of my time alone and wishing someone had left the game on for me. I'm a smart dog, brilliant even according to some, but I can't figure out how to work those remotes.



Here is a shot of the band before the game started. If you look closely, you can see Truman in the lower left corner.



This is a shot of Katie and Samantha at the game. Unlike me in the earlier picture above, you will notice that they are smiling and having a good time.

Why the sad face?

My guess is that Lily was upset about wearing a hood in the heat of the summer. My people get a bit confused sometimes.

More Photos

It's been a while since my last post. I apologize for my absence. Here are some recent pictures. Lily goes for her 9 month pictures this afternoon.

I like to call this picture "Crazy Eyes". I'm not sure who looks creepier me with the two different colored eyes or Lily with that facial expression.



Lily likes to help Katie with the laundry. Here she is sitting in the bucket.


She has also learned that when the camera beeps, it's time to turn up the cheese factor. Here she is hamming it up for the camera.


This was her first trip to the Science Center.

Update

Lily now weighs 14 pounds 8 ounces and stands 26 inches tall. Fortunately, her weight gain is slowing down quite a bit. The doctor even calls her petite. Anyway, I have revised my estimates for her future weight. She is gaining roughly 1 pound per month. At that rate, it will take nearly 40 years for her to approach the 500 pound threshold. That is still a cause for concern, but it is much better than my previous estimate.

Another alarming trend is Lily's height. She has grown 7 inches in 8 months. For simplicity's sake, let's say she is growing at a rate of 1 foot per year. At that rate, she will tower over her average sized parents by the time she is 6 years old. And, the same year she hits 500 pounds, she will be 40 feet tall. I guess that weight doesn't sound so alarming after all.

Lily on the move

I hate my people...

...and they wonder why I chewed a hole in their favorite Mizzou blanket.

Update and Recent Pictures

I've been slacking with the posts lately. Sorry about that. We went to Columbia again a couple of weekends ago. I love seeing Jersey. We have a lot of fun. I'm always wiped out when we get home.

Lily's been dealing with a cold for the last week or two. She's had a stuffy nose off and on and now has a cough. She's a little hoarse, so it's funny to hear her cry. She's definitely on the upswing now, so it hasn't been too rough at the house. Greg and Katie keep talking about how she might be teething, but when I sniff her I don't see anything in her mouth.

She's getting really close to crawling. She can get around with the "army crawl" technique, but I'm sure any day now she'll be moving around on all fours. I've been trying to teach her how to do it.

Lily has decided that the tags on my collar are pretty cool. She slowly makes her way over to me and starts pulling on them. It's ok for a little while, but then I have to leave. I get pretty annoyed.

Here are some recent pictures:

When I get scared, I climb on my people. I was hoping they would protect me from the fireworks going off outside.

Our future Tiger

Lily sleeping with her butt in the air.

I hate when my people do this kind of stuff to me. They put one of Lily's stuffed animals around my neck.

Baseball

Lily went to her first baseball game last week. I'm still a little bummed that I didn't get to go. I hear they do a "bring your dog to the park" day, but have I ever gotten to go? No. I'm not bitter though. Anyway, here are a couple of pics from the stadium.




Bailey Dog's people went with them. The tall person put his hat on Lily. Unfortunately, it did not work like a rally cap should. The Cards lost to the Diamondbacks 7-1. Ouch.

P.S. Lily is wearing a pink and gray Cardinal outfit. You can't tell in the pictures, but I didn't want anyone to think my people wouldn't dress her appropriately for a baseball game.

Bailey Dog Visit

Bailey Dog brought his people over to visit this past weekend. I had a pretty good time. Bailey has his tall person trained way better than either of my people. He gave us lots of treats.


Sometimes, I think that Bailey doesn't like me. I always try to be nice and friendly. He growls at me a lot. In this picture, you can see that I am offering a friendly greeting to Bailey, but he is trying to avoid me.


I have a theory about Bailey now. I think he is pure evil and is not capable of responding to friendly gestures. I have proof too. Check out this picture. How many non-evil dogs do you know with eyes that glow in the dark?

7 Month Pictures

Mmm...green beans and oatmeal!



Greg took this himself.



What big, blue eyes! Like how I managed to get my nose in the picture?