February Part One

Only February and already hard to stick to my goal of updating our blog every two weeks. Poor weather and lack of fun and photo worthy indoor activities is a major contributor. I'll give it a go though!



This picture was taken about a year ago on Ryan's first day of music class. Fast forward one year and we are enrolled again - even have the same teacher. Although none of our classmates from the first time around are in it, we've had fun meeting new people. I'm a little surprised to see how shy small fry is around the group. He is on the young side as compared to the library group where he was older and the center of attention.
First day of music class 2009 (above)
First day of music class 2010 (below)

For only the second time this winter we venture outside to play and use the sled. Ryan enjoyed it, Gizmo not so much. She always wants to be where the action is though.

It was hard to pull him around our backyard. It was about 12-14 inches deep. When I'd pull the sled over the boot-hole I just made the back of the sled would get stuck and kind of tip. Ryan was buckled in, but he still had fun with the "near-tipping" experiences.

I finally couldn't pull anymore so I wanted to see how Ryan would do at standing and walking in the snow. He didn't even try to stand and didn't like laying in it either.

Sitting he was happy as can be.

Here he is walking the cleared path on our patio that Gizmo uses. He would've been about waist deep in snow.

Sadly, we haven't been up to much more than this. We went to our neighbors for the Super Bowl - Ryan fell asleep on me. We were thrilled to have Meema and Meepa visit over President's Day/Valentine's Day weekend. We also enjoyed dinner with our friend Joanne. On 2/17 I'm having my first day off in 16.5 months! We'll have to see what/how Dean does with Ryan. Don't know what I'm doing - just that it won't involve cooking, cleaning, laundry, or grocery shopping!

Gizmo

This time around, I decided to make Gizmo the star of my posting. Recently a few friends have had major health issues with their pets -some resulting in the pet being put to sleep. That topic is not discussed in our house, Dean nor I can't imagine our lives without Gizmo. From day one, she's been a member of our family and will continue to be so. And whoever says dogs are dumb and don't have personalities or a sense of humor has never met ours. Whether it's getting excited at key words (car, walk, out-back, treat, Meema/Meepa), waiting patiently for permission to be granted to eat her food, or making the nightly trip up to the bedroom to steal our spot by laying on our pillow, Gizmo surely is one of a kind. So I decided she finally deserved some web attention too.


Since Ryan is mobile, this spot on the couch has become Gizmo's sanctuary. She tucks herself up on this pillow and naps. Ryan really has to stretch his arms to reach her. For a few more weeks she is safe here from the little menace. However when he cries, she is the first to jump down to see if he's okay. That being said, she also knows when Ryan's doing something he's not supposed to and that Dean or I are going to holler - she'll jump down and search for safer grounds.

Gizmo's worst trait is that she periodically will chew or hide things while we're away. Some may call it separation anxiety, but I swear she's getting revenge for being left alone. Of late her favorite target is Ryan's diaper bag and the items in it. She's gone through 3 plastic formula/snack dispensers. Usually she leaves the item in the middle of the floor for us to see upon our return. However, recently she chewed the cap to one dispenser and hit the rest. I knew she didn't eat the whole container, but it did take a couple of weeks before we could find it. I finally spotted it in our dining room behind our china cabinet. I have NO idea how she got it back there.

While looking for the formula container, I went on a search through the couch cushions to see what else she had stashed. In the past she has "hid" granola bars, sleeves of saltine crackers, and pork chop bones. I don't know if she thinks we're aren't going to feed her or if she feels remorse for chewing. Nonetheless, it cracks me up everytime I find something new.

This is a fruit strip bar that was in Ryan's diaper bag, it ended up DEEP between the couch cushions.

In this cushion (again deep down), I found a rawhide (she isn't a fan of chewing them) and 2 Halls cough drops. Lord knows where she got those from.

And in the corner of these cushions was part of a treat she didn't eat. Talk about a treasure hunt!

A few days after I found the plastic dispenser, Gizmo chewed an old wooden spoon I'd given to Ryan to play with. I found bits and pieces of the chewed handle, but not enough to constitue the whole spoon. She was never sick, and the scoop part of the spoon has never reappeared. Maybe during my next treasure hunt something will pop up.

Ryan is also becoming quite the fan of Gizmo. He now notifies us when she's at the door ready to come in.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about the funniest member of our family as much as I have had recalling some of her stories. WE LOVE YOU GIZMO!