Missing the family on Christmas

This Christmas was so different to all the previous ones I’ve had.  There was no family gathering, no grandpa sneaking me food under the table and no helping anyone else unwrap their presents.  On her first Christmas with our family last year, Dorothy was still a baby so she was left with a family friend to be babysat and missed out on a proper family get-together.  The kind where everyone goes to the grandparents place and gives the dog lots of patting and attention: I know she would have liked it.  

 Mommy usually makes me wear a goofy outfit (like this one from last year) 

and I don't mind, especially when I hear grandma laugh and say how cute I look then shower me with hugs and treats.  It would probably be the same for Dorothy - especially if mom makes her wear the horrible, frilly red skirt that she threatened to buy her. This year I didn't wear anything embarrassing and I didn't see my grandma at all.

I missed the family Christmas and told my parents that we should definitely have a proper one next year.  Don’t get me wrong; running around for two days straight, exploring and having complete off-leash freedom was a heck of a fun time but it just didn’t feel like Christmas at all.

Here are some more snap shots of my family (proper) Christmas from last year:

Merry Christmas from the Texas desert

I hope everyone had a Christmas day as fun as Dorothy and I had... and I hope everyone is going to sleep as happy as we are!

  Here's how we got to spend our Christmas day:

  We woke up to this view out of our hotel window 
and I couldn't wait to get out there!

This was our playground and I hit it head on...

Which was a mistake..

I forgot there are so many prickly things in the desert 

and they can't wait to rip my hair out!

So daddy had to give me the cactus talk again...

And mommy had to tell both of us not to eat rocks again...

But we got the hang of it eventually!

We walked and walked for miles with no more hiccups

Then drove back to the hotel

Where mom and dad ate dinner and Dorothy and I slept  until it was present time.
We got a bone each...


And we gave another present to daddy
because he's the best!

Then we sat by the fire pit, though not for long 

because Dorothy and I were terrified of the fire.

All in all, a wonderful day.  Although if I'm completely honest, I kept waiting for my Aunt Amy or grandparents to show up!

a Christmas Eve adventure

So I found what the desert is...  It's a wonderful place that takes forever to get to (lucky I love the car!) but when you get here it's every dog's dream!  The place we're staying in is called The Big Bend in Texas and I really think every parent should take their dog to see it.  There's space to run, rocks to climb, plenty to sniff and our hotel is pet-friendly and very pretty.  

We spent most of the day outside: mommy and daddy let Dorothy and me spend the whole time running around and gave us frequent drink and treat breaks.  

It was really a Christmas dream come true!

I'm wiped out and headed for bed but mommy just told me the best news... 
we get to do it all again tomorrow!

We're going on a trip!

When I got up this morning and walked into the living room, this is what I saw.  I'm so excited to say this means we're all going on a trip!  I'm not sure where we're going yet... mommy said something that sounded like dessert and I'm so hoping that's a real place!  I'll stay in touch and let you know once we get there.

Christmas presents from Aunty Amy

In my last update I told you guys about how Aunt Amy gave me the best Christmas presents this year and I wanted to show them to you as well!  I love her so much!

Here's me opening the first present!  (Dorothy's still waiting for hers)

Ripping the paper off is my favorite part

Dorothy got to her present first (even though she started after I did) - it was a stuffed animal

I got one too!

After lots more ripping and a big mess, turns out we got:

The boy (for me) and girl (for Dorothy) versions of the same toys

plus

A travel bed to take on trips with mommy and daddy

Dorothy's made herself comfortable already!

We also got pig ears! YUM. 

I can't believe the amount of presents I got!  I must have done something extremely right this year for this lot.  Although, mommy's hidden most of them away already because she says she wants them  to last and knows they won't as long as they're readily available; I'm ok with it because she left snoopy out for me.  He was my fav:

Dorothy's was the pigs ear which she took down the hall and chewed all night:

It really is the most wonderful time of the year! I hope all the other dogs get as many presents as we did and that every dog has an Aunty Amy like mine.

Telepathic Christmas connections

My aunt Amy and I are telepathically connected.  I always love when mom and dad go on a trip and I get to to go to her place because she knows exactly what I want and how to make me happy. Plus she gives me treats that mommy and daddy don't give me like pro-shoot-o and popcorn!!

This weekend she came to visit us and proved that despite my moving far away and not seeing her for a while: our connection's gone even further!  Not only did she buy me all the exact presents I wanted and let me unwrap them all myself (tearing up paper is one of my favorite things!) ... but she also brought along the Christmas presents I'd telepathically asked her to buy for my parents!  I'm was so happy that she'd received my messages and made good on our deal!

Here's what we got for mommy:

Since she's been spending more and more time cooking for daddy these days, I asked aunt Amy to find one of these dog biscuit making kits for me to give mommy as her Christmas present so she could make yummy snacks for me (and Dorothy too, I guess).

And for daddy we got:

 

Because everyone knows fetching balls is absolutely my favorite thing to do and this makes the balls go further!  Daddy was so impressed with my present that he took it out to test straight away and I got to chase balls until I was exhausted. 

I love my aunt Amy so much!  She's so thoughtful and has made me look very good to mommy and daddy this Christmas.  These presents will be the gifts that keep giving all year long and I owe it all to her!

A kiss to take away the pain

Both mom and dad are taking turns being sick.  Last week was mommy's turn; this week it's daddy's. Luckily Dorothy and I know just what to do in these situations to make them feel better: 

Take one brown, cuddly puppy and apply to sore belly until smile appears. Puppy will remain in position until moved.

Once brown puppy moves, it's time to apply the white puppy (me) to affected area 

You can't overdose on this medication, so apply both at once if you like. Relax and feel the love, it'll really help

Works the same way for both mommys and daddys

Finally and most importantly: don't forget the kiss to take away the pain! 

To be taken as often as you can - for immediate results in expelling negative emotions, producing warm happy feelings and of course inducing smiles

My first Christmas tree and stocking

When daddy got home after work on Monday night, mommy harnessed me up, put a sweater on me and took me along for a drive.  In the car mommy explained that we were going to get a Christmas tree and knowing I'd be terrified of it if they simply brought it inside, they took me along to see what it was and what was going on. We stopped a few times at tents that had chopped down trees inside them and got out of the warm car to inspect these trees.  They looked and smelled the same to me (expect the rosemary ones which smelled delicious!) but apparently none of them were what mom wanted.  So then we went to Lowes.

I like visiting Lowes.  Everyone is always so friendly and sometimes I get treats from the people who work there.  I was lucky that night because everyone thought my sweater was cute so I got lots of attention, plus when I thought no one was was watching, I had a play with a couple of the toys! Mom also got what she came for and we left with a Christmas tree!

Back at home, daddy screwed the tree into a container to make it stand upright and then poured water into it and wrapped a bag around it, while mommy hung big socks up above the fireplace and snuck what-looked-like small rubber toys into the two on the end that had the initials "B" and "D" on them.  I have a nagging suspicion that one of them is for me - probably the green one - and I want it!

Plus mum and dad were right to bring me along with them to get the tree, I'm not scared of it all. Now, if only I could figure out how to open one of these without wrecking the wrapping so mom would 't know...