Snow is Cold

You know what? Snow is cold. It's really cold. Especially when you fall face first into a snowbank. Someone giggling at your stinging, snow covered face doesn't exactly make you feel any better, either. Even though snow can be a lot of fun, a lot of snow does not equate to a lot of fun. The good news, is so far, I have been able to avoid the yellow snow.




Our 15 inch blizzard from a couple of weeks ago was followed up with two more 4 inch snowfalls. Good thing Mom and Dad got me my own snow shovel for Christmas! I get them a new TV and Blu-ray player - they get me a snow shovel and broom with dust pan. What the deal? Dad and I spent a lot of the Christmas weekend shoveling. It was lot of work - but we made it through.



I like going out and inspecting the snow progress; although, I am running out of places to put snow in the backyard. I can't even make to my own car or house.

You know what's not funny? Being involuntary placed waste deep into a snowbank - not once, but twice! Ooh this was not funny. Immediately afterwards, I fell face first into the snowbank. Thankfully for myself, it was not caught on tape, because my reaction was less than pleased.






Sitting in a snowbank isn't so awful if someone does it with you. Dad and I took a break and sat in the snow together. Ahh, there is nothing quite like a good sit. This is the only evidence of Big Butt and Little Butt taking resting.





It's not all work though, snow can be fun, too.






Snow is fun to play with too! Mom brought some inside for me to try out.

Mele Kalikimaka

Merry Christmas. Wow - I didn't realize how much work Christmas was...preparing and meeting Santa, putting up the tree, wrapping Mom and Dad's presents, setting reindeer traps. It never ends.

I kicked off the Christmas season with my annual meeting with Santa. I put on my best Christmas outfit, patiently waited in line, and finally got my chance to sit down with Santa. I believe I put together a quality presentation highlighting my exemplary behavior through the year, and thereby, laying the groundwork to receive some quality presents later this month.

After Santa, we went home to put up the tree. I decided mom and dad would be the laborers, and I just needed to supervise...you know, keep them on task. Of course, I had to spend some time showing them how it was done. I demonstrated how to assemble the tree...

...and string the lights.

After a brief respite, I helped put the ornaments on the tree. Since I recognized the similarity between the ornaments and my various balls that I throw around the house, Mom and Dad decided against using any of the ornaments in the box marked "fragile" - which must be Italian for classy.

Instead of evenly disbursing the ornaments throughout the tree, I decided to place all of the ornaments in the same 2 feet wide by 1 foot tall section of the tree.

To help with morale, I built a yule log fire to keep us warm...

Supervising the tree construction is hard work. I needed to take a break every 5 minutes or so and eventually found what I needed was a nap.

I'm not sure if it was all the work that drove me delirious...maybe it was too much nog and not enough egg.

Snow More than a Spencer High

Whoa Nellie - did we get some snow! Last Saturday, it snowed for about 24 hours, dropped 15-18 inches, and winds over 30mph. A long day of just sitting in the window and watching. After shoveling, the piles of snow are much taller than me. If it was drifting, I have yet to see any of the low points. So, on Saturday, I spent some quality time with Ma and Pa. Sunday, after Dad shoveled, I braved the cold and stepped outside to survey the homestead.

There was even more in the backyard.

I can't remember the last time I saw this much snow!

After I came in from the snow, I hung out with Mom and Dad and said this for the first time (it's not puppy - I've been identifying everything as a puppy for a long time)...

A Shave and a Haircut; Two Bits!

Okay, so maybe I didn't shave, and it certainly cost more than twenty-five cents, but I got my first haircut on Saturday. I'm going to see Santa later this week, so I figured I better look my best. I was a little apprehensive about having my golden locks trimmed, but I survived. While I wasn't exactly accommadating, I didn't scream or cry at all. Now, I'm all grown up with a professional, uniform haircut as opposed to my free-flowing mane I had been sporting until now. It turned out great; pretty as a picture!

Can't wait until the girls see me at school on Monday.

Before

After

Fun With Woy

So, Mom and Dad snuck out and went on vacation for a week. They went to Hawaii and I got to spend the week with Grandma and Grandpa. Clearly, I came out ahead on that end of the bargain. We had a good time playing; I got to go out in the snow for the first time.

I turned 18 months old Friday and oh my the changes this week. I had teeth #13 on Monday and #14 on Friday come in. Both incisors, Monday's on my bottom left and Friday's on my bottom right. Now, I am able to tear into flesh more easily. Mmm, Steak, ribs, and pork chops. Bring on the meat! Thursday, I enjoyed my first bites of Pumpkin Pie. Mmm...mmm; that's good eatin'. I've really come to like

pumpkin foods. In fact, there has been a unacceptably low level of pumpkin cookies around lately. Friday, I had Macaroni and Cheese for the first time, the spiral kind, of course. Dad said it's the best kind. I also had some pizza for dinner.

One of my great new fun finds are the joys of playing in water, or as I like to call it "Woy". My teacher at daycare says I have the cleanest hands in the room because I insist on washing my hands so often. It's also quickly become my favorite activity to do while I wait for Mom and Dad to make me dinner. I spend about 15-20 minutes on some evenings splashing in the sink. I am also drinking woy out of cup, now; the days of sippy cups are winding down. I still get a little on me, but I am getting better and better every day maneuvering the cup.

Perhaps, the best part of woy is swimming. I just finished up my first session of water babies. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed getting into the water. We worked on splashing, floating on our stomachs and backs, blowing bubbles and kicking. I also practiced jumping in and out of the water.

It was very tiring, though; one 25 minute class was usually followed up by a 2 hour nap by myself and Mom and Dad. More exhausting than any of us would have thought.

Boo!

It was quite a Happy Halloween. Technically, it was my second Halloween, but this was the first time I am able to participate at full force. After much ballyhoo and debate, I went as a duck. My second favorite choice was a pumpkin. I waged a successful protest against my parents choice as a rabbit. I visited about 4-5 neighbors and got some Teddy Grahms from my buddy, Ed. Overall, it was a goodtime.

The Halloween festivities actually started a couple of weeks ago when I chose my pumpkin.

I spent the day before Halloween helping mom and dad carve the pumpkin. As you can see, I was very instrumental in the cleaning and sculpting of the pumpkin.

After cleaning the pumpkin, I helped mom carve the pumpkin and shape the mouth.

After all my hard work, I decided we were done, put the top on the pumpkin and put the tools away.

And my of my piece de resistance...