Christmas Wrappings

 and Christmas unwrappings!  It shouldn't have been a surprise to either of us that Ori LOVES to unwrap gifts and shred wrapping and tissue paper.  She helped us unwrap our gifts at home and proceeded to make the entire living room a Christmas mess : )  Nick and I just laughed at our silly little girl.

 After she sufficiently shredded one piece, she would come back over to us for another!

 She knows what she loves to do, that's for sure!

We had to keep a close eye on Moo or the wrapping paper wouldn't have needed to be picked up!

Yup, that's our little girl!

The girls opened their gifts the next day (we do gifts up here before we go to MA) and while I don't have any pictures (it was a circus to say the least) the girls were spoiled with Zuke Z- Ridges, stuffies, squeak toys, hooves, another wubba, knuckles and cuzes.  Ori was in heaven destroying the paper and trying to get to the next gift.  Moo was thrilled with the hooves and knuckle and has been enjoying the Z-ridges for some time (much to Ori's dismay!)

Our girls have been spoiled by so many people this Christmas!  Kristin, Spencer and Cincy gave the girls 2 packages of Cincy's favorite treats Nutro blueberry and apple cinnamon!  The girls have been enjoying those yummy snacks for a few weeks now!  Thank you!

Gram and Pap gave the girls Pur Luv dog treats which both girls love as a yummy treat!  Thank you Gram and Pap!

Granna and Grampa gave the girls some jerky type treats and some ziwkipeak treats which neither of them would ever consider turning down!  Each girl got another kong or kong toy and after Christmas I picked up 2 beds for their crates at a fabulous price! Auntie Phyllis got the girls some squeak toys and a rope toy which Ori LOVES playing with! Thank you!

We had a beautiful time in MA for 5 days.  A total reprieve from reality.  We were snowed in Sunday into Monday and while Dad was called in to work, Larry, Katie, and Penny stayed Sunday into Monday at our parents' place with us.  It was perfect to say the least.

Ori and Molly amazed us up in MA.  Ori was shy and withdrawn at first, but true to form, she watched the other dogs and was following them around and playing by Saturday!  She learned how to bark at nothing (thank you Jazz and Penny) and was less submissive with Jazz and Penny by the end of the stay as well.  She began asserting herself and tried to work her way up the pack order (not so successfully but I was glad to see she was trying).  The girls worked it out just fine and Ori looked like she had a blast being "one of the dogs."  

Both girls loved the freedom to go outside without a leash.  The fenced in back and front yard made life so easy!  Ori would wander around checking all the corners of the yard out, loving the freedom!  Moo was less enchanted, but thankful we opened the door as soon as she wanted back inside : )  Both our girls just want to be where we are.  While we were at the table eating or playing games, both girls were by our side snuggled in a little bed (1 too small for the 2 of them, but it didn't seem to matter) on the floor.

 My cute little Ori snuggled up with Nick

 Moo comfy on the bed too

This little face just melts my heart (and gets her out of trouble too!)

Sigh, miss Moo resting

So yeah, a beautifully wonderful Christmas season filled with family and friends and reminders of the real reason for the season.  It's been a time to reflect and be thankful and to look forward to a fabulous 2011!

A Christmas Memory

A Christmas memory from 2008

Tinker, Stretch, Aby, Penny

This picture took a long time to get with those 4 monkeys!! 

Clearly Tink didn't see the treat the other 3 were looking at!!!

A Christmas Memorial Rose

A beautiful rose, for a beautiful memory.  My parents had this rose on our nightstand when we arrived on Wednesday.  It was perfect.  It's been opening over the past few days and it's been a nice reminder of all the beauty found in this season.

 

 

Merry Christmas

From Miss Moo to you!

 Clearly she needs to keep an eye on all the treats that are hers....She's been doing the same thing up here. She collects all the bones and rawhide placing them all together on a bed then she chews on what she prefers at that moment : )

 Resting after a long day

Molly's yummy meaty bone she ate Christmas morning

MMMMMMMM

She chewed on that thing for hours!

Molly has been doing fabulously up here!!!  She traveled like a champ buckled in the back seat on her bed.  She integrated into the house beautifully! (jumping up on furniture like she's lived here for years...)  She and Penny aren't exactly friends, but they're doing better together that's for sure!

She was so funny around all the craziness of opening gifts this evening...going after the wrapping paper, trying to open a plastic container of candy, she even picked up a squeakie toy and carried it around with her butt wiggling like a happy playful girl!  She actually tried to drop the toy in the trash bag : )  She spent all day supervising in the kitchen as we helped Mom make Christmas dinner earlier in the day.

Moo's been tired at the end of each day though with all the activity during each day.  She walks around and stays involved missing out on her usual naps.  I think she really enjoys a larger space to roam and wander.  By the end of the day she's sacked out on the couch and then moves upstairs to the bedroom on her bed snoring by 10 : )  She's even been snuggling in bed and making me a very happy girl.  (Nick however, doesn't  quite see it as snuggling...he's been calling it judo kicking as Moo has a hard time getting comfortable sometimes it seems : )

Anyways, it continues to be a wonderful Christmas holiday filled with a beautiful Christmas Eve service, lots of time with family, cooking, and relaxing....

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Merry Christmas Eve....

The face that started it all 4 years ago this evening....a posting on the umpteenth page on petfinder led us on an amazing adventure full of love, laughter, and some tears.  Thank you to Small Dog, especially Charli, Anne, Linda, and anyone else that helped us in the process of adding Ms. Thang to our home for almost 4 beautiful years.  I was reading through the original correspondence I had with Charli almost 4 years ago....the excitement we had over Tink from day 1 never faded the entire time she was with us.  Thank heavens for beautiful gifts in tiny packages.

Merry Christmas eve to all... those with pups, give extra kisses and love.

She hated the snow....

...but she was oh so cute....

All these pictures are from her first winter with us....2006

 Get me outta here!

One storm, I brought her outside to potty quickly and didn't realize how deep the snow was.  I put her down into it and she disappeared!  Needless to say, she wasn't thrilled me with in that moment! She stood there stunned covered in the snow and then starting sniffing and snorting to say "hello? get me outta here NOW!"

Where's the balmy Atlanta weather guys?

I think I smell hot chocolate inside....

The best Christmas gift ever....

Thinking of my little heart dog with this big snow...

remembering all the sweet memories we made together.

Christmas Comes Early....

...for our little family.  We always seem to be traveling and in MA on Christmas so Nick and I pick a different day to share gifts with each other.  With all the snow that we received this weekend, we did Christmas with Nick's immediate family Friday night instead of Saturday.  That left an entire beautiful snowed in Saturday for Christmas here.  Coffee in hand, warm pj's and slippers on, we exchanged gifts.  I pulled a gift out of Molly's stocking and as I helped her open it she was so eager she could barely wait!  I got the antler open and gave it to her.   She eagerly and quickly figured out it tasted good to chew on it. (By the way, how do dogs determine what is good to chew on?)  She chewed and gnawed on it the entire time Nick and I opened gifts and talked and laughed.

At first I thought it was too big, but then I realized she was just getting the hang of it : )

As you can see, Molly was very serious about this yummy treat!  Well, after we finished, we decided to let her have another gift.  I went towards her stocking on the wall and she looked up, interested.  I took out the Himalayan dog chew and again, could barely get it opened before she went crazy.

She laid right down in the middle of the living room (she didn't make it back to her bed) and chewed and chewed and chewed.  Now don't get me wrong, we know that saying Molly likes food is a bit of an understatement, but she LOVES this thing.  I expected it to be gone quickly or to have to take it from her so she doesn't eat it all in one sitting.  This this is strong!!!

I sat on the chair and just watched how happy, blissfully happy she was chewing on this amazingly yummy treat.  My heart was happy as I watched her, snuggled in my blankie.  I don't think she's liked anything as much as this gift.  It's a very hard cheese and she's loving every moment she's chewing on it!

 

I cooked for her yesterday morning.  Normally she is in the kitchen underfoot waiting, waiting, waiting for some!  Not yesterday!  She eventually moved to her bed and then investigated the kitchen with the chew in her mouth!  She didn't let this thing outta her mouth never mind out of her sight!  I laughed so hard at her entering the kitchen with this thing shoved in her mouth, butt wiggling in delight!

She chewed a couple hours in the morning before we took it away from her.  OK, so we traded her for a lousy cookie and she wasn't thrilled.  But because it's made of milk and I'm keeping her off all dairy, I wanted to make sure she didn't have any issues with it.  After a delicious Turkey dinner (a roasted turkey, candied sweet potatoes, green beans, and stuffing) and a trip outside, she got her beloved chew back.  She chewed for another couple hours before we took it away for the night.  I've trying to get her weight back up from her last 'bout of sickness and I think between the chew and all the yummy food she got yesterday we're well on our way...she kinda looked like a stuffed pig last night.  All she needed was an apple in her mouth and she would have been set : )

She currently has it this morning again and has about a 1/3 of it left still.  Not bad after at least 5+ hours of chewing!  I know she'll go back to the Antler when the chew is gone and then she'll love the bull sticks that are still waiting in her stocking....  oh to be a well loved dog...

Miss Snuggly

The day we came back from NY, Molly was all over us and wouldn't leave our sides.  Here is a picture of her snuggling with Nick.  She really is quite the sweetie. 

Bathing her more frequently in the neem oil seems to really be helping her coat and yeast issue.  Slowly but surely we're making progress.

Her Christmas gifts came this afternoon.  I need to wrap them and put them in her stocking.  I'm pretty sure she's going to love them : )

A Christmas Gift for Me....

So my amazing husband knew I wanted a portrait of the Little One. So this Christmas, he had one done! Stretchie's Vet up in NH is also an artist and she did this beautiful sketch for us!

Heather Berry is the artist and we're very pleased with her rendition of our munchkin.

Hey that's me!

Isn't she cute?

It's almost life size!

While we were up in MA, we were able to find a simple blue colonial style-ish frame that goes beautifully with the matting. It's now hanging in our dining room quite nicely. I need to get a picture of the finished product-- or if you want to see, you should come on over for a visit, some desserts and games!

A New Christmas Coat

Kristin and Spencer, I mean Teddy and Elizabeth their cats, thought of Miss Tink this holiday season and bought her the cutest little wool coat. It's actually made from recycled wool so not only is it fashionable, it's earth friendly too!

Top view

side view

Flower detailing up close

Sitting pretty for the camera

This pictures aren't the most artsy, but you can see how cute the coat is in them! It fits Tink beautifully! Much thanks to the the Bittner crew from Tinker!

Christmas Cookies & Collar

Tink's Gram was kind enough to think of her this Christmas and bought some yummy Natural Balance sweet potato and fish treats and a pretty new collar! Here she is showing them off!

mmm, when can I open the bag, Mom?

Sigh, I hate waiting!

Close up of the collar-- The flowers in the middle are reflective making the flash not an option! It looks very nice on Miss Tink, if we do say so ourselves!

Bark! The Hairy Angels Sing

Interesting song found in Readers Digest

By: Lanore Skenazy
To the tune: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

"Bark!" the Labradoodles sing.
"Look at us, the latest thing.
Curly hair and tempers mild
Big and small dog reconciled."
"Don't forget us!" call the puggles.
Sharkies yap, "We're best for snuggles."
"Wait a sec!" the mutts proclaim
"Neath our fur, we're all the same.
Hark! Tho' wondrous breeds abound,
Don't forsake the local pound."


Tink's tip of a lifetime:
Save a life~ adopt a pet from your local humane league or breed specific rescue. A little love, trust, and family go a long way!

Christmas Pictures

Courtesy of Twyla, we have some Christmas pictures. We started at Zach and Liz's last Saturday for some family time.

Tink opening her gift--Dogswell happy hips---yum!!

Snuggling

My little book rest. I received a reproduction copy of the 1926
"The Boston Terrier" by E.J. Rousuck---I'm so excited! (Tink
obviously did not share my enthusiasm)

Nick in all his Eagle glory

Cute baby Owen!

all snuggled up and warm--do not disturb!

Christmas afternoon we were over at Granny and Papa's house for another Christmas rendition.

Tink over looking the gift opening process

Taking a nap with Josiah

Tink received homemade gifts from us this year--- 2 new coats, a crate cover, liver treats and a clean bill of health from the vet (ok so that one wasn't homemade, but still.) She had received so many gifts from friends and we are soooo grateful. We will post pictures of Cheri and Brandy's generous Christmas gift soon!

We're currently getting ready for the last Christmas expedition with the entire Rowe family on new years day. Then Tink is having a 5 day sleep over with her Gram, Pap and Maddie while Nick and I travel to Florida for my brothers and Katie's wedding--it's coming so soon!

Tink's Annual Vet Visit

Tink had her annual visit on Thursday morning-- The vet said she looks great. He's impressed with her overall health and thinks her weight is perfect at 15 lbs : ) The vet techs eat her up while we're there too. "she's so cute...look at her!"

One annoying thing is that we still can't get rid of these worms--supposedly round AND hook. This is surprising everyone. We're doing 2 more rounds of panacur to see if we can kick these buggers. If that doesn't work we'll have to see what our other options are.

I asked Dr. Haver about a grade 1 heart murmur that another vet this summer had mentioned her having. (A surprise vet visit shall we say : ) He said yes she did have one but it's not a big deal and not something that he wants me to stress over in any way.

Tink's a healthy little girl. She's been acting GREAT, eating everything, she has lots of energy and she is loving 5 days of vacation that we're all on!! We'll post more pictures of our Christmas adventures soon!

Oh Christmas Tree...

Tink helped set up the tree and hang the lights this holiday season.

She left the untangling to those with opposable thumbs

Busy supervising

ummm, do i look like da tree?

I still can't see them, i don't think they work, mum

I can smell the tree, it's behind me. You keep doing dis and I gonna pee on it!