Mischief Monday - Invasion of Rugrats - by Lee

It was a crazy weekend at our house. For about 24 hours we had 2 human children here. Our human cousins, Maggie (aged 5) and Troy (aged 3). Having kids over is exhausting.

I use to be very, very afraid of kids would and I would bark for hours if one was in my house. But as I mellow or get use to them or the drugs work, I am far more tolerant. The kids will say I bark all the time, but I hardly barked at all. I barked like 3 times. Now the kids on the other hand, they were fearful of us. They have cats. They don't spend a lot of time with big dogs. They do not like barking. It makes them cry. Which may at times result in more barking.

Also, Uncle Chris and cousin Emma came over for most of the time, so it was a full house. Lady says she meant to get more pictures, but it was just too busy. She says kids keep you very busy, especially when you are not use to them.

Phod enjoyed watching them dance to the TV. Earlier in the day, I enjoyed sharing popcorn with them.

Because Uncle Chris was also over, the kids slept on a mattress in my room. There is no photographic evidence, but I did sleep in bed with them. Man noticed in the wee hours of the morning and woke up Lady to tell her. (She was thrilled about that . . . not!)

In the morning, the kids were afraid I was going to bark and thought my yawn was too loud. I only started to bark when they covered their years and whined. I thought they wanted to play. 

At any rate, I was an angel this weekend, and all the mischief was caused by the rug rats. I really want to love them more and I hope as they get a little older they will be less fearful of me.

The thrilled for once the mischief wasn't mine Hailey Bug

I Was So Good!

Aunt C said I was so good this weekend, the Lady should blog about it. Saturday morning, Aunt C and our human cousins (M aged 4 and T aged 2) arrived for a sleepover. When they first got here, I barked a lot. I mainly barked because I was so excited to see my Aunt C. I love my Aunt C. 

Then I was good and only barked a little when other people came and when Uncle Chris got home (he is back and Emma is gone), and when things like ravens were on my yard.  The kids were good and didn't upset me. 

I was a little nervous at night because of Canada Day there were SOOOOOOOOO many fireworks. I mostly just refused to go out and hid (we won't say anything about the accident I may have had cause I was too scared to go out, I blame Emma, she was still here at the time).

How I spent most of the weekend

Anyway, the kids did good and I did good and we had a fun time, in spite of it being hot, and the fact that the people went to the beach and we had to stay in the house . . . . 

I didn't even chew on any of the toys that were all over the floor! 

Hailey and the Kids

My sister and her kids, Troy aged 1 and Maggie aged 3, came and spent the weekend with us. I admit I was a little nervous given Hailey's general dislike for kids. Historically kids have been a big source of stress for her and she has barked a lot. Recently Maggie has decided she does not like dogs which I feared was going to make this even more complicated.

Hailey blew all our minds with how wonderful she was. Yes she barked when they first came in and a couple other times. But other than that, she was great.  When it was stormy and she was nervous, at one point she actually tired to herd Maggie to safety. 

We were able to capture some great Hailey moments.

Hailey and Emma happily accepted Fruit Loops from Troy (wouldn't normally encourage eating such things but thought it was a great way to help pair Troy with reinforcement). She was super gentle with him. (There were 3 adults there to make sure everyone stayed safe - My sister taking the picture, Uncle Chris above and just outside the picture behind the girls me). 

Hailey guarding Maggie as she learned to play pinball. 

Phod of course was wonderful too, as we expected. I realize I didn't capture any pictures of him. He was a little confused why Maggie would cry when he was near her, but he was gentle and respectful and really wanted her to be his friend. 

We were all thrilled with how well it went. Tomorrow I have a friend coming up with her kids, so let's hope this trend continues. 

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Happy 4th of July to all our American friends. May you have a safe and relaxing day.

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Happy Birthday Aunt C

And happy belated first birthday cousin Troy (it was May 6)!

The cake Aunt C made for Troy

Aunt C and Troy

When Emma Arrived

I was right in the middle of taking pictures of my niece and nephew on Saturday, when my brother-in-law (aka Uncle Chris) and Emma arrived for our holiday lunch. 

Poor Troy was sitting on the floor as the dogs zoomed around him. Fortunately they didn't knock him over.  He looks a little unsure about the chaos! (As a good aunt I kept taking pictures instead of scooping him up!)

Happy Mother's Day!

Today we send a special shout out to all the moms, grandmas, aunts, or any other loving female of 2 and 4 legged kids.

We also send a very special happy Mother's Day to our Aunt C, who gave birth to our new human cousin Troy Arthur, on Friday May 6 at 9:36 am. This is our cousin Maggie's little brother. (More about this tomorrow).

Troy and Aunt C