Hello Again

We have been after Mom to post again. She has so many excuses. Mostly I think she just enjoys playing with us too much to bother with her frustrations with her technology challenges.

She was sure she'd be posting constantly about all of Annie's adorable cuteness, but instead selfishly has been keeping it all to herself.

Truly it has been amazing watching the bond grow between Annie and Katy. Even in the summer heat prior to the A/C's being installed they rarely were napping without being in touching distance of one another. Now with the cool air flowing they are back to snuggling. I have no idea if this is a Sheltie trait, but Katy and Bailey were smugglers and I wasn't sure how things would work out with Annie and Katy. Annie wanted Katy's attention, but Katy wasn't too sure at the beginning. While this picture show's Annie's paw on Katy's behind it has generally been Katy getting them to settle down together.

They are hard at work on their critter flushing and after some adjustment have developed techniques for working together which are rather interesting to watch. Annie is faster than Katy, but Katy is more fearless, so the two work hard to rid the yard of bunnies, squirrels, and other critters. Lately they've been falling short on the garter snakes much to my dismay. Katy was keeping them away from me, but she's been distracted with keeping an eye on Annie's finds as of late and I've encountered three snakes recently. Could be same snake over three days, but just as freaky each day.

Friday Flowers: Crocus

While Mom hasn't been posting it doesn't mean she hasn't been taking pictures. She captured these pics at the end of March and the beginning of April as the Crocus and these mini daffodils were coming out in the cold weather. The crocus actually were peaking out when we still had snow on the ground. We hunted these down and told Mom they were out.

Birthday Treats

Doggie bakery cookies have become a tradition in our house to celebrate special occasions. Annie is still getting used to the tradition. Katy knows that these cookies come on special days and will sit and wait for them to appear. Annie still has that wow what happened when they come out.

Annie has different tastes than the other two Shelties and we've struggled to find the right match in toys. She isn't much interested in balls or throwing toys. They seem to scare her a bit. Her favorite toy seems to be a trash bag or other bag being shaken out before being placed in a trash can. (Don't ask we have no idea why. She just enjoys attacking it.) We stumbled upon Nyla Bones as an option. However, Annie is particular about what kind. She loves the round ones, but won't even look at the ones shaped like bones. While looking for birthday toys I stumbled upon the teething rings and wondered how Annie would do with those. Let's just say one key is almost gone this morning. It clearly was a hit. Lucky for Annie, Katy has no interest in Nyla, so there is no competition for her toys. Katy will sniff them and then realizing they aren't "real" bones she wanders off.

Happy 3rd Birthday Annie

Katy here. Do to computer issues and Mom just not getting organized we've been away for a while. Mom is still working on getting all the new computer stuff worked out, but there was no way we weren't going to post a celebration of Annie's first birthday with us.

Annie's nickname is Little Bit as she is the smallest of all the three Shelties who have lived with Mom and Dad and she will answer to her name and her nick name. I prefer my Princess Katy title. I wasn't sure what having another girl in the house was going to be like, but Annie has grown on me. She's a great snuggler and she doesn't steal my toys. It has been helpful having someone else to watch over Mom and Dad. She can even tolerate sleepig in bed with them. That's something neither Bailey or I could ever do.

We have many more stories to share. Mom is still working out her challenges with loading pictures to the computer, but she's getting there.

Happy Birthday Annie. Don't be surprised if Mom goes over the top a bit. Birthdays are a big deal for her.

Merry Christmas

We wish all of our Blogvile friends a merry, happy, healthy, and safe Christmas. Hope Santa was good to all of you.

Christmas Card Wreath

Our first wreath is filled and our second wreath is filling up. We don't have a card count, but Mom and Dad have had a slight increase in cards this year. Clearly Blogville has them beat, but Mom is pleased her card count is up as well.

This is one of Mom's favorite Christmas decorations every year. It is familiar but different every year based on what people send. It also makes her smile as she looks at it during the season.

Santa, I'm Sorry

Ernie I really need your help. Mom says eating her snow boots has me on Santa's naughty list. I need a lawyer to get me off. Leather L.L. Bean boot tops/bully sticks it really is hard to tell the difference. We met Santa and he seems like such a nice guy. I just can't risk being on his bad list. I really need your help Ernie. I know you can win this case.

Annie and Thomas the Tank Engine

Katy here. Recently Annie had her first experience playing with Thomas the Tank Engine. I had to explain to her why small humans are so fascinated with these big wooden tracks and the little trains that travel on them. I also had to explain it is a banning offense to try to chew on the tracks and thankfully she didn't even attempt to use any of the tracks as chew toys or she'd have been banned from Thomas time for life.

After you've overcome not chewing on the wood, the next step is to realize your only job is the safety of your kid. The trains must fend for themselves. You are not to panic if Thomas and Percy have a crash up. This is not a Sheltie problem to resolve. They've survived far worse and likely will continue to pursue even more amazing crash ups in the future. While you may find this disturbing you should not attempt to stop this behavior. Percy and Thomas are built to handle this kind of behavior. Interference is also a banning offense.

Lastly you may be tempted to try using your nose to move the trains yourself. This is handled on a case by case basis. Sometimes little humans are cool with this. Other times this could result in a Sheltie time out.

While I am now a master of Thomas play, Annie did well on her first outing. She did not interfere with any play and showed appropriate interest in the boy's toys without any negative interactions. She will be welcomed back for another session of Thomas play.

Throwback Thursday: Turkey Cookies

We wanted Mom to post these after Thanksgiving, but once again Mom never got to do it. However we wanted to preserve this memory. Every year Mom sends Dog Dad to the store to find us Thanksgiving cookies so we can participate in the holiday celebration. Sadly Thanksgiving seems to be a very neglected holiday in the dog world. There are very few toys and until this year, we'd never gotten a holiday specific cookie.

This year Dog Dad surprised Mom with Turkey cookies. It seems someone is as crazy about the holiday as Mom and we got to have our turkey's while everyone else was having pie.

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Greetings

Christmas Cards are on the Way

Despite snow and icy roads Dog Dad got to the post office and mailed out all our Christmas cards yesterday, so they should be coming to Blogville houses soon.

Turns out it is a good thing that same day service really means same day service at the photo department. We pushed Mom really hard to work through all the card lists in one day. That is something of of a record. She normally does the cards over a couple of days.

We hope you are enjoying your Christmas preparations. We are doing our best to keep everyone safe as they keep moving stuff around to put up decorations.

Putting out the Outdoor Decorations

Mom has been slow getting our pictures up we had hoped to post this last week. We spent an afternoon helping Dog Dad trim the Holly bushes and supervising Mom getting all the outdoor decorations out.

You really have to watch these elves, they can get into all kinds of mischief.

Christmas Card Wreath

Christmas Cards began arriving right after Thanksgiving and Mom and Dad brought out the wreath holders to organize our paper cards. We've been getting e-cards, too. Along with sending and receiving cards from family and friends, Mom participates in 2 online card exchanges every year and she loves watching the card wreaths take shape. We want to thank all our Blogville friends for taking the time to remember us at this very busy season and tell all of you that no matter what kind of cards you send we read and appreciate all of them.

We mention this because we got a disturbing email from someone who perhaps thought they were trying to help, but was kind of insulting. We send paper cards to all the people on both our card exchanges that live in the US. We just got our picture taken for our Christmas card on Saturday, so don't be surprised that you haven't received our card yet. We did send out e-cards, though. Only our Blogville list has residents outside the US and we send e-cards to those on that list. We use e-cards instead of scanning our Christmas cards or creating picture cards to attach to our emails. It is our choice and our preference. I've gotten both over the years and understand everyone chooses what works for them. We received an email from someone upset that they couldn't print our card and therefore had taken a picture from our Blog and created their own Christmas card from us so they could print it and display it I guess. Then they sent me a copy of the card so I could use it.

Well, clearly they thought they were trying to be helpful and I am trying to respect that. However, if I'd wanted to send a picture card, I could have done that. I didn't choose to do that. We don't print our e-cards, it is just too crazy this time of year to get to more than just reading them. However, we do enjoy the various types cards we get every year. The cards have ranged from hand made works of art to very simple cards and each is a sign that someone remembered us and thought to send us a card. As far as e-cards go we also get a variety from funny or sentimental e-cards to picture post cards and again all are welcome and appreciated. Each person does what he/she can.

The Blogville community is a very special one. However, all successful communities are based on people being considerate and thoughtful of one another. The Christmas Card Exchange is a gift we give to each other and we all participate in the best way we can. The simple reaction to a gift is thank you, not you didn't give me what I wanted in the format I wanted. These are the kinds of reactions that do eat away at the goodwill of a community.

So we end this on a positive note by thanking all of you for all the cards you send each year. We love seeing our Christmas wreaths fill up each year with cards people send. We also are grateful for those who remember us by email as well. There are many people who feel lost and left alone at Christmas. It is an amazing gift we give each other just in remembering and reaching out in what ever format that takes.