Another New Tooth

Dax finally got another tooth. He's had 3 on the bottom front for a while, now, and just yesterday the 4th one came in. The last one popped up to full size pretty quickly, hopefully this one will do the same. Then he'll have 4 on top, 4 on bottom and all 4 molars. He's just missing the canines I guess. It's amazing how different he looks with the teeth, I think it'll be weird when he has his full set. He'll look like a little boy, not a toddler. Oh, they grow so quickly.

Trinity Graduates!

I have been taking Trinity to Level 1 Obedience Class for the past 2 months. I was doing it not for the sit/stay stuff, but because I thought it would be good practice for her to learn to focus on me, even when other dogs are around. The class was great and we really enjoyed the other families and dogs (although always from a distance). Last night was graduation. Trinity and Ace (a pug/beagle mix) had a friendly competition for Top Dog. They are both very food motivated, so getting them to do stuff for treats was pretty easy. T won the "down/stay" competition, but Ace won the "puppy pushups" (sit/down/sit/down), but I didn't have my treat ready, so I think she could have won that one, too. T also had the best "come" (I could go all the way across the field and she'd come flying like a rocket). All in all, Trinity did great at class and I really do think she was the best one. :) To celebrate her graduation, after class I ran an errand at the very swanky Domain shopping center, and I took her with me. She walked calmly down the sidewalks with me, and she even went in a couple of the stores with me. I was very proud of her. She got some extra kibble for dinner when we got home. I'm looking forward to taking her out and about more often to keep her in practice.

Santa with Payton

Today we met Aunt Hollie and Payton at the mall so we could see Santa together. Even after waiting over an hour (Santa took his lunch break in there), the kids were still in good moods. While we were waiting in line, Dax caught a glimpse of Santa and recognized him right away. He got big-eyed, pointed at Santa, and said, "DahDah", which I'm sure was supposed to be "Santa". When it was our turn, the kids were trying to figure out what was going on, but Dax crawled right up. He even waved bye-bye and blew Santa a kiss. I can only image how excited he'll be when he eventually figures out that Santa brings gifts!

It's a Christmas Miracle!

We've been experiencing a Christmas miracle here for the past week. Dax has been sleeping for over 12 hours a night and not waking up until after 7:20. One morning he even slept until 7:50! This is a FAR cry from the 5:15am wake up of just a few months ago. It is truely a miracle and we are very thankful for this gift of sleep!

The other nice thing about when Dax wakes up is that he wants to cuddle. So, I get him out of the crib and we cuddle in the rocking chair. It's only a minute or two until he wakes up and starts talking/smiling/squirming, but it has become my favorite part of the day.

Snow and Tomatoes

It's crazy weather here. Yesterday was 81 degrees, but last night a strong cold front came through and brought sleet (with thunder!) and, believe it or not, SNOW! Of course, it was just a little bit, and it melted as soon as it hit the ground, but it was real snow and there was enough to accumulate on the roofs. The other thing I did yesterday was pick my tomatoes off the vine before they froze. Snow and tomatoes should not be in the same sentence. But, this is Texas!

Snow on our neighbor's house

My December Tomatoes

Ornament Playdate

Today we had a playdate with Kaylee and some of her friends. The mommies ate brunch, Dax ate crayons, and everyone made a Christmas ornament. We had a great time and hope to get together with our new friends again soon.

Dax loves Kaylee (she's just playing hard to get)

Hmmm, which sticker will really "complete" this ornament?

Christmas Tree Farm

We have started an annual tradition of cutting down our own Christmas tree. There is a tree farm about 30 minutes away and it's a lot of fun. Of course it brings back all sorts of wonderful memories of Grandpa Smith's Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania. Dax really enjoyed running up and down the rows of trees and weaving in and out. Maybe as much as he enjoyed the donkey(naturally!) and the goats at the petting zoo area. But only "maybe as much" - it was really funny when the goats licked his hands, and well, donkeys are really cool. And, Duane enjoyed the cutting this year, because he actually had a saw that was sharp.

The tree is now home and decorated. Only non-breakable ornaments this year. Dax likes to bat at the ornaments, so he's spent some time in time out, but he's getting better. It's just so hard to not play with all the shiny objects!

He's off to find the perfect tree


So, a sharp saw makes a difference, huh, Daddy?


Daddy's little helper


Dax loved feeding the goats - they were very gentle and tickled his hands with their tongues