Brilliant!

My aunt just sent me this link this morning - run, not walk, to see these - and vote for the worst album cover ever.

Here's one of my favorites:

The Power of Ice

Ah Ice. People were fascinated by its wondrous appeal when the idea of making ice became not magic but possibly, and now dogs too find the power of ice irresistible. Okay, well, at least OUR dog thinks it's great.

We're just happy because 1) ice is cheap and 2) it soothes Scupper's teething gums. and that means 1) he won't chew on the furniture and 2) chew on us.

Woohoo ice.

Week Two

So it was two weeks ago yesterday that this newest chapter of our lives began unexpectedly. At least with children you have 9 months of mental prep (not that, of course, children are any easier), but nonetheless, we are fairing well. Less sleep, but that's ok. We went to puppy training class yesterday (more for us than for him) and learned a good deal - the most important thing is that the trainer declared - wow! he's a smart one. You're going to have to work with him a lot because he's going to figure out all your games, so you'll have to keep coming up with new things so he doesn't get bored. Hmmm... Great. Not that having a smart dog is a bother, but we definitely have to work with him a bunch. We also learned that we can "train" him about the length of a "car commercial" (according to the trainer) so his little puppy attention span is about nil. However, we can do it lots of times a day, so we're going through puppy treats like nobody's business. He's good with "Sit" and getting better with "leave it" (which we really want him to learn since he tends to pick anything and everything up) and working on "down." He is also pretty good about responding to his name. Steve and I are still trying to take him on walks, but he's a fraidy-cat and barely gets around the block sometimes. Oh well. He'll get better. This afternoon we're taking him to play with a 3 yr old boy. Eek. We'll see how that one goes.

But for all of you who continue to check this - here are new pics:

I don't fit in my mom's lap as well as I used to...

A pic of the paws that are getting bigger...

Scupper helps Dad win at spades...

And a sneaky slideshow from Picasa that i just discovered which will make posting much easier!!

Scupper's First Bath

Oh dear. How traumatic. It's like 3 year olds who don't want to take baths anymore. But he'll be like this ALL THE TIME. ;) With all the digging and the dirt and the rolling, his white fur looked more gray and brown - but now he's shiny white and black again. He just wasn't too happy with us. Here he is before entrapment, trying desparately to run away.

So sad. Little skinny puppy had to get wet.
At least he doesn't smell like a dirty dog anymore. Just a dog.

Fascinated by stationary objects

This dog is cracking us up. He has now started to notice more of the world around him, and that includes barking at stationary objects. Yesterday, he finally realized there is a bird feeder on a limb in the tree in the yard. Bereft of birds at that particular moment, he still proceeded to bark at it, wondering what the hell it was.

last night, after a good night of track racing (steve moved up to the A's - a faster group that includes national and world champion riders - and he did very respectable - no major ass-whupping) - we were crashed on the couch zoning out to a bit of TV, checking the returns to make sure that Obama did some ass-whupping of his own on Hillary, and Scupper began barking at Steve's water bottle on the coffee table. Um. Okay. We were rather confused what he was all worked up about.

and this morning (b/c hey, things come in three's) he was startled and fascinated (and barked) at the unmoving ceiling fan. Hmmm.

I mean, he's a smart cookie, but the fact that he is scared? amazed? interested? annoyed? who knows? at stationary objects that he all of a sudden recognizes is just too ridiculous. We try not to laugh to make him embarrassed.

But it is a little funny, don't you think?

I'm bigger!

It's only been a week, but we're convinced the little dude is bigger. Scary, huh? Here's a recent shot of him being a goof ball.
Here's also what he looks like when we take him on a walk that is longer that he can handle. Oops. Who knew that down to the coffee shop and back would be so exhausting?

A good spot

His favorite morning spot. Wish that I could sleep that well all the time. The dude is getting more naps than me at this point and god, do i need them.

Meet Scupper!

HI! My name is Scupper and I'm an 8 week old Shepherd mutt that Steve and Aimee picked up from a shelter on Sunday in a fit of delirium. Since then, I have peed on all the rugs in the house, kept Aimee from sleeping for two nights in a row, and the best part - made Steve and Aimee cry because I'm so cute and lovable. Right now, I'm actually passed out on Aimee's legs and she's typing away at the kitchen table trying to work on her dissertation. At least I'm keeping her warm on this May Gray kind of day.

I look forward to meeting each of you over the next 12-15 years! ;)

I love this laundry bin upturned on its side. It might be ghetto, but it's a great den for me.

As you can see, my new mom is a little sleepy. Well, hey, wouldn't anyone be at 6:15am?
Oh wait - not me!!