The Grovester

"Shedding" from our neighbor's palm tree after a recent rainstorm.

My friend Amanda recently mentioned she hasn't seen any pics of Grover on the blog lately, and this is why.

Hey look Mom, instant playtoy!

The furry monster is constantly playing, jumping, running, hopping... pretty much a blur in our household.

One of the many reasons why I mistakenly call him Lola.

Like, ALL. THE. TIME.

Visitors Galore

We continue to have visitors in and out of the house! Grover has found a new resting spot to keep an eye on the gaggle of humans invading his space ;-)


Friday, my Aunt Pammie drove down for a quick visit with me, the two boys (I kept Logan home from school), and my parents. We didn't take any pics or even hang out at the house - just grabbed lunch at a nearby delicious new spot my parents found, and caught up on family gossip. Still, it was great to see her and have her spend time with (mostly Logan) the kids! :)

After our visit, I headed back to the house for nap time. It was a FIGHT to get Logan down for a nap, but he finally succumbed, thank goodness. I then spent the afternoon hanging out with Callum and visiting with neighbors, enjoying the gorgeous weather on our front porch.

That evening the Children's Discovery Museum had a special "Members' Only Night" to showcase two new exhibits of theirs: Bob the Builder - Project: Build It and Run! Jump! Fly! Adventures in Action. We invited my parents along to check it out and Logan absolutely LOVED it. We're going to have to return because these two exhibits were really up his alley. :)

Mix and match the tools!

"Watering" the plants with Zafu

Zabuton (with Callum), Daddy and Zafu looking on at all the craziness and fun (the place was PACKED!)....

Callum can't wait for his day to get in on all the action.

Practicing Downward Facing Dog.

Getting ready for the next boarding season! ;-)

Exploring out on the lawn in front of the museum.

Balancing and walking with Zabuton (I love this shot!).

BOO! He was playing a hide and seek game with me and my father (notice way down at the other end). He'd hide on one side of this wall and then peek out at the other end. I caught him here by surprise. :)

Grover's Den

There are two main spots you'll find Grover hanging out, or rather, hiding.

One is under Logan's toy train table. It's perfect for evading screaming growling toddlers while at the same time, being near Mama who's working at her computer (we've moved my computer hutch to the main living room to make room in the office for Callum's crib).


The second is under the bed (mostly our bed, although he's been known to hide under Logan's bed as well, when I'm in the room changing one of the boys).

These pics were actually taken a couple of days after we got him, so it's clearly been a favorite since the beginning. We keep thinking one of these days he's going to discover he's too big to fit under and get stuck, but so far that hasn't happened. Instead, he DIVES under there for cover, the minute he knows he's in trouble (like when Mama discovers he's chewed up one of Logan's dinosaur toys that she. just. bought. goddamnit.) or when he knows we're all going out and need to lock him up in his crate for a few hours (which he hates, not as bad as day one, but still doesn't like).


This hiding spot can be particularly frustrating since it's very hard to grab him when he's smack in the middle underneath our bed (especially when I was big and pregnant!).

What's interesting is that Logan has observed this frustration of mine/ours, to the point that he will now (also) crawl under our bed if he wants to hide from Mama.

He's not as stealth as Grover, since he usually giggles and laughs and yells out "I'm hiding! You can't see me!" or "Mommy, I'm stuck!" but the point is, when it's an hour past Logan's bedtime and we still need to change him into pj's and get him to bed, and Callum is crying attached to my hip, and I haven't yet eaten dinner and am just a tad bit tired, it's a VERY frustrating hiding place indeed.

Which means, there are nights where I may or may not have been known to drag my son out from under our bed by an ankle or two.

Growling

Logan is in love with growling at everything (and usually at poor Grover). Here he is, demonstrating his growling prowess, between bites of cheese. ;-)

Right at home

Grover's doing great, in case anyone was wondering.

Spring has sprung!

We've had weird weather lately - freezing cold, then beautiful and sunny, then rainy, then not. It's just all over the board. But overall, I'd say Spring is finally here.

To prove it, here's a few pics I took while out walking around the neighborhood with Grover this morning. Aren't the blooms just gorgeous?! (this first one is my favorite and what got me started with the snapshots on the rest of the walk)


Okay so I cheated with these last three, they're from our backyard, but still! this is what Grover and I have been admiring every day this week! :)


When I'm not on conference calls or answering emails or training Grover or running errands or out on walks enjoying the gorgeous weather, I'm also knocking off items from the "GET READY FOR THE BABY" list, slowly but surely.

Today's action item? Pull out the baby clothes and organize them in the dresser. I had forgotten how TINY infant clothes are!! I seriously mistook a couple pairs of jeans, for SHORTS. Whoops. :)

Tuckered out

Grover pretty much stays put at my feet all day long. Here he's sleeping off a really tough walk earlier today, since I've started on some training exercises while we're out. ;-) He's actually catching on quickly!

He's also warmed up to our house, our other animals and our family which is nice. Every once in awhile, he leaves his comfy spot to chase the cats or a ball. After ~3 minutes he returns to his nap again. It's a rough life.

The newest member of our family

A few days after we put Lola down, Jon broached the subject I had been avoiding but that we've talked on and off about for the past year. He said we should seriously consider whether we want another puppy or not - and if we do, he wanted to make sure I was ready to take one in so soon after Lola's passing.

Because I'll be at home for the next 6 months and able to crate/potty train a puppy while I'm home, we needed to decide pretty quickly about what we wanted to do. If we didn't take another puppy in now, we'd probably need to wait a few years before adopting another dog into the family (especially while Jon continues to work up in the city).

So while ideally I probably would have preferred to wait awhile longer before bringing another spastic dog into the house, logistically it just makes sense since I'll be home.

The house is also very different with Lola gone - much more quiet and less "hectic" (if that's possible with a 2 year old?!) and it reminds me of her absence. So yeah, there is that.

Odin has also been showing more signs lately of missing his little sister. The one who keeps to himself and is very aloof, has started to sleep in Lola's old bed in our bedroom every night and runs up for love and attention when I sit on the toilet every morning (just like Lola used to do). I think in his own special way, he misses Lola like we do. So yeah, there's that too.

It was too soon for me to agree to taking in a new puppy. However, my PM brain got to thinking and I decided we better at least start looking. I knew it would take some time to hunt down a breeder we liked and trusted, hope they were expecting a litter that meshed with my maternity leave dates and then sign up and reserve a spot to bring a pup home. I figured by the time all that was laid out, it'd also buy me some time to think more on the decision, which was a big one.

I gave Jon the green light - and off he went. A man on a mission. And within a day or two, he had a few different breeders and potential litters that would work for us.

YIKES!

I got nervous.

And then I looked at the puppy pics and my heart melted. DAMN! ;-)

We narrowed it down to two different puppies that were both still available and met the requirements we were looking for. Jon talked to both breeders extensively on the phone and set up a meeting with the first one since they weren't too far away (located in the East Bay, the other breeder was in Sacramento).

Last week we took some time off work to visit the breeder, get to know her, the pup's parents and of course, the puppy himself. He immediately came bounding to the door when she greeted us, and had no problem laying all over me as we talked with the breeder for over an hour. I had been unsure about getting another male dog (with another baby boy on the way, I feel like I'm quickly outnumbered with the testosterone in the house!) but it was clear right away that this pup was a Mama's Boy. And, really enjoyed both playing with his parents, and playing with us. Super laid back, adorable and lovey - just what we were looking for. :)

Our first meeting, he snuggled right up onto my leg.

Jon and I talked the entire ride over and back from the breeder's - and that night sent her a payment to hold him for another week until we could pick him up.

Meet Grover, the newest member of our family.


I had left work early today to go pick him up, but Jon surprised me (and Logan), by going to pick him up instead, so that he was waiting with Grover when we got home. :) He's a beautiful dark red Australian Labradoodle, one of seven pups (an accidental breeding!) born Dec 4, 2009.


He's been pretty shy this evening, not quite sure what to make of his new surroundings. He and Odin seem to like each other fine, he's a bit scared of the cats (particularly Iz, who's about his size), and keeps his distance from the very loud and excited, happy-go-lucky Logan ("C'MEEEEERE GROVER!!!!"). He feels most safe around me or Jon and follows us around the house and lays at our feet. And he LOVES to lay next to me on the couch, immediately snuggling between the pillows as if he's lived here for ages. ;-)


While I continue to miss my Lola, I'm also looking forward to the change in dynamics that this little guy will bring to our family. Welcome to your new home Grover!