A tale of birthdays, dogs, wood and the Rock

Papa is away and Grand-maman's birthday is coming up!
What a surprise I got Monday when I came back from playing with Bella!
My grand-papa and grand-maman are in town. (I think they are moving in
and this makes maman happy because her house is all clean and she does
not have to make supper. It also makes me happy because then papa is not making chicken and pasta every night.)
I always get extra special attention when grand-papa and grand-maman are in town. I love it. Grand-papa is really funny and teaches me new
tricks that make maman cringe. It is really funny. He also protects me
from Belle who tends to follow me around a lot these days. I think it
has something to do with the fact that I am usually carrying an apple or
other food. I know she thinks she is being a good dog by following me
so closely but really, she does get annoying at times. But do not
despair, I get my revenge.
Papa decided to go and visit the Rock. He tells us it is really foggy,
boring and that he misses us but I think he is still having a fun time.
Where was I? Yes, papa is away and Belle keeps following me around like
she is a dog. That is why I thought it would be really cool if I hit her
on the head with a piece of wood. Unfortunately, maman took the piece
of wood away and told me I could never do that again. And Belle did not
seem to learn her lesson and has kept on following me around the house.
She will never learn
Now the important news, it is grand-maman's birthday Saturday. I hear
(adults never really confirm these things with kids) we might go for
breakfast. I love breakfast, although it will not be the same without
papa. Maman has let me talk to him a couple of times on the telephone
while he is away but I don't really know what to say to him. It's not
like he can actually see the book I'm reading. And let's be honest,
what's the fun in reading a book when you can't see the pictures?
Well I hope everybody joins me in wishing grand-maman a very happy
birthday!

Can I have a pair of gills for Christmas? I'm a swimming maniac!

As faithful readers of the blog will remember, papa and I took swimming lessons together in the winter at the Fredericton YMCA. And truth be told, I am a much better swimmer than papa. So when the mercury was soaring north of 30 degrees this weekend, I thought I'd reward papa with a swim in grand-papa's pool. I also wanted to show everyone how great a swimmer I was, while at the same time I understood that I couldn't shine too much. Papa has a very fragile ego.

Although it was quite hot outside, grand-papa's pool was nice and cool. Grand-papa's pool is much different than the one at the Y. The other one is big, cold and in a huge echo-filled room. Grand-papa's is round and near lots of people who can watch your every move. I like his much better. On Saturday, the pool was at the perfect temperature, probably about 76 degrees. Any warmer and it feels like my bath and the last thing I want to think about is a bath when it is so nice outside. Papa and I swam around in circles, jumped up and down and flipped around on our stomachs and backs. Blowing bubbles in the water, however, has to be one of my favourite things to do. Has it become an Olympic sport yet? It must only be time, let's face it, ballroom dancing is now in the Olympics.

All Saturday afternoon, more people kept arriving. Grand-maman had invited everyone on the face of the planet over to visit. Ok, it was only her side of the family, but it felt like the entire world was coming over to see me. I met family members that I never knew I had, and of course, I had to try and be the centre of attention at every possible moment. When the water started to get cold, I remembered a good trick on how to keep warm, keep close to papa and let him get cold. It works like a charm every time.

Most of Saturday afternoon, poor Belle had to stay by the pool in the fenced-in area because there were so many people milling about with food at doggie-head level. But it was funny to watch her run around the edge of the pool trying to jump in and swim with me. She was able to get her head dunked a few times, but papa kept backing her up. He seems to think that grand-papa would not be very happy if one of her paws scratched the pool lining. I kept telling him that if he let me explain the situation to grand-papa it would be fine. Alas, he won. Let’s just say that was one of the very few victories maman and I let him have on the weekend, she and I make such a great team together.

What a weekend!

Papa assures me that photos will be posted soon. We went to Bouctouche on Friday afternoon, the first serious road trip in the new van. It was great. As soon as my eyes opened from my nap, they were opened again to the DVD playing. I got to see a ton of family from grand-maman's side. I also got to swim, we will have some fun photos uploaded soon. Or else papa is in trouble...

18 months old today

I turned 18 months today. This is my last significant age-related milestone before my new brother/sister arrives. It has been a wonderful 18 months. I've learned how to crawl, walk and run. I've learned how to mumble vowels and now speak words. I've mastered how to tug cat tails, pull dog fur and yank heart strings. I can smile at things that make me laugh and tell people when I'm not laughing. Maman has clued into my signs, papa, well he's still trying. I can blow kisses and receive kisses, I give hugs and take them. I try not to complicate life, I'll save that for my teenage years. After 18 months, I'm content with a frog pool, sand box, a loving maman and papa with a three silly pets.

You've got to be kidding me

Every so often papa realizes he's getting low on blog pictures, so he starts asking me to look cute with a certain outfit, or kick a ball or pull a cat's tail (ok that isn't him as much as me just wanting to have fun at Gribouille's expense). Sunday was another one of those days. I was alone minding my own business when papa walked by, the next thing I knew, he was back, armed with the video camera, handing me a fluffy bunny and telling me to look at the lens. I humoured him for about 16 seconds, about 15 seconds longer maman would have lasted and 14 seconds longer than the rules of politeness dictate. So I did what anyone would expect, I invoked my favourite new word: No! You have to give him credit, he's persistent but to eye-rolling excess.

It went thatta way, seriously

So there I was swimming in my little frog pool on the weekend and you wouldn't believe all the excitment. With no advance warning, a plane few overhead. Before I had a chance to push Belle aside and clamour over the side of the pool, the plane had disappeared over the trees. The nerve of that plane, it wouldn't come back no matter how much I pleaded.
Somewhat dispirited over the missing plane, I decided to cover my feet in sand and then start secretly pouring sand over the side of my box (that drives Papa bonkers). Wouldn't you just know it, once I was safely buried in sand, a little bird flew by the porch and rested on the shed. By the time I stood up and ran over to see my winged friend, it had flown away. What is it with these birds, real and mechanized, they don't want to hang out with me. Pity.

It's Friday

The weekend is only a few hours a way and I'm totally looking forward to all the adventures that are awaiting me. A few weekends ago, I had the chance to go to the beach and last weekend we went to the pool at our local park. I'm not sure what maman and papa have planned for this weekend but I'm hoping it is just as much fun.
Mary left a note asking that maman and papa get me a pony. I'm not sure anyone needs to be convinced, well except for Gribouille. He doesn't like the idea of any more additions to the family. Just wait until he sees my new brother or sister!

No one-trick pony

I'm not exactly sure what the origin of the "one-trick pony" phrase but I know I'm not it. I'm a young girl that can accomplish anything she sets her mind to and more. Grand-maman gave me this kitchenette last weekend when I went for a visit. I've only been playing with it for a few days and I'm learning new things all the time. For instance I can make believe that I'm cooking, already I have more culinary talent than papa. I know that's not a huge stretch, but he's quite a bit older than I.

You think that is special? Well, have I told you about my musical prowess? I have long mastered the piano, thanks to maman's wonderful teaching. So I've decided to broaden my horizons and I'm now learning to play my multi-coloured xylophone. This instrument is fun because not only can I bang it with my hands, I can tap the bars with a plastic mallet. This has given me hours of entertainment. Although papa keeps trying to play it and I don't have the heart to tell him that he has no musical skills. Perhaps someone else can break it to him. But please, do it gently, he has a big, fragile ego

And lastly, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with these bright orange cones but papa says he uses them when he trains Belle so I figure they must be toys. Putting them on my head and running around seems like a pretty cool thing to do now, although if this is their intended use, I'm not how Belle pulls it off. She is a pretty smart dog, so it wouldn't surprise me if she figured it out.

My new toy

Look what I got to drive home in last night, it's my new toy! Maman and papa decided it was time to grow up so they bought a 2006 Saturn Relay. It will fit seven people and Belle ... apparently we can fit Gribouille and Toulouse in the toy box. (I'm trying to get maman to forget that because after the last few nights, I think she may send Toulouse permanently to the toy box!) The new vehicle has a DVD player, air conditioning and big comfy seats. Papa has promised me that we will update the blog with a more personalized picture soon.

Belle back from the groomer

(The following is a rough translation from what Belle told me to blog last night.)
Look at me, look at me! I just got back from the groomer’s, look at me, I’m so pretty. Have you ever seen a dog with such a cute haircut? The nice lady who cut my hair gave me this pretty pink bandana that I have somehow not chewed off. I’m so excited, I think I need to jump on Toulouse and show him up close how great my new coiffure is, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. Ooo, ooo, I need to chase my tail for a second, it’s nice and feathered and not blindly clipped like after my last trip to another groomer. Hey, there’s Elle with a cookie, I could eat the cookie. My paws, my paws are finally respectable again and my nails are clipped so I can sneak up on Gribouille in a far more stealth-like manner. Before I might as well have worn a cow bell with how loud I was running up and down the hallway. Can someone scratch me behind my ears, all the annoying hair clusters are gone. I’m such a happy dog right now!

My first trip to the beach!

This is maman and I as we get ready to visit the beach for the very first time. Here we are in the parking lot and at this point I had really no clue what was going on because the day had been rather uneventful up until that point. For the last week or so, maman and papa kept talking about going to the beach and my only experience with sand was in my little box and I had no idea how you would mix sand and water together. Wow, was I in for a big surprise.

One of the cool things about our trip to the beach was the kilometres and kilometres of boardwalk. Arriving at the front gate, I must admit I was still rather confused about what was going on but I was excited about the new experience awaiting me. Maman was carrying me so I knew I was safe, but there were no cars, there were no toys, there were no people waiting for me. All I could see was a lot of blue sky and I could hear the soft crash of the waves in the distance.

The Bouctouche Dune is located on a breathtaking piece of real estate not far from grand-maman and grand-papa's house. When it is sunny and clear, like it was on Monday, you can see Prince Edward Island from the beach. So when we started walking down the sandy trail, I was starting to get really excited because I knew in a few moments I would be playing in the biggest sandbox of my life, not to mention get close to real water, not some overly chlorinated version at the YMCA.

Being too cautious has never hurt anyone. The waves were getting closer to my feet and I was beginning to reconsider my newfound appreciation for the sea. The ocean is a lot colder than my bath and the sand was starting to sink around my feet. Good thing I had maman and papa next to me because I was suddenly swept over by a paralyzing fear of movement. All I wanted was to be held by maman. I love maman. Slowly, I started regaining my confidence.

One step. My foot sinks in the sand. Two steps. Uh-oh, I'm losing my balance a bit because these nerves combined with the uneven curves in the sand are not a great combination. Three, four, five steps, now I'm growing a bit more curious as to what happens if you put your foot in the water. This is getting a lot more fun.

Ok, perhaps I spoke a bit too soon. Did I mention how cold the ocean is? I mean, can someone adjust the temperature? Papa has a little duck that tells him when my bath is too cold, perhaps he can lend it to the person responsible for global ocean temperatures. I sat on maman's knee as the waves kept coming in. The small ones were ok, but the bigger they got, the more they spooked me. I'm not afraid to say that for a few moments, I was not enjoying myself. Maman and papa kept assuring me that everything was going to be fine, so I hung in there and gained more confidence.
Papa said he has a gazillion more photos to share with everyone, so there will be more blog updates in the next few days.

Come and get me

So you want to play in my chair? Well if that's the case, you better remove me because my grand-papa hand-crafted this chair for me and there is no way I'm giving up easily. You think I'm joking, does this tongue look like it is not 100 per cent serious?

The elusive Elle

Can you see me? I bet you can’t find me! I love playing in my new tent. Can you believe Papa bought it for $2 at a yard sale?! I love yard sales almost as much as I now love exclamation points! Pretty soon I could write editorials for the Times & Transcript!
If you can’t find me for the next few hours it’s because either I’ve gone to bed or Papa and I are writing new blog entries. I had a wonderful Canada Day long weekend and a ton of new photos to pass along.