Christmas this year was good, but it is good to be home. We all relax better when we're home, though we did enjoy seeing our family. Santa brought Alyssa a "puppy" as she calls her, but it is actually a 1 year old dog who weighs about 50 lbs. Holly is a good dog, and she has made herself right at home here in Texas. And, we are learning about her as well. For instance, she will jump up and bark at you when she wants to go out and play, but she just stands by the backdoor when she wants to potty or bask in the sunshine. She LOVES the couches and prefers the ends. She does like to play with dog toys, but she prefers to shop for them on her own. For example, she found a pink plastic watering can in the backyard, and she claimed it for her very own. She runs all over the back yard with it and has a grand time. She also found a hand-me-down slipper in Alyssa's room that she never wears, and she has adopted that as her chew toy for inside. She loves both her new toys, and she never touches the dog toy that was purchased for her - go figure!
We've also changed our television habits since Holly has joined our home. We've found a show called, "It's Me or the Dog," and it is one of our favorites now. It's all about training dogs to be part of the family so everyone, including the dog, gets along. Sleeping is getting better. Holly sleeps with the kids, but it's harder for them to get to sleep. So, we will probably put the kids down first, let them get to sleep, and then let Holly go in when we go to bed. That worked better last night. She spent her first night in her crate because she seemed to like it better - she wouldn't sleep anywhere else - maybe she just needed something familiar. Holly definitely prefers Richard to anyone else. He's her main person, and the top dog of the family, I suppose. She does like to play with the kids, but she did scratch Alyssa in the face for no reason. She's got to learn to calm down a bit around Alyssa, but we're working on it.
The kids have been enjoying their gifts. We're trying to bring them out in stages so they can appreciate each one fully and really play with it before something else distracts them. So far, so good with that. We had a great time with my family yesterday, although it took forever to get to see them. Jonathan and Alyssa both had the throwing up stomach virus, so we had to wait until everyone was well for a full 24 hours before we could see my mom or my nieces. We wouldn't want to give them any Christmas germs! My mom gave everyone in the family hats with lights on them - from L.L. Bean. We can use them to go on walks when camping, or just to read in the car at night, I guess. They were funny - especially Tracy and Richard!
Richard's birthday was low key, but nice. We had pizza and wings (which I picked up since everyone had been sick), a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake (chocolate with choc. chip cookie dough), and cards/gift/video game time. It was a nice day, and we all relaxed. The kids had fun reminding him all day that he was 35!
Rich and I have been planning some things to do to the house, so we'll keep you posted as we get things done. Our first task is to declutter and purge all the junk. I've been cleaning all morning and sorting out all the holiday clutter as a starting point. I got almost all of it finished, but I need to get up now and get the rest done. So, I'll leave you with some photos. Enjoy!
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