It's Beginning to Feel A Lot like Christmas!

Ace's First Snow Play! He saw snow for the first time just after Thanksgiving when I took him with me to stay with a friend a few hours North of the City. It was light snow though, and he only got to see it for a few minutes on the ground before it melted. 

This morning at home however, we woke up to find snow everywhere!!!

I think he is in his element....he just can't get enough!

Even though I was freeezing, I piled on 10 layers and took Ace and Sammy to the park before Work this morning. He didn't want to get into the car to leave he was having so much fun!

On a side note, I noticed lately that Ace's bum hairs have gotten so wild that "yucky stuff" gets stuck in the hair. I have to wash his butt constantly! (which of course he doesn't like)

With treats in one hand, and scissors in the other, I went scissor happy on his long hairs on his bum. Let's just say...I will probably never be hired as a dog groomer....

I will try and get a photo, it's pretty funny actually. 

Poor guy, shoulda seen his face when he looked over at the huge pile of hair on the floor. I think he was pretty upset with me. 

I'm going to do a touch up tomorrow...

How often do you usually bathe your fur baby? I usually have to bathe him once a week or once every 2 weeks. He gets SOOO smelly...I don't understand!

*I have been trying to measure Ace to see how tall he stands, but he ate my tape measure..., so I'm still trying to get on that*

Nom Nom Nom Apples :)

A Lovely Video of Ace Nomming on an Apple :) I always sharee <3

He Likes to Nibble them with his front teeth! hahaaha

Can it be?!?!

It Can Be!

Ace is back!

After some reserve about getting back into blogger, I finally broke down and have decided to come back! I have missed..Ace as well...all of our blogging friends! 

What fun is puppy/dog parenthood if you don't have great friends to share your adventures with!

After moving to NYC, there have been a lot of changes which have prevented me from staying in touch with blogger :( Now that I am much more settled I am thrilled to be back in touch!!

Ace was neutered 10 days ago! FINALLY! He is a whopping 36 pounds (Will he ever stop growing?!?! What happened to a MINI australian shepherd?!?!?!)  and NEVER stops running around! We go to the park everyday before I go to work :)

His big brother (my parents dog) Sammy is his bestest friend in the whole world...even though Sammy is more of a retired dog at 8 years old and would probably rather have his toenails yanked out than have Ace jumping on him all day, he takes it like a champ!

I feel like there is so much to catch up on! But for now, enjoy some adorable pics of Ace wearing his short lived, yet ADORABLE "Mama's Boy" Tee that my sister picked out for him!

The billowing chest hair really does it for him...

An Onslaught of Photos!

In catching up, I figured I would bombard you with pictures from our last few weeks!!

:) 

*The houses in the area have yards filled with vines, Ace is OBSESSED with laying in them*

*Swimming away at the park...*

*He really wanted to get to those geese*

*really...*

*Watching my younger sister on the swing*

*NOT sharing the bone..they both like to lay on my bed...*

*Model Pose*

*Ace & my cousins dog Coolio! She is about 7 I think*

*Spooning with Sam*

*Aw...SamSam...*

*Playing with Coolio*

Ace and Sam are best of friends and actually won't go on a walk unless the other is there...as we experienced this evening. They play with each other all day and I hope Ace will learn good behaviors from Sammy :)

Ace is SO loved here and gets attention all day long! The crating is hard for me because as soon as I put him in there and walk away....someone comes and lets him out for another play time or walk!

He never stops....

We took a great little drive over to New Jersey to visit some family and stayed the night! Ace played with my cousins dog, and they actually just got a new puppy! A little golden retriever names Layla! We can't wait to go over and meet her asap!

Oh, I also switched Aces food, since the food company we used in Canada doesn't deliver here in the USA as of yet. I came across Blue Buffalo...there "Raw" diet food. The one with the wolf on the front. It is a duck and other meat food with no grain or corn!

I wasn't sure if Ace would like it because he can be pretty picky...but he LOVES it!

I like that the ingredients are not a bunch of junk...I always worry about him.

Does anyone else use this food? 

There will be many more updates to go!

It sure is good to be back!

The finer things in Life....

Thats Sam the 8 year old golden...who's birthday is actually today, August 18th! He is 8 years old! and Ace...snuggled in next to him. They play all day, biting and pawing each other, by the end of the day, they are so worn out it's really cute :)

This picture and moments like this is why I love having a dog in my life (or dogs) haha 

:)

Awards! & Getting back in the groove :)

Ace and I want to thank everyone for their support and love during a not so fun time. We wanted to let everyone know we are doing really great though! Being with my family has been really wonderful for both of us. They are all very happy, upbeat people...so how could you not be having fun!

Ace is adjusting really well! He loves his new friend Sam (the golden), but things are still a work in progress with Ben (the cat)...Ben was a rescue...and we aren't sure what his past was like...but he tends to be on the mean side...haha I'm sure things will turn around!

I have a bunch of pics that I will upload tonight hopefully and try to get posting asap! They are soo cute! My cousins just got a new golden retriever puppy! So we hope to be visiting them soon in New Jersey!!

We want to thank our buds Roo & Scratch my Belly for the great awards!! I love it & I love the sense of community this blog brings us and the new friends we have made!

The rules are I have to write down 7 things about us!..hmm since there are 2 awards..I hope it's okay if I stick with just 7...and that will work for both!!! haha :)

Rules...

1. Ace will not, under any circumstance, sleep in the bed with me...I have tried many times now, and he will just NOT sleep, but the second I put him in the crate, he conks out like he's in a coma...I think he really enjoys the sense of being snuggly in his crate. He won't even nap outside his crate!
2. Ace eats a whole apple about 2 times a week. It's sooo funny to see him with the apple between his paws! (of course I take it away when he gets down to the rind)! I don't want an apple tree growing in his belly...haha!! It is definitely his favourite snack of all time!
3. Ace has never chewed a shoe! I know, how did I manage this!?!? He will however, grab my shoe...and bring it me, drop it in front of me, and whine. I think he does it to get my attention! Such a funny little guy!!
4. I don't know how we discovered this, but when Ace is acting crazy and needs some relaxation time....I put him on his back and scratch his inner thighs...he immediately goes calm and closes his eyes. Perfect solution for an unruly Ace! Which happens a dozen times a day!!!! haha
5. I wanted to name Ace,  Ackamaru, which means Red in Japanese. It is from the Japanese Anime Naruto and it's the dog in the shows name!! I thought it was SO cute and still do...but I couldn't imagine constantly saying that LONG name all the time...especially now with Ace....I say his name 36597563 times a day calling out for him!! haha
6. Ace has a very human like personality, it sometimes freaks me out!! haha. When it is time for bed, I say sleepy time, and whatever he is doing, he lays down and rolls over because every night I always rub his belly and give him a nice snuggle for about 10 minutes...then I have to lift him up and he burrows in my neck...then when I try to put him in his crate, he goes limp and makes it hard on me...yea, this happens every night, but I absolutely love it and I wouldn't make it easier or try to change it for anything in the world because it is "our" little ritual!
7. I have made up about 3 full songs all about Ace. I sing them to him and he jumps around and will dance with me. It might sound corny, but it's our "mommy & ace" time and I LOVE it :) It makes my day...and WEEK. Having Ace has brought so much joy to my life, I wouldn't change it for anything.

Big Changes!

Sorry we have been away for a while!! 

We ended up doing the big drive from North Carolina all the way to New York!!

I have many pictures of us sharing Sonic Drive-in and pics of Ace's new best friend Sam (my family's dog)!!

I will be sure to post everything this week!

We do have some sad news though that will be changing our lives for good.

Ace's daddy & I decided to split up after almost 3 wonderful years together. We had a wonderful time, but things didn't work out. It's sad, but I have to be strong to start over and make a new life for Ace and I.

I will be keeping Ace and for the time being, we are going to be staying with my dad and stepmother, 2 of my younger sisters, a golden retriever, and a cat!

I have already found a job, and soon I hope to establish myself and find Ace and I a little apartment for us to share :) It's a big move from Toronto to New York and still need to figure out moving all of my things here.

It's been a rough few weeks, but after a lot of stress, we decided it was best. Who knows what the future holds. If things are meant to be, they will come together, but in the meantime, I am going to focus myself on my new job and most importantly Ace!! I hope to find agility courses for him and he needs some serious practice on his training!

(He is being VERY rebellious)

Anyway, Just wanted to let everyone know we are still around, we have just been so busy trying to get adjusted. Here is a silly picture of Ace and I playing with my computer!

(Me making a ridiculously weird face and Ace trying to bite my chin)

He loves me...I swear...<3

This is War!!!

Flea is my Middle Name :P

So this is officially war! 

Little Booger Butt has SO many fleas! I called the Vet & discussed what to do. They mentioned a pill called Capstar.

So...50$ later and a long trek to Petco we got our paws on Capstar!

Capstar is a flea killing pill! You give you pup one pill and within 30 minutes the fleas start to fall off dead! I gave it to him and then he went in his crate...because...seriously I didn't need angry fleas jumping all over the house!

While Ace was in the crate, I sprayed the house and vacuumed! 

Then...when I got him out of his crate about 45 minutes later, there were SOOO many dead fleas in the crate! SO gross!! There were a few still clinging to life...but I killed them! Whew!

Ace then went right into the tub and got a wonderful Flea bath! WITH aloe vera! (for sensitive skin) Ace doesn't really have sensitive skin...he is used to getting bathed weekly (dirty little guy), but I figured the shampoo is probably already harsh enough...

It was pretty nasty....The fleas that did survive were frantic!! I got those little suckers though!! I gave Ace a nice foamy lather and massaged him for a good 5 minutes. When I rinsed, a bunch of dead fleas washed down the drain!! YUCK!

After the bath, to Ace's dismay I picked through his fur...even though he tried to bite me a bunch of times...I don't blame him though...I would bite too if I was infested with fleas....LOL

I found a few that were still alive, but for the most part, they were dead...just latched on! Eeek!

Ace is still itching a bit, but I haven't seen any for now....

I think his skin is just itchy from the bites!

He is due for reapplication of his monthly Revolution spot treatment on the first. I don't want to give it to him now because I feel like it might be TOO much for his body...I don't know how that works really. I like to follow the instructions on the box :)

With the capstar, I can give Ace a pill every 24 hours if they come back or...if they don't I will continue to give him the pills every couple of days to make sure to kill the newly hatched fleas!!

This has been a total nightmare and I am SO exhausted from cleaning everything. I had other plans for tonight, but forget-a-bout-it! I am already in bed watching re-runs of gosh knows what!

Little Ace-Chan sure is a lot of work!!! But I love my little peanut to pieces! 

I just hope we can rid ourselves of this flea issue!! At first I was SO grossed out and didn't want to touch them, but I felt SO bad for my little boy, I sucked it up!

He seems a lot happier now after his treatments :)

I'll make sure to keep everyone updated on our progress with the fleas!!

I really appreciated everyones advice on what to do!! It really helped!

OMG FLEAS!!!

YES! ACE GOT FLEAS!!!

So today, Ace was sitting on my bed while I was checking some email and I noticed he started scratching himself a lot, which he never does...and my heart sank and I thought...Noo......

Sure enough, I parted his thick fur and all these little black things are marching around!!!!!

SOOO GROSSS!!!

I literally grabbed him under my arm, ran to find my uncle (he has flea shampoos for his dog) and we bathed Ace outside with a flea shampoo!

You could see the fleas falling off...dead from the shampoo!!!

It was awful! I felt SOOO bad for Ace!!

Turns out, because it has been SO hot, fleas has infested my grandmothers yard. There are a lot of dogs in the neighbourhood and they will randomly walk through the yard sometimes, so who knows if they have fleas??!? Well my uncles dog, who lives outside gets fleas from time to time and he currently had them!! 

I think that this morning when I let Ace out, he ran over to my uncles dog's pen area before I could stop him! I think he might have picked them up from him!!!! (the vets said that even if a dog living in a certain area of the yard gets fleas, usually the whole yard gets them...)

AHHHH. I'm sooo grossed out! I called our vet back in Toronto and she said that even though I use Revolution on Ace, because of such a large quantity of them, the medicine cannot keep up!

So a flea bath now...and then once again right before we leave to NY. She also said to make sure my Dad's pets are protected against fleas to prevent an infestation at their house!!!

How horrible!

I had to wash everything, I sprayed everything, and there were still a few fleas on Ace when I checked him this evening....I tried to pick them off, but Ace jumps and fidgets with me!

The vet also said that because we used the shampoo, it SHOULD kill any left over adult fleas (also the revolution will kill them too) but I didn't realize they have so many life cycles and that we might see fleas for the next few weeks!!!! But just less and less of them...

AHHH....

My poor baby!! He is exhausted after all the commotion!! He is in my room now, sleeping in his crate, but I feel like my skin is crawling!! I keep itching, but I think or HOPE it is just the heebie jeebies!!

If anyone else has dealt with fleas on their poor furbaby, I would love advice!!

It would be SO helpful!! I want Ace to be 100% flea free!!!!!

*I hate flea baths....*

Fabulous Friday!

Ace and I are enjoying time visiting my grandmother in North Carolina!

It is pretty country-ish out here, much different that Toronto that's for sure!

My grandmother has 4 birds (one of whom talks NONSTOP and now barks like a dog...he also says SHHHHHH really loud when Ace barks...it drives Ace nuts! haha)

She has a chicken coop with 4 chickens and 2 roosters

My uncle also has a pit-bull named Jazz (a VERY nice pit-bull), Jazz really wants to be friends with Ace, but Ace isn't really interested...sad...

There is a big yard with a huge forrest for us to explore!

I think he is enjoying himself.

We play outside and Ace lays under the big trees while I tan. It is quite lovely. He also just loves the chickens!! There is one rooster who walks about freely outside the coop, and it chases Ace. He totally loves it though...he keeps going back for more! haha

Ace sure loves his *GREAT* grandma! 

She secretly feeds him bananas and other delicious snacks at breakfast every morning. No wonder he sits by her seat.

Last night during dinner, I left the table for a second to come back to find my grandmother at the table, and Ace sitting at the head of the table seat staring at her!

It was priceless, but I couldn't get the camera without him jumping down!
He looked like a little fuzzy person!!

Ace Says Greetings from North Carolina!

*BTW there is the lamb toy (with chew guard technology, I had to surgically remove his tail after ace shred it! Go figure, he removes the tails from all his toys...I suppose he wants them to look more like him??? Otherwise, the Chew Guard is holding up REALLY well! I am impressed*

I also wanted to post an update on air travel with doggies!

Ace is doing really well now, but it did take a while.

For a few days he had a bit of anxiety, he would whine and was a bit skittish.

I don't blame him though! It was a VERY long day and he was probably petrified!

Because of this, when we leave for my dad's in NY in a few weeks I am considering renting a car and doing the 11 hour drive myself with my mini Aussie!

I think both of us will feel a lot better traveling together in the comfort of a car listening to tunes :)

Even though it's a long drive for one person, I hate to see Ace scared in anyway. Not to mention the ridiculous price tag for my poor pup to ride cargo....250$$$ and that was just the estimate! He still wouldn't be able to fly into NY, but instead would have to fly to Newark where I would need to go pick him up an hour away! Crazy.

As it is, he was always attached to me, but now....forget about it..I can't even take a shower without him trying to jump in!

I love my mini Aussie though :)

Wordless Wednesday

Silly Sunday :)

Here are some silly pics from right before we left Toronto to visit family!

Ace finds the need to climb on every bench!! Here he is sitting on a bench waiting for the bus haha

All sorts of people stop and stare and laugh!

This one is just down right mischievous! Daddy snapped this pic after he walked out of the room and Ace immediately took advantage and checked the table for snacks!!

Here is Ace in his baby pool in the yard in Toronto. He was learning to blow bubbles with his nose in the water, He must have sat there for 30 minutes just blowing and blowing and then trying to bite the bubbles!

In the car, I am trying to get Ace used to sitting in the back because a) it is much safer, and b) he is just too darn big to sit on my lap in the front. So I sit in the back with him.

He decided to use my arm as a perch and literally put all 4 little paws up on my one arm and sat there....

Hope everyone has a Silly Sunday! :)

Humpy Friday & Missing C :)

After our whole ordeal earlier this week, Ace has been very content relaxing the last few days. We dealt with a bit of all night potty breaks with diarreah. It is a combo of being stressed from travel and the new environment. I think the heat has a big part in it though! 

I take him out and he will chase the frisbee a few times and then he wants to lay in the shade....

I don't blame him. I would too if I was wearing a miniature double fur coat!

We were out today at a few stores and I found this SUPER CUTE blanket!! It had paws on the package so I figured it was meant for doggies! It is SO soft...I don't know the material because I have to remove the tags from EVERYTHING or our little tag muncher will eat it... It's pretty big though, so I am not sure, but nonetheless Ace LOVES it!!

Of course it's leopard print! Shh don't tell Ace's Daddy, he likes manly things for Ace, but...He looks so cool all snuggled up in it in his ginormous travel crate!

*YAY new blankie!*

He just loves snuggling on it eating his VitaLife Chicken Strips!

Yawhoo! I love my blanket!

I was organizing our room, and was looking around thinking...how did Ace get so many toys?!?! Well...it is my fault of course. I just LOVE getting him cute toys! He loves them all dearly and will gather them and put them all in the same spot so he can watch them all.

I suppose this is how new mothers must feel with their human babies haha!

*Here he is with his CHEW GUARD technology Lamb squeaky toy! I found it in a magazine! They come in pigs, cows, and lambs! We call him Mr. Lamb Lamb, and his new CROCODILE squeaky toy. He is taking the place of monkey *also below* for now because monkey is now a choking hazard with his neck dangling by a thread...(Monkey is hiding in my nightstand drawer for now...) eek!*

I wanted to EDIT and say the site I got the Lamb toy with Chew Guard Technology is GODOGFUN.COM and they are called puppy tough balls! haha

Here is the little peanut last night after his bath...he decided to warm my pillow for me...*sigh*

Since it is just Ace and I right now, I thought, hey, why not let him sleep in the bed with me?!?! Well...he is now back in his crate after only one night....he wanted to play ALL night!

I would wake up randomly to find him just sitting there wide awake...and then he decided he would lay across my face and I awoke startled with a mouthful of fur...

He is much happier in his snuggly little crate with his leopard blanket!

(I let him snuggle on the bed during the day though while I work on the computer)

On another note, Ace absolutely LOVED my sister. He took to her like white on rice. Following her around, learning her name after like 2 times of me saying it, waking her up in the morning, and....dun dun dun....HUMPING THE HECK OUT OF HER!

I can't remember the last time we laughed so hard. EVERY time my sister would sit or lay down Ace would come charging towards her and try to hump her!!

He does this absolutely crazy thing where he wraps his little arms around your arm, nuzzles his face into your neck, and does this crazy heavy breathing...it is NUTS!

Of course when I would scold him to stop, he pauses, looks right at me and continues.

I read about it, and apparently it isn't a sexual thing, more like a dominance thing. 

He doesn't get all sexual about it if you know what I mean.

But it sure leads to some good laughs!

Here is my sister and Ace (she agreed to let me post the picture for everyone's viewing pleasure) and besides, everyone could use a good laugh, even if it is at her expense! haha 

We miss you already C! We will be seeing you soon in New York!

Not So Fun Adventure.... :(

We certainly had an incredibly stressful weekend.
Daddy's new job has been keeping him really busy and because we haven't found a new place yet that we can really see ourselves in, I spend the days working from home at Daddy's parents and after a while everyone starts needing their own space. Very understandable :)

So, we decided I should take the chance to go visit my family in the states who I haven't seen in forever! (I do visit, or they visit me, but usually only for a weekend or a week at a time) I do miss them terribly! :(

We decided I would bring Ace with me because he wouldn't be able to get the attention and exercise he usually gets due to the long work hours.

Well it was all really last minute and so we decided on Air Canada. When we called, we told them about Ace and the girl on the phone assured us that Ace would be able to fly as *Carry on* with me on the plane. They explained they were flexible and allow dogs under 25 pounds.

So...we purchased my ticket, his ticket, went out, purchased the carry on crate, Ace hated it, but soon got used to it with the help with treats!

Our flight was at 8 am so our day started early and daddy brought us and all our luggage to the airport at 6 am!!! :s

The lines were RIDICULOUS and Daddy stayed as long as possible until he finally had to leave to go to work and we still had a bit of a wait ahead of us.

After an hour in line, we finally reach the counter to have one of the attendants say *I don't think that dog should be on the plane, he is too big!*

My heart sank...I pleaded, begged, and argued with this woman for 10 minutes until she finally said I could purchase a crate at the airport and he could fly cargo! 

So I run with Ace on my arm across the airport to get this crate...I get there to have the woman look at me with a baffled face and tell me that there is an embargo on transporting animals via cargo because it was over 85 degrees! OMG!!

I almost cried. I found another supervisor...tried to argue with him, but no luck in the end.

I ended up missing my flight, sitting in the checkin area for 3 hours trying to find a flight for Ace to get on.

Air canada directed me to one place, that place directed me to another, and then another.

Finally Air Canada Cargo* told me they would send him the following morning, but I needed a hard sided crate.

I quickly called Daddy's mom at home to come get me so we could race home, get a crate, and have everything ready, and THEN get back to the airport for my 4 pm rescheduled flight.

We got the crate, which by the way is $$$$$. I never knew! Sheesh, who knew a plastic crate would be so expensive.

When we got home, I called the Air Canada Cargo to book him and the man on the phone (who was different than the first guy I talked to) told me that they too had an embargo and wouldn't send him!!!

I almost died! What was I going to do with Ace?!?!? Daddy's parents aren't big dog people and were already doing us a favour by letting us stay at their house with him.

After everything that day we couldn't find a freakin way to get him on the plane....

I finally had to leave for the airport with no prospects on getting Ace to North Carolina with me.

My heart was broken, but I figured I would just keep trying to find a way to get him to me!

While I was waiting at the airport (sweating)... Daddy's mom called me to tell me they had found Continental Airlines Pet Cargo Shipping!! (You'd think other airlines would be aware of this and recommend it to people).

So they booked his flight and on Tuesday morning at 6:30 am, Daddy dropped him off at the airport in his crate with his little bed and a toy.

Toronto to Newark...then Newark to Charlotte!

He didn't arrive until 4:25pm!!! 

I was SO worried I didn't sleep all night on Monday. I felt so terrible about Ace riding beneath the plane.

We practically sped to the airport on Tuesday and we met Ace there!

He was SUCH a trooper!

He rode on the plane with 2 bunnies, 2 puppies, a baby pig, and a few other pets! At least he wasn't alone. I felt so much better to have my little Chan Man in my arms again!

I took him outside and he hightailed it to the grass and took probably the longest pee of his life...

Even though the crate had an absorbent material on the bottom, he must have held it! 

I don't know how he did it!

I feel so much better now that he is with me! Not only that but he gets to visit with my sister (who hasn't seen him since he was a little peanut at the breeders when she was here to visit).

When we picked him up, we surprised him with some new treats and a fresh bottle of water!

The treats, which I recommend to everyone, are made by Vitalife (the company Daddy works for)!!! They sell them at Walmart, Costco, and many other large stores.

We got him the chicken strips for fresh breath!! He was SO happy!

It will be great for Ace out here in North Carolina visiting my grandmother & sister. There is a huge yard with a forest, chickens, a rooster, and bunnies everywhere!!

After this, we are then going to New York to see my dad & sister(again) yay!

We of course will then need to get a flight for Ace, but this time, it won't be such a huge trek because it won't be *International* and I am going to try to get him on the SAME flight as me! But there isn't any worry yet, since we plan to stay and visit for a few weeks :)

We miss Daddy Terribly & hopes he will get a chance to read the blog to see pictures of Ace on his "International Adventures!"

Miss you and Love you Daddy & We'll see you soon :)

*Ace sleeping in the Car on my sister's lap on the way home from the airport*

Graduation Day!

PUPPY OBEDIENCE GRADUATION!

okay, so it was actually on Tuesday but I hadn't uploaded the pictures from my phone!

Yea I know, I forgot the camera, but luckily the iphone did the trick somewhat...the picture of our teacher handing Ace the diploma was a little blurred but the other came out pretty good I think!

PS...Ace was the only pup who actually grabbed the diploma himself! hahahaha everyone was laughing!

Handsome little guy! I don't mean to brag but he sure did come a long way from being the loud constant barker from our first class to being the only guy who would actually stay in his *Down Stay* for the alotted time! 

I remember our first class when he just WOULDN'T stop barking! I was so embarrassed because I was getting weird looks from other people!

I feel so accomplished and even though we won't probably continue with the higher level classes as of now, I am going to stick with doing the training myself! There are all sorts of cool tricks I want to teach him!

He sure is turning out to be a great dog!

We are very proud :)

ALSO I wanted to thank everyone for the birthday wishes! It was a great birthday :)

Celebrating Mommy's Birthday!

Today was a wonderful birthday (mine) and Canada Day! yay July 1st!

The highlight was this morning when for the FIRST time, Ace jumped up into our bed all on his own and snuggled with me for 10 whole minutes! I feel like maybe he was trying to say *Happy Birthday? Thank you for feeding & loving me everyday?*...hey I can dream haha!

We spent the beautiful cool morning walking through the park and splashing in the river. Ace is sure becoming a great swimmer. We are very proud :D

I can tell once he swims a nice lap he walks out and struts his stuff as if to say "Hey ma, dad! Did you guys see those moves out there?!?!"

After a lengthy park playtime Ace got a deep clean! (He gets SO grimy at the park)

He might be the cleanest dog ever. He has actually grown to really enjoy his baths and jumps in the shower if he gets a chance. This is such an improvement from a few months ago when he would whine and cry and struggle to get out.

Now if we could only get him to shake off....he usually just stands there and waits to be dried while he is sopping wet! SO CUTE :D

While Ace napped I dragged Daddy out for an adventure (and besides, he said I could pick out a birthday gift) hehe.

We shopped a bit and I must say I totally recommend signing up for Sephora's beauty insiders club...they give you free gifts on your birthday WITHOUT a purchase! haha Oh how I love free things.

Ace loves free things as well as when I returned home he thought the little gift pack was for him and stole it, ran away with it and tried to eat it...*sigh* Dog & makeup were unharmed in the end!

After a delicious dinner we came back to enjoy a quiet evening with our little guy while he chewed his kneecap bone (YES the SAME kneecap bone from my post a few months ago) I must say, that thing has some serious staying power!

Sadly, we may be saying goodbye to Ace's FAVOURITE orange monkey toy soon. I am looking for a replacement before I toss the original. (He sleeps with it every night, so I don't want him to be sad) It was a VERY strong toy for Ace, but I suppose 24/7 loving for the last few months took it's toll as he now has a hole in his neck and we had to remove the stuffing....

Here is a beautiful picture for your viewing pleasure!

This is Ace's lip curl...he does this ALL the time (Happy, sad, angry) He has about 10 different versions of the lip curl... It's hilarious.

Swimming with your Best Friend :D

On Sunday Ace met his *cousin* doggy Baxter! He is actually daddy's cousins' doggie! 

Baxter is a giant black lab and is about 3 years old!

We went over for a nice lunch and brought Ace along for some play time. Daddy's cousins house has a super cute pond that Baxter swims in so of course once we got there and Baxter and Ace met, Baxter immediately showed Ace his pond! It was so cute because at first you could tell Ace was a little bit nervous about the water but Baxter jumped right in! Sure enough Ace crept towards the edge and at first tried to climb on Baxter's back, but once that didn't work he went right in and swam around!

We were so proud!

After hours of running, playing chase, swimming, eating snacks, and climbing on everything you could tell the two pups were done-zo haha.

Sadly Baxter, at only 3 years old, has really bad hips. His family noticed just after they had brought him home and as he grew it got worse. There is a long and complicated series of surgeries that can be done, but they are not gauranteed to help and could cause him a lot of pain. With some different supplements and lots of swimming (low impact) he seems to be a very happy guy! Daddy's cousins said they have never seen him running so much. He and Ace are thick as thieves! We are already planning our next play time!

:D

Tummy Ache!

Uh-Oh!

So after our trip to the park last week Ace started having really bad gas...

and when I say bad gas...I mean BAD. Like nothing I have ever smelled before...haha

When we put our heads together and a little googling action, we remembered that Ace had drank out of the river that he was playing in. We had tried to stop him, but it was too late!

He was fine until the evening when the gas started.

*Ow Ma, my tummy hurts*

Poor little guy. He barely touched his dinner (which never happens) and he had a bit of the *runs*...eek!

It was a very different and unique experience when it was time for bed and I walked into our room and had to open a window it was so smelly! Aw Ace...

I figured if he seemed to be getting worse or it didn't clear up soon enough we would call the vet. Luckily it cleared up after just a day and a lot of CLEAN water drinking!

Online it said that if the water isn't moving (and even if it is) there can be bacteria that can make us sick! ;(

We will most Certainly be going back to the park, but we are going to be REALLY careful to not let Ace drink the water!

Ace is back in business!

*Ma, you better not blog about this...*

We also wanted to let you know about our newest blogger friend...another MINI AUSSIE! yay!!!

http://ohcharlietheminiaussie.blogspot.com/