The Dog Days of July

On a hot Friday morning, I picked up my adventurer and set out for The Dog Show.  Indoors.  Air conditioned.  Furry four-legged fun.

Bunny and Beagle are excited about
going to The Dog Show.

A good idea for transport from the parking lot
and around the huge exhibit halls at NRG Park.

 While waiting in line for my ticket, Daniel and I saw a dog in a stroller with ears that looked like a shaggy black butterfly.  We spotted a pair of white Scotties sitting expectantly with their owner.  Then two shivering Chihuahuas poked their heads from the pockets of a purse.  It was going to be a silly day.

We watched the Flyball competition, which involves lots of high-energy dogs running relays.  Tennis balls, hurdles, and celebratory barking made it exciting to see.  D wanted to get on the course, but it was only for dogs.

So we watched Field Trials.  That's the one where the handler guides his/her dog through a course of hurdles, tunnels, a big ramp, and a seesaw.  Of course, Daniel wanted to get out there and play, but it was only for dogs.  However, my sharp-eyed explorer spotted something across the hall.  "Wanna' go see the red and lellow?"  And he guided me to an idle ramp and seesaw right there in the hall.  No warning signs anywhere, so D took them on while I watched carefully.

Trying out the red and lellow doggy ramp.

 After at least five minutes of conservative dawdling, I was severely reprimanded by a passer-by for allowing a child to play on the equipment.  She growled through closed teeth, "It's only for the dogs."

We moved on.

The wagon made a good platform for access to water fountains.
Daniel acted like the Three Bears, trying out all the sizes.
I was pretty sure these were for people.

Every possible breed of dogs was represented by a rescue organization with booths lining one hall as far as the eye could see.  Good!  Hands-on snuggles with sweet little (and big) rescued canines.  Not so much.  At GiGiHeyYea's house Daniel has been spooked by one too many neighborhood yappers; and at this point I realized he wanted nothing to do with up-close fur on four legs.  Not the pugs in matching tutus.  Not the curly blonde cocker with soft brown eyes.  Not even the 40+ pound old basset hound who rolled over on her long back to beg for belly scratches.

So we moved on.

How great is this?!
Bins of dog toys are lots of fun to explore.

We poked around in bins of every kind of doggy toy from those loosey latex squeakers to a singing mouse to grunting wart hogs the size of personal watermelons.  In the middle of our Christmas morning experience, there appeared an Ichabod Crane-ish teenager whose apologetic demand went like this--"Please don't squeeze the squeaky toys too much.  You'll wear them out."

Okay.  a) We weren't squeaking that much because GiGi would have become crazed.
            b) He just lost a sale, because D was enthralled with the singing mouse.
   and   3) Wear them out.       . . . REALLY?!!!?!

What was I thinking?  These were only for the dogs.

So we moved on.

The next thing that my partner-in-crime spotted was baskets full of balls.  He made a couple of folks stutter-step when he struck a bee line for the big purple unit that must have been designed for a Bull Mastiff.  They didn't bounce like D thought they would, what with that big rope looped through the middle.  We moved on.

Tug toys for Great Danes and Bull Mastiffs

The Texas Collie Rescue Booth had an eye-catching wheel to spin for a prize.  The lady happily took my dollar, Daniel spun the wheel, and the dark green wedge earned him a plastic slinky.  Hooray!

The Wheel of Collie Fortune

 It was time to make our way to the arena where dogs would be dancing and exhibiting their Frisbee skills.  Down the exhibit aisles Daniel trotted, with me bringing up the rear, wagon and all.  D veered slightly to catch a peak inside a small trailer whose door was open to the aisle.  A stern-faced woman lurched to block my buddy and shriek at me, "Children are not allowed in here!"  You know that scene in Monsters Inc. where the monster is discovered with a child's sock stuck to his back and the alarm sounds for the hazmat crew to lock him down?  Yep.  By the look in that woman's black eyes, that's what I thought was going to happen next.

BTW, I assumed that people who love dogs would also care about children as well.  With the exception of  a couple of the folks manning those rescue booths, there wasn't a dog's water bowl full of hospitality to be found.  Maybe it was all clustered next door at the Ringling Brothers Circus.

But I digress.  We found the arena where the dogs would dance and play.  We had plenty of time to have a picnic of sorts while waiting for the show.

Annie's Cheddar Bunnies--that's what's for lunch.

What a hoot!
This dog actually sat in a seat and watched the entire show.

This pup, however, hardly ever sat in his seat.  :~D
See the black shape with blue neon lights in the top of the picture?

 From across the arena Daniel could see a big shiny black truck, and he was done with dancing dogs.  So we went to explore the tricked-out van on our way out of NRG Park.

Checking out the stats on this vehicle

Here's my partner-in-crime.
We had a good time.
And I learned an important lesson:
The Dog Show is only for the dogs.

Short Boy Photography

GiGi 1

GiGi 2

GiGi 3

GiGi 4

Table Legs (with Photo Bomb)
or Horizontal GiGi 

Kitchen Stool (with Photo Bomb) or
Horizontal Papai

GiGi 6

HeyYea 1

Hey Yea 2

Hey Yea 3

GiGi 7

Conversation

GiGi and HeyYea

Bit a' Bunda

Papai 1

Papai 2

Floor (with Photo Bomb) or Papai 3

Papai 4

Short Boy 1

Short Boy 2

Short Boy 3
7 Legs and Wagon

Wheel

Short Boy 4



Short Boy 5

Wicker

CLICK!





Roll Out Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

Well, it's about time I got caught up!  June has come and gone, but I'll not apologize.

This summer is not lazy--though June was a bit hazy and crazy at times.

Houston's typical June forecast:
sunny and hot with a 40% chance of afternoon thunderstorms.

A Bucket List Moment

Cecilia got to check one of the items off
her bucket list--the ballet  Swan Lake.

After the ballet in the Green Room at Wortham Center,
C had her moment with a prince and his lovely swan, Odette.

The evil Baron Redbeard (Rothbart) got lots of boo's during curtain calls.
Cecilia apologized, and the Baron replied,
"That's the way I know I did a good job!'

Daniel and I planted beans and corn
to watch the roots and plants grow.

 Summer Science


So fascinating, right?!




Easy to grow!
A clear plastic container with lid, lots of cotton balls on the bottom,
folded paper towel around the inside, and corn or bean seeds
between the towel and container.
Saturate the cotton so that the towel stays wet,
put the lid on, and place in a bright window.
When roots grow and sprouts show green,
remove the lid and watch!

Paper plates make good clouds and suns.
D helped make the sunshine with cut straws
on the pipe cleaner rays.

We talked a lot about the weather.  Outside we looked at
white fluffy clouds and dark rumbly clouds.
Cecilia told me that one day during a storm D asked,
"Mamae, can you turn down the thunder?  It's too loud."



Summer Sports     

 VoVo Dora sent these havaianas from Brasil.

Daniel got into the drama of the FIFA World Cup hosted by Brazil.  One weekend we ate at a sports grill while the US played.  He'd start chanting "USA! USA!"  During one of the Brazilian matches, he kicked his futbol and then fell to the ground on his face.  Don't know if he was celebrating a goal or trying to draw a foul . . .!

He got into the spirit of Brazil.




Water Therapy

There are docks and boats on the man-made lakes in our neighborhood.
We have to stop and check them out sometimes.

We see turtles swimming in the water.



And of course, we have to splash a little.
Whenever possible D likes to go pe pelado.
That's 'barefoot' for all you gringos.

More pe pelado at GiGiHeyYea's house.

My suggestion to wear crocs
fell on deaf ears.

Until D learned how hot the sidewalk was.

How heavy is that bucket of water?  It's doable
when His Twoness is determined, which is most all the time.

Our homemade water wall helps cool things down.

Kind of a spa experience . . .

Summer Bugs

This is part of the second crop of Black Swallowtail caterpillars
to enjoy my dill this summer.

Daniel was on caterpillar watch.
Then there was the day they all disappeared . . .

. . .  and a week or so later,
this was the best shot I could get
of a flitty young Swallowtail and his reflection.

Too Hot to Be Outside



Early in the day--before 10 or so--the park is fun.
This is a new park and there's no shade.
But there's an awesome "lion motorcycle!"

And swings for "Higher, GiGi!"

But we always have to retreat to GiGiHeyYea's house
for "cool agua" and lots of wheels.
Our neighbors came by with a sack of trucks that their
grandchildren no longer needed.

There are books to read about pirates . . .

. . . or, take a guess--TRUCKS!



After lunch and a good nap,
D likes to catch up on Curious George.



One post-nap time
we monkeyed around with two "soccer pa's."

In the Front Ard

Late in the afternoon there's shade in front of our house ("the front ard"), so we go out to play in the hose and watch for Mamae or Papai to come.

Reunion time!

Who can resist a wet swimsuit hug?

Well, this is a typical summer day with GiGi and HeyYea.  Now that Mother's Day Out is out for summer, we get to enjoy Daniel at least two days each week.  The privilege of easy access is such a blessing to me; and the blessing is never lost on me either.  Part of the reason I keep this blog is to share some of Daniel's life with his grandmother and family who are a hemisphere away in Brazil.  As nice as Skype is, I can only imagine how their arms must ache for Daniel, Cecilia, and Will sometimes. 

He's a bright little chatterbox.  He speaks complete sentences (including adjectives and proper verb tense) in English with HeyYea and me; and when with Cecilia and Will, he speaks Brazilian Portuguese with them (even when we're all together). 

His brain is a sponge, you know?  He used to scan books for vocabulary only--he wanted to know the names for everything.  Now he enjoys listening to a whole story--sometimes repeated two or three times.  When I'm driving, I can hear him in his car seat 'reading' a book pretty much word-for-word.

The car obsession continues!  Sometimes I wonder if you might see a picture of Daniel playing with his cars if you look in the dictionary under OCD--he always keeps them lined up very carefully as he plays.  So interesting and fun to watch him order his little world.

Though, for the most part, he's happy and social, Little Man has his TWO moments.  Sometimes we take a breath and remember that this is an appropriate developmental milestone, and thank the Lord he's exceptionally normal.  Cecilia and Will are doing a wonderful job steering him through all those tough concepts--sharing, waiting and patience, listening, obedience, kindness, respect.

Well, to keep from boring you into an afternoon daze, I'll sign off for now.

Next blog post?  Photographs from a Short Boy.