Oh what pretty decorations

Mommy has been a busy bee. Over the weekend she put up all the pretty Christmas decorations. White lights everywhere! One the bushes, in the windows, along the banister of the front porch with that green pine garland stuff. It was so pretty. Until Tuesday. Tuesday was a bit windy and since mommy hasn't hung outdoor lights too often (she has always lived in an apartment, now a house) they were not secured too well, and now the porch decorations are hanging off the railing! I would fix them for her while she was at work, but I cannot reach the doorknob to get outside and the porch rail is too high, too. The first night she go the decorations out she turned the twinkle lights on in the house and put them on the floor. I did not know what to think. I gotta admit...I did bark at them for a bit. What? Twinkle lights can be scary! This is my first Christmas so I don't know what to expect. I do know mommy went shopping with grandma and I could smell treats in the bag. Grandma also bought me lots of cool outfits. In the picture above, grandma was trying to take our family photo for us, but mommy and daddy kept laughing. I just sat there staring at them..."guys, guys come on! I want to get this photo over with so I can take off my sweater and get comfy! Guys! FOCUS!" I kept trying to tell them. We eventually got some good pictures, as some of you will see when you recieve the card in the mail.
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The gingerbread house contest

Let the contest begin! Mommy, daddy, and grandma started a new tradition. They each built a gingerbread house and are going to see who's house will stand the longest. Mommy got the idea from my friend Buddy's mom, Nola. This is me...looking at mommy's house. Her roof kept sliding off so she re-arranged the pieces and made the roof the walls, and the walls the roof. It is still standing, though. You can tell it is mommy's because of the "R" on the side. I better go investigate the other houses to see if they are still standing...
Here is grandma's house. Her's was definatly the prettiest. I cannot tell what is on the front, though. Stained glass windows? Bushes with christmas lights? Dog cookies? (Hey..I am a dog...I can wish). I really love her roof, though. Looks good enough to eat!

Last, but not least, is Daddy's. He got frustrated at one point and we all thought he was going to give up, but he came back with a vengence and built a wonderful house! The whole roof is covered in icing and I am so close I can smell the sugar! If no one was in the kitchen taking my picture, I would consider stealing the gumdrop wreath on the front door. I wonder why no one built a dog house?

What is this?

We found this sign on someone's front lawn and thought we would pose for a snapshot

I LOVE Saturday

BOTH mommy and daddy worked the overnight shifts last night. I thought I was going to have no one to snuggle with, but luckily for me...Grandma is visiting!!! I curled up with her and slept like a baby. Daddy got home around 7:45am, and I awoke to him ringing the doorbell. I did not know it was him at first and so I barked and barked! Turns out he left his keys in mommy's car, mommy went to work, and daddy had to use his spare car key. This also left him with no house key. A couple hours later mommy came home. She went shopping. She says "the day after the day after Thanksgiving is best to shop because you still get the sales without the crowds". I will take her word for it. I wonder if there is anything in those shopping bags for me????? Daddy had his 10k (6.2 mile) race today. Here we are awaiting the race start. Daddy runs fast! At one point I was cheering with mommy and I dug a hole in the ground. Then, out of nowhere I got a burst of energy! A burst, I tell you! I started to run and run but I was on a leash so I was going in cirlcles around mommy. It made her spin round and round too. After the race, people came up to us and said "you guys were making ME dizzy!". I just laughed and licked his face. Later on in the day mommy took me to the dog park to play. I wore my yellow fleece vest. I was the only pup in the park wearing clothes. I wonder what the other dogs thought.....was I cool? Or did they think I was silly? It was cold out, so it doesn't really matter what they thought...I was toasty warm! Later, on the way home, mommy took me to daddy's work to visit him on his dinner break. They were very sneaky. I went in the hospital and into the cafeteria (no one was there. It was closed). We all hung out and when we left, daddy let me walk down the hallway. It was linolium, so I was sliding all over! Once home, mommy got creative and put up christmas lights outside. I knew she was out there, and I was not, so I barked up a storm until she came in to take me out with her. I don't like it when mommy or daddy are outside and I am inside. I want to be right with them, doing what they are doing.

New PJ's,Thanksgiving, and aliens...

Look at me! Look at me! I got new PJ's! They were and early christmas gift and I LOVE THEM! I wonder if they make matching ones for my mommy and daddy? Mommy would wear them, but I don't know about daddy...he is manly. We got up early this morning...it's Thanksgiving day!!! "Gus wanna go for a ride in the car?" daddy asked. Of course I do, so I ran to the door. "I wonder where we are going?" We pulled up to a parking area and there were so many people around. Some were warming up running, others were just talking. "Oh I know...this must be a road race." We all got out of the car and walked up to a big building. Mommy and daddy took turns going inside to register for the race, while the other stayed with me outside. Everyone loved me, as usual. "Uh oh...race must be starting soon." I thought. I got put in the car (it's a big SUV so I get the whole back to myself), and they went to run the race. When it started I got super excited. They are running right by the car!!! As daddy ran by he tapped the window and I was soooo happy! "Go daddy, go!!!" I yelped. Ok...where is mommy...there she is..."go mommy go!" I barked. 5 miles later, daddy ran across the finish line he came to get me so we could cheer for mommy. He was surprised to find me in the drivers seat. That's right...I jumped the seats and made it all the way to the front of the vehicle. "Good job, buddy!" daddy said. We waited for mommy and when I saw her coming I ran towards her, dragging daddy with me. She raced me to the finish line. I still say I won. It was close. By now everyone knows me. "bye Gus!" all the kids say as they leave. Even grown-ups kneel down to talk to me. I am so popular. I am popular without even trying. Must be my stellar personality and dashing good looks. We went to visit the aliens at the Dunkin Donuts drivethrough (read the blog entry about that if you have no idea what I am talking about). I acted in my usual fashion, protecting my parents from the aliens..."arf! bark! ggrrrrr!!!!" But when we pulled up to the window, I was surprised to see them handing me something...it's a milkbone! The aliens have treats!!!!! Why didn't anyone tell me this earlier!

My new trick!

Hey guess what!!!??? I can turn white snow a different color............ Yellow!

what is this white stuff?

I got outside and paused. "What is this white stuff???" Everyone kept trying to get me to go down the stairs, but I was very unsure of myself. "Is it going to be hot? Is it cold? I think it is cold because when mommy took me out she made sure I was wearing a shirt. She searched the house for a long time trying to find the warmest one" Ok...here I go...

"Oh, it IS COLD!" I wandered around for a bit, sneezing everytime a snowflake tickled my nose. Now I understand why grandma wants me to get paw-protectors. To keep my toes warm in the snow! I wish I had a pair now, although no one really knew we were going to wake up to snow. I kept picking my paws up and mommy kept laughing at me. Thinking back I guess I was walking kinda funny!

bedtime

I love to snuggle in bed with daddy! Especially when we are both wearing our Red Sox shirts!

sleeping in the car

I get so sleepy when I go for rides in the car. Today I went to Rhode Island with grandma to visit great-grandma and Lydia. It was a long, but fun, day. I will tell you all about it after a good nights sleep!

Picking up grandma at the airport

We left the house at 11 to pick grandma up at the airport. I got to ride up front with mommy when we got close to the airport. Here I am sitting on her lap as we pulled up to the terminal. I have not seen grandma in sooooooo long. I am so excited!
I was not sure if I would be allowed in the airport, but we gave it a shot anyways. I got in! No one said anything to us. We got lots of smiles from people and I got petted alot. Here I am at the bottom of the escalator awaiting her arrival. "Oh! I see her! I see her! There's grandma!!!" She soon saw me and smiled. I ran right up to her once she was at the bottom of the stairs.

She picked me right up and gave me a huge hug! I missed her so much!!!

cold morning

Gotta go outside. Gotta go outside. "Brrrrrrr! I didn't realize how cold it was!" After running around the bed for awhile, making lots of noise, mommy got up and took me outside. It was cold. There was frost all over the ground. The leaves and grass crinkled as I stepped on them. I sniffed and sniffed and sniffed. I glanced at mommy..."Gus, go potty. I know it's cold but you have to go potty. You WILL NOT go in the house. Don't look at me with those puppy eyes. You need to go potty outside." This puts a brilliant idea into my head. My new mission...learn to use the toilet. I doubt it is possible, but it is cold and I am freezing. I may be thinking irrationally." I do my thing in the grass and mommy lets me go back inside. I wait at the door for her.

"Hurry up, mommy! I'm turning into a pupsicle!" We head inside and I run up the stairs to wake up daddy. I jumped onto the bed and licked his face. No luck. So I run back downstairs to see if mommy has fed the cats yet. No luck. I think she is waiting for when we go to the airport to pick up grandma so the cats can eat in peace. Mommy is making something yummy, though. It's blueberry bread. Smells sooooo good. I asked if I could help, but mommy didn't think it was a good idea. "it will be too hard for you to hold the spoon to stir the mix, Gus" mommy said. She's right. It would be hard for me to grip the spoon with my paws. I think I will go and snuggle in bed with daddy!

Mmmmm...pumpkins!

Grandma is coming!

Four more days until grandma gets here! I am so excited! I have not seen her since the summer. She lives in Michigan. The best part is...even when mommy and daddy are at work, grandma is home, so I always have someone to play with. Sometimes she even takes me to Rhode Island to visit great grandma and Lydia. They are so much fun! First, there is the car ride-which I love, then, there is the nursing home where everyone loves me. I feel so important when I go there because I am the center of attention. Everyone pets me! When we pick grandma up at the airport I think I will wear my new sweater. I do beleive daddy has a blue stripped shirt to match mine. Maybe he will wear it too!

My first pumkin

Hey look! My first pumpkin!

Aliens at the drive-thru

There were aliens. Lots of aliens. I swear.
I got to spend the day with mommy. First, we went to Petco. I got my nails clipped ( I am still not happy about that). Then I got a new shirt. I am wearing it in the picture above. It is a red sweater with blue shirt under. I look so preppy! In this picture, I am pretending to be an alien...like the ones I heard today... HERE IS MY STORY: So we leave Petco and pull into the Dunkin Donuts parking lot. I knew we were coming here. I overheard mommy say she would bring daddy a coffee at work, so here we are, getting coffee. But we did not get out of the car. Instead we pulled around the side of the building. The window goes down...there is a strange box and that is when I heard the aliens! "welcome to dunkin donuts, may I take your order?" ALIENS! ALIENS, I SAY!!! "Aaaar! Arf! ggrrrrrrrrr....ArArArf! Bark Bark! grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"
"Gus, stop!" mommy says. There is no stopping me. "AR! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...!" There is no one there, talking to mommy. Just a metal box. I really think it was aliens. There was a voice, but no person. She orders coffee and pulls around to pick them up. "Aaarr! Bark bark!" As we leave, mommy says from now on she is just going to get out and go inside!

Nice day for a walk

I went for a long walk today. It was a beautiful fall afternoon and the weather was perfect for a pug! A little on the chilly side, actually, but I was lucky to have a new jacket to wear. We walked to the end of the road, down a path, to the pond behind all the houses. I had so much fun sniffing around. Of course, I had to "water" the walkway four different times to mark my territory.

I LOVE to explore around the pond. So many things to see!

Iron Dog

Mommy hand painted this food bowl for me. It has my name, and all sorts of other cool things on it. My favorite is the red Ironman symbol on the inside. I am Gus, the "Iron dog". I got this name because of my daddy. He is an Ironman triathlete. He has finished the Lake Placid, NY, Ironman triathlon 5 times! He had to do a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and run 26.2 miles. He is my hero! Next summer we are going up there to cheer for friends, and so daddy can sign up for 2009. They said I can come with them! We are going to camp out in a tent and everything just to make sure daddy can get in.

There is my daddy! He is the one with his arm up in the air! This picture was from the 2004 Ironman triathlon. Wow! He is sooooooo fast! Both mommy and daddy are on a triathlon team and their uniforms are yellow and black. Makes it easy to spot them during a race. Mommy has never done an Ironman race. She takes after me, not a good swimmer yet. I get to cheer for her at shorter races. Like this past summer she did a women's only triathlon in CT and daddy and I got to cheer for her.

The team they are on is called the Cyclonauts. I even have my very own shirt that says "official Cyclonaut cheer dog". Everyone loves it! I wear it to all the races and people recognize me. I have lots of friends I visit with when I go to races. Most of them are little kids. Kids love me, and I love them, so it works out pretty well.

Jumping in leaves

Now that it is fall, I just love to jump in the leaves. When I get to go for long walks to the end of the road, I always make a point to be waist-deep in leaves! I am sure mommy will post photos of this soon. She is always like "Gus, Gus where are you???" And then I jump out of the pile "Here I am!!!" Mommy has me running quite a bit now. I can run 1/2 mile at a descent pace. If I go too fast, I get pooped, but if I stay slow with her, I can run far. I can't run with daddy, though. He is WAY to fast! Mommy can't even keep up with him. They say they are going to take me to the 5K races this winter in the snow. I may get to play with the other dogs while they race. That will be so much fun. I hope I get my 'paw protectors' before then...otherwise the snow will be cold on my toes (although I am not too sure about that...I have not seen snow in my lifetime...I am only 9 months old!).

Boys in shirts(and a girl!)

"Hey Skippy...What are you wearing?" Gus asked

Skippy responded, "Well, Gus, your shirts looked so cool on you. I thought I would put one on myself. Boy, is it warm!"

" Yeah, but it is my shirt" Gus replied

"Gus, you are not the only one in this house that wants to look cool. As a matter of fact...all the cats in the house are wearing your clothes right now" Said Skippy

"No way! I need to check this out..." Gus muttered, as he wandered through the house looking for kittys...

"Wow!" Gus said,"Skippy was right! Here is Bailey wearing one of my shirts!"


"Hi Gus," Bailey said with enthusiasm, "Thank you for letting me wear your shirt. It is cold out and it is keeping me nice and warm."


"Glad I could help" and off I went to explore the house...one more kitty to look for. I wonder if she is wearing my clothes, too.

"Well look at that" Gus thought. "Even Lucy, Queen of the house, is wearing my clothes"

"Thank you for letting me wear your clothes. They are oh so warm!"

So that is that. Here I am, Gus, the pug...I have cool clothes, but I am a good pup and share them with my brothers and sister. Mommy and daddy said it is good to share. And the other cats do look pretty nice in my shirts!

swimming lessons

Over the summer, I decided I wanted to learn how to swim. Daddy goes to the pool every week and I thought...'if he can do it, I can do it!' So I talked to mommy and she said ok. "I read that pugs love to swim, and it is good exercise for you because you will not get too hot" She said. Mommy and daddy decided to take me to Haviland Pond, instead of the pool. Something about the chlorine not being good for me. Anyways...One warm summer day, we all went to the pond. I was scared. I had never been in deep water before! I dipped my toes in and decided to give it a shot. "Here I go...a little deeper...a little deeper...ok, nope...I can't do this! I am too scared!!!" Mommy quickly scoops me up. "Ah, safe in mommy's arms". But wait! She is waiding deeper into the water. Now we are pretty far from shore. Daddy comes close, just about a foot away. Mommy held me by my belly and told me to kick. Oh boy, did I kick! I splashed up a storm! Almost to daddy, almost there..almost....Oh no I am starting to sink!!!!! Daddy was quick to pick me up. "Hey Gus, good job buddy!" He said. I didn't think I did too well...I almost drown! (or so I thought. Turns out I was doing fine and would not have drowned. My loving parents were right there close to me). "Ok, Gus, swim to mommy!" and then daddy let go...paddle, paddle paddle, and I start to sink again, but mommy scoops me up. I never did learn to swim very far. I am heavy, like a brick. Maybe next summer...If I get up the nerve to go to the pond again!

I cannot tell a lie

I cannot tell a lie. This is what happened. (it was a few days ago...but I thought I should share my side before mommy and daddy tell everyone their side). It was a chilly Saturday...daddy had to work. Mommy was getting ready to work the night shift. I was hanging out in the living room until it was time to get in my crate because mommy had to leave for work. Before she left I saw her pull a steak out of the freezer and put it on the stove to defrost overnight. Out the door she went. "hey guys! guys!" I yell to the cats. They all came downstairs and sat by my crate. "Go look what mommy left out in the kitchen. I think you will like it." The scampered into the kitchen and saw what mommy had done. mmmmm...steak. A bit frozen right now, but I wonder how long it will be left out before they cook it? I hear the chirp of daddy's car. "scram, guys! Daddy is home!" The cats dispersed and the front door opened. "Hi Gus!" daddy says, "wanna go outside?". We took a long walk so I could take care of business. Back inside daddy said the one word that sends me running upstairs "Bedtime!". I run up and hop onto the bed. I love bedtime...it's snuggle-time! Daddy got up pretty early the next day. Earlier than expected. The kittys and I had gotten up a little while before and snuck down to the kitchen, to finish out our plan. One kitty had gotten up on the stove, and the others awaited the steak that would soon be pushed off onto the floor. Bullseye! Down on the floor with a smack! The cats used their claws to get through the wrapper, while I kept watch. Once the steak was out of the packaging we all enjoyed a feast.....until daddy caught us! First, he saw the styrofoam from the bottom of the package. "hm...that is weird. Gus must have pulled this out of the trash or something." Then he saw us in the corner..."Gus!!!!" I hear him yell. He picked up the steak and put it in the trash. "but daddy...daddy...the cats helped too! I didn't do it all alone." But there are no cats around. They all ran and hid before daddy got in the kitchen. They left the blame on me. I mean, sure, I was the one that told them about the steak in the first place, but they actually got on the stove and pushed it off. Daddy eventually figured out what happened, given the fact I cannot climb up on the stove. Mommy came home later..."I hope you were not planning on having steak for dinner" I hear daddy say...

Playing cards

Gooooooooooooood morning! Have you ever played a card game? I love Phase 10. I am very good at it. Over the summer when everyone would get together and play, sometimes I would play too! Daddy usually helps me out because it is hard to hold the cards up with my paws. Here I am...sitting on daddy's lap. I love to play Uno, too! The bright colored cards are so cool. I love to skip people with the skip cards! Mommy tried to get me one day..."Gus, wanna play 52 card pickup?" "yeah, yeah, mommy! I love to learn new card games!" I had replied. Next thing I know...all the cards are thrown up in the air and she says "ok, pick them up!". She is silly. She had to help me, of course. Don't let anyone play that trick on you! 52 card pickup is not a game!

Dream

My Dream:

I had a dream last night. A dream I was at the beach and there were HUGE bones everywhere. Dingo bones like the ones at the pet store. I was all alone on the beach, just wandering and I came across them. Then a tent magically appeared so I could sit inside. I chewed and chewed and chewed on that bone. Sometimes a seagull would fly by and talk to me "hi Gus! Nice day to eat a bone on the beach, huh? Just be careful...there are pirate kittys that come by sometimes on a boat and they may try to steal your bones". "Thanks, seagull" I responded. I climb back into my tent so I am hidden from any potential trouble. What is that I see out in the distance? "row, row, row" I hear faintly. It is the kitty pirates the seagull had warned me about! I scurry deeper into the tent and duck behind a giant rock that appeared out of nowhere (dreams are cool). Their pirate ship docks and the kitty pirates get off. I hear them walking around and meowing. I think they are looking for food. "oh no!" I think,"my breath always smells like kitty food...they are sure to find me". I make sure my dingo bone is well hidden and I run out of the tent to distract them. "Ahoy!" and start running after me. I dart back and forth on the beach. Good thing I am a sprinter! I get too close to the ocean and get knocked over by a wave. I am a bit dazed and sit on the beach for a minute. I waited too long...the kittys are here. They surround me. The big pirate kitty that is in charge walks up to me and starts to talk..."Hello, fellow kitty, we are in search of some food. Do you know where we could find some?" Oh my! Since I am a small dog...they think I am a kitty! "Well," I answer, "There is a seafood shop around the corner, I think they might give you leftovers if you purr and are nice to them." "Thanks! Ahoy...kittys lets go to the seafood shop!" They board their ship and are off. "I can't believe it!!! They left and did not take my bones! They thought I was a kitty and so they let me be!" I head back to my tent and lay down, looking out over the ocean. What a cool dream! "Gus, wanna go outside?" I wake up to daddy talking to me. I stretch. "Daddy, I have a craving for a great, big Dingo Bone!"

Book Dog

My mommy and daddy are big readers, so one day while we were at the beach (over the summer) I took one of their books and decided to read it. I love reading books! It gives me something to pass the time while mommy and daddy go to work. Some of my favorites include:

"Coco Loves to Tri" I forget who the author is, but it is a GREAT book about a black lab that does triathlons, just like my mommy and daddy do. I also LOVE the book "Must love dogs" for obvious reasons. Plus, my mommy and daddy met online, like in the book. Dean Koontz is a good author, too, because he always puts a pup in the story. Currently, I have been flipping through magazines...Modern Bride, Men's Health, Runner's World. You know...anything I find laying on the coffee table I can pull down. I sure wish mommy and daddy would get me a pug book. Oh I would love to read that!!!

Adventures at the dog park

What a day! First, mommy took me to Petco to get a new shirt. This is me wearing it in the car. It was so cool! It is made of down and has a retro stripe on the back and a hood to keep my ears warm on cold days. After picking it out, we headed on down to CT to the dog park to meet up with some friends.

At the dog park, I met my new friends...Emma(golden retriever), Sadie (boxer), Chelsea and Nala (labs). We all had a blast! The picture above is me and Emma. We played together alot because we are both pretty hyper. The cool thing about the dog park is it is all fenced in, so we can be taken off our leashes and we can run around and play. When they would all get together in a group, I would run up, bark at them, and they would run and try to catch me. We had a good game of tag going. Once in awhile we would run so fast we would trip over eachother, but it was sooooo much fun! I love playing with the big dogs.

All that playing can leave a boy quite thirsty. Luckily, at the park, they have bowls set up and a hose to fill them, do there is lots of water to go around. This is me...standing up on two legs to drink the water. I was such a good boy, I even shared my water with my friends. We would drink at the same time! I love the dog park!!!! We left when my friends left, and headed down to Starbucks because mommy had to pee (I don't think I was suppose to tell you that, but personally...I think she drinks too much coffee). Anyways...After the bathroom break mommy took me back to the park for a bit longer. There was a HUGE dog there. Mommy said it was a great dane. His head was the size of my whole body!!! I was trying to play with him, but he was too quick for me. I could not outrun him and he was trying to pick me up by my harness (something I guess he does with his brother-a small dog). His owner didn't like it much (neither did mommy), so his owner held him back. Now was my chance. Since he was held down...I stood one foot away from him and tormented him! I barked and teased him. Mommy didn't think it was very nice...I thought it was great payback for him trying to pick me up by my harness. That will teach him. After the dog park we headed to Petsmart (like Petco). I was sooo tired mommy had to carry me through the whole store! When we left I thought we were going home to see daddy. Not quite. We pull in a driveway and I hop out. We walk up to the door and I see a familiar face...it's BUDDY!!!!! My cocker spaniel best friend! We have been best buds since the first time we met. Mommy didn't say we were coming here. It must have been a surprise. I love it! Buddy and I wrestle and play for at least an hour. Just when our mommies think we are done and resting, we would hop up and start all over again. Ah to be a young pup! Needless to say...I slept the whole way home. I had a wonderful day!