Christmas Recap

My first Christmas was a fun (and profitable) time for me. As you probably know, I have a lot of fans and consequently, got a lot of gifts. So many that I have been talking about turning the office into "Baxter's playroom". So far daddy (who works from the office) has not been listening. Compared to the other stuff, mommy and daddy's gifts to me were kind of lame. They got me a bigger crate. I'm not sure I even consider that a gift to me. I think it's more of a gift to them.

The neighbors across the hallway gave me a couple of squeaky toys and some treats. The rawhides were particularly divine. Grandma Linda and Grandpa Ray got me a bunch of toys and treats, including what I consider the perfect toy -- it's white, fluffy, and has velcro on it. All of my favorite things. They also got me a cool blanket with panda head and feet on it. I like to sleep on it and carry it around the house. Mommy had to do facial reconstructive surgery on my panda, though, 'cause I chewed off the plastic eyes and nose. Mommy' s not a good surgeon and now his nose is a little crooked. Auntie Cassie sent me toy in the mail -- it's both a squeaky toy and a rope toy. How cool is that? From Aunt Heather and Uncle Mark and Aunt Sara and Uncle John, I got a whole bunch of stuff -- including a candy cane that's as big as I am! Sometimes I trip on it when I try to run around with it. They also got me a squeaky toy chicken that scares me when it squeaks. Daddy likes to tease me with it, so I'm not so happy about that one. Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Mike gave me some squeaky toys when they were down to visit last month. I especially like chewing on them.

P.S. Thanks to Aunt Sara for the adorable picture of me. Believe it or not, this was before the New Year's Eve party got really rockin'.

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm having a great Christmas! I slept in this morning -- got to cuddle up close to daddy and stay warm! I got to open my presents last night so this morning I had lots of time to play with them. (I'll show you pictures of them a little later). Now I'm helping daddy set up his drum set. Check out our matching jammies. (Mommy has a pair of them, too!)

Baxter's Stocking

In the living room, there's three things hanging near the fireplace. A few weeks ago, mommy told me that the one in the middle is Baxter's stocking. I'm not sure why she told me that because apparently I'm not allowed to play with it. I know this because I tried tonight. Mommy took it away from me and told me I can't have it until tomorrow.

No Snow Day for Baxter

Mommy got the day off today and got to stay home. Baxter wasn't so lucky. Daddy made me go to work anyways. Something about how my commute from the bedroom to the office isn't outside and so I shouldn't be complaining. I was a little late in this morning ('cause I slept in with mommy), so I hope he doesn't dock my pay.

Snow!

Mommy, daddy, and I went outside to investigate the snow. (Also, I had to go potty and mommy's not happy with me using the balcony as my own personal bathroom. Even though daddy said it was okay.) The snow is taller than I am! I have to jump to get through it (watch the video!) Luckily the condo association has cleared trails through the snow 'cause otherwise I would get buried and lost. I'll admit it, though, it's kind of fun to run and jump through the snow. Last night I played outside with one of my doggie friends and we ran and jumped and wrestled each other. Lots of fun! I didn't want to come back inside, but mommy and daddy made me.

Another snow!

It's snowing out again! This time there's lots of it. When mommy, daddy, and I went outside earlier, I fell into a big pile of it and had trouble getting out. (It's taller than I am). Luckily, daddy decided he was going to take a nap, so I'm just going to chill out on the couch for a little while.

In other news, I got a message from Santa today. Well, actually mommy got it since she says I'm too young to have my own email address. (So I can blog, but not send email. That doesn't make any sense). Here's the link if you want to check it out: http://portablenorthpole.tv/watch/57068819ab5c598f591b0ca8f2b4b2f5

Oops

We had an incident last night. Someone -- I'm not naming any names -- had an accident on the bed. (Okay it was me. Don't judge me.) Mommy and daddy had to strip and remake the bed at midnight. Mommy was not happy. Daddy washed the sheets -- and the waterproof mattress pad -- today. (He still has to take the comforter to the dry cleaners). And then (this is where it gets interesting), he left the mattress pad on the couch. Well, you know how much I love to sleep in warm laundry.... So I decided to sleep on it.

And then I found out that it was pretty cool to chew on. The sides of the mattress pad are made of a meshy-type material and then there's a plastic-y part in the middle. So I shredded up the mattress pad while daddy was running errands today! It was so much fun! But mommy was not happy when she got home.... Especially since she also had to clean up all the bubble wrap I had played with while daddy was gone.

Lights!

It was a busy weekend! Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Mike came to visit me. They brought along my cousin Peanut. I guess Peanut is my cousin 'cause technically his mommy is my Aunt Heather. But he lives with my Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Mike. But I digress...

I had a fun weekend playing with Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Mike. I tried really hard to get Peanut to play with me, but he wasn't really into it. We even went to the dog park on Saturday and all he wanted to do was sit on Grandma Nancy's lap rather than playing with the other doggies! Can you believe that?

Last night, though, we went a park. But this time we didn't get out and walk. We gave people money at the beginning of the park. (I was sort of bummed that they didn't give us any food -- that's what normally happens when you drive by something and people come to your window). We drove through it and there were light displays all over! It was so much fun! Mommy opened the window and left me sit on her lap to see the pretty lights. I got pretty cold, though, so she had to wrap me in her coat. It was lots of fun, but I was so warm and cozy on mommy's lap that I fell asleep.

Christmas presents!

On Friday, daddy left me alone in the living room for a little while. I decided that Christmas was going to come a little early for Baxter this year and opened up my present. I picked out the only one that was for me under the tree (I'm a little concerned that there was only one for me under the tree) and opened it. Then I got to play with my present! It was a stuffed bear with squeakers in its paws! Lots of fun! Mommy wasn't really happy with me (or daddy) when she got home from work, though....

Helping

As I've mentioned before, I'm a pretty helpful guy. When mommy and daddy are loading the dishwasher, I'm right there, helping to load it. And if I happen to catch a delicious morsel of food while I'm doing it, well, that's just my reward for being such a great guy. Tonight I decided to help daddy unload the dishwasher. I discovered that there's no food when the dishes are clean. But mommy and daddy do keep sticks in the dishwasher and you know how much I love to play with sticks....

Hangin' Out

See my new hat? No, I did not take it away from Santa. Mommy bought me the hat on Saturday. We -- mommy, daddy, and me -- walked to the drug store a few blocks away and mommy bought it for me. I carried it all the way home all by myself. I had to hold my head up pretty high because otherwise I tripped over it. And now I like to play with it. Especially in front of the Christmas tree. Just don't tell Santa....

Helping Mommy

I was a big help to mommy today. At least that's what she kept telling me. She was wrapping Christmas presents and I helped by getting out the ribbon. I wanted to help with the paper and the tape too, but she wouldn't let me.

Lazy Sundays

Daddy and I slept in this morning. Well, I had to get up early with mommy to go outside and go potty. (I went potty outside, mommy didn't.) But then I went back to bed and cuddled up next to daddy. Speaking of going potty outside, I had a hard time finding a place to go. The grass was all covered with snow and crunched under my paws. I had a hard time walking and had to really look in order to find some grass. Today looks to be kind of a quiet day. Mommy's been busy cleaning up my toys and daddy says he has work to do. I'll probably have to help him at work. There was talk of a walk later this afternoon, though. I'll keep you posted.

Santa!

So remember that guy in the red suit that was hanging around at the Christmas tree a couple nights ago? Santa was at PetSmart today! So I had my picture taken and Santa told me that I was going to get everything I wanted for Christmas. I can't wait to get my pony!

The Sky is Falling!

There's something strange happening outside. I'm not sure what it is. But apparently there's pieces of the sky falling down. And the sky is cold and wet. Mommy and daddy called it "snow" but I'm pretty sure that it's the sky. I'm not sure that I like this stuff. It makes the ground slippery so I can slide when I run, but it's also cold and wet outside. Seems a lot like rain. I'll have to think about this stuff....

A bigger Tree!

Last night mommy, daddy, and I walked to the lighting of our city's Christmas Tree. Some chubby guy in a red suit was there, along with a deer with a red nose. It was a lot of fun, even if I didn't get any of the hot chocolate. I was also a little bummed that I didn't get to go on the horse rides -- there were horses pulling people in carriages. But I did get to watch the horses. And the people driving the horses waved to me. Of course, there were also lots of people who told me how cute I was and petted me! It was lots of fun -- and we got cheeseburgers and fries for dinner!

Birthday!

Guess what?! As of yesterday, I'm seven months old. That's old! And in celebration (since mommy and daddy didn't get me any presents), I'm sharing some baby pictures of me with you guys. These came from the people that owned my doggie mommy 'cause they were taken before I came to live with mommy and daddy. Enjoy!