Christmas Loot

Bode received a lot of goodies this year for Christmas. Santa probably had to rent a U-Haul to carry the extra load. Here's a shot of the Christmas tree with all the presents pre-carnage. We were fortunate to have Ashley's parents (Frank and JoAnne) join us for the holidays. They even brought their little dog, Alley, which gave Auburn a playmate. Well, playmate probably isn't the right word. I didn't think there could be a dog as lazy as Auburn until I met Alley. Here's a shot of them during one of their more active states, and I say active because they aren't sleeping which is how they spend ~20 hours a day.Bode did great opening the presents. We would have to tear the paper to get him going, but once he started, there was no stopping him. Plus, unlike last year, he was actually more interested in the toys than the boxes/paper.
Bode got all sorts of great toys. His favorite thus far is Mega Playland, which is a bunch of structures that can be velcroed together to create a little mini-empire, over which Bode rules with an iron fist. Here are some shots of all of us playing. Yes, I actually crawled into the structure with the little man. Obviously we were having a good time. Auburn tried to sneak in, but we were able to keep her out.
Bode also got a cool aisle. I was trying to instruct him on his A-B-C's, but all he wanted to do was scribble. For that, I gave him detention :-)He actually uses the chalk and knows how to use the eraser...not sure where he learned that (daycare?). We'll have to get him some colored chalk and see what sort of pictures he can create.

Thanks much for all the cool toys and gifts. We had a great Christmas and wish everyone a pleasant holiday.

A Christmas Miracle

Piggy has been found! The weather was (relatively) warm today...high was close to 40, so we weren't exactly breaking out the swimsuits. However, it wasn't raining or snowing (but the old-man was snoring), so Ashley decided to try to find Piggy (and also a stuffed Tiger that disappeared last week thanks to that bitch that lives with us). She wasn't outside more than a couple minutes when she comes running in doing her impression of Archimedes ("Eureka! I have found it!"). Of course, before giving him back to Bode, Piggy needs a bath.Ashley found him buried right next to the house. We agree that Auburn must have moved him, because we dug there numerous times. Auburn is crafty, so I'm sure she'll hide the Tiger up near the fence line...I doubt we'll see him until spring.

Last night, we went to see Santa Claus. He was putting in an appearance at the Town and Country, a little mall just up the street. The nice thing about this Santa is that it's free. You are encouraged to take personal pictures--no one selling a digital photograph on a DVD for $19.95 nor trying to prevent you from snapping your own personal shots. Bode wasn't a big fan of St. Nick.I think he was able to get in a quick wish before fleeing: "Santa, I really want that 40" flat screen," is what I heard him say, although his mother doesn't agree...We'll see what shows up on Christmas Day.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a pleasant day.

Sleepy Bodeman

To those of you sitting on the edge of your sits, I apologize in advance since I have no good news. Piggy is still missing. Ashley and I have searched and searched and searched again. The result? No Piggy, but we did find seven (yes, seven) socks buried in various places. I tried giving Auburn a bone, knowing she would take it outside to bury. I think she knew I was watching her, even though I tried to be sneaky about it. Either bones are buried in a different place than the stuffed animals or she knew she was being followed and didn't want to lead me to the evidence. I might go outside today and check again. I can't believe we haven't been able to find this pig. It's not like he's small--he stretches from my fingertips to the mid-wrist region. Bode doesn't seem to really miss the pig--he has plenty of other fury friends. I think Ashley and I are more heart-broken. This was his first toy to which he showed emotional attachment. Hopefully Piggy's just hibernating and he'll make an appearance in the spring...

The other evening Ashley was sitting in the dining room while Bode finished up eating. I walked into the kitchen, and it was very quiet. Bode was sleeping in his chair.The little guy was out cold. We snapped quite a few shots of him. He never stirred.
We cleared his tray, cleaned him up with a wet rag, and the little dude was still sleeping. Of course, later that night, he had no interest in going to bed :-)Today has been a good day. Ashley is out shopping and Bode is just out (sleeping). I ran a race today--the Jingle Bell 5K. There were 627 runner/walkers, albeit none of the really fast local runners were there. That being the case, I was able to finish third overall--but was the second-place male finisher i.e. a girl beat me. And I'm ok with that--at least she wasn't a 67-year old nun :-) For my effort, I won a nice Asic gym bag, a $20 gift certificate to Dick's Sporting Good's, and a $20 gift card to a local running shop. I now consider myself a professional athlete, although I won't be on the Forbes Highest Paid Athlete list anytime soon. But unlike some professional athletes, Ashley has not chased me down the driveway with a golf club.

Pleasant day.