Spencer’s 1st Week of no Alex

When Alex started preschool last fall, Spencer was almost 14 months old. He wasn’t doing a lot of playing with Alex yet, and really had no idea he wasn’t around on the 2 days he went to school. This year, he was a bit confused when he woke up and couldn’t find Alex. Then, I think he was excited to have the house to himself! We took it easy this week and mostly did chores around the house and played. He’ll be starting Kindermusik soon, and since it’s so hard to find playgroups around here, we may do The Little Gym as well. We also tried out storytime at the library today and he loved it, so I think that will be a regular thing as well. I’m looking forward to my special Spencer time!

Spencer brought me Alex’s robe and said, “brrrr”.

I think he was happy I didn’t have to wake him to bring Alex to school. Thanks, Daddy!

I guess Spencer thought Kovu was cold, because he covered him with blankets and towels while I folded clothes.

Surpisingly, Kovu cooperated for about 10 minutes!

Spencer’s breakfast and a movie while Mommy exercises.

Zoe!

Grandma Lisa and Papa Bob brought Zoe up to meet Alex and Spencer last week. The boys (and Kovu too!) had a blast playing with her! I think Alex really wanted to keep her at our house!. Zoe, come play again soon (and bring Grandma and Papa along with you)!

We played lots of blocks and “talking”

Kovu and Zoe were fast friends.

I think Alex was trying to steal Zoe away.

Riding Kovu

I can just hear the chorus of “Poor Kovu”!

Can you believe he let Alex sit on him for 2-3 minutes? Alex was so happy!

Good Dog

Kovu has been so good with Alex and Spencer lately. Well, he’s only good to Spencer because he has a new found love of feeding all his food to Kovu and letting him lick his fingers. Alex loves for Kovu to lay on him and I think Kovu has decided to accept all the love he can get.

Tim got out of the shower one morning and found these two cuties. (I was in the nursery with Spencer).

A few weeks later, they spent the morning like this. (How weird is it that Alex is wearing the same pjs?)

Walking the Dog

Yesterday, while putting shoes his shoes on to play outside, Alex asked if I would put on Kovu’s leash. Normally, Kovu is such a bum when it comes to playing outside. He usually just wanders the yard, does his business, runs a lap or two, then whines to go back in … and that’s with us outside with him! So, I agreed to the leash, especially since Spencer was napping. Alex had tons of fun! I wish Kovu would always play with Alex like this!

Papa Bought a Tractor

Last weekend, we traveled to Spartanburg so I could go to my cousin’s bridal shower. Of course, as far as Alex was concerned, we were just going to see Papa’s new tractor. While he was disappointed to see that it wasn’t green, he still really liked it and talks about it everyday.

Before leaving on Sunday, we took some pictures of the proud Papas and their grand-boys.

I really wish I knew what Alex was saying.

It was nice to see Uncle Eric while he was home from New Foundland.

Kovu is not a fan of anything on wheels … he tried to attack the tractor the same way he goes after the PowerWheel and the lawn mower!

Alex Driving Kovu Crazy

Last Friday, Alex drove Kovu crazy ... literally! We pulled out his PowerWheel and Kovu, who has never liked anything on wheels, must have found it to be quite a threat. Watch this:

We had so much fun encouraging Alex to drive and watching Kovu make a fool of himself. We all slept very well Friday night! Here are a few more pictures of the fun:

Checking under the hood.

We added a cushion to soften the blow - every time Alex hits the gas, he’s jerked backwards.

The Jeep also serves as a jungle gym …

We played “tow truck” for quite a while!

Click here to read the post I wrote back in August when we first brought the Jeep home.

Patient Kovu?

Anyone who knows Kovu knows he hasn’t always been impressed by Alex. While he’s always been careful not to hurt him, he generally tries to stay away from him … unless Alex is giving him food. From one of the first times Kovu had the chance to inspect Alex, we could almost see him wondering what in the world had come into his life and moved him to the bottom of the Totem Pole.

Is this a puppy or a human?

That’s why these next two pictures are so amazing. I almost wonder if he knows another Strunck boy is on the way and that he might as well give up? Either way, this was a big moment!

We don’t know what possessed him to walk over there and sit on Kovu …

… but he sure was excited that his plan finally worked out!

Poor Kovu!

We found a great vet the other week and decided to leave Kovu at their kennel while we were away last weekend. Part of the reason this vet is so awesome is that they do a free nail clipping while a dog is in the kennel. This is fantastic, especially since 2 different vets have tried to clip Kovu’s nails and were unsuccessful – he’s just too strong! This vet was actually able to do his back paws with no problem … but had to sedate him to do the front. While he was out, she decided to take a sample of a bump he’s had on his side for a couple of years. Good thing she did! Turns out it’s a mast cell tumor, which could eventually become cancerous. It also contains histamines and probably is part of the reason we had to give him those allergy shots for so long!! I wish we had met Dr. Crow a long time ago! She kept Kovu on Monday and cut the bump out. Thank goodness he can’t reach the incision with his mouth, so no huge cones bumping into walls and Alex! She did recommend putting a shirt on him to keep him from scratching the incision. Since it’s so cold, we put him in a fleece!

(Not) Feeding Kovu

Even though he’s not quite two, Alex already has a few chores. One is helping with the laundry, and another is helping feed Kovu. He used to try to scoop the food, but he got frustrated at not being able to scoop more than 4 or 5 pieces at a time (Kovu got pretty frustrated too). So now, he sits next to the food and pours each scoop in the dish after I do the scooping. Then he stands up and carries the food over to the mat where Kovu eats. At least, that how he used to help. Now he likes to set the dish in the middle of the room, waits until Kovu starts eating, then laughs hysterically and moves the dish to another location. Kovu has been a very good sport about it! The other night, Alex decided to really change things up and dumped the entire bowl of food down the ramp of his parking garage. O. My. G, as Cerys would say!! I was cooking dinner and didn’t realize what was happening until I heard the food pouring down the ramp. Tim was on his computer and jumped up to record the clean-up:

Feeding Kovu

Alex wanted to help me scoop Kovu’s food yesterday. He knew exactly what to do: he grabbed the scoop, stuck it in the box of food … and pulled out maybe 3 pieces. Kovu was going crazy watching Alex scoop just a few pieces at a time.

I want to do it!	Oops, I dropped a piece.
I’ll put it in the scoop …	… then I’ll drop it in the bowl.

Meet My New Pet, Alex

Tim, Alex, Kovu, and I ventured up to Spartanburg, SC to see Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, and friends for a long weekend. We left Thursday night around 7, getting in to Grandma and Grandpa Murff’s house close to 1:00 in the morning. Even though it was a long ride, Alex did really well! Daddy rode in back with him most of the way and kept him fed and happy. Considering that we drove from 3:00 – 8:00 on Sunday with only a brief nap, Alex did very well on the way back home. It’s great to know he does well on road trips, because we’re ready to start taking more of them!

We were too busy playing to take many pictures, but I did manage to capture this special moment. Alex was captivated by Kovu’s crate and loved crawling inside and closing the door. The moment is all the more special because he’d pulled off a sock and was looking particularly crazy with his wild hair. I love this boy!

Goofy Alex Chasing Kovu

Alex's new love is chasing (and yelling at) Kovu. Kovu is generally still pretty scared of Alex, so he just tries to get as far away from him as possible. Tim finally caught the whole episode on video last night. Poor Kovu just got stressed out and left the room while I was watching the video ... haha. This child has no fear of big dogs ... makes me wonder what he thinks about little ones!

Feeding Kovu & Playing With Trucks (Videos)

Please excuse the mess you see in these videos, as I was in the process of major packing and unpacking!! Watch how Alex has been keeping himself busy while I pack up the owner’s stuff and unpack all our stuff from storage.

 

Loving on Kovu

Kovu has become a very patient dog lately. To thank him, I let him nap in the sun in our room during the day and on the couch at night. Good dog! Here are a few good shots of Alex playing around with Kovu.