Frozen Solid

It's freezing here in the upper midwest, we're fighting through sub-zero temps and since the boy and I are in Michigan City it is of course snowing!

Vince has been sick with a stomach issue over the last week so our "outdoor time" has been curtailed greatly. However, he finally seems to have taken a turn for the better and we have been able to get in a walk or two over the last few days. On Saturday we went over to Lincoln Park for and hour while Paula had brunch. The boy slept for the rest of the weekend, he was so worn out!

On Sunday the temp dropped to ghastly levels. I have been been taking tennis lessons at the local raquet club (more on that when I'm able to hit the ball over the net on a consistent basis) and that was the only time we went out all day long. (Vince's potty breaks being the exception.)

Happy New Year!!

We sure packed a lot of things in the last few days of 2007. Eric's niece, Kierstyn, came to visit us for a few days so we took her all around town. We went pottery painting, visited American Girl, ate at Uno's and Ed Debevic's, had hot chocolate at the Signature Lounge (96th floor of the Hancock building) went to the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium, and saw the lights at the Lincoln Park Zoo! I'm exhausted just thinking about it all.

Jen also took two of her nieces Jess and Cindy to Chicago as well. We all met up at Uno's for the best pizza in town!

While we were at the Shedd, a diver was in the center reef tank feeding the fish.

After the Shedd, we headed over to the Adler Planetarium to see outerwordly adventures. We went to a nice winter night sky show where they showed us what stars and constellations are visible in the current sky. Of course, you have to venture outside of Chicago city limits to be able to see most stars. It also looks like we will both be going to the moon in NASA's next moon mission.

Last but not least, we celebrated New Year's Eve in style. We hosted the NYE party this year, and we had a great crowd to ring in the new year with. Even Dawn and Brendan decided to suffer the weather and come up from Florida to participate in the festivities. Of course, any trip they go is required to have some luggage drama...their bag did not make it to our house until 24 hours after they had arrived...and let me point out that the bag arrived in Chicago only 2 hours after they did, so it took about 22 hours to deliver one bag 14 miles. What a statistic.

And don't worry about Vincent, he hasn't been ignored during all these events. He's been spending this whole time at puppy camp playing the days away. We pick him up tonight, and I'm sure he'll sleep the next two days solidly, but I'm sure he'll be happy to be back home and playing in the snow.

Vincent's First Christmas

Vince had a very fun first Christmas with Paula and Eric! He received all sorts of presents.

One of his new toys is a squirrel that almost looks like the real deal...we're not sure yet whether this was a good idea. LOL

Vince also received a Booda Bone from Grandma and Grandpa Wlos. He played with it all day on Christmas.

Playing in the snow with my Best Friend Eli!

It's the most wonderful time of the year....snow time!! Vince absolutely LOVES the snow. He likes to play in it, run around in it, eat it, and making it yellow - but not eating the yellow snow! There seems to be nothing more exciting than the snow. If Vince had his way, there would be fresh snow to run around in and eat every day.






Yes, Vince has a best friend. His name is Eli, and he lives across the street. Eli is the same age and size as Vince, so they are a perfect match for Puppy Plaaaaaay! Not to mention they look alike and were both rescued pups.

Unfortunately, Eli doesn't like to run around at top speeds like Vince does. Whenever Vince starts running around at top speed for several laps around the park, Eli sits down and watches. That is just too much effort to expend for Eli. If you can't tell, Vince is on the left.

Happy Birthday Vince!

Vince turned one year old on Thursday the 29th of November and we of course celebrated. We didn't bake a cake or have a puppy birthday party like some websites describe (http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/party_dog_puppy.htm) but we did give him a little treat with dinner.

We chopped up an all beef organic hot dog and mixed it in with Vince's normal food. Oh, I should add that he's switched over from puppy chow to adult food in the last few weeks, he's all grown up! Vince snarfed down his food, fell into a food coma, and eventually got a little sick. We're not sure if it was the hot dog itself or the fact that he ate it in 1 minute that lead to his upset stomach.

Vince got a new bed and a puppy stocking (Christmas is coming after all) for his birthday gifts this year. I'm sure he didn't have any idea WHY he was getting new stuff, but he does seem to like the new bed!

Post Thanksgiving Hangover

Well now that Purdue's football season is over it's time to move back to blogging on Vincent's site! The football season didn't just end poorly, it was a mess with the Boilers dropping their last three including the bucket game. GUH!!! I've decided that even if Purdue goes to a bowl we will not be attending. I can't take this team anymore this year.

Hope everyone had a wonderful turkey day, Paula and I had a great weekend. We went to Missouri to visit with Paula's family then met my parents in Chicago for lunch and shopping on Saturday.

Vinny enjoyed his time at a new puppy camp. (I was negligent in making his reservations at his normal puppy camp.) He surely had a good time, he came back with the stink of puppy play all over him. It took an extra long bath to clean him up!

After three days of sleeping off the after effects of puppy camp (I swear he doesn't sleep while he's there) Vince is back to normal. We took a long 3 mile walk and then came back to play fetch at the condo in the MC. The long walks are a little tougher now that the weather is breaking to the cool side. The night here was cool and clear, so much so that when we were walking along the lake you could actually make out the lights of the towers in Chicago almost 30 miles across the lake!

Kissed by A GIRL!

So after Vince and I dropped Paula off for the start of her trip to Argentina, we went to Lincoln Park for a walk. It's been a while since we went for a walk in our old neighborhood, it's always interesting to see the changes that happen. One example would be the Blockbuster which is now a coat store.

At any rate, the boy and I were going into the north pond entrace to Lincoln Park when a chocolate lab puppy was coming out. It was a femaled named Sadie and she was very affectionate! When Vince bent down to sniff she just started licking him all over his snout! I don't think Vince really knew what to do. So now Vince has had his first kiss with a girl!