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!

New Friends!

While Vinny partied it up with the Puppy set at A Dog's Day Inn over the weekend Paula and I jetted off to Purdue for Homecoming weekend. It was a great time, you can find a link to the photos and updates on our Stone Cold Tailgating Blog.


While at the game we got to meet a new puppy friend! Jen and Tony (the guy playing tug of war with Vince below) got a new puppy and they brought him up for the game. The puppy's name is Sanders and he's also got his own blog: http://www.goodsanders.blogspot.com/.










We look forward to Sanders and Vince meeting each other once Sanders is big enough to defend himself against Vince in the puppy play department. Vince's frequent trips to open kennel have made him a very skilled puppy player. He has learned all the tricks needed to "win" his puppy interactions - though we're trying to train that out of him!

My First Tailgate

Vince got to go to his first Purdue Football tailgate yesterday! He seemed to really enjoy himself, there were plenty of new things to smell and lots of people to shower with affection.

Unfortunately the heat still has not let up for us here int he midwest and Paula ended up heading out to the tailgate to let Vince out during the third quarter. It was probably cool enough in the car, but we were worried and thought it best to let him out.

I Made It Home!

As you see in the Oktoberfest post, I had a problem with a bike in Munich. This evening for the first time since the "incident" I summoned the courage to crawl back on a bike! I made it 12 miles with no problems. My wounds are healed - mental and physical!

Real problem was after I got home, I managed to get lost while walking the pooch. The wooded neighborhoods around here are really difficult to navigate in the dark with only a flashlight. After an hour we managed to wander our way back to a main road and found our way back but it was a bit worrisome for a while.

Boys Weekend

Paula's off trotting the globe again so it was just the boys hanging out for the weekend. Today was great, we spent most of the day at the vet. (Vince picked up a little something at the puppy camp.) We spent the weekend in the MC because I was working all day on Saturday.

The most excitement we had all weekend was our long walk tonight! We headed out to take our walk a little later than usual tonight. What I forgot is that the sun is now going down earlier and a 7 p.m. walk is now in the pitch black. I know that I'm a total city dweller because it was so dark I was shocked! Luckily I had a flashlight with me or Vince would have been acting as a guide dog.