On Thanksgiving we visited three of our different friends' houses.  We first stopped off at Norm & Shirley's place and then went to Brooke & Anne's place and ended off the night with Steve & Amanda.  It was great to see everyone and enjoy some great food together.  Claire got to play with various dogs and kids so she had a great day as well.


Claire's hair is starting to get pretty long.


Supporting Marquette basketball wearing her MU t-shirt.


Playing kickball in the front yard.


We went to Monkey Joe's on Sunday afternoon.  Every time we drive near the Park Road Shopping Center she says "Monkey Joe's".  That blur on the slide is us.


Claire is quite the helper.  When Parker is done eating and she sees water in his crate she asks for a paper towel and cleans it up.


We got our tree on Sunday and Claire was telling me where to hang all of the ornaments.  She loves looking at the lights.

Claire is a funny little girl.  We do a lot of laughing together.  She loves reading and learning new words as well as playing.....hard.  She is not afraid of getting in the mix with the other kids and often gravitates towards older kids to play with.  She loves all of her classmates and really enjoys going to school to see them every day.


Thanksgiving family photo at Freedom Park.  I staged the camera and put it on the 10 second timer which gave Parker and me just enough time to get into position.  Missing in the photo is Budinski.


Claire had a bit of a meltdown and decided to flop on the floor.  She is the sweetest little girl most of the time but every so often when she is hungry or tired she'll let us know about it.  I think it's good to have a little fiest in you but we try to avoid it as much as possible.


I've been doing a lot of studying on dog training and we're making good progress.  We first worked on pack structure and have also started working on marker training to teach him the different commands in a fun manner.  We'll slowly add distractions when the time comes.  As of right now he will consistently do SIT, DOWN, TOUCH (follow the hand), STAY, and will go to his bed on the PLACE command when there aren't any distractions.  I'm slowly adding distractions and he's doing pretty good.  He's very food driven which makes the training easier since he stays engaged with me during our training sessions.  He's also building his endurance while running and his longest run so far is 4 miles.  I think he prefers the 1.25 mile run at 5:30 pace over the slower 4 mile run though.

Every time we go to the farmer's market Claire gets a free apple.  It's funny to watch her eat such a big apple.


It was pajama day at school.


My life has gotten a little more hectic since we've added Parker to our family.  My morning now starts at 5:30am to take him out to the bathroom.  Then we do some marker training.  Then we go for a run to tire him out for the day.  I then feed him and go get ready for work before Claire wakes up.  Once Claire wakes up I get her ready for school and try to eat breakfast at the same time.  A bit hectic but I'm starting to get used to it.  We couldn't have asked for a better dog though.


Until we've got our house rules and pack structure in order Parker will stay on leash while in the house and he sleeps in his crate.  He doesn't seem to mind his crate at all.  Once he knows all the rules and is following them he'll get more freedom in the house.  He's pretty darn good so I don't think it will take too long but don't want to rush it.


Budinski has been hissing at Parker quite a bit but Parker doesn't seem to be a threat for him.  After 13 years I don't think he likes having another man in the house.

Claire's favorite meal is avacado, black beans, shredded cheese, and tomatoes.  She also loves eating with her frog bib (food catcher) on.  When it's time to eat she says "froggy".


We went trick or treating with the Hudziks on Monday.  Eli was a teenage mutant ninja turtle and Avery was a dog.  Their new house that they custom built is simply amazing.


Claire continued to share her treats with her friends.


On Sunday Claire went to a birthday party at My Gym put on by three of her classmates (Abby, Max, and Simon) who all have birthdays around the same time.  It was a good chance for us to get to know the other parents better.


Claire had a lot of fun getting buried in the tank of balls.


Claire doesn't mind a bit of rough housing.  She may be small but she can hold her own with the big dogs.


Speaking of dogs.....we got a dog on Sunday!  He's nearly one year old and his name is Parker.  We got him at a rescue shelter and he is just great.  He's a black lab and beagle mix and is almost fully grown at 30 lbs.  I've been studying up on dog training and he's a very fast learner.

The only other thing to note is that Brad (our friend living next door for a month) made some killer ribs on Saturday night.  We had some dinner, had a couple gimlets, and watched the LSU vs. Alabama game (which was everything it was hyped up to be).  Aside from that, I've been playing basketball nearly every day and am digging it.  I play full court at the Dowd on Tue/Thu and half court at uptown on Mon/Wed/Fri at lunch time.  The shot comes back quickly but ball handling takes some time.