The mighty woodchuck hunter

Braedyn and his kill-the woodchuck

Braedyn, loyal friend.

Braedyn-the closest he could get to a mountain.

Braedyn in the winter-his favorite time of year.

Braedyn the puppy.

Braedyn, the mighty woodchuck hunter. He is a Bernese Mountain dog and is a bit overweight, but the happiest animal I have ever seen. He is by no means the smartest dog or animal I've ever seen, but happy. He is large, has a lot of hair and eats a lot but a great family pet. Lately he has taken to hunting, killing and bringing home his prey-the woodchuck. Darr takes the kill and buries it. Well for the last two days Braedyn has had a very bad odor. So I think he as another woodchuck "hidden" somewhere that he has been rolling in. We wash him, only for him to disappear the next day and come back stinking.
We also have a neurotic Golden Retriever, Kolby, and he stays in the yard because of the wireless electric fence that Braedyn runs through.

Kolby, the nut.

We are getting to the time of the year he hates. For the obvious reason, he hates the heat. We tried to shave him, but apparently he is afraid of the clippers. I think he saw Kolby's haircut and thought, NO WAY.

NEW BABY!!!

Congratulations to my brother and sister-in-law on the birth of their daughter Kennedy. No middle name yet. Proud big sisters are Mattison and Reagan.
We went and saw baby Kennedy. Such a sweet, cute, little baby. Chloe took a good look, Hannah breezed by with a quick glance and Dillon didn't even notice me holding her. Such a boy and still the only boy.

Warm spring day

The three stooges! It was really warm today, about 83. Dillon wasn't sure of this car. Maybe he wasn't sure about who was pushing it!
***Our front lawn takes a lot of abuse during the winter, especially from the dogs. Hopefully it will be back to normal soon. I don't really care for the look we've got going there.

"You've got to be kidding me? They're just going to leave me here?"

Dillon's first freezie pop. He normally won't eat anything cold, but I think he was so hot he was willing to give it a try.
This face says it all about the freezie pop. He kept eating it though.

Our sweaty boy!

Hannah and Dillon playing frisbee.

Check out those skinny little legs!

Chloe enjoying the weather

Dillon and his truck

Dillon has a buckle fetish. This boy can't pass up any type of buckle. At the grocery store I usually end up buckling the buckle behind him in the cart to stop his tantrum. The reason for the tantrum is he can't UNBUCKLE any of them. We have them in the swing, the highchair, shopping carts, strollers, and now his car. They are everywhere. They have a good purpose and we do use them, but it certainly causes a lot of stress for him.

Hannah climbing the tree.

Spring!!

Spring has sprung. Now it will probably snow! Dillon and the girls played outside all afternoon yesterday. He has overcome his fear of grass and dirt. He will walk on both. I'm not sure about bare feet yet. Unlike his crazy sisters, he kept his shoes on. As far as the sandbox, he will hold sand but isn't really into it..........yet.

Feeding is going very well. He willingly eats what we feed him off a spoon or fork. He has never had M&M's, as far as I know, but on Sunday he didn't hesitate to try them. If I had put a piece of meat on his tray, forget it. I would have to feed him the meat, but the M&M's went right down. How does he know the good stuff ?????

We are also noticing Dillon is trying to say more words. They basically all sound the same, but he is trying. At the grocery store he was saying "Sponge Bob". I didn't think anyone would know what he was saying, but the lady behind me said to him, "oh, yes Sponge Bob". He was holding yogurt with Sponge Bob on it, but I really think she understood him.

Poor Hannah is home sick today. She started throwing up at 5 am. As of now she seems better. Hopefully the rest of us don't get it. We have had enough illnesses in this house.

Dillon's haircut and "barn" boots

With "mud season" approaching I decided to get Dillon used to rain/barn/mud boots. When the girls were younger and Darr was working on the farm, they always called these boots "barn-boots". He was very hesitant to put them on, but once he got them on, he decided he really liked them. He will now walk outside on pavement without any problems. I don't think grass and sand are going to be a huge problem- should we ever see them again. Actually we have hardly any snow left, which means mud is just around the corner.

We have been working on Dillon eating foods other than fruit. I would love to know what exactly and how his foster mom fed him. I don't know if he is just "testing" us or if food really is this foreign to him. She said he ate everything. I still feel she was a great foster mom, but I just don't know what to make of this food situation. So far we have gotten him to eat pasta, rice and eggs. In order to do this we have to STRONGLY ENCOURAGE him to eat it. Once we get the food in his mouth he eats it willingly. Getting it in his mouth is the challenge. Once it is in his mouth everyone in the room must clap and cheer. Aren't we going to look stupid in a restaurant???? We also "reward" him by giving him strawberries after each bite. Oh what we do for our kids!!

Today Darr, Chloe and Dillon got their haircut. We gave Dillon a lollipop for the first time. I think it helped keep him still. Even when it was covered with hair he kept on licking. It made him a big sticky, hairy, red mess-but his hair got cut. Nice job Gail. On the way home we got ice cream and of course that could not cross his lips! He won't eat it because it is cold.

I mailed his foster mom some pictures and a card today. Hopefully it gets to her and she doesn't have to pay any taxes (or whatever) to get it. I would hate to mail her something and have her not able to get it due to money.