Our First Christmas

Lately I've been getting a lot of heat for not posting a new entry in over a month... MY APOLOGIES. Hopefully now that Hunter is getting older and the holidays are coming to a close I'll have more time to update.... The next few months promise to be exciting with New Years in Chicago next week, a playoff run for the Colts, an upcoming trip to NYC and more.

This was our first Christmas as married people and also our first Christmas with Hunter. I was very excited as Christmas cards rolled into "Mr. and Mrs. Ellis." We also had a lot of fun working on our Christmas card. Jim had a vision for the three of us to take a picture in front of a covered bridge on the Kal Haven trail in the snow. Unfortunately, the snow did not come in time for our picture. But, we had fun anyway. Here is an outtake:


That same day we went out to the tree farm to pick out our tree. It didn't seem right that we didn't even need coats. As usual we found a tree just perfect for us.




Christmas with a puppy was interesting. Hunter loved to eat all the Christmas decorations. His favorites being bulbs and the tree. Jim and I spent almost an hour one night searching the family room floor to be sure Hunter had not eaten the ornament hook.

Home Alone

Jim left Thursday after work to go hunt deer in Minnesota. So, Hunter and I have had the house to ourselves. We've been taking full advantage of his absence by filling our time with things Jim would not enjoy.

Thursday, I turned up the heat a little bit, ate a meal that included no meat, had two glasses of wine and online shopped while Hunter napped next to me on the couch. We are expecting some great things to show up on the porch later this week. My personal favorite is the Michigan State leash. Over the last week I have spent way too much time trying to find an MSU leash like the one I saw on a dog in South Haven a couple weeks ago. I never found it, but I found a pretty good one.

Friday, I hung out with a girl Jim works with. She is really cool, we have a lot in common. We grabbed some dinner and watched chick flicks. Hunter was going crazy and I hardly got to see the end of Bride Wars....

Saturday morning Hunter and I went for a long pre 9 am walk. Then, he napped outside on the porch in the sun while I washed the kitchen floor... again. This might sound bad, but since we've adopted Hunter I think I've washed the floor more than during the two plus years pre Hunter. After Hunter's nap and my cleaning we snuggled up on the couch together to watch the State game.

Caitlin and Jen both came over about two. We watched got some tasty Taco Bob's, watched the State game and took Hunter on another long walk. The goal was tuckered out pooch. We made a really tasty dinner and dessert then watched a chick flick over pinot grigio.

This morning after Jen and Caitlin left I realized I am pretty much out of activities Jim doesn't like and would like him to come back now...

I did take Hunter out to socialize in downtown South Haven. We went to this shop called Decadent Dogs. They have a lot of cute things in there, unfortunately I had to hold Hunter the whole time and didn't get to do much besides let people ooh and aww over how cute he is.

Currently, I am trying to teach Hunter that Tom Brady is the root of all evil. No good pictures for now... Hunter has grown a lot though, as soon as he sits still expect lots of Hunter updates.

Pumpkin Carving

Last Sunday we carved up our pumpkins. It's never the same as when I was growing up and my whole family carved our together, but it is nice to carry on the tradition in my own "family."

For the what seems like tenth year in a row I had to call my Mom and ask for the pumpkin seed recipe. I can't for the life of me ever remember! And it's so simple... butter and salt. There were not nearly enough seeds in our pumpkins, I was bummed.

Hunter was a pretty big fan of his paw pumpkin:

Trick or Treat

Despite the chilly wind Halloween was a great day. Hunter learned sleeping in is good, and was taken on long walks, and got lots of play time. We had many more trick or treaters than last year. Too many older kids though. I gave them the lousy candy. Cute little kids deserve the Reese's.

After the kids had their chance for fun we put on our costumes and headed out to Kalamazoo. Jim dressed as a creepy clown. Despite the fact he bought a XXL outfit it fit pretty well, except the legs, he had a good six inches of ankle showing. I dressed as a pirate, I had a whole lot more than just ankle showing and boy was it cold! Next year I vow to plan ahead and think of a creative costume so I am not forced to purchase the only thing left in my size at Halloween USA.


We met up with Chris and Logan and actually ran into Brent too. It was really fun! I was really impressed with the creativity of some of the costumes we saw. My favorite though, was the bartender dressed as Zach Morris, complete with huge cell phone.


About one o'clock we reached Lee Street and learned that while we were out Hunter had learned and mastered a new trick... He can now jump over his doggy gate.

We arrived home to find he had torn through the leftover Halloween candy then jumped back over to the other side to act like nothing had happened. Rather than crawling into bed and sleeping we got to vacuum and clean up after our naughty puppy.

All Healthy!

Now that Hunter is healthy he is keeping us very busy, hence the lack of updates.

Last Saturday was Homecoming at MSU. As we knew we'd be gone all day we wanted to have someone come let Hunter out a couple times, so I found a dog walker. (I should have dog walked instead of babysitting. These people are compensated very well!) With the dog walker secured we headed off at 5 AM to enjoy a day of prenoon drinking and football. I finally got to use my block S cake pan, I think my brownies came out great.

Homecoming is always a great time to reconnect with fellow Spartans, I am already excited for next year's game... I will definitely be investing in a thermos of some sort to bring WARM cider to tgate. I can always count on my Dad to be prepared for the elements, and the drinking!

We also found time to pick pumpkins last weekend with Cassie and Todd. We went to Jollay Orchards, the same place Jim and I picked apples last month. We excitedly boarded the hayride amongst the families and road out to the pumpkin patch. We arrived to a big disappointment. The "pumpkin patch" was just an area where they had chopped down the corn stalks and brought in pumpkins, probably from Meijer or something. NOT COOL. We all tried very hard not to discuss the lameness too loudly for fear of ruining it for the small children.


Jim and I did wind up with three stellar pumpkins. We're going to carve them today. We decided Hunter should get his own. I don't think he understood which one was his because last night during the exciting MSU vs. Iowa game he ate a hole in mine... Boo puppy! At the very least he could have done it when I had my camera ready to snap some cute pictures!

Other than the pumpkin patch our lives have been pretty Hunter oriented. We've taken him to both the doggy beach and the dog park in the last couple weeks. We also learned the key to a calm puppy is playing with another puppy. This lead to the most relaxing evening Jim and I have had since we got Hunter! I only wish I could convince Jim to get another puppy....

And We Thought Last Week Was Exciting...

What a week, again!

Monday our poor puppy started acting not so much like the puppy we brought home. He wasn't eating, drinking, or playing. All he was doing was lots of laying.

By Tuesday he was really starting to worry us so I took him into the vet. A nice chunk of change on a x-ray later and the vet informed me Hunter had pneumonia. He gave me an antibiotic and instructions. Four hours later we were back at the vet because neither Jim or me could get Hunter to take the pill. Clearly new puppy parents... They showed us how to forcibly put it down his throat.

Wednesday we were blessed in having my Mom come stay with Hunter. She kept an eye on him, forced fluids through a syringe, and managed to make us a yummy dinner. After dinner, we realized Hunter was not getting any better. We set off for Kalamazoo and the 24 hour Animal Hospital.


They admitted Hunter right away and put him on oxygen. It helped his breathing immediately. He also was hooked up to an IV, which he bit out right away, so get got the "Cone of Shame."

Hunter had to spend three nights in the hospital. I visited him every night, it was very sad. I knew he wanted to come home with me. But, the people there were so good to him. We are lucky our pup was in such good hands. Thank you, Michigan State University's College of Vet Med.

Saturday we skipped the MSU UM game to pick our puppy up from the hospital and spend the day with him. He is doing SO much better. He is eating and playing just like he used to. Jen and Sal were able to stop over and see him. It was great to see them.

Sick Puppy

Poor Hunter hasn't been eating, drinking or interested in play for about two days now. His cough, which we thought was kennel cough has also gotten worse. I took him to the vet this afternoon, they took some x-rays and it turns out my poor puppy has pneumonia. If he doesn't start getting better he's getting admitted to the animal hospital.

On a side note, our vet drives a Honda, am I wrong from questioning what this says about the man I trust with the health of my puppy? But, he did go to MSU Vet School, which I know is one of the best. I need to not discriminate against people because of their vehicle... but it is so hard!

What A Week!

Jim surprised me Monday after work by having a nameless puppy waiting for me. The first suggestion either of us had for a name was Hunter. We looked at him, we looked at each other and we knew we had a little Hunter on our hands.

The first night he was pretty shy, but loving- until we took him to bed. As suggested by the shelter and confirmed by our online research we crated him to sleep. Hunter hates his crate. He cried a lot Monday night. We took turns waking up to take him outside. We prayed Tuesday night would be better.

Tuesday morning I Hunter cried and howled as I left for work, I felt terrible. Tuesday was the longest day of work EVER. All I wanted to do was get home and play with our new puppy. Before I could come home I had to run to Petsmart and get some more puppy supplies. Employees at the Benton Harbor Petsmart must not understand the concept of "in a hurry." Finally, I had some bowls, a dog tag and some more toys for Hunter, I could go home! Hunter was so happy to see me!

We attempted to keep him in the kitchen while we ate dinner in front of the tv. I have no idea what news Brian Williams reported because Hunter barked and cried the entire time. After dinner when we were all in the same room he was a peaceful, playful pup.

We attempted a new strategy at bedtime Tuesday. We put him in his crate, but sat with him until he fell asleep. This strategy paid off and he only woke up once to go out! More sleep = HUGE IMPROVEMENT!

Wednesday Hunter seemed to be more comfortable with us and his new home. After work he got to play with the neighbor's dogs Dash and Bella. Hunter may have been much smaller, but he sure held his own playing.

Friday Hunter had his first vet visit. The vet says he is very healthy! He believes Hunter is probably a black lab pointer mix. That explains his spotted front paw. On Friday we bought Hunter his very own crate, as the one we had been using needed to be returned to the shelter. His new crate is huge, as we bought it for a full size Hunter. He seems to like his new crate much better. I hope his little puppy mind is starting to realize he is a member of our family.

Saturday Stephanie and her boyfriend Nari came over to watch MSU play football and meet Hunter. Hunter was such a showoff in front of company. He was such a showoff in front of company. He loved Stephanie's jacket and Nari's shoes.

By the time MSU lost, we had tired out Hunter. We then took Stephanie and Nari to the classiest place in South Haven, The Curve. We enjoyed cheap beer, fried food, NASCAR and Trivial Pursuit.

After The Curve Jim, Hunter and I went for a walk, Hunter's first walk. It went pretty well. He still does not quite understand the leash, but he is improving at the concept. He really enjoyed all of the attention he got from every single person we walked by.

Everyone loves a puppy.

Not Exactly Unique....

On Monday we adopted a puppy, we named him Hunter. From what the shelter can guess he was born approximately on our wedding day, making him 8 weeks old. Now that I have a new husband and a new puppy I've decided to start a blog as a venue to share our trials and tribulations.