Now it's my turn: Day 3 and overdue Lexie update

Family update

There wasn't too much exciting going on today. We spent from 8:30-12:00 driving around town. We went to Dad's office and pondered a coup of the West Coast Services Division. After the interim overthrow council decided our takeover goals should be set higher, we opted to postpone the revolution. (just kidding boss). Next was the meat store mom took me to as a kid, we got Gabe's glasses fixed, went to Lowe's & grocery shopping.

Gabe and some boys at camp completely broke his new frames wrestling in their cabin. The councilor tried to superglue everything back together. Groan.... Binyon's was super cool, replaced the lens and the frames for under $40.00. I now have nothing bad to say about them - ever.

The rest of the day was napping and playing. We had a little more of our usual boy trouble today, but I'll skip that. Temporary groundings ensued. TV was missed.

One of Andrew's sippy cups leaked on him, so I found some clothes, in his drawer, for him to wear. I think they were Toby's. He was SOOOO CUTE toddling around in oversized shorts. Noticeably absent from the scene is the sound of Priscila asking me, "what are you thinking!?!?!" Also absent is the sound (yes sound) of her eyes rolling. Like the stones of an old grist mill turning. Wait... Wait... I was wrong. Even from 6,000 miles away, you can hear it.

Shout out to Shelly B. for the chicken. Best way to put honey on chix w/o a glazing, burning mess.

We've been skyping with Priscila in the evening. She says Grandma is sad and needed reminding of how it will be when we go to the Father. Priscila will spend a couple days in her old stomping grounds catching up with her brother Andres's family before heading back to Buenos Aires. Last time we saw them was Nov, 2001.

Priscila really misses Andrew. It's not that he doesn't notice she's gone, but he's just too interested exploring his world. We start off busy and, it seems, even through the infirmities of age we finish busy. I should insert some old cliche about taking time. If you're really reading all these late-night ramblings, don't just read about taking time - take time. Now.

Lexie Update (months overdue)
Lexie has to be 2-3x her original size. We got her at 7 weeks, and she's 15 weeks now. All lean and ready for play. Let me see if I can make a list of her current tricks. Most of them have hand motions, too:

• I have a variety of sounds (hiss, ack) to indicate bad behavior. Better than "no" or yelling.
• "Kennel" for getting in her kennel. Even though she's kennel trained, she sleeps around the house in a couple different places during the day. It's just cute.
• She's house broken (Bano girl?). We've got a spot along one side of the house covered in big cedar chips for her.
• She's so quiet you have to know WHEN to take her "Bano". She'll just stay at the back door and give a little whine. Days go by without a bark from her for anything.
• Sit
• Stand
• Look at me. Brings her eyes to mine. Best trick ever for a breed with no attention span.
• Down (lay down)
• Off (don't jump on me). We're working on this one. Being a lab, it may not happen until after she's a puppy. Too many kids and people coming over.
• Inside and outside for going in/out the back door
• Stay & "break" to release her from stay (learned that online. great idea)
  
• Wait (a short stay we use when opening a car door or intersections)
• Shake
• Heel. Come to my left side by walking around behind me. Also used when walking.
• Turn around. I can circle my finger left or right and she'll follow. Now we are working on verbal "turn left", "turn right"
• Beg (paws your hand for a treat. melts your heart)
• Drop (what's in your mouth). Works when she wants to.
• She rolled over twice for Gabe. Can't get her to repeat it.
• We got 1 day's worth of fetch (go get it, bring it, drop). Now it's just "chase". Dang it.....
• She's 25% when catching treats I toss at her

She nibbles a bit on ears/cheeks when she's excited and licking us, so we're working on "no bite". She's got my fingers a few times early on with those needle-like puppy teeth. If I had to start over, I would have done several things different with mouthing/nibbling and how I hand feed her. Several dog books I have say "don't teach puppies that biting/nibbling is ok" - but forget the details on HOW or discuss prevention.

Toby and Ethan have inadvertently taught her that chasing a little kid (6yrs and younger) is ok. She only half chases Isaac (9 yrs). She managed to pull Ethan's t-shirt, over his head, the other day. I think she ran into him after chasing him, he fell, she got the shirt, and over his head it went. The kids start it by getting her excited and then having her chase them. Right now, it's a matter of training the boys, not the dog. Toby also inadvertently taught her it was ok to sit next to him on the sofa. Big no-no. It only seems to be a problem when she's hyper, and it's so cute it's hard to say no.