Beagles 'R' Us! (aka; a lot has happened in a decade)

It's been over a decade and I fell upon my blog posts and accounts from WAAAAY back.  Jake is now 12, and life is a LOT different.

To catch up, we'll start with the first installment, the
chronicles of our Brace of Beagles, Nissa, Sabrina, and Kaita.

Nissa is our OG beagle of the pack, coming to us 12 years ago as a puppy of 10-weeks, roughly 6 months after the birth of our son Jake.  Nissa is a great pack leader and teacher of the ways of our house.  Sabrina came to us by way of NorCal Beagle rescue and after the acclimation from stray-walker to house dog, is quite the love.  And our latest addition is puppy Kaita (nee Kaity) who joined our brace 9 Jan this year as a 3-month old and by way of Lawrence KS.

What’s in a name?  I frequently am asked about Nissa and why that name.  I decided to include definitions for all three and come to find out how appropriate each are, and here is what I’ve discerned.  The name “Nissa” has two distinct and in her case equally appropriate meanings for our OG: in Norwegian it means “mischievous elf” in Hebrew it means “to test”. Anyone with beagle knows exactly how fitting this might be!  “Sabrina” traces back from Celtic, English, Latin and Italian roots and has may mean “from the border” and “legendary princess”.  Again, very appropriate for Sabrina as she was documented to have traveled from the East Coast and on the border of surviving a flood, and she is certainly a princess – won’t go out in the rain to pee!

Lastly, our Kaita, aka Kaita-Bear.  Originally Kaity, somehow that just didn’t fit (sounded too much like “kitty”?) and even my daughter asked me “are you sure you’re good with Kaity?”  In thinking about options, and the names of our brace all end in the soft ‘a’ sound, I looked up “Kaita”.  Low and behold, Kaita does have meaning in several languages, and again they’re all seemingly appropriate for our little addition.  In Lithuanian, Kaita is “change” and in Tamil she’s “arrested”, and Sudanese th
e translation is “hook”; she has us hooked, stops us in our tracks and has brought a great and positive change to our pack.

Hope this is entertaining and if you enjoy the antics of dogs, you’ll find more pics and stories here soon.

#braceofbeagles, #norcalbeagle, #beagles

A's Baseball is Good!

My Dad is a baseball fanatic, specifically an Oakland A's baseball fan. He is introducing me to the American Pastime this spring. We have already watched some of the World Baseball Classic and Spring Training games. My Aunt Jenny also is conspiring to ensure I become a proper A's fan by giving me my very first fitted A's Cap.

I have been wearing my new cap a lot lately, and to all sorts of places - the bank, the store, Bogart's, in my stroller on our walks - and I get lots of comments about how cute I look. I sense a great deal of excitement from my Dad about the new A's season, something about a better lineup and some sorely needed bats. I am not yet certain what he is talking about, but I gather it is a good thing.

My big brother is a baseball fan too, although he is more interested in another team called the Giants. I don't know why yet, but some folks seem concerned that I am not wearing a Giants cap or shirt, but Dad and Mom don't have any Giants clothing and so far neither do I.

I understand that I have baseball in my genes due to my Great-Grandma. She is of the Mathewson family, specifically she is the neice of Christy Mathewson, the hall of fame pitcher from way back in early 1900s. It is a bit of mixed blessing as he pitched for the old New York Giants and was single handedly responsible for beating the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1905 World Series.

I can't wait to go to my first real baseball game!

I am Eight Months Old!!

It seems like only yesterday I was traveling down the birth canal on my way to uterian freedom and the big world outside. Now that I am here, I am having the time of my life - activity centers, play dates, solid foods, tummy time - I am really enjoying my family and new friends.

Lately my Mom and Dad have been taking more pictures, and videos, of me to share with friends and family. I asked Dad to post this one today to show off my lovely two tooth smile and note that I am now 8 months old! Whew how time flies!

My Mom just had a celebration of her birthday and a party that seemed to last 3 days. Dad is soon to have another birthday here too, and his friend Franc is having a birthday today and just became a dad last week. My brother Dylan will be 20 this month too. There are a lot of celebrations going on this time of year. My Mom says that the Easter Bunny (not certain who about this character) is scheduled to visit too and that is another party.

Who is St. Patrick?

Videos of Me!

Mom and Dad have taken a couple of movies you might like to watch.

Springtime Update

Mom and Dad are doing a good job of taking care of my needs even though they seem to be rather busy. I am a happy baby!

Mom spends a lot of time playing with me these days. She is giving me lots of tummy time and encouraging me to roll over and play with my toys. I think she wants me to crawl, but I am so not interested in the crawling thing. I want to WALK! I am spending time in my activity center which allows me to do a lot of leg muscle developement work. I can bounce for HOURS and the only down side is I occasionally puke up lunch.

Speaking of lunch, I am eating now two solid (if you can call mush and puree's of fruits, vegetables, and meats solid) meals a day. This has altered the consistency of my #2 bathroom events measurably. Mom thinks that Dad is best suited for diaper replacement.
I have been spending time too reading books and learning about textures and colors. My favorite texture is the back of the couch in the family room. Whenever I am on the couch, I must be able to touch, scratch, and pat on the couch.
Mom has been working on the house in order to make it a better place for me to play and for having our friends come over and dote over my cuteness. She really likes to play, cuddle, and talk to me. Dad likes to take me for walks in my stroller so that I can flirt with the teller and the bank or the checker at the store. Plus I get to ride in the coolest stroller ever.Dad takes me to my aunt Jenny's house in Alameda, where he is working on a restoration project. I like that house a lot because it feels like family. I am very comfortable there even though I have not spent too much time there. Every time I do go there, I am totally relaxed and can feel the good energy of my Dad and his family. (Grandma Charlotte was raised there too!)

It is time - again - for my nook and my nap. I like my naps. Dad tells me that someday I won't have the time to take them like I do now, so enjoy the opportunity while it lasts.

Happy New Year!!

I had a great Holiday time with my family and my new friends. My Grandpa Frank from Texas came to my house to spend Christmas and the New Year with me, my mom and my dad. I REALLY like my grandpa!

Grandpa and I are alike in many ways. First off, he likes to sleep almost as much as I do. He also lets me sleep on his tummy, like mom and dad. Another similarity is the lack of head hair. Grandpa has almost as much hair as I do!! Grandpa and I spent a lot of time together and became better friends. He too is cute!!

This past year my major accomplishment was mastering the art of "cute" in all my pictures. Mom and Dad both take a lot of photos so that I can be reminded of my cuteness later on in life, like when I am 13 and a royal pain due to my need for independance and what not.

Mom took a picture of me under the Christmas Tree for a quasi "ET in the closet" look. That was rather fun. I really liked the Christmas lights, they are very bright and I get very excited too. I got to see the lights in Alameda on Thompson Avenue. That was very special! There are lights on every house and even a Santa in the middle of the street.

I didn't get the whole package opening deal down this year as I am unable to "grab-n-tear". I am still a little uncoordinated that way! I can't even hold my own bottles yet!

My big brother Dylan came over on Christmas Day with his awesome girl friend, Joanna. I was very glad to see him and he was able to spend a couple of hours at my house. They brought me some neat new gifts, a story book and a matching stuffed Santa! They are really cool!!!

My First Christmas

This is my first Christmas! I have been told that I should call it the "Holiday Season" or "Winter Solstice" for purposes of political correctness, whatever that may be. My mom and dad have been dressing me in seasonal wear and taking me to all sorts of new places with bright lights and indoor trees.

I went to Christmas in the Park in Downtown San Jose and was very enthralled with all the lights and trees and even the fake snow falling from the boxes attached to the light poles in the park. I got to "ride" around in my front pack as we walked through the downtown and the park. I like the front packs because I get to be close to mom or dad and I can see what is going on around me. They are also warm and snugly with the shared body heat.

I was very tired when we left the Park and immediately went to sleep in the car seat.

I also went to the bar with mom and dad to decorate the Bogart Christmas, er holiday, tree. It was fun being there as all the people seem to really like me and take turns holding me for mom and dad. I hung my first ornament (actually mom did it for me) on the tree! Later on, dad fed me a bottle and he and I took a nap. He is getting older and needs more sleep, kinda like I do!!

I hear my mom and dad talking about presents. They seem to think I need more things to do or play with. I understand needing clothes as I am growing like a little weed, or so I am told, but I have more than enough things to play with in my room that I have not even begun to enjoy.

My mom and dad sent pictures to the bars web mistress and she used them to make ads and to put on the home page. I am being exploited!!!

Mom and dad are crazy!!!