Doggie Tourism

Sometimes you take a trip. And sometimes the trip comes to you. In our case, the latter was definitely true when Aunt Nancy visited a couple weeks ago with her two dogs: good ol' Poky, and shiny new Casey. A city is a whole new place when you explore it with canine companions! Here's what we did (in pictures). 

First, we all played. The dogs had to stay on their leashes (especially Casey), but the kids were allowed to roam free. Kalina was in her element, giving the curious dogs a tour of the house and fully anthropomorphizing them, and Elise was mostly in my arms, or other places out of reach of wet noses and eager tongues. Eventually, both parties warmed up to the other, and agreed to let me take this picture. (Although Elise never did fully trust Casey!)

Then it was time for Aunt Nancy to actually bring her stuff in! Three of the girls watched from the window, while the other "helped."

After doing a little baking, we decided to head out on a little shopping trip. Which wouldn't have been any fun without the "puppies," so we went to Petco, where they could join us. We looked at all the animals, and then Elise played with all the doggy toys. 

Then we played in the backyard, Elise trying to herd Poky out of the "spiders" portion of our yard (it's kind of a wild area) and Casey soaking up attention from Kalina. 

Later, we ventured downtown, for a little frozen yogurt (enjoyed outside with the dogs), another dog store, and a park. It was a lot of walking, but also a lot of fun. Half of them settled in for naps immediately upon returning home, while the other half tried to keep playing. (Mine were not the ones sleeping, as you could have guessed.)

We watched Elise follow Poky from room to room in an endless loop of Poky finding a cozy place to sleep, Elise trying to cuddle her, and Poky mildly deciding to switch locations, in hopes that the problem would correct itself.

Meanwhile, Casey stayed put in the coziest place she could think of--Aunt Nancy's lap--and happily let Kalina pet her while she slept. Because nothing could've kept her awake, anyway, at that point. 

Casey joined Aunt Nancy and I for dinner outside at a downtown restaurant, while Kalina and Elise ensured Poky could get a good nap at home, most likely by tucking her in with a warm blankie and talking in whispers whenever they remembered (and shrieks the rest of the time). 

The dogs slept in the next morning (nothing wears out my girls!), and then we all headed to the sculpture park to enjoy some over-sized art out of doors. The kids climbed on anything they were allowed to, and the dogs happily trotted along and met another dog. It was, I admit, strange to have more people commenting on the cute dogs rather than the cute kids. I would be a bit offended if the dogs weren't so adorable!

That afternoon, we visited Grandpa's house, where the dogs got to run off-leash in the yard. As did the kids. Elise faced her fears and let Casey chase her around, and vice versa. Which always ended with me getting nearly flattened by a gleeful girl as a doggie zoomed past. Cute!

Although Elise is still a tiny bit scared of Casey, we loved our doggie visit. After 2+ days, the new "toys" never quite got old. Will we be getting a dog? It depends: only if we get one of Aunt Nancy's. Or, maybe they'll visit again sometime!

Elise's 2-year pediatrician visit!
I forgot to report on this on October 10, when the exam happened. But there's not much to report. Elise sailed through the appointment with barely a tear--so surprised was she by her single shot. She navigated the Flumist vaccine with few troubles, and was proud of her performance afterward. She weighed 26 pounds and was 34.5 inches tall. This puts her in the 40th percentile for weight, and the 65th for height.

We did have one point of discussion: Elise seems to have developed a topical cinnamon allergy. So, please don't put cinnamon on her. We think there's a good chance she'll grow out of it, but meanwhile we're simply avoiding it (internally, too).

We continue to like the doctor, who shoes undue (but much appreciated) interest in finding the girls the exact stickers they want after their appointment.