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Illustrated By…..

When I was teaching I’d often do different Author Studies throughout the year and one of my all-time favorite authors is Robert Munsch. His stories make me laugh out loud and I have a tape of him telling his own stories to a live audience that I listened to as a kid. No matter how many times I’ve heard those stories I always smile.

One of his books, Aaron’s Hair, was one in particular that I liked to read to my students. It was a story about a little boy’s hair that has a life of its own. Now that I’m out of the classroom for the time being, and home with Maggie, a book, or specific author, will pop into my head that I haven’t thought about in a while. Most recently I found myself thinking about Aaron’s Hair as I looked at Maggie’s curly, curly hair after she got out of the bath the other night.

I got excited to share with her the silly language and fun story of Aaron and his hair. Maybe by the time she’s ready to read about Aaron’s hair, we’ll have already written Maggie’s Hair.

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Welcome, February!

Thomas and Lara came to HBHQ today so we could all head down to Seattle and attempt to run around Green Lake. We successfully completed a lap around the lake with no blood, a bit of sweat, and zero tears. Wahoo!! It was a fantastically beautiful day today and the lake was a bit crowded with every other Seattleite wanting to soak up the sun.

After our run (by the way, I’m using the term ‘run’ super loosely here because it was more of a jog, really) we went to U. Village to walk around and grab a bite to eat. Aside from Thomas needing to borrow a pair of Maggie’s leggings, the babes did great. We got to eat sushi (yummy, yummy in my tummy) and zip in and out of all the fun stores.

Sometimes I wish I was better at toting my camera around, but at this point I’m still carrying Maggie 99% of the time and it just feels like a bit lunky to haul around. I find myself wishing I could document more. I did happen to catch a couple pictures of Mags and Thom when they arrived at HBHQ. Maggie has a tendency to maul Thomas and he has a tendency to get upset about it. We’re working on them being happy together and accepting their differences.

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The Tales of a Girl and Her Dog

My first dog was a Terrier named after my dad’s college roommate, Buzby. I hardly remember her and what I do remember is somewhat funny. My dad once told me that the two black circles on Buzby’s back were because my dad accidentally flipped some burned pancakes onto Buzby’s back. I remember contemplating that while I tried to pick at Buzby’s fur.  There are countless stories about Buzby tracking down my dad on Western’s campus and her hunting shenanigans.

Now we have Sydney and she is Maggie’s first dog. Who knows what Maggie will remember from her life with Syd, but bearing witness to their relationship unfolding is really a testament to Syd’s patience and loyalty. Of course it helps that Maggie is a great napping buddy.

It also helps that Sydney has a ton of chub to get smooshed and mooshed. We’re constantly telling Sydney what a good dog she is because she is beyond patient with Maggie, allowing Maggie to take her bone, poke her in the eye and even dip into her food.

Not once has Sydney growled, barked or batted at Maggie and for that I am thankful. Dexter and Brian came to visit today and at one point Sydney and Dex were playing a game  that Maggie wanted to join in on. After Maggie found herself in the middle of the two dogs wrestling, she fell over onto her back. Dexter and Sydney continued to play, at one point pouncing on Maggie’s forehead.  It was a bit startling, but Maggie was fine and continued to try to get in on the game with her dog Sydney.

I can’t say that Maggie will remember loving her first dog, but at least I can be her memory keeper and share with her bits and pieces of this time. I might leave out the whole ‘pouncing on the forehead’ thing, but other than that I’m excited to share the tales of Mags & Syd!