It's a Dog's Life

It still surprises me that I actually own a dog, and that I actually enjoy the pooch. It's not that I've never wanted to own a dog. I just feared that I would end up with an out of control, jumping, slobbery, barking dog who chewed or pooped on important things like furniture, not to mention animal hair floating around the house. Somehow we got super lucky because Faith doesn't do any of that (well, unless you are Jenni, Melanie, Kat, or Mikey, who she likes to jump on, we are working on that) I love our sweet little dog.

Faith is still super cute, soft, good natured, patient, funny, and really an all around super good dog. We really lucked out.

Like most family animals, she's got a distinct personality. She is calm and confidant, patient, polite and playful but very feminine (she hates getting her paws wet in the wet grass or rain and will dance around until she HAS to go to the bathroom then she will jump through the grass for the perfect spot doing all she can to avoid getting wet.) For the first year we owned her we worried she might be mute. We never heard her bark or make any noise beyond snoring during a nap. That was until she met my brother-in-law Robert and the pest control guy. We don't know why she singled them out. We found that the few times she has barked that she actually has a "bow-wow" instead of a "bark-bark." Other than that she is a super quite dog. The backdoor neighbor dogs will bark and bark when she is outside, but she never makes a noise. I think she thinks they are waisting her time.

She doesn't chew on things. In fact her chewing career as a puppy spanned only a few green Army men, a Lego piece, and part of her leash. Not too bad. She uses the dog door, and goes to her crate when told. If she sees us getting ready to leave she will go without us  asking. She does some funny things too, like  her obsession with socks. She doesn't chew on them, she just hides them in the beanbag. We've not figured out why but if you are missing a sock just look in the bean bag, it's probably there. How she knows the difference between a sock and a shirt I'll never know but she can search out a sock like the best detective. She likes to play, sleep, or lay her back. I find this odd, but it obviously works for her. She is routine oriented, just like Daria. In the morning, once out of her crate she will run to Dustin's room, jump on his bed to wake him, then quickly jump off and run to Daria's room to jump on her bed to wake her. Then as quickly as she can she will run downstairs and wait patiently at my bedroom door (my room and the guest room are off limits) for me to scratch her head good morning. In the afternoon she knows when the kids will be home from school and will wait at the front window. At night, she snuggles at the foot of Daria's bed until I put her in her crate. She's an excellent car rider, has a designated spot to sit on the floor. She loves visiting the farm but does not like cows. Hates baths and getting trimmed but will allow us to do both. When I cook, she sits on the mat between my legs and the stove, waiting patiently for the morsel of food she will never get (we don't feed her people food), but she never gives up hope.

She is a constant tail wagger. Actually, if she is sleeping or resting she's not wagging her tail, but if you move she will open one eye  (I call it her "pirate eye stare" to look at you and start wagging her tail. If you move towards her or even look at her she will wag her tail. She even wags it while she is walking. One time when she was a puppy she tried to run away. Ken carried her back by the scruff of her neck. Her whole body was stiff in the scruff carrying position, all but her tail which was wagging back and forth. We learned that Cocker Spaniels tend to be this way, they are apparently very friendly, happy dogs. Even though she is not a full Cocker, we agree.  

What I think is amazing, as dogs usually are in this area, is that it seems that her whole purpose or goal is to make us  happy. No matter where I am in the house during the day, she will hang with me. If I move, she moves. Each day she greats each of us as though we were the best thing next to apple pie. Although she is considered the family dog, she really is Daria's dog. I say this not only because we got her for Daria, but because the moment Daria enters the room Faith will follow her around. Where Daria goes, Faith goes. They are a inseparable. She looks to Daria for everything. I find it so amazing that the whole reason we got her was to give Daria a companion. Somehow Faith already knew that.

 

Faith playing on her back with her ball

 

 

Faith snuggles with Daria

 

Ready for bed?

 

 The view of under my desk. Not much room for my feet but she doesn't care

 

This is Faith's brother Bobby. This is how furry Faith would be if we didn't keep her trimmed. Bobby and Faith walk together every day.

 

 

 

We've been told that her markings are similar to the Springer Spaniel, which was a hunting dog.

 

 

Taking a nap. Seriously!

 

 

Another nap on her back. You can't see her face because she curls it under her tummy.

 

 

Faith's designated cooking spot. It's really annoying because she is in the way but she will do this every time.

 

Faith's family. Bobby & Alise, Daria & Faith, The K. girls and Harry. On the dog's first birthday last year we celebrated by getting them together.

When Did This Happen?

 

All of the sudden I am very aware that my super fun, thoughtful, loving little girl is turning into a beautiful, talented, young woman. I ask myself  "When did this happen?" "How is it that my daughter can fit in to some of my clothes and now has a larger shoe size than me?" All of the sudden she went from elementary school to taking classes that I didn't even take until high school if at all. Yep, no joking. During 8th grade orientation I heard one of her teachers say things like "Integrated Physics and Chemistry" and "this is a high school credit class"  .....  Just for a moment I thought I was in the wrong class. Could this be right? Really? Chemistry in 8th grade? It is amazing. While it has been challenging Daria has plugged forward without missing a beat. Three of her classes are high school credit; Algebra, IPC, and Health. I will admit, the Algebra was eating all of the kids lunch the first 6 weeks. Daria, Alise and Logan have found that studying in groups can be effective. This will help them during high school and college. I'm officially now at the stage in parenting where I can no longer help my child in math let alone even understand what she is bringing  home (unless I do some research). It looks like a foreign language to me. IPC? I have no clue (even though it interests me). Did I ever learn that stuff in school? Just for the record, my good friend Jenni who tutors in math said she didn't learn some of the problems they are working on until she was in college, so it's not just me. Personally I think it's pretty amazing what kids can do and learn these days. Daria is finding that she loves IPC, it's her favorite class. She is also enjoying her Health class which goes quite in depth. They spent 6 weeks on recreational drugs alone. Daria can tell you word for word what they are classified as, the chemical changes they create in your body and the short and long term affects and has solidified in her mind that taking drugs is just plain dumb. She loves learning about that type of stuff and continues to feel drawn toward a degree in the medical arena.

But my post is not about Daria's schooling, it's about how she is growing up into a fine young woman. She handles her heavy schedule in school very well. Some of the things that she enjoys doing is playing the flute in honor band and has worked really hard to make it to 1st chair, continues to play the piano and take lessons, participates in the National Jr. Honor Society, enjoys her dance class at school, loves taking care of her dog and enjoys their daily walks. She likes serving as the secretary in the Beehive class at church and is planning on finishing her Personal Progress Young Woman Recognition program by the time she turns 14, and really loves going to the temple. All of this keeps her pretty busy. She is not overly impressed with the social scene, isn't a fan of makeup or hairspray (hard to believe since she is after all my child. Dad & Carol, you will be proud!) and so far not head over heals for boys but is looking forward to her first church dance in May and can't wait to start Seminary next fall.

 

Daria at her most recent band concert. She is happy to have earned first chair but not thrilled that first chair is responsible for any solos.

 

Here is a link to two of the songs they played. It is a private link so please do not share it.

 

http://www.keeping-history-alive.com/share/9oPh6NSqXRw7U

 

Daria's first dance performance at the Pep Rally. Daria loves dancing, although she would rather not dance in front of people. In fact, she was worried that if  Ken and I came it would make her nervous. We went anyway and we are all glad for it.  

  

 

Here is a link to view the dance class performance at the pep rally. This is a private link please do not share it.

 

http://www.keeping-history-alive.com/share/tfyoCJWPiWPtM

 

After the dance performance Daria rushed over to play her part in the band portion of the Pep Rally. Daria is the one in green.

 

 

and the following pictures were taken on Halloween.

 

 

What? As I said Daria is not a makeup kind of gal, she grumbled that the dance teacher made them wear eyeshadow for the dance performance, but was willing to put on the red lipstick, blush and a tiny bit of mascara to get the 40's look (she's kind of got the 40's bug too, loves the hairstyles and dresses). Personally the moment she put it on I wanted her to take it right off .... red lipstick is only allowed once for a Halloween costume and not again until she is 30! I'm glad she wanted to get it off as soon as we got home ...

 

 

When did this happen?

Fabulous 40's

This is probably the most inexpensive Halloween I've ever had as a parent. Most years I spend sewing and gathering items to authenticate whatever costume I'm working on and probably spend more than the average person would on a store bought costume. Maybe it's because the kids are growing or I've been super busy but I just couldn't make myself create any costumes this year (and the kids couldn't decide what they wanted to be). Either way it's ok. We had fun putting together what we had. The theme this year seemed to be "The Fabulous 40's." I didn't have to look far for my costume .. .just a few steps to my closet for my 1940's WAC (Women's Army Corp) uniform. Daria initially wanted to dress as Rosie the Riveter. Finding a blue work shirt her size at any secondhand shops was impossible. She opted for my authentic 1940's dress. Wait, does anyone see a problem here? I fit in that dress (albeit very differently than Daria does.) How can Daria fit in it too? Dustin wanted to be an old man complete with a walker. However as he later decided he wanted to be an old WWII veteran and begged to wear Grandpa Bell's WWII ball cap. Once he put it on we all laughed. Dustin sure makes a good old man!! The first set of photos are from our church trunk-or-treat, which was on Friday. On Halloween, Dustin chose to go as a secret agent  with his friend Caden (black suit, sun glasses) but most people thought they were the Blues Brothers. Ken ended up dressing as himself this year. He wanted to go as Col. Klink from Hogan's Heroes but finding a monocle and German commandant uniform was a bit hard. Maybe next year after I find a monocle for him to wear!

 

 
 

 

Since Daria is getting older she spent most of the time passing out candy at the trunk-or-treat, but did make a few laps in our neighborhood with a few of her friends.

 
Here is a photo of the damage ..... way too much candy. I am not concerned though as the Switch Witch usually visits our house each year. If you are not aware of the Switch Witch, I will tell you that she is in direct competition with the Tooth Fairy. While the Tooth Fairy's goal is to keep your teeth healthy and strong, the Switch Witch's goal is to rot your teeth. Each year she randomly chooses houses to visit, leaves a note reading something like "I'll switch you for this you switch me for that..." After sorting through their candy, the kids will keep only a small amount of their favorites and will leave the rest outside their bedroom door. In the morning the candy is gone and the Switch Witch usually leaves a tiny gift, like a book, or small game, etc (keep in mind this is not Christmas). She has not visited our home yet, so we will see. (I'm sure the kids know who the Switch Witch is, but it's a fun tradition for us and gets rid of all that candy that can't possibly be good for their bodies! and I like that they would rather have something small than a bowl of candy that could feed 80 people!)