Good bye, 2010

I was not a very good blogger this year. I am sorry that I have not posted anything for so many days. I have been busy - very busy - and I forgot that my readers want to know what I am doing. I have such an exciting life.

Guess what! Mommy said that, since I am (almost) a big boy, I got to write my own part of our Christmas letter. I don't really know what a 'letter' is, but I know Christmas. I like Christmas. Here is what I wrote. It will help me catch you up on what I forgot to tell you.

This is Dewey Beck. Mommy says that I get to write this all by myself this year. I am two (and a half!) years old, almost a big boy. Well, my body is big – I am 95 lbs. and the tallest labrador my parents have ever had (I was the biggest in my litter, and I take after Grandpa Bull. He was a big boy, too.).

But I still have a little-kid brain. Sometimes. Being good is hard work. There are many rules in our house – but I am a smart boy and I try to learn them (even the ones I do not like so much).

Mostly, I like to play. I like to fetch Frisbees and balls, and I like to run around the yard. I also like to wrestle Daddy. Oh, and I like to walk, even if Mommy says I wander around and stop to smell stuff too much. She likes to walk fast.

I’m cute. Everybody says so. Wherever I go, people stop and pet me and say that I am pretty. Daddy wonders where I was when he was trying to meet girls. Girls really like me. Daddy is silly.

I saw my doctor a lot this year. I have allergies that make my ears hurt, and they get infections. Dr. Debbie gave me pills to make the allergies go away, but the pills made me groggy and (maybe) chubby. This fall, all of my fur started falling out. I had to see my friends again, so they could take my blood and find out that I have thyroid problems. (My Great-Aunt Emma and Grandma Star had them, too.) Fixing it is easy, but Mommy was sorry to see my pretty otter tail go away.

I hope that Ho Ho thinks I have been a good enough boy this year so that he will visit my house. We say hello when he comes, and he leaves me treats and toys. I like Ho Ho.

Love,
Dewey

As you can see, I am a really good writer now.

Christmas was fun this year. I got to see Ho Ho - twice! I got to tell him what I wanted him to bring me. (Ho Ho and I are old friends, you know.) Here, I am reminding him:


He remembered me. Ho Ho brought me lots of treats and toys. Some of them were wrapped in pretty paper. I got to open them all by myself. I took the paper off so fast that I reminded Mommy of Baby Royko, who liked taking paper off of her presents so much she tried to take paper off of Aunt Emma's presents, too. Mommy said, "Baby Royko, is that you?" I said, "No, Mommy. It's me, Dewey Beck." Mommy is silly sometimes. (Not as silly as Daddy, though.)

Ho Ho put lots of treats and toys in my stocking, too, just like he did last year and the year before. Here I am, making sure that I did not miss anything.

Guess what! Daddy put up a tree! In the house! I thought he was nuts, but Mommy said that is what is supposed to happen at Christmas. She said they did not do it the other Christmases because they were afraid I would do a little boy thing and hurt the tree. But since I am (almost) a big boy, they decided it was time to see if I could have a tree. I was a good boy. I did not touch the tree. I did look at it. It was pretty (even though Mommy would not let Daddy put anything important on it, or anything that would break). I was not happy that he put it where I usually put my head (under the little blue chair). But I left the tree alone. I am a big boy, after all.

I have had fun with Mommy for the two weeks that she did not go to work. Daddy, too. It is fun to play and sleep in and be a family. I wish we could do it forever.

I will try harder to be a good blogger in 2011. I know you want to hear about my fun life. See you next year!

Catching up

Gosh, it has been a long time since I last wrote a post. I am sorry that I have not been able to to sit down and tell Mommy what to write in many days.

I learned something this summer that I did not know before: I do not like hot weather. I do not like it at all. Daddy or Mommy would try to take me on walks, but we could not go very far. I would get very tired and we would have to turn around. Daddy and I would play fetch, my favorite game; but I would get tired fast then, too. It was not fun to be hot.

My allergies made it hard. The nice lady at Doctor Debbie's office said my pills should not make me sleepy. But I wanted to sleep a lot. Mommy noticed that, when Doctor Debbie said, "Give Dewey less pills now," I started to wake up. That is a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing: I am more peppy than I was in the summer. The bad thing (for Mommy): I went from being a surprise Big Boy to a naughty baby again. Sometimes. Sometimes, I remember when I was a Big Boy - and how that made Mommy sigh - and I do Big Boy things.

Besides, I am not really a baby anymore. I am two years old.

Oh! That's right. I have not told you about my birthday party! I like birthdays. I get treats and toys when I have birthdays (I think. I have had only two in my entire life.).

Mommy and Daddy had a little family party for me in our back yard on my birthday. I wore a silly hat, because it made Mommy laugh. I did not care if I looked silly. I was having too much fun to know or care. Guess what! I got cookies, a big bone, a new floppy Frisbee (that is it, in the picture), and a new silly fetching toy. (See? Even with a silly hat, I look cute.) Daddy threw the Frisbee, Mommy took pictures, and I had a lot of fun. I played until I got tired, then I plopped down and chewed on my bone.

Mommy forgot that I am a saucy labrador boy who can jump. She left the sack of cookies on the top of the big box (hot tub) and forgot that I could get them myself. I leaped right up there and helped myself to a snack. I wanted to eat that whole bag of cookies, but Mommy did not want me to get a tummy ache. Darn. I'm fast. But Mommy's faster, when somebody needs to help me do the right thing.

That wasn't the only fun thing this summer. We also got to go to the mountains. I like going there. It is cool, and it has interesting smells. I sniffed. I met people and other puppies. I enjoyed sunny times with my parents.


It is already starting to get cooler. That means we can go on more walks and I can go longer and enjoy my time with my family. Mommy says that snow will come down from the sky soon. She does not think that is a good thing, but I do. I like to play in the cold and snow.

Puppy playpen

Little babies can get into lots of trouble before they learn the rules, so mommies and daddies need to do special things to make sure that houses are safe. My mommy and daddy knew I was coming to live with them. They did a lot of stuff to where I was going to live so that I could play and learn and not get hurt.

Mommy said, "Hmmm. My boy needs a special place to play. He needs a place where he can rest and stay out of trouble for a few minutes." Uncle Jed's mommy, my Aunt Janey, said, "Let us buy Dewey a gift. He needs a puppy playpen. Let us buy Dewey a puppy playpen. He can stay safe there."

They bought me a puppy playpen.

Then I came home. "Woo hoooo," I said. " This is a fun place! This is my home?! My new home is fun!"

I started running around, all crazy-daisy. I ran really fast, right toward the big stick things that keep people and bigger puppies from falling into the downstairs.

Guess what. I was so little I almost ran right through those big stick things. "Yikes," my daddy and mommy said. "This will not work." My puppy playpen became a puppy fence. Then I could not fall through the holes and get hurt. That was good. But then I did not have a place to play.

"Run," my mommy said to my daddy. "Run like the wind to the store and buy our boy a baby playpen." Daddy ran, and he brought home this little place where human babies go to be safe. They put it in the big room where we watch TV. Then they put me in there with some of my new toys.

"Hey," I said. "You're out there. I am in here. I want to come out there."

"Not now," Mommy said. "I need to so something that little boys cannot help me do. You need to stay there for two minutes."

I did. And I stayed there for other minutes, when little boys could not help. Sometimes, it was fun to have all of my toys and my bankie right there with me. Most of the time, though, I really wanted to be out there, exploring stuff, getting into things, and being with Mommy and Daddy.

Sometimes, I got so mad that I stood on my back legs and said, "HEY! Let me out of here." When that did not work, I ran. I ran really fast, around the the sides of the playpen. I ran and ran and ran. I still did not get out of the playpen, but I did get really tired. Then I gave up, plopped down, and fell asleep.

Oh, and I stayed safe. I guess Mommy and Daddy were right about playpens.

Yardwork helper

In the summer, when the green grass grows really tall, I have an important job to do: help Daddy make the grass short again.

Daddy pushes this thing that makes the grass short. We go really far - clear across the yard. Then we go back. Then we go across the yard. It is hard work. Gosh, grass grows fast!

Here is a picture of me helping Daddy.

Sometimes, Daddy needs to stop and throw a frisbee. Daddy says the work would not be so long if those frisbees did not keep coming back to him.

I try to make it go faster. Like those big grasses that grow by the fence? I make them go short all by myself.

Daddy says he needs the weed eater to make those grasses go away. I try to be a good weed eater. That is what good helpers do, you know.

When all of the grass is short again, my Daddy and I come into the house. "Whew," we say, "that was hard work." We take big drinks of water. Then we rest. We need to be ready to do it again next week.

I am a big boy. Almost.

This is me, today. I am 23 months old. Next month, I will be two whole years old. I feel like a big boy. I look like a big boy. But my mommy says my brains will not be 'big boy' brains for two more years. (She knows this. I am not her first labrador.)

I try to act like a big boy, even when it is hard. I guard my house real good. I sit pretty when Mommy says - especially when she has a treat. I am walking more like a big boy. Sometimes. I am not a little baby anymore, even if I am not completely a big boy.

I have been busy this spring. Some of it is good busy.

I help my daddy mow our yard and pick up sticks. I bring him sticks that I make myself, from Mommy's bushes. Mommy does not like that. She likes the sticks on the bushes. Pretty flowers grow there when they stay on the bushes. I guess Mommy wants me to bring them to her when the flowers are on them.

I am still learning these things.

My daddy and I have been watching a lot of hockey. Daddy's team wins, a lot. Daddy's team is still playing. Daddy says they are good. I know they are good: I get a treat when they put the black thing in the big net. I have lots of treats in my tummy. Daddy's team is good this year.

Some of the stuff that has happened to me this spring is not fun. I have allergies. They hurt my ears. I have to go see Doctor Debbie and get medicine for my ears to make them stop hurting. Some of the medicine stings. Ow! I run when I see Daddy coming with that medicine. My other medicine makes me tinkle lots, and it makes me sleepy. Allergies are not fun.

When it not so muddy, my daddy and my mommy and I will go up in the mountains and have fun. I like the mountains. Maybe this year, I can go swimming. I am a labrador. Labradors swim.

While we wait for the mountains to not be muddy, I am getting lots of walks with my mommy and daddy. We go on really long walks. They wear me out. I come home and sleep for hours after a walk. Maybe I am still a little bit of a little boy.

My mommy needs me

I know, because Cesar Millan says so. Mommy knows it, because Cesar says so. She just doesn't know exactly how she needs me. Yet.

Cesar is a really smart man. He knows everything about puppies, even naughty puppies. Even scared puppies. Even crazy-daisy puppies (like me). He helps people like my mommy be better puppy parents and puppies be better puppies. Sometimes, it is easier than other times.

Cesar says "You don't get the dog you want. You get the dog you need." "Hmmm," my mommy says. "I need Dewey. I need Dewey???"

Mommy knows this is true. She knows because she knows she needed my great-aunt Emma. It took her a long time to figure that out. Aunt Emma was not an easy puppy, or a nice puppy. She was kind of mean to Baby Royko when she first came to live at our house. She was big and bossy. She was loud. She gave Mommy and Baby Royko boo boos that had to have doctors' help to fix. She made the puppy doctor think -for just a minute - that maybe Daddy hurt Baby Royko. (He would not. He is the best daddy ever, and he loved his girls more than anything. But then the doctor met Aunt Emma. Then he understood.)

But guess what: Mommy (and Daddy) said, "She is worth the trouble. She is our girl. We must help her be a better girl." In the end, Aunt Emma was not just a better girl. She was the best girl ever.

Mommy says it took a long time, but she finally knew why God gave her Emma: to teach her about active love. Mommy always loved Emma, even when Emma made it hard. In the end, love won. Aunt Emma changed. So did Mommy.

Mommy needs me. I need Mommy. We both will change. We do not know how we will change, but we will. We will be better because this is true. We know. Cesar said so.

I'm still cute

Yes, I am still cute. You can see for yourself. (Easter 2010)

My mommy and my daddy spend a lot of time making me tired. (Mommy says tired boys are good boys. I guess she wants me to be a good boy.) It is warmer outside and the light stays in the sky for more minutes, so I am getting to go on lots more walks. Mommy takes me. Daddy takes me more.

In fact, Daddy was so happy to take me on walks he changed when he goes to work. Daddy also likes to take me to the dog park. Guess what! I have lots of friends there, like Sparky. Sparky is fun. Not all of the dogs there are fun. Some are mean. I do not like the mean dogs. When they are there, Daddy and I go somewhere else.

I am getting big and strong. That happens to boys that run and play and walk all day. We get big and strong. That is good when we have to guard our families and our houses. I am a guard dog. That is my job. That, and fetching frisbees.

Fans! (and blogging dogs)

Guess what. I have fans!

I do not really know what a fan is, but Mommy says I have them and that is good. People read what I write here, and they like to come back to hear about my really fun life. I guess that means I should write more words, so that they will have something to read.

So, for my fans, I will write some stuff this morning. I will try to write stuff more often, too, so that my fans will have something to read.

One of my fans is Molly. She lives in Denver. Molly sends my mommy books about stuff. One day, she told my mommy about a book for ME. (Mommy and Molly talk about me a lot. I am very interesting.) She said, "This book reminds me of Dewey." My mommy said, "Send me the book." Molly did.

A puppy named Bo blogs just like me. Bo wrote the book that Molly sent. It is named Bad to the Bone: Memoir of a Rebel Doggie Blogger. (If you click on the name of the book, Molly will send you one, too.)

One day, when Mommy came home from work, the book that Molly sent was waiting at the door. The guy in the brown truck, who keeps coming to my house even though I keep telling him to go away, brought it. Mommy was very excited. She said she would read it to me. First, though, she had to make me tired.

We went outside and played Frisbee for lots of minutes. We do that every night. When my tongue was hanging out, we went inside. Mommy sat down in her chair. I laid down on her foot, like I always do. Then Mommy started to read to me. You know what? That Bo is a funny puppy. I liked his stories. I liked Mommy reading them to me. I snuggled closer. Mommy kept reading until she almost got to the end of the book.

I fell asleep a couple of times, but I still could hear Mommy's voice. I liked that. It made me feel safe. Mommy liked it, too. She likes funny puppy stories. She liked Bo's stories. She likes me best when I am sleeping (I am not naughty when I am sleeping.)

Mommy used to read my great-aunt Emma stories every night. Reading to me reminded her of their story time. Aunt Emma's story book is still on my Mommy's bed. Maybe some day, she will read those stories to me. Maybe Bo will write another book. If he does, I hope Molly will send it to me.

New rules

My daddy and I got new rules last night. Well, I got one. Daddy got two.

Dewey's new rule: Do not eat Daddy's wallet.

Daddy's new rule 1: Do not leave your wallet where the boy can find it.

Daddy's new rule 2: Do not assume you know what the boy is chewing, even if he is chewing it under your feet.

Play date!!!!

Today was the funnest* day of my whole life. I had a play date with my Uncle Jed and Zazu!

I did not know what a play date was, but I like playing. I had not met Uncle Jed and Zazu before, but Mommy kept telling me they were really fun and they wanted to meet me. I thought it could be fun. Mommy knew it would be fun. Daddy hoped it would be fun - if I didn't do something that would make him hide his face.

It was bright and sunny outside. There was lots of snow. I like snow. We got into Mommy's car and drove out into the country. We drove by moo cows. We saw horsies. We saw Jed and Zazu's mama in her pretty red Jeep. She drove in front of us and showed us where to go.

I had to wait to get out until Jed's dad closed the gate; he did not us to run too far so we would get lost. When it was safe, Daddy took me out of the car. Who was there when I got out? Uncle Jed and Zazu!

People say I am a big boy. I looked like a tiny little tot next to Uncle Jed. Zazu is a fun little girl. She is not big, but she tells Uncle Jed what to do. He does it. You do not mess with Zazu.

We sniffed each other, then you know what we did? We ran. And ran. And ran. I chased them. They chased me. They chased each other.

Sometimes, we got tired. Then we asked to come inside with our mommies and daddies.

I liked sniffing around to see what was there. I liked jumping up where the fire came out. Mommy said that's not the rules, but I did not care. It was fun - and warm - up there. I went crazy daisy. When we had enough of rules and parents, we went back outside to run some more.

Uncle Jed kept smooching me on the face. I went, "Ewww! Boys do not smooch boys!" But he kept doing it. I guess he likes me. I like him, even if I do not really care for his boy smooches. I really like Zazu. She is a nice girl, even if she is a little bossy. That is okay. My mommy is a girl. I know they are bossy.

* Little boys still get a pass when they use words that aren't really words. Take his word for it: it was FUN!!!!!