shirley bird

responding to the much-requested puppy photos, here you all go!

shirley bird, at 12 weeks, is a handful but she actually is learning quickly given the stubborn mannerisms of great danes. she started her 8-week puppy training lessons this week (no obedience classes yet) and is doing pretty well so far. before this week she already mastered the following commands: come, sit, down, stay, leave it, off, no bite, go potty, shake a paw, walkie (walk), and kennel. so smart!


sizing up the towering giant in retrospect to the puppy crate some friends of ours lent us to bring shirley home in...needless to say, she didn't fit in it at all!! we couldn't even stuff her in there...so she instead had to luxuriously sit in the front passenger seat, accompanied by ducky


don't let that pout melt your heart...she's conspiring with ducky to find an escape route


her beloved toy collection: 5 of mike's socks, another one of mike's socks (per request of mike so he has an even number of socks for himself), crushed pop bottle, blue squeaky, kong and nyla bone, flavored nyla bone, roadrunner chicken, and ducky (ducky's her fav, no offense to roadrunner chicken)


TROUBLE! trouble, trouble, trouble! shirley's newfound fav pastime is to squeeze behind the skinny opening between the couch and the wall and do laps before we can catch her!


ah, how she loves her ears flapping in the wind! shirls taking in beach time


behold, a treasure! shirley found a seashell and carried it all the way back home - she was so proud of herself!


kitten-esque. her little paws bat at toys dangling


enjoying the fly ride all to herself in back


multitasking: keeping her googly eye on the driver while her good eye takes a gander out the window. that's my girl! takes after her mommy!!


relishing a delightful chew on the deck. we've discovered her love for sticks (and twigs, and branches, and power cords, and sandals...)


one of shirley's new chums: jackson! she LOVES to follow him around (and we even saw her teeth graze his tail, so watch out oscar!!), she's like his little shadow! isa, her other new buddy, is another fav of shirley's :)

puppy pride

meet our newest member of the family: shirley! she was born on 27 jan 2010, and is the sweetest little great dane puppy!! her mother is 36" tall (i met her, and her neck hits at my waist) and weighs 142 pounds, while here father is 39" tall and weighs 200 pounds! our sweet girl is going to be big just like her parents - she just went to the vet today but only weighs in at a mere 18 pounds and 18" tall right now. shirley was actually the runt of a 13-puppy litter, but so was her mother so time will tell how big she'll grow!

she is spunky and definitely a handful but so much fun to watch...she doesn't quite know how to carry her big feet yet so she is extremely klutzy and falls over her front paws often. haha so stumbly but even more snuggly...she'll climb into our laps and cuddle up...don't know how long she'll be able to do that though...she loves to grab our shoes for a good chew before we can scold her, and our new chaise is especially tempting for her teeth (we know, uh oh!).

since our house is structured upon stilts, we have an outside staircase that shirley has not quite mastered. with mike's help she can climb up all the way (the height of each stair is still a little too tall for her to climb over gracefully), but she has problems on the way down and usually ends up rolling and faceplanting on the last stair since she can't control her momentum yet (AND despite her puppy stubbornness in wanting to try going down all the time).

shirley is working on her crate and potty training but is making progress. we stocked up on some good chew toys for her but she still prefers mike's boxers (she sneaks them out of the hamper) and/or his socks. she has taken a liking to his combat boots, too..... :) she is very clever and pushes our buttons on what she should not be doing, but learns quickly nonetheless. when she's not playing, she's napping...and SNORING. loudly. hah but we both are very happy about our new puppy and are so excited to have her around!


shirley's early puppy days before we knew she existed. she was known as "noel" at this time. you can totally tell she's the runt here


captive runt in the puppy pen


big girl in her new home!


big paw!


cuddling in alissa's lap


she had an itch!


mischievous


tired from playing all day...life is rough, shirley, eh?


cuddling with mike 'n ike


thinking liss's foot is chew-worthy


ooooh, eyeing up ducky


holding ducky hostage


toothpick legs that oscar is gonna love to chase in minnesota!

warning to shirley's new MN pals (oscar, heidi, bosco and bud): shirley says watch out 'cause she's got a secret weapon...her height...she just has to grow into it...but just you all wait!!

first annual

this easter was our very first easter holiday spent together as a married couple. even though it was just the two of us, we really cherished that time alone because it was deeply meaningful to us both. this was the first and will be the only holiday for the next year where it's just the two of us before mike is scheduled to deploy. having a spouse in the military has really shown us both just how deep our trust is for each other and how much we need and rely on one another - quality time spent together is unquestionably never a waste. it's healthy to remove yourself from the hustle and bustle of other people every now and then, as it brings appreciation, respect and gratefulness to the table. our first easter celebration was wonderful!


mike's great aunt teri and uncle jim came to visit us a few weeks ago on their way back from visiting friends in emerald isle! they gave us a very nice easter/housewarming gift of easter lilies, and took us out to lunch at flipperz, a local seafood joint out here. it was so nice to meet them for the first time!


yay, the easter bunny! mike was skeptical, but yes, the easter bunny did remember to make a pit stop at our new house :)


the "goods"


easter dinner! mike and i decided to try the local seafood stand down the road for our easter dinner - it was one of the first weekends where the stand was up for business this season, and what a good choice it was! chef mike prepared fresh bayside scallops and shrimp, and i was in charge of steamed asparagus and sauteed potato slices. dessert featured homemade chocolate chip zucchini bread, mmmmmm! quite delish.


family photo op after easter sunday church :)


this past saturday mike cheered me on as i ran the first annual emerald isle race the waves 8k! i was able to lure liz and katie into running it with me too, it was so fun! next up: morehead city 10k?...

round two

round two of visitors! mike's brother dan and his girlfriend alexi came to visit us for a few days over their spring break. they enjoyed seeing our house and the ocean, and they explored around the island quite a bit. it was nice to visit with them although we think mike, as a carl, felt a little intimidated being surrounded by three oles ;)

here are a few snap pics from their visit:


alexi and dan, at el zarape


mike and dan, on a tour of base. sorry to those who want more pics up of base...we need to follow OPSEC rules for the security of the military. we only will post pictures that do not reveal critical information.













and here are some snap shots of a recent date night - which was actually the husband's idea! the theme, if it's not already obvious, was "take me out to the ball game." we were all geared up in twins apparel (MN represent!) and watched the 1987 world series game where the minnesota twins defeated the st. louis cardinals, all the while munching on ballpark food favorites!