Many thanks for the birthday wishes on Isaac's behalf.

He's 4 today, Seska, as he's been proudly telling everyone all day.

I am putting any kind of party until after my classes end, so today is just cupcakes with family. Mmm, cupcakes.

He's 4 today, Seska, as he's been proudly telling everyone all day.

AWWWWWWWW!

Had a toddler in the house who kept banging on different parts of the fence yelling "OPEN IT!" (where there was no gate) and a beautiful mellow infant who rolled over by herself for the first time at our house!

I gotta write to these folks to make sure they are reassured that we enjoyed having them all over. Since we don't have kids I think people think that we are put out by kid craziness.

OK, this is completely random, but may be of help to someone else, so: My cat has decided that nail-trimming is No Good, and goes to bite me when I try. He hasn't actually bitten me yet, but I kind of freak out when he puts his teeth on me. So I came up with an idea to arm myself -- I put on my denim jacket and leather gloves and picked up the trimmers. And he didn't even flinch when I cut all ten front claws! Possibly because I didn't care if he went to bite. So that was good.

Look At This Lovely Hamster

A blog, featuring pictures of lovely hamsters. Each hamster picture is accompanies by a Shakespeare quote.

But he's house-trained, affectionate, and we're hoping he wouldn't eat the sofa.

Awww, cutie! That sounds nice. How big is he?

And given that you have not had a dog before, may I offer unsolicited advice? Crate-training is your friend. The crate isn't a prison, it's his own private little den where he can be safe, and peacefully confined when you are not home to supervise him. Also good for days when the cable guy or the housecleaner is coming.

I also highly recommend all family members attend basic dog-training, and even advanced basic dog-training, so everyone knows what the dog and the people are supposed to do. Dog-training is good socialization for the dog, and can be a lot of fun.

t Takes off dog-person hat and sits back down

Look At This Lovely Hamster

Look At This Fucking Hipster

Happy Birthday Isaac!

The dog is not big. He's a chihuahua/Jack Russell mix, but more Jack Russell-sized. Maybe twenty pounds or less?

Crate-training is your friend. The crate isn't a prison, it's his own private little den where he can be safe, and peacefully confined when you are not home to supervise him.

Yeah, that's definitely the plan. Right now, I'm home all day, but if we get to a point where I have a job out of the house, I want to feel comfortable leaving him.

Dog-training is good socialization for the dog, and can be a lot of fun.

He loves other dogs, so we're looking forward to dog-parking with him. We just have to get him to the point where he's not scared of people. He's much more fearful than aggressive, but he will growl. So yeah, there are going to be walks and convincing him that people are good things who give you treats and play with you.

Ooh, I just realized that the bizarrely hot weather means I know that to wear tomorrow, for a meeting that I have to dress up some, but not suit up for. Phew!

Look At This Lovely Hamster

Look At This Fucking Hipster

Ahahahahaha!!!!