HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, RILEY!!!

Today our little boy turns 1 year old. That makes today the 10 month anniversary of him living with us. It's amazing how the time flies and how much he's grown- not just physically, but in his personality, too. Pics to follow...

WE LOVE YOU RILEY!!! xoxoxo

Riley is 11 months old!!!

This past Friday, July 24th, we went up to P-town (Provincetown, MA) for a week-long vacation. We rented a cottage and though it was a long 7 hrs car ride, Riley and Phoebe did great in the car!

Yesterday, Saturday the 25th, was Ethan's 38th birthday. It also happened to be Riley's 11 month birthday. To celebrate we went to Race Point Beach, at the Cape Cod National Seashore Park. This was the first time Riley saw sand or the ocean. And let me tell you, that ocean was COLD- 64˚ F!!! But we made it into the water and, in all, we had a great time.

Here's the video of the outing. WARNING: Riley did get attacked (unprovoked) as we were first going to the ocean. I had a hell of a time editing this video and couldn't edit this out. It's only about 10-15 seconds but it's more than a bit disturbing. Still, RILEY IS FINE and NOBODY WAS HURT. And, as you'll see, true to his great Cav nature, he just shook it off and continued to have a great first time at the beach. Click this link to watch it on YouTube:



Today, Sunday the 26th, is started off as a foggy (now rainy) day though the weather forecast/radar seems to imply this will be over before noon. We're having a lazy, rainy morning in the cabin piled up on the couch. Riley fell asleep on his toys:



Phoebe got jealous and so she came in on the action (little did she notice that wasn't a pillow she was laying on!)

Play Ball

Dad-E was playing ball with Riley in the yard today. Riley is very good at chasing his ball, catching not so much. But he has gotten very good at dropping the ball when we say, "drop it." It was great to watch Riley running like this. The weather has been so horrible, that he hasn't had much play time in the yard lately.



As you can see from this last photo, Riley was having a great time.

I am 10 months old now!

It's actually a week past the 10 month mark and Riley is just growing and growing! Michael took this photo of him in our backyard this evening. Michael was out taking photos of the flowers in our yard and He snapped this shot of Riley as he was walking around the swing. That inquisitive, gentle, all-knowing expression is the SOUL of Riley.

It's been a while

It's been a while since we last posted. I just noticed that the last post was from Friday, April 10th. "Good Friday". That was the day that Chandler (Riley's older brother) was in the hospital for his first of two major surgeries to try and remove the cancer that ravaged his body. It's been a hellish 2 months since then and our focus has been, understandably, on Chandler. Sometimes to the lack of attention on things like this blog about out little man, Riley.

Riley is nearly 10 months old and he's HUGE! His coat is really coming in all curly and wavy which is very odd for a Cavalier, but it's just like Chandler's was. I say was because, sadly, Chandler passed away last night at 4:46 pm. He lost his battle with Cancer and is now resting and at peace. Obviously, we're all very sad and we miss him so terribly. And we realize that this is so fresh and we're still in shock... I'm sure there's much more sadness and grieving to come. Even Riley has been a bit down today:



We're more grateful now than ever for Sir Riley, Lord of Essex. Of course he brings joy to our lives each day. But a big part of our consideration in bringing him into our family last fall was that a) we didn't want to face a situation where, with 2 older dogs, we would go from two to one and b) we wanted Riley to have time to really know Chandler and Phoebe and to take on aspects of their amazing personalities. And take it on he has.

Riley is a big chewer. Loves his chew toys and he is the only dog in 11 years who can outwit Phoebe for her chew toys. He loves to run and chase like her, too. And, like his older brother Chandler, he loves to lick, give kisses, and loves to be with you, preferably on your lap. He has Chandler's intelligence and calm nature, too. And, of course, like Chandler he's such a handsome boy!

So we're all feeling sad today and missing our Chan-man. But what's great is that he'll not only live on in spirit with us in our hearts and in our memories. Parts of him are very much alive in Riley and it's amazing to know that we'll have that to console us for years to come.

Bath Time

Riley's hair was getting a little shaggy, so he got a quick trim followed by a bath. He was very cooperative during the bath and drying. But for a cute dog, he looks mighty pathetic when wet.

He wasn't happy about it as you can see:


He tried bribing Daddy Michael to help him escape, but to no avail:

He seems to be plotting revenge:
OK, I give up:

I am Seven Months Old Now

And really growing into my face... my coat is coming out and it's super wavy/curly just like my Mommy's was.

7 months

Riley is 7 months old today. That also means he came to live with us 5 months ago. He is now twice the size of Phoebe and Chandler. However, Chandler remains his best buddy and favorite pillow.

He still engages Chandler in play daily, which is great for both of them. We're having work done on the house now and Riley is not at all fazed by the noise. If anything, he is intrigued and we have to stop him from going into the work zone. The plastic sheeting doesn't pose much of an impediment to him. Because of the work, the back yard is not as accessible, so we go on walks every day. Riley loves exploring the neighborhood. He runs up to greet everyone he sees. Everyone who meets him comments on how beautiful he is. We of course are biased on that one, but face it, he is a cutie. We now need to get him used to other dogs. Now that the weather is getting better, it may be time to hit a dog park for some socialization.

The Half Birthday Boy

By means of comparison to see how much Riley has grown, here he is again with Chandler. Look at the photo on the right side of the page. Riley was half the size of Chandler. Now look at him. They have switched and Riley is twice the size of Chandler, but Chandler can still take him down. Riley is the best thing that has happened to Chandler in a long time. Thanks to Riley, Chandler is acting like a dog half his age. Well some of the time. And despite the size difference, Riley still loves to sleep along side his big little brother and best friend.

RILEY IS 6 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!!

He's huge! Gorgeous, growing, healthy, happy... this is one of the better decisions of our life :-)

He had a Ball of a Time

Yes. Riley is nut-less. He came through the neutering like a champ. Only a few sutures ("stitches"). One suture on each gum where they pulled the baby teeth that didn't fall out and which were crowding the adult ones coming in behind them. And he's microchiped and registered to us.

He's still kinda out of it. All loopy and sleeping. But he's home and safe and well. The worst of it is over.

*Phew!*

Tomorrow is THE DAY

So it's finally come... tomorrow, February 12, 2009, Riley (A.K.A."Coosa Creek's Sir Riley, Lord of Essex") is going to have his balls cut off. We know this is the right thing to do. We know that this will add years of quality to his life. We know it's the healthy and socially responsible thing to do. And we know that it's in his adoption contract that he is not to be bred. And still, it's sad. He's also going to have his eye-teeth taken out, as the adult "canines" are coming in behind the baby ones which haven't fallen out. I suspect that will be more uncomfortable than the testiculectomy. (Nicer made-up word for castration.)

We still love you, Sir Riley. Don't hold this against us!!!

Riley is going on 6 months old!

I'm sorry it's taken so long to post any updates here-- and, as you'll see from the below pictures, three and a half weeks results in a LOT of growth for a little man like Riley... he's now the biggest of the bunch, by FAR!

Tooth Fairy

Riley lost his first baby tooth today. He was doing lots of air licking and chewing like he was trying to dislodge something from his mouth, so I looked in and saw one of his teeth just dangling. I gave him a hand and took it out for him. I didn't want him to swallow it.

The baby is growing up.

Still My Favorite Pillow

Even though he is bigger than his older brother, Riley still loves to cuddle up to Chandler and sleep against him. And, Chandler doesn't seem to him. It is only when Riley licks him, that Chandler is bothered. But for napping, it is great.