They Grow Up so Fast

Last night, I stayed up way too late looking at family pictures from the last five years. It was really fun to watch the progression of our family.

It's hard to believe that Kevin used to look like this:

And now he is so grown up!

The other day, I left Kevin alone for a minute while I finished a project. It was nearly lunchtime, so I asked him if he wanted to come with me, but he said, "No." I turned on a show for a minute and then I went to work. When I came back ten minutes later, Kevin had pulled out some (previously cooked) pancakes, slathered butter on them, and then was eating them with leftover syrup from breakfast. I was pretty amazed that he had made himself lunch. I couldn't believe he was old enough to do that. 

Someone has told me that if you painted red rocks to look like strawberries before your actual strawberries ripen, the birds will peck at the rocks and leave the strawberries alone later. So, I decided to try it. Kevin and I gathered some rocks from outside and he helped me. He did really well. We'd paint most of the rock red, and then put green on the part that we didn't paint. Kevin did really well at being careful and trying to keep the paint in the right place. Then he helped me dot the strawberry with little yellow dots. 

 I think they turned out great! Those birds are going to be fooled for sure!

Don't they look real?

It was also amazing to realize that Arkhon isn't even two yet. He turns two this year. It's crazy to believe that he used to look like this:

He's such a handsome, lean animal. He used to be this chubby little puppy, but now he's super-fast and strong. 

People always comment on how obedient he is as well. He and Kevin are such good friends. Arkhon is a very expressive fellow. His face speaks volumes, and I nearly always know exactly what he's saying. 

It was also crazy to realize that Siff is nearly six months old. I haven't been as good at blogging lately, but it's been really neat to see how fast she's progressed. 

She's changed quite a bit to, from this: 

To this:

She weighs more than Kevin now. He hasn't been able to pick her up in a couple of months. 

I'm convinced we have the best dogs in the world. 

They listen really well, and though their training isn't complete, they are doing really well. Arkhon's about 90% where I'd like him, and Siff is about 75%. It's fun to seen how much mental development has been occurring with her. Before the last couple weeks, when I'd be trying to express my disapproval with her actions, she would continue to have the goofy puppy look on her face. Then, within the last couple of weeks, she suddenly has come to recognize my body language. Now she responds to it, and it's been great to see that progression. 

Kevin was playing with the dogs in the backyard the other day, and I asked him what he was doing. He told me he was fighting zombies. I asked him who the zombies were. He told me that Siff was the zombie. I asked if Arkhon was a zombie to. 

"No," he said, "Arkhon's my dog." Evidently Arkhon and Kevin were ganging up on Siff. That was kind of funny, but I told them to be nice to her. Sometimes they act so much like siblings. 

Stop picking on your baby sister! ;)

Things have been pretty awesome. Part of the reason that I haven't been blogging as well lately is because I've been working on my book more. I'm really close to finishing the second draft. I'm really liking how it is turning out and should be ready for some beta readers soon. (I think that's the right term for it, I'm still new to the whole writer's slang thing.)