R-I-L-E-Y AND RILEY WAS HIS NAMO!

Well I've spent the last few weeks painting. I've been painting letters. What started out looking like a fun relaxing way to make something for Riley turned into frustrating - "Want to get it perfect" - "Darn it!" - "Have to fix that!" couple of weeks. I know that it should not have taken me so long and it's not that I worked on it every night or anything - but I've found out recently that after work since I'm pregnant I'm tired. I just do not have the energy that I once did (Will I ever again??) to get things done when I get home from work. And...if I need to go somewhere like the grocery store, I better do it before I get home or it's like pulling teeth to make me leave the sanctity of my home and the couch.

So I started out by buying the letters at Hobby Lobby and then picking out the paint. I even bought spray paint for the base coat - but I don't know if I was my fault or the paints (lets assume it was the paint's) but I couldn't get it to work. So I put on two white base coats with the acrylic paint.
Then I don't think you tell from this angle, but I painted the back and edges navy blue.
Then I put painters tape on the edges and painted each letter face a different color. Then I removed the painters tape along with a lot of the blue paint from the edges!!
ARgggg... Then I had to touch up the blue that was removed. Then for the designs. I started off trying to make lines - which I couldn't get either straight or consistent in size. So...after fixing that by repainting the entire faces - I found the perfect shape to make was circles - by dipping an eraser of the pencil into paint and stamping it on. Then once I figured out that I needed more than one pencil - my hands were getting chapped from the numerous hand washings between color changes (I even joked to Todd that I was never going to wash my hands again. Which was totally a joke - a gross one when you think about it - so don't be afraid to shake my hands I am continuing the good hygene of washing my manos) -the letters really started to take shape (as it were). The large circles are the top of water bottles dipped int paint. All in all I think they turned out cute. I also painted a shelf that I am going to glue the letters to (I don't want to spend endless hours picking each letter up after it falls off the shelf. So Wah-lah, here is the finished product:
















Todd has been busy painting too. The nursery is now painted. This picture looks a little dark - but it is much lighter than this picture looks.
Now all we have to do is put up the boarder, hang the curtains (also navy blue), take the crib and dresser out of the boxes in the garage, put the crib together, put up the pictures, buy a glider rocker and ottman, get a lamp (or night light), wash all the baby clothes and sheets and blankets, buy all the other baby paraphernalia, and then we will be ready for the baby. Wow. Good thing we have a couple of months left :-) Actually we're doing good - we just have more to go. I'll keep you posted as to where we are in the process.

In other knitting news - I also finished Riley's sweater outfit and I also made one for Alexandra my girlfriend Val's girl that she is having on Tuesday. Yes, Tuesday - I would be freaking out if I was that close to the big day. (Riley's is green and Alex's is the cream).
Since George has been absent in the last few blogs - he insisted that he could wear the booties in the blog - I told him he could stand by them instead.

In other George news, George came upstairs this Sunday morning to wake me up and had me follow him down stairs. When we got there - he sprinted (yes, actual running occurred) across the floor to the back door so that I could put him in his coop!! What George didn't quite realize was that it was only 33F outside. But I put him out anyway. The look on his face and the crying when I went to go get him in a couple of minutes was priceless. Take a look for yourself:
Yah, I think George was ready to go. As am I ...talk to you later!

Rain Drops are Falling on My Head!

We had a shower last week, although I don't feel any cleaner. Actually we drove back to Wisconsin to our friends who threw a little baby shower/get together for us. It was really fun seeing our friends again. It will be the last time that we see them before the baby is born. Wow - now that statement is a bit of an eye opening! There's only about 13 weeks left before the big day!! I am trying to enjoy sleeping in, etc. but mother nature won't seem let me. Take today for example, I woke up at 6am and could not go back to sleep.(after one of the few nights of sleeping through the night...wait maybe I got up but don't remember...hmmm...). I guess I'm slowly but surely getting broken in for the big day....and if it's not the baby waking me up - it's George. That darn alarm cat - has figured out that I wake up at 2am to pee. So now if I don't wake up on my own - my alarm cat is waking me up to remind me!! Oh..and to get petted. He sticks his paw on my face and pushes me like he is saying, "Hey....Hey...are you awake? Hey..." Then when I wake up, he starts to purr and says, "Well since you are up, you may as well pet me."

These are my girl friends who threw the shower. Aren't they sweet?!!

Any who, we had a great time and got some really nice gifts last weekend. Of course I'm going to share with you - take a look:
A bouncer chair - which I hear is a must have!! And Diapers and wipes - are so a must have that it's not even funny. When my girl friend gave me these - she said that she hoped that she wasn't giving me the "girl" diapers because if you look close there is a picture of a little black girl on the front of the package. Hmm...I don't think that's it's necessary for the baby to look like the actual baby that is using the diapers - but then again, I've never been a mother before...so..if I'm mistaken, please some body correct me (I don't want poor Riley to think that he is a little black girl!! Ha-ha!!). Sometimes my girl friend is so funny!!


A Jolly Jumper - no longer do you need a door frame. I'm told that Todd was hung from the door frame when he was a baby! We were so poor that we had the door frames - but not jumper.

Riley is going to look so good in his Viking's jersey!! I thought it was so cute that his jersey matches the one's that both Todd and I have!! The only problem is that this is for a 3-6 month old and by football season, he will be closer to 9 months old. We'll have to keep our eyes open for the next size too.

We received so many outfits that I am not going to show them all to you - but these were so cute and coordinated. He can be a frog, a horsey, or a puppy. So cute!!

And what wardrobe would be complete without his "Hugh Heffner" robe and froggy slippers. Sorry this one is on it's side - for the life of me I couldn't get this one to go the other way. Sometimes, that's how life goes and you just have to roll with it. So if you care to see it in portrait format - please turn head to the left until the picture seems to be properly orientated...or feel free to turn the computer screen.. whichever is easier for you :-)

Then the piece de resistance - my girlfriend Nancy (she is the one on the left in the photo at the top of this blog) - knitted Riley this sweater set. Is that cute or what? It was knit all in one piece and only needed to be sewed at the shoulders. It is gorgeous. And I love, love, love the Peter Rabbit buttons. (Again, please turn head as appropriate to allow proper orientation).


I have been knitting too. I made a green sweater for Riley and a white one for my girl friend Val who is due in two weeks. I need to finish the hat for her and the booties for both - but I just wanted to prove that I haven't totally been slacking off: (No I haven't worked on the blanket for a while - but I will start that as soon as the sweaters are done).
Then since it's fall and I got it in my head that I was making a scare crow this year and there was no stopping me (why I get these crazy ideas - I don't know. Todd wants to know as well - but a guy likes to have a little mystery in his life so it may as well come from his wife (wow that was a bit rhymy wasn't it?!!)

So I looked on line for how to make a scare crow because althouth I knew I wanted to do it, I really didn't have any idea how to go about it. I came across this website called, Monkey See (Monkey do) - which was great. It had actual clips on how to make a scarecrow from beginning to end. You use nylons for the face and arms (the leggs - so to speak use use for the arms, the waist of the hose you use for the head. Then you stuff the rest of the clothes and tie the top and bottom together using twine. I bought a mask for the face - because I didn't want to sew or use markers, etc. and found some really big hands that are meant to be put into the ground for Halloween like someone is coming out of a grave.

Here are a couple of pictures taht I took while I was assembling him. I think that it looks like we have an actual dead body on our counter. and a close up of his face. Notice that he doesn't have any eyes. Spooky!!

And here is is out in the front of our house:

We tied his arm up so when the wind blows that it appears like he is waving. I think he's kind of cute. The neighbors asked Todd if that is what he is going to look like when he retires (Of course not, he's going to look exactly like his uncle Terry I thought - but it was too complicated to explain).

I'm B-a-c-k!!!

I haven't blogged since July! And so much has happened since July!! (A lot like why the heck can't get every word in my blog from being underlined?? They must have changed something but heck if I can figure it out??!!&^%$#). No wonder that my MIL and Nancy gave me such a hard time!! So...what have I been up to? I can sum that up to three little words, "Baby, Baby, Baby!" Ok that one word three times, but basically that's where my head has been. We now know that it is a boy. Yay!! (Ok, deep down I wanted a girl, but now I'm more than ok with it. Now I only have to worry about one penis instead of the many that you worry about when you have a girl and she starts dating). He has a name, "Riley Harold." I am now almost 25 weeks along and Riley is now about 1 1/2 pounds (Riley has changed a lot - look at the last ultrasound that we had taken on the right).
I am registered for baby things. Which I will tell you is no simple task!! Who knew that you needed so much stuff for a teeny tiny baby!! We have ordered the lifetime crib and dresser/changing table which should be here in 8-12 weeks (hmmm...let's do the math. I'm 25 weeks + 12 = 37 weeks. We will get it home just in time....hopefully). We bought the mattress and crib set (so cute has tools, etc.). I will show you a picutre when I get it all put together. My MIL bought us a wonderful stroller with a newborn car seat (now we can bring him home from the hospital!! Which is comforting) and a Baby Einstein mobile that plays classical music (oh yah Riley is going to be cultured!). Todd's aunt and cousins got me a breast pump and boppy pillow. Which I am so thrilled about (who knew that such a device would bring such joy? Well it does because this is going to mean that I am going to be able to have a little independance and when I go back to work Riley will still be able to eat). Also who knew that he is changing our lives and he hasn't even been born yet?!! I can't sleep through the night. I can't hardly tie my shoes! My belly has now expanded past Todd's. It seems like everything we do has to something to do with having a baby..grocery shopping to feed him. I'm falling asleep on the couch because of him. And I insist when he kisses me that our bellies touch so that Riley can feel the love too!


Ok, so (what? where's the underlining??? Oh well, let's go with it) we also did some apple picking the other day. An apple a day, keeps the doctor away (Yah right, I go again on October 29th). We had a great time, but let me tell you that I didn't realize how big I'd gotten since I looked at this picture!! Is that an apple woman holding apples?? (good thing I didn't wear red that day!).














We had a great time at the apple farm. Except do you see how small the bags are?? It's only 1/4 peck and I think it was about $15/person. these are the most expensive apples that I've ever eaten!! So the fact that I gorged myself on apples while in the field's don't hurt my feelings one bit!! (Oh I was appled out by the end of it all).

My MIL was down to Illinois for a week in September (of course she came when we got the torrential rains and we had two choices - be stuck in the house or break out the umbrellas!! Plus she caught a terrible cold that she is still recovering from!) and showed me how to make fleece tie blankets. So cute!! I made one for baby Riley and one for my girlfriend from North Carolina.





This one is Riley's - Thomas the Train Engine. I think he will really like it. Good primary colors to look at and trains...so cool.






And this one is for my girlfriend's newborn Kamdyn. I love the bears and the blue makes you look for the one blue bear in the picture. It's like - Where's Waldo in Bears. And of course George had to get into the picture. He's been going through blog with drawl and is wondering if his fans will still remember him properly. So George, whatever you do, this blog's for you!!!

And what else, oh yah I'm also knitting a bit (not a lot I have to admit that I need to get back at it. But....I did start a blanket for Riley. I think it's very cute. Take a look for yourself:
George (What?? the underlining is back!! ARgggg.....) - now let the people see the blanket. Ok I'll show you a close up:I better shower because we are going to the Scarecrow festival in St. Charles because I'm going to make my own scarecrow and I need ideas!! Stay tuned to see our scarecrow extraordinaire!

Baby Advice

We went to the doctor this past Thursday and we are happy to say that everything is going fine. The baby turned over for Todd and the doctor just to show off. She was sucking her thumb. The baby is now 45mm long and the baby no longer looks like a teddy bear. Check her out for yourself (side note: No we still don't know the sex of the baby - but since I used "he" last time, am giving a fair share to "she" - it's only fair after all!! I don't want to get picked by any baby libbers out there). Here is a peak at the baby:
I think it's cute that the baby left us a message and such a sweet one at that!! (Can you see it? It says, "I love my mommy and daddy.") Just to give you an orientation the head is on the bottom, she was sucking her thumb so the one had is up by the head and the other was away from the body so you can't see it. The legs are curled up in the fetal position (which makes sense since she is s a fetus after all). I think that she is easier to see if I turn her upside down -check her out:
There - does that help? I know - it's so hard reading the shadows after all. I would think that she would get dizzy being upside down like that - but she must like it because I know she can turn around by herself already.

So Todd sent out a mass e-mail announcing the fact that we are going to have a baby. I think that the note was so nice - but equally fun has been the various e-mails that we have received in response. I only sent some of them to my home e-mail - but wanted to share some with you as well. check them out:

Todd’s e-mail:

Dear Friends and Family,

I know it’s hard to believe since I am now an old guy, but Angela and I are going to have a baby! Yes, another Seigel will be blasting into the world! The cat is out of the bag, and I’m spilling my guts. We have known for a while, and It has been hard to keep quiet. The Canadian invasion of the U.S. is happening at a slow and calculated pace :-)

The baby (currently known as the Seigel fetus) will be due in January 2009, so brace yourself (I know I am). No, we don’t know if it will be a boy or a girl yet, that comes at around 17 weeks, or so I’m told. We are just hoping for a healthy baby right now. We are going in for an ultrasound later today to check on the progress. We are both very excited, and I have started buying Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Blue Bombers x-small jersey’s already.

Anybody got any good tips on diapers and vomit? I think this will be my favourite part.

We hope this note finds everyone healthy and in good spirits. I know that I am :-)

Take Care, Todd

Responses and Advice:

1. Congratulations to you and Angela!! I am so happy for you!You will be wonderful parents. All I can say is sleep lots now while you can. Kerri and Neil

2. Hi Todd Congratulations!!!!! You finally did it!!! Another Great Grandchild for Granny Seigel. She could hardly wait to tell me you fantastic news. Hope everything is well with Angela. Get used to it, there is no more Angela and Todd it will be all about the BABY!! That is something Tisha always said. When people would see her it was "How is the baby" and when Evanee was born it is "How is little Evanee" Tisha and Todd do not exist. Keep us informed on the results of the ultrasound. No matter if it is a boy or a girl it will be a treasure. Love Aunt Pat

3. Congradulations Todd and Angela!!! The only advice I can give you is SLEEP NOW while you can and enjoy every minute of the pregnancy (it goes by really fast)!! Congradulations again!
All the best in the next 6 months! Tisha and Todd

4. whooo hooo!! congratulations, todd and angela!! As far as diaper advice goes, change 'em when they get wet or poopy and invest in some good receiving blankets for the spit up... breast fed babies spit up WAY LESS than bottle fed babies, and the vomit doesn't smell NEARLYas bad. mtfbwy... steph

5. Congratulations! Wow so super exciting!!!! What a great excuse to eat more stuff! Regards,Christine

6. I’m sure Kim can tell you all about the kids and what to expect.I did not actually take any responsibility until they were walking. Somehow that actually worked for me but I wouldn’t advise trying it Todd….After at least a decade with them they are actually quite pleasant to be around and fun.. Quick story… First Trip to Church with the New Baby

McKenzie was born on July 4^th in SC..total opposite from your homelands.. Angela I don’t even think as far north as you were born counts as the USA….to stinking COLD.

We were both very proud parents and thought we should show her off a little and church seemed like the perfect place. So we get dressed in the proper Southern church garb… Coat and Tie for me, Nice floral dress for Kim....McKenzie some pretty little white dress. We arrive at the church, less than one mile away, and promptly, thinking we were smart, head for the balcony. Relatively small church, maybe 1000 members, so the balcony was not real large but we thought we could exit stage right quickly from there. So right after the service starts and the pastor welcomes everyone he starts the service with a prayer. Right in the middle of a pause for effect in the prayer McKenzie lets loose with a thunderous explosion in her diaper. After the prayer, Kim picks her up with McKenzie facing her at eye level and starts talking baby talk to her. McKenzie’s smiling from ear to ear….Gives Kim this cute grin….Makes the first attempt at basketball and throws up and hits Kim just below her Adam’s apple and it runs down the inside of her dress..Yes, I was laughing uncontrollably and we left the service before the first song.. We spent more time in the car coming and going than we did at church.

Moral of the story.. even though they are smiling and grinning they are actually just looking for a place to release bodily functions until about age 3.

Good Luck, Jeff

7. I am SO glad the wee little babe will have his mother there, when Dad accidently smothers him/her with a jersey! Mary

8. Congratulations! My advice: Begin a mutual fund account in your child’s name for college. Time will fly and that day will be here much faster than you think. Stu

9. Congratulations!!! As a seasoned father and now grandfather I can provide free advise at anytime. Not sure it is what you want to hear but good stories from Jonestown nonetheless. Most importantly I have figured out that children are truly God’s gift. But on a separate note, remember this, “ The headaches that your children give you are directly proportional to their weight X age with a exponential factor for teenage years 13-19” Best wishes Dave

10. Congratulations to both of you! Enjoy the next few months, because the next 18 + ???? years of your life will never be the same! It has been a long time since I was heavy into the diaper and vomit thing, but I am getting a bet of a refresher course with little grand kids. What I am learning is never bounce them around immediately after they are fed, and to say, “Oh, you pooped in your diaper, I think you should go give your mommy / daddy a hug!” Seriously, they are great and will add a lot to your life. Hopefully, George will survive the new baby! I don’t know if my daughter’s vet clinic has psychological counseling for cats with new babies in the house, but I’ll ask! Maybe she can recommend a cat whisperer! Jim

11. Congratulations Todd! Being a parent in the early days is very much like being a Sanitation Design Manager…late nights, crying, and shit to clean.

So if you didn't get the e-mail and want to give some advice or share a story - we would love to hear them!

Hey Baby!! What's UP?

Well here I am wondering where the time has gone since I've last blogged. We are all unpacked (well mainly - the boxes in the basement don't count right?!). A lot has happened to us since we talked last. What do you ask?

Well, George thought that it was important for us to have new carpet in the dining room and formal living room. He peed all over the carpet so we had to put new carpet in. Of course it happened the week before we were going to have a big party at our house (How does he know?)!! He was mad at us for visiting my mom and dad for a long weekend and then Todd left for a business trip. So George did his business all over the rug in protest. When George wants to make a statement - he makes himself heard. Who says that George can't talk?? Well Lowes came through again. Who would think that we could buy carpet and have it completely installed in less than a week? When we pulled up the carpet (and Todd treated the are) we found out that the old owners had just covered up pet stains without treating the area so that was probably what prompted the carpet peeing. Normally George is a shoe pee-er (never on the carpet) and darn it if he isn't good at it too. When very angry his aim can be very good and hit entirely inside the shoe so that when you put your foot in you get exactly what he left for you! This is a note to the wise when visiting our house - if you step on George's toe, be sure to hide your shoes. Here's a picture of the new carpet:

I like it better than the original. Of course, it is off limits to George. Oh well, he has a lot of house that he can visit (and he is still under servailance [wow I spelled the right without spell check. I rock].

The second new thing is that Todd is now the big 4-0. That's right I'm now married to a guy who has seen the other side of the hill. I'm wondering what is over there, but since I'm only having anniversaries of being 29 now - I'll probably never know. I'll just have to take his word for it. We had a "Canada Day-House Warming-Birthday Party." We had a pretty good turn out - about 30 people! Todd put a keg in the keggerator in the garage with Molson Canadian (What else did you expect? Kokanee? Well maybe but that wasn't available!). I made a double batch of Gail's potato salad (which is the best potato salad in the world by the way - not mustard based - but it has pickle relish - yumm I'm getting hungry just thinking about it), pasta salad, chips, watermelon and Todd grilled the bratts. I know that the food was a hit because it was all gone. Well except the cake - maybe it was the grim reaper that was on the top of cake. I had to rub it in after all - he is 40!! If he doesn't have a sense of humor now - he never will (You can't teach old dogs new tricks after all). Here's a picture of the reaper and his henchmen:


Of course, Todd had to just tell me about the beer and how good it was ...other than getting a few drops off his mustach during a quick kiss (which he caught onto way too fast) ... that takes me to our next set of news: I'm 11 weeks pregnant tomorrow!!! People say that I'm glowing. I think that is just because of all the weight that I've gained (ha-ha). We have gone through so much to get to this point!! We are so happy!! We had to go through a battery of tests and finally decided to go to Invitro Fertilization (IVF) - that is a test tube baby (using my eggs and Todd's sperm) to those not in the know. We had to do pills, then shots - at times 3 per day, then one intermuscular shots with a 3 inch needle into the bum - all given by Todd. Let me tell you - he would make one good shot giving nurse. I never could have done this without him (other than the obvious reason). With the whole process being only a 25% chance per cycle - we are very fortunate that I got pregnant. Don't worry I'm taking it easy. Todd won't let me do much of anything and I'm not lifting anything over 15lbs. Plus with being this tired is a great excuse to be a bum. The problem is that I really want to do stuff and have to hold myself back. Once I get past the 12 week mark, I'll feel a little better. We have seen the heartbeat and the baby now is looking more and more like a baby. Take a look at our last ultrasound:

Look the baby looks like a teddy bear!!

So I know that I haven't talked about knitting. I am still working on the baby blanket for my girl friend. I know that I need to get more serious - but I do have until September (Yah, it's going to be very close). I'll keep everyone informed with the progress of the blanket and the baby!!

Who loves you baby? We do of course!!

The Blues?

Again I have to start by saying that's been a long time since I've blogged. I hope that this hasn't made you too blue. But we've been totally caught up in our new house and all the things that goes along with it. We kind of forgot that having a house equals a lot of chores. Todd has totally been into the lawn and all the other chores that go with the yard. He loves, loves, loves riding his new mower around the yard. In fact, when Todd gets the blues - he jumps on the mower and about 2 hours later (we have a big yard) he comes back covered in grass and is in a much better mood.
Here are a couple of photos of his maiden voyage around the yard:

The funny part of this photo that is not obvious to the casual observer is that Todd has the mower running - but it took a couple of minutes before he figured out how to make it go forward because for shipping they had disconnected the transmission. It was a couple of tense minutes before he was off and running!

But now he is a pro - taking corners like he is on rails.

Of course these pictures are before he put the grass catcher on the back of the tractor. Now it looks like the yard has been freshly vacuumed every time he mows. Now, if I can just get him to ride the vacuum in the house we'd be set!

One thing about the yard that is helping me not be blue are the lilac bushes. They are so gorgeous and the fragrance is so thick that the moment you go to the back yard, that's all you can smell. It's so summery!! I wish that I could bottle it or make one of those scratch and sniffs. I'll give it a try - go ahead and scratch the screen to see if it worked.....well? ....No...too bad because you don't know what you are missing. I couldn't resist so I had to cut some and bring the smell into the house too. I can't share the smell but I can at least show you what I'm talking about:








Gorgeous!!!!

Believe it or not, but I have been knitting a little bit since we talked last. At first, I got the bug to knit, but of course I need a project before I can get going. So I had a sock book that said that I could use any yarn and they could make a sock that I am truly happy with. One sock always is different than the other and neither ever fit like a glove (well maybe that's the problem since I'm making socks not gloves). So...anyway, I thought that I'd give it another try. So off I went down the road to sock town. As I am happily knitting feeling like I'm finally going to conquer my sock dilemma, Todd keeps giving me the look as if he knows not to say anything but also knows that something just isn't right with this sock. Finally, when I was down to the toe - he asks if I am making a sock for a club foot. I ask him what he is talking about and then he asks me to put it on. And he's right - it's huge!!! If I had a club foot, it would fit - but a normal size foot - not. I think that George could use it as a blanket it is so big. So while he was napping, I tried it out:
Yup, it's a club foot blankee for George. Needless to say it is going to remain a single. George has fur anyway is not really in need of covers. Although I would say that he does look pretty cute!!

So after the club foot sock, I decided to make a baby outfit for my girlfriend who is due in September. She had said that she wasn't going to find out the sex of the baby before - so I went and made one in cream, then on the last button hole - I messed up and put it on the wrong side of the sweater. Although I'm sure that the baby would never notice, it just would not do at all. Plus I decided that it didn't take me any time at all to make so would knock out another one. Except, I didn't have enough yarn - so I decided this time that I would make yellow. Is yellow a neutral baby color? Hmmmmm.....I'm unsure. So I decided to start making a blanket. I got one square done when I got the phone call from my girl friend - yup, you got it - she's having a boy! I'm so happy for her, but I was not feeling the yellow so back to the yarn store I went. This time - baby blue was my goal. At least no one would ask her if it was a boy or a girl - right? So...I finally finished it. Take a look:

The pattern came from my MIL - she always has the best patterns. It is so fun with all the yarn overs and knit togethers. Looking at the photo now, the little buttons I put on look like they are staring at me. Take a closer look:

I need to go back to the yarn store because I only bought 4 buttons and I really need 5. I know that no one ever buttons the top button - but just in case that's the new style, I'll fill in the gap.

George Update: George has a new house arrest device to keep him from escaping. Yes, he has a harness. He thinks that he is a dog anyway, so I thought what the heck. I just wanted him to be able to up on the deck with us without going to the edge jumping off and running (well jogging) into the neighbor's yard. So without further ado, here is George in his new prisoner garb:

Todd thinks that George looks humiliated. But I disagree. In this picture, he is actually wagging his tail (again he thinks he's a dog) as he looks over the edge of the deck. It took a while for George to get the hang of not being able to go where ever he wanted. Here he is testing the waters:

Now George isn't exactly like a dog. He doesn't exactly walk along with you. Instead when pushed, he just lays down where he is to show you that he is still in charge. But as any good prison guard would do, I just pick him up and take him where I want him to go. Also, I am going to go buy one of this retractable dog leases because this one is made out of ribbon yarn (well it was in my stash and I thought it was tougher than wool) which George has already made a tooth hole in so it is only a matter of time before he is free!