The Gracie Alexander Family

Meet Rhoan

2008-04-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

With the new addition to our family, Rhoan, our site has moved. You can visit us at http://www.rhoan.org/ !

Gracie's First Swim

2006-09-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

Gracie got to participate in the Pooch Plunge ... She loved it .... well sort of. The first thing the silly girl did was jump in the deep end. Having never been in the water before she totally freaked out and had to be rescued by the lifeguard. She was a little nervous about getting back in the water and by the end she was swimming like a champ.

A Day at the Zoo

2006-09-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

Last year we got to share Boden's first time at the Zoo. This year we got to share Ethans first trip to the zoo with Boden and Leann.

A picture is worth a bunch of words....

2006-08-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

So who is the adorable kitten? She was our foster child for a couple weeks. As most of you know I am allergic to the little fur balls, but we found her a fabulous new home. We called her punky while she was with us, and her new official name is Annie, as in little orphan Annie. She seems very happy in her new home. Gracie tolertated her well enough and I don't think she was too heartbroken to see her go.

Summer fun!

2006-08-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

It has been forever and a day since we've updated the blog. I guess we were just caught up in the all the summer fun. (okay, I was simply too lazy.) Gracie has had a great summer. Hard to believe that she is almost nine months old. She has had to deal with lots of changes this summer. Ben has a full time, permanent scientist job now. So the days of the stay-at-home dog dad are over. However, I have been lucky enough to spend lots of time with her this summer. I am interviewing tomorrow of a job at the University of Northern Colorado that will actually give me summers off. It is all sounding very good at this point in my life. Working only 10 months out of the year is hard to pass up. Grace loves Fort Collins. Then again, why wouldn't she ... it was recently voted the best place to live in the United States. It is the first place that I have lived where they encourage you to bring your dog into Block Buster Video. They are also putting a pond at the Dog Park.... Grace and her friends can hardly wait! The other big news is that I am going to be an Aunt again.... Yes Boden is going to be a big brother. Candye is due sometime in March. As I have said before, we love OTHER PEOPLES KIDS! :) We took Boden to his very first Rennaissance Festival over the weekend. He loved it ... was a little freaked out by the costumes and he eventually got comfortable. The jugglers were his favorite. Wow, for such an exciting summer... I can't for the life of me think of any other events worth mentioning. Oh wait! There was of course our one year anniversary. We actually survived the first year of marriage. It has been an adventure and I am definately looking forward to what is yet to come. I have rambled far too long... A picture is worth a thousand words ... So here ya go!

Our apologies ......

2006-04-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

I know it has been well over a month since you have gotten a gracie update. If you all recall from the last post, I put Ben in charge of the blog and well... he and Gracie have been having too much fun and lost all track of time. We had a great Easter. Gracie loves the kids and as you can see, she had a blast during the Easter egg hunt. The other big news is that Gracie is getting a yard. We are moving back to Ft. Collins and Gracie will finally have a small piece of grass to call her own. Also, Gracie visited Dr. Joe and got spayed... Ben said that if we want more little Gracie's running around, we will just clone her.

2006-03-12T14:19:00.000-08:00

Gracie's Snow Day!
Poor Poor Grace, she can't go out to play today. So Ben decided to take advantage of the time together and work on her training. As you can see from the pictures it is going great .... he is in total control. :) Yesterday she learned to lay down, roll over and to leave it. Leave it is something we have practiced a whole bunch today. A bored puppy is a mischievious puppy. Let's just say we are all missing Gracie's friends at Camp Bow Wow today. And to think, Ben hasn't even officially begun his week as Stay at home Dad!

Highlights from the Last 6 Months

2006-03-12T02:00:00.000-08:00

WE LOVE OTHER PEOPLES KIDS!!!!

Besides, Gracie loves being an Only Child ...

Uncle Ben and Boden have a very special relationship. We see the boy every chance we get and he is the funnest thing around. He walks and talks just like a real little person. He is not a baby anymore!

Caylee had a birthday and Boden went to the zoo. (Boden had a Birthday too...) We were lucky enough to be invited along!

Daddy's Little Girl

2006-03-10T20:54:00.000-08:00

CHECK OUT THE HOT NEW BANDANA GRANDMA ALEXANDER MADE ME!!!!

Okay, for those of you who know Gracie, most will agree she is a Mama's girl at heart and that is about to all change. Ben is between job assignments, so that means he is a Stay at Home Dad. No more Camp Bow Wow for the week .... It is Camp Ben All Day All the Time. I imagine by the end of the week the two of them will be inseparable (and to be honest, I am not sure how I feel about that.) I guess, I feel a little left out. While they will be out exploring new dog parks and making new friends, I will be working. Never thought I would be a working Mom. However, I am going to sweetly ask that Ben not only document their day with dozens of pictures, but that he and Gracie give the blog a daily update. I am certain it is more interesting than anything that happened to me at work that day!!!

Princess Gracie .... at her best!

2006-03-10T20:40:00.000-08:00

Who knew that with three days of steadfast training Gracie would become the perfect pup. Yet here she is, SIX DAYS ..... that's right, six days accident free. We had a couple of close calls, and it looks like Ben and I are finally trained enough to recognize the danger signs. The kenneling thing is not so bad. Besides, by the time she gets home from daycare she barely has enough energy for dinner and one lap around the complex. So she actually looks forward to the downtime ... So yay for Gracie.

Sleeping Beauty....

2006-03-03T21:44:00.000-08:00

T.G.I.F
Friday is finally here! Which means my work week is just about to start. Ben and Gracie are both ready for some quality time at the dog park. Gracie of course will be a little disappointed there is no daycare, so Ben is going to have to keep her extra busy. She stayed home with us yesterday and she pouted the whole time. She is spoiled for sure. We realized that our spoiling is most likely the root cause of her not really getting the whole house training concept. However, things are about to change for little Gracie, as well as for us. There is going to be some real structure around here. Yes, that is something the three of us know little about. I have read up on it (I would be lost without google) and I think for the sake of the carpet, Ben and I can have structure in this one area of our lives. The scary part is that we really thought we were doing good on the structure thing until I googled it. So no more unsupervised play in the house(EVER), in sight or in the crate is our new motto. She is also going for a walk every two hours whether she likes it or not. (not just out on the patio) Grace is as lazy as we are when it comes to the three flights of stairs. If nothing else, this whole experience will be a great motivator to save money so we can buy a house sooner than later. Our little girl needs a yard. That is all the drama of the week. I promised that this blog would consist of ramblings that really do nothing other than give me a chance to talk about us .. our favorite subject. So, thanks for suffering through. Ben will take lots of pictures at the dog park tomorrow, so at least those are worth coming back for...Did I mention Grace loves going to daycare. The only downside is that she is too tired to play with us when she gets home.

Hooray for Camp Bow Wow and our Mardi Gras Pup!

2006-02-28T23:13:00.000-08:00

FAT
TUESDAY!!

Gracie got her final shots from Dr. Joe Saturday morning. We were finally able to schedule Gracie's "Camper Evaluation Session" at Camp Bow Wow. She did great at the dog park, and still I was a little nervous. You see if she didn't pass the evaluation, then it was obviously a reflection on our parenting skills. We are already banned from one doggy daycare after the Willie Fiasco. Let's just say the pressure was on for little Gracie to perform. Throughout the day Ben checked the puppy cam and assured me that she was having fun. I held out until 3:00pm and at that point had to call and hear for myself. From all reports Gracie was having the time of her life and adjusted to the new routine almost immediately. We passed as parents! I recognize how utterly neurotic I am. Then again, what mother isn't at some point in time. I can't even keep bamboo alive, so technically I am not ready to care for a puppy. :) Then again, the bamboo didn't have Gracie's demanding bark.So Gracie will be spending at least three days a week in daycare. As much as I want her to like it, I have to admit I was hurt when I picked her up the first night and she really didn't miss me at all. Sure I got a couple puppy kisses and she was obviously sad to leave her new friends. I don't blame her for wanting to stay. They even celebrated Fat Tuesday. Gracie was part of a canine Mardi Gras celebration...purple beaded collar and all. (Camp Bow Wow provided the costumes.) Personally, I am looking forward to the Easter Egg hunt in April. No I am not making this stuff up... You can read all about it and even check out the puppy cam at www.mycbw.com/northglenn . What can I say, Princess Gracie deserves the best! Although at this point I am not exactly sure how I feel about them dressing my dog up. Mardi Gras or not, dressing up your pet is a little over the top, even for a neurotic mother like me.Costumes aside, day one at camp was a total success. I knew we had made the right decision when she fell sound asleep during the 10 minute ride home. She didn't even get car sick, which really was the biggest advantage to having a tuckered out pup. Let's just say that all our extra funds are going toward the "Detail Jenn's Car and Shampoo EVERYTHING fund".I have come to accept the fact that we are "those kind of people". You know, the ones that treat their pets like children. Gracie is living large being an only child in our house. And for those of you wondering, we don't see that changing anytime soon. We are still in training with puppy number one. So if, I mean WHEN you return to this blog to get an Alexander update, you can expect Gracie to play a central role in most every posting. Besides, her life really is far more exciting than ours!

Free Range Puppies!

2006-02-28T23:07:00.000-08:00

We took Gracie to her first dog park on Sunday. Unfortunatey that included a car ride. I have never had a dog with such a sensitive tummy. She gets sick during even the shortest drive. Our poor little girl may never be a car dog. Oh and I wanted to apologize for not having pictures to document Gracie's first day at the dog park.In all the drama of getting car sick, we forgot the camera, so just close your eyes and imagine the happiest puppy on earth. She is a natural when it comes to socializing. As a matter of fact, she is quite the take charge girl ... a real camp coordinator. She was bossing around the other dogs every chance she got. She and I have sooo much in common. Ben says she is a Mama's girl. I think she and I just seem closer because we have a similar temperant or should I say tempermentS.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with a puppies car sickness problem?

Training Day for Gracie...

2006-02-28T22:41:00.000-08:00

The more acurate description would be training day for Ben and Jenn. Gracie did a great job working on sit and walking with a leash. Well, up until the end. Like her Mother she has the attention span of a two year old (or a 4 month old puppy) and decided that playing with her new found best friend Tucker was much more fun. By the end I too felt that playing with Tucker was the better option. This parenting stuff is tough. Okay, I had to leave for work and my wonderful husband and Caylee did most the work. I was exhausted after 1/2 hour... I can only imagine how Ben was feeling. Thank goodness Caylee was there to assist. She went from being scared of Gracie to Master Dog Trainer in a few short hours.

Happy Birthday to Jenn!

2006-02-28T22:19:00.000-08:00

For some reason 34 seems way older than 33. I think that is because the older I get, the faster time flies by. We had a wonderful fondu party... Ben was horrified when I told we were having 10 for fondu, and he managed to put it all together without a single snag. Okay, he did have to run to the grocery store for more oil at the last minute, and he made even that task seem effortless. Shelley and Caylee came from Pueblo to help me celebrate. Boden provided the musical entertainment on the harmonica. It was the best birthday week I have had in years. Brent, Boden and Kandye brought me tulips and so did Mark. Andy was here and Gracie got to play with his dog Bubba. And as if all that were not enough, Cassie, Dance and Serinity added the game Life to our Simpsons board game collection. I felt extremely loved ... extremely old... yet extremely loved!

Happy Birthday Gracie...

2006-02-28T22:10:00.000-08:00

Our little girl is not so little anymore. She is growing up sooo fast. At 4 months she is nearly potty trained, will sit if you have the right treats, loves to play fetch and her favorite toy is a purple toothbrush. I guess it is never to early to learn good dental hygiene!

Meet our little Gracie ....

2006-02-28T22:03:00.000-08:00

It was a huge decision, and we finally agreed that we were up to the challenge of caring for someone other than ourselves. We knew from the moment we met her, that Gracie was the "first child" we had been hoping for. It is hard to believe that it was only two months ago that this little fur ball became a part of our family. She is only 2 months old in this picture. Wait til you see how this little Collie has grown.

Meet the Alexander Family!!

2006-02-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

Hi Everybody!

Yes, as most of you know we are terriable at keeping in touch. It is not that we don't love you .... we just don't have very good time management skills. So we thought that creating this blog would be a great way to keep y'all informed.

The big news is the Alexander Wedding of 2005. . And for those of you who are participating in the longevity pool ... we are still a loving couple after 7 months ... most days anyway. :) It was a perfect wedding ... we danced, we toasted, we dyed Easter Eggs and went fly fishing ... It was your traditional Scottish meets Hillbilly Wedding. We even managed to fit in the Colorado Avalanche theme song. It was definately our dream wedding. In the end, Mom actually approved of the Purple Converse. They really accentuated the tulips on my dress. However, the best part was how many people went out of their way to spend this special day with us ... We are very blessed to have all of you in our lives!