Chara at 3 Months

This is an old post, from an old shall-not-be-named blog that I couldn't help but repost! It was an update on our sweet girl dog, Chara, at 3 months. Her birthday was January 20th & she turned 5 this year! I can hardly believe that she was ever as small as she is in these photos below! Enjoy!

Chara, is getting bigger, and continually reminding us, how impatient we are, I mean....how awesome she is. :) Well Here's an Update from Chara, herself:

An yang ah seh yo. That's hello, where I'm from. My name is Chara! I am now 3 months old! Like any golden retriever puppy, I am full of energy!

I do a great job staying at home by myself, while my mommy and daddy are at work. I don't cry or bark! Honestly! I am really good. And keep myself happy. And I am learning to be potty trained! Yaa me!

I love my life outside of my room, though. I especially love biting my mommies arms, and leaving battle wounds and scratches all over her.

Oh! I also love chewing on tissues, table legs, and anything that belongs to my mommy and daddy. It all just tastes sooooooo good!
My favorite thing to do is anything that daddy tells me not to do. That's the best! And lots of fun!

Also, I haven't yet learned what the word, "No!" means. I hear it a lot, but I am just not sure what it means. I think it's some kind of game Daddy likes to play with me. But I'm not sure.

I do know "Sit!" I always listen to "Sit!"

I love taking baths! And I always need one! It makes me sleepy.

I am learning to enjoy being brushed everyday, too! Because I am loosing my winter coat! And it kind of feels good.

Lately, I have been seeing the wide-wide world on walks! It is lots of fun!

I even have gone running with mommy some! But I get tired, so I just lay down, half way through. It's hard to keep up with my little legs!

I LOVE pig ears! And new toys! I really like to "bury" them behind the black chair. I dig and dig and then bury them there, shhh, don't tell mommy and daddy where they are.

My best friend, is an air freshener that sits on the floor. He is a good friend. We play. I bark at him and hit him with my feet and growl at him. It's fun.

My favorite place to play hide and seek is under the couch! hehe. Mommy and Daddy look for me. They call me. They don't even know I'm under there! I trick them! Oh. But I can't get out. So I have to cry until Daddy comes and gets me.

Ohhhhhh Treats! I eat about 5 treats a day! I am a spoiled puppy! Yummy!

This Saturday I will get my 4th round of shots! Pheww! Only 2 more to go AND then I get to go to puppy school!!!

Well, that's an update about me!

Here are some pictures, so you can see how cute I am getting. :)

Chara Takes Texas Bluebonnets

What says Texas more in nature than bluebonnets? Okay, and rattlesnakes & oak trees & big blue skies, but also, bluebonnets. Every year the highways are lined with them & it's a sight to see. They're beautiful. Though I've grown up with this beautiful flower my whole life, I'm still intrigued by it's details & color. I knew, for our first Spring back in Texas in 4 years, we had to take some bluebonnet pics. In light, of the 4th coming up & all the red, white & blue that will fill our nation that day, I give you some more white & blue. :) 

 We try so hard to get her looking directly at the camera, it just doesn't work. 

So we'll settle for a snuggle bear pic & side glance.

 Also, group selfie pictures with the dog just don't work. Either she's cut out, we're cut out, or we have to awkwardly force her to put her head up.

But when Zachary's taking the picture, Chara's all smiles & of course, looking at him. It's precious to see the way she watches him. Sometimes, I just watch her watching him. It's cute the way her head goes back & forth as he walks by.

 Forced weird snuggles.

She loves running around free in nature! So many smells & new things to see.

 I know, I know, there's so many pictures. I just love them. She's so happy. :) It was a good day.

 

Isn't it idyllic? 

 A white blue bonnet. An albino blue bonnet?

 Chara loves following Justin around because he goes off the path & explores & finds new things, like a discarded Christmas tree. haha.

 Sometimes I have the patience to take good photos. I never seem to have the patience to edit them, though. And also, I don't really ever have patience to take good photos. I'm pretty sure I just used the macro-auto setting.

 Rasberries! There's a whole field of rasberry bushes behind my parents neighborhood. Justin gathered a huge bowl of them this Spring, they now sit in our freezer waiting to be made into something delicious.

 "Let's go Chara!!" "Here, I come guys!" Hehe.

Do you usually take bluebonnet photos with your family or pets? If so, don't be scared to post them a season later! ;)

Chara's First Beach Day

 
 We have been dying to take Chara to the beach since we moved to Qingdao. We know that golden retrievers have a natural love of water and with Chara we have seen that she is no exception. When we go running, after a rain, and she sees a puddle of water, she will run through it and then start zooming around. It's like she's Mario and hit one of those super sonic speed stars on Super Mario Brothers. It's hilarious. Also, any time it is raining and we take her outside, she immediately starts prancing around and this girl is one of the best when it comes to taking baths. We've know that she's a water child through and through.

Taking Chara to the beach was one of our main motivations in wanting to buy a car in Qingdao. There are so many great beaches here and places to take her but taxi drivers won't. Our good friend, Sascha, and his sons, love Chara. So, a few weekends ago Sascha asked if we'd like to take Chara to the beach. We said, "heck, yes!" and jumped in his jeep with Chara.

The weather was perfect for a day at the beach!

As soon as Chara hit the sand she started galloping happily. I always notice that she gets excited on changes of terrain.

She ran up to the water quickly, waited a few seconds to watch it, and then jumped right in!

At first she just slightly walked in the waves but soon she was jumping over them and running around happily.

 

In love with the water and so happy!

 Chara looking for her frisbee. I've never seen Chara play fetch so well. She could have just kept playing and playing and playing!

 For the first half hour, Chara would play in the water, until she reached the drop off point. She would quickly turn around and swim back to shallower water.

 But soon she was following Zachary out further and swimming so well!

 Of course we were quite a sight for the Chinese around. A group of foreigners and a happy, wet golden retriever, what a sight!

 The green surrounding the beach was so pretty! Chara LOVED the beach and playing in the water! I've never seen her with so much energy! She was in her element! So thankful Sascha took us!

"Thank you Uncle Sascha! I had a great day!" -Chara