Saigon Sundays: Watermelon Days

Saigon loves watermelon. Well, he pretty much loves all fruit, but I'd have to say he loves watermelon the most. One of our favourite things to do during watermelon season is have Saigon eat watermelon right off the rind like a human would. It's pretty entertaining (we don't get out much),  and he's got the technique down pat.

The pictures don't do this cuteness justice though.

Saigon Sundays: Building Baby's Crib

Saigon is known for always being interested in whatever Jim and I are doing around the house, but nothing peaks his interest quite like furniture building. In fact, it's impossible to put together a piece of furniture without Saigon underfoot right by your side.  We've been spending a lot of hours working on Baby Fraser's nursery and Saigon hasn't missed out on any of it. Yesterday, he was the foreman on crib building.

 

 

 

Saigon Sundays: Storytime

Yesterday, I spent the morning reading with two out of three of my favourite guys:

The Four B's: The Bully, the Bump, Brie and Books

I'm taking advantage of these moments because soon, Saturday mornings won't look like this :)

Saigon Sundays: Merry Christmas!

It's been a busy week, as I'm sure most of you can relate to, and I can't believe Christmas has come and gone in the blink of an eye! It's still hard to believe that our next Christmas will include a new, little member of our family. Christmas as we know it will never be the same and we can't wait! As for this year, we kept Christmas low-key while enjoying just how much fun Saigon truly has during gift opening. He's quite a hoot and he never fails to amuse us with how excited wrapping paper makes him. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones!

Love, Brie, Jim and Saigon xo

Saigon Sundays: Top Model

Sometimes, when we are taking  photos to document where I am in my pregnancy, Saigon feels the 

need to be centre stage. This dog loves the camera! I may be biased, but he'd be my top contender on Canada's Next Top Model: Pit Bull Edition! Plus, can this dog rock a mock turtleneck or what?

Saigon Sundays: Couch Wars

When Jim and I got a new couch this past Christmas, we had a mutual agreement that Saigon would not be allowed up on it. This was easier than it sounds because Saigon is pretty much scared of anything, especially anything new. And not allowing him up on the couch from the beginning set a precedent, and this was much easier than trying to break the habit months down the road.

But then one morning, I came down the stairs and was greeted by this:

See how the pillows are all down? That used to be enough to deter him from going on the couch.

He was so unfazed by being caught in action that he made no effort to get off the couch, (thus allowing me the time to get out my phone to take a picture). 

Six months of Saigon staying off the couch and all of a sudden he decides it is the spot he wants to sleep! Clearly, the pillows weren't doing the trick anymore. 

So, then we resorted to doing this before we left him in the house alone:

Big, scary, books!

Did this work? Oh, for a few days, yes. But, then today, we came home to this:

DVD's pushed out of the way and drool on the pillows.

Seems Saigon is getting braver. Well then.

No more playing games, we'll hit him where it hurts:

Saigon is severely scared of the swiffer.

While I'd be pretty surprised if he tried to move the stool out of the way, I have a feeling we might come home to this one day:

 

Saigon Sundays: When an Ordinary Stick Just Won't Do

The snow is finally gone and this gorgeous weekend has convinced us that summer really is just
around the corner! So what could possibly be better than fetch in the snow?
Fetch with a big hunk of wood in a field!

{I apologize for the few seconds where the video stalls at the beginning - I shot it on my 

phone and I have no idea how to edit a video}

Saigon Sundays: For the Love of Snow

I remember when Jim and I were getting ready to move back to Alberta a year and a half ago and we were so worried that Saigon would HATE the snow after living somewhere as warm and lush as BC. We couldn't have been more wrong! Turns out, Saigon LOVES the snow. He just doesn't like the cold. And good thing, because this winter we had months and months of snow. 

We had a lot of fun with Saigon in the snow this winter, both in the backyard and while out on walks. Watching him roll, burrow and leap through the snow never got old. He's like a kid in a candy store! The snow is finally almost all gone and I hate to say it, but I'm a little bit sad for Saigon*.

It's really hard to take action photos (or any photos really) when you have mittens on, but here are some of my favourite shots from this winter:

I tried so hard to get a good video of Saigon playing in the snow and this was the best I could do...I'm no videographer that's for sure, but it captures how much Saigon loves rolling around in the snow (and eating it too!). 

*I'm not really sad...I don't mind the snow, but it has been eight long months and enough is enough. Bring on the spring!

Saigon Sundays: Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was a very special day in our household: our big, blue baby, Saigon, turned 5! It's hard to believe that it's already been a few years since Saigon came into our life. He was around 2 and a half when he arrived at our home for a "visit" in BC. At the time, little did we know he would weasel his way into our hearts and find his furever home with us.

 Happy Birthday, Saigon! We love you more than we ever knew was possible.

Saigon Sundays: I Love You, Couch

When we lived in BC, we had my old brown couch upstairs in the computer room. At some point, Saigon started sleeping on this couch at night. He would put himself to bed on it, but most early mornings, he would sneak into our room. When we moved back to Alberta last year, this couch ended up in storage for a few months and then in our garage for several months more. When Jim and I couldn't find a new couch to buy that we loved, we decided to clean the couch with a rug shampooer, get a slipcover for it and put it in our family room until we found the couch we really wanted.

Well. After Jim spent 2-3 hours cleaning the couch, we brought it inside and if Saigon could "jump for joy", he would have. The cushions were still a little damp and I didn't want him on the newly cleaned couch until I had gotten a slipcover for it, so we propped the cushions up against the couch so they could finish drying over night. Saigon is usually pretty scared of anything "in his path", so I assumed this would be deterrent enough for him. I was wrong. My back was only turned for mere minutes. Never underestimate the love a dog has for his couch.

 Even after being "caught", he hunkered down and stuck his ground:

The couch is brown and Saigon is more grey, but in pictures, he blends right in!

There's no way that was comfortable, so I let him have his "moment" before making him come upstairs with us. Also, HELLO! - CLEAN COUCH!

Don't worry, the next day I picked up a slipcover and Saigon got his ol' couch back. He honestly seems more at peace, more content, now that "his" couch is back. God love him.

Saigon Sundays: Lap-dog Syndrome

Saigon is no lap-dog. He weighs a solid, 80 pounds for heavens-sakes! But you can't really reason these facts with a dog who loves to cuddle with his people. Saigon's motto: No lap should be empty.

Saigon Sundays: Sleep-in Sunday

Today was a big sleep-in day for this household. Many late nights in a row eventually catch up with you, so Jim and I had been looking forward to sleeping in on Sunday for a few days now.

We count "sleeping-in" as any morning where an alarm doesn't have to wake us up - where you just get up when your body naturally wakes up. Those of you who know us, know that we both love to sleep and are far from morning people, so sleeping-in isn't hard for us to do, but it does seem like sleep-in days are not occurring as often as we'd like. Hence, looking forward all week to today!

Luckily for us, Saigon is THE BEST sleeper-inner. He doesn't wake us up to be fed and he doesn't even wake us up so he can go outside to do his business. In the rare case that he does need to go out, he happily comes straight back to bed.

I love Sunday sleep-ins with my little family.

Sleeping angel.

Saigon Sundays: Just Resting My Eyes

During the first week we started "fostering" Saigon, I went home during one of my lunch breaks to see what he was up to. I wanted to make sure he wasn't sitting at the door howling all day awaiting my return home. I sneaked in through the front door, as quietly as I could be, and not only was Saigon NOT waiting at the front door for me, he wasn't anywhere to be seen. So I called out for him and I heard a loud "clunk" from upstairs, then the clomping of paws down the stairs, and then finally  he appeared around the corner, eyes half closed, tail-a-wagging and a sheepish look on his face which said it all: "You caught me." Needless to say, from that point on, I was able to get through my work days without worrying about how he was coping at home.

When I do have a day off during the week, and I spend it at home, Saigon has a hard time relaxing because he's always checking out what I'm up to. If he's not underfoot, he's perched somewhere, eyes on me. I swear, he refuses to truly "nap" while I'm home, unless I go and nap with him (which does happen from time to time). Even if he's laying with his eyes closed, I can tell he's not really sleeping - more "just resting his eyes". On days that I'm home, he's usually pretty exhausted come late afternoon, even if we haven't gotten out for a walk yet. Because for whatever reason, he resists sleep. It can actually be pretty comical.

Case and point: