Welcome...Dakota!!!

Rylie's first ever Christmas present from Santa arrived a little early. She has been all smiles and giggles with the arrival of her new friend. Macy also seems excited, to an extent, and has shown sparks of energy that she has not shown in months since the passing of big dog.

Dakota is a "Goldendoodle". Her mom is a white poodle and her dad is a golden retriever. The dad's coat had a tint of red in it which appears to be the main color of Dakota's coat. We decided to go with this breed due to the fact that they have the retrievers laid back mild temperment and are great with kids, and have the poodles very little to no shedding coat.

We drove almost 3 hours to pick her up. She was born October 15th just south of South Bend, IN. We named her Dakota because it felt like we drove all the way to the Dakotas to pick her up. Her first night at home was really good. She only had a couple of accidents and pretty much slept through the night with very little crying. Hopefully, it is a sign of good things to come.

Rylie's First Visit with Santa Claus

Tonight was Rylie's first visit with Mr. Claus. She did really well at first and then got a little weary of the jolly white bearded fellow. However, I believe she let Santa know what she wanted for Christmas without saying a word...

1st Annual Arickx Family Christmas Bash!

Jeremy and Lisa hosted a party for the little ones to celebrate the holidays. It was

a lot of fun!!! There were several activities just for the kids. We decorated Christmas trees, iced sugar cookies and had a gift exchange in which only the kids exchanged gifts. Kids in attendance were Rylie (9 months), Eric and Kari's kids, Emma Kate (age 2) and Max (4 months) and Jeremy & Lisa's little boy, Aiden (16 months). Everyone hopes to make this an annual event for years to come...

Grandpa Dunchak's Surprise Party

We celebrated Keith's Dad's 60th birthday while we were in Youngstown over Thanksgiving. Terry put together a surprise party for him. Guests included his parents (Andy & Mary), his sister Loraine and her family (Tim, Catie & Aaron), Keith, myself & Rylie, along with Kristy, Jilian and Ryan. Rylie even helped Grandpa blow out the candles.

Visiting with Family

On Saturday, Rylie's Great Aunt Cindy and Great Aunt Sandy came over to see her and bring her gifts. Saturday night was also Grandpa's surprise 60th birthday party. Between visitors Rylie would roll around on the floor and end up playing underneath the coffee table.

Christmas on Thanksgiving

We went to Keith's Dads over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Since we won't all be able to get together over Christmas, we decided to have Christmas on Thanksgiving. Rylie wasn't sure exactly what she was supposed to do, but it was still fun watching her open her gifts (with a little help of course).

Family Holiday Portrait Time

We had our Holiday family pictures today. Once again, Rylie was an angel and performed very well. She didn't cry at all. She's definitely making it on Santa's "Nice" list this year.