Roman's Road

Roman the Destroyer

2007-07-17T07:58:00.001-04:00

I came... (veni)

I saw... (vidi)

I conquered... (vici)

(then I slept :)

"Get Well Soon" Flowers

2007-05-19T15:50:00.000-04:00

My very thoughtful parents had flowers sent to me the day after my accident and I was so surprised! I absolutely love them and they are still doing great a week and a half later! I felt pretty special to be getting flowers from them even though they are way far away from me in Kansas City! Thank-you for being so thoughtful! Now, if you could only help me figure out what all is in my bouquet, I'd appreciate it! I love you mom and dad!

"Auntie, I'm sorry you crashed your car"

2007-05-18T07:23:00.001-04:00

Well, things can only go so good for so long! Last Wednesday I got in a "little" fender-bender on my way home from work. Some girl made a left turn in front of me (she ran a red) and I hit her going about 45mph. Long story short, we went to the hospital, I got a little whiplash, and the nice doctors gave me drugs! Here are some pics of my car that is totaled. Now we are down to one car and looking for another one! On the way home from the ER I talked to my niece and she said, "Auntie, I'm sorry you crashed your car and got hurted!" It was pretty funny!

Happy Birthday to Peter!

2007-04-23T11:09:00.001-04:00

Well, Elisabeth really went over the top this year for my birthday. I know, it was a few weeks ago, but I still wanted everyone to know all of the great stuff she gave me. First and foremost was an espresso machine!!! Elisabeth is well aware of my undying devotion to java (and the physical necessity that it is to me) so she purchased a machine from our local Starbucks.

The machine is just the first step; without the accessories, the machine is just a coffee maker! Roman helped Elisabeth pick out just the right things to make the present perfect! There was a steamer pitcher with thermometer, shot classes, and measuring spoons. Almost perfect...

Elisabeth got a great deal on a grinder to go with (our old one is on the fritz). There were also a few flavored syrup samples to go with, and a few other coffee accessories.

Little did I know, Elisabeth had corroborated with some of her people to make my birthday present really exquisite. Aunt Joyce found me the most amazing espresso cups...

and Mom Renander gave me the ever desired French press! Coffee from a French press is sooooooooooooooooooooo good!

More java was needed so a few extra pounds were purchased.

And in order to use the machine to its fullest potential, Elisabeth purchased a recipe book. It has some great drinks, especially summer ones! Now all I have to do is build that patio so I can enjoy some iced coffee on it! Thanks for a great birthday everyone!!! My wife knows just what to get me!

Fact or Fiction?

2007-04-16T09:22:00.000-04:00

Is this real or not? I saw it on a pitbull forum I am a part of and I thought it was pretty interesting. Any votes?

Scary dog? Whatever, scary lady...

2007-04-03T11:06:00.000-04:00

I just got back from a quick walk with Roman, and I'm still a little perturbed at this lady we went past on our walk. I've been training Roman on a Flexi leash and he has been getting better. When we are in a busy area, Roman knows to stay about 6 ft or less ahead of me. If not, I lock the leash and give him a stern reprimand. It only took a few times before he got the picture (yeah, he's pretty bright).

We were walking down a street with some stores and doctor's offices. A lady in her early 60's came around a huge conversion van and stopped like she hit a wall! I was looking in a shop window and Roman was about 5 ft in front of me. I heard her gasp so I looked over just in time to see her cover her heart, scamper away, and mutter "scary dog!" I was offended. Roman hadn't moved! Actually his tail was going bonkers and he had actually tilted his head with his best and most famous "Pit Bull curiosity" look. As the lady scurried off, Roman looked back at me like, "What? I wanted to play; what's her deal?" That's what I want to know! What's her deal? If she thinks Roman looks scary then I think she looks scary!

Does this look like a scary dog to you?

Morning Kisses

2007-03-26T08:17:00.000-04:00

Roman and I were spending another early morning working... He was sleepy and I was sleepy, so he though of a way to wake me up.

A big fat puppy kiss! Thanks buddy!

Roman becomes a BLOCKY DOG!

2007-02-23T12:40:00.000-05:00

Roman had to wait a little for his birthday present, but it was definitely worth it! I am a part of a pit bull forum and when I saw some of the collar's that they had for their bullies I just had to get one for Roman. Here Roman is before he got his BLOCKY, just a puppy...

And here he is with his sweet new collar! He looks so much older and is becoming quite a little man!

Rebecca over at BLOCKY DOGS is awesome, and really worked with us to get just the right collar for Roman. We had his name and his breed monogrammed onto the collar. It is totally personalized just for him! Happy Birthday Roman!

Baby it's cold outside!

2007-01-29T09:52:00.000-05:00

We finally got snow!!! I have been dying to get a good amount. I figured that if it is going to be cold, it might as well be snowing! Peter isn't to excited about it, so I have been doing all of the shoveling. It isn't really wet snow, so it's not too heavy. While Peter was at work, I drug Roman outside to introduce him to the "white stuff." As you can see, he wasn't really excited about sitting on the cold snow :( Life's tough...

Any tasty treats in here?

100% Bears!!!

2007-01-22T12:40:00.000-05:00

Evalayna's 1st Birthday

2007-01-17T10:09:00.000-05:00

Sunday, January 14th Evalayna turned 1! What an exciting time for everyone! We wish we could have been there to celebrate with them, but at least we got some pictures of the main event!

Pretty girl with her yummy cake! (Auntie really wishes she were there after seeing the cake, as those crunchy sprinkles are my absolute favorite!)

Elisabeth looks on enviously as Evalayna tries to decide what to do first.

Success!!! Now she's got the hang of it!

Christmas at the Renanders!!!

2007-01-03T10:15:00.000-05:00

This Christmas was spent at the Renander home just outside of Kansas City. As always, my in-laws were great hosts, and we had a wonderful time. We were thankful that Adam (Elisabeth's brother) was able to be there with us for the holidays. He was recently transfered to a new Air Force base to start new training.

Here are some pics from Christmas day.

Evalayna cashed in with some new outfits.

And Elisabeth received a new kitchen set!

As always, Adam rocked the house. Literally.

Dad was good-natured as always, and humored our nieces by being the ribbon man.

My wife is awesome, and got me the Rocky anthology for Christmas. "Yo Elisabeth! Thanks for the movies!"

Aunt Joyce and Nathan helped Elisabeth open a few of her gifts.

Elisabeth was almost misplaced! I think she was a little over-zealous in helping Opa with the wrapping paper.

Elisabeth and Mom killed the eggnog. :)

But I managed t0 straightened Elisabeth up for a good pic.

Elisabeth and I killed some time watching cartoons the day after Christmas. She was into them a little bit more than I was.

Dad took the family out to the Cheesecake Factory for a wonderful meal. Thanks a bunch Dad!

The girls make better pictures than I do, so here they are at the restaurant enjoying some cheesecake (well, mostly just the whip cream :).

Merry Christmas!!!

2006-12-19T08:59:00.000-05:00

The last month or so has been crazy! I admit to blog negligence and take full responsibility. Things have been so hectic, I haven't had time to do any blogging. One big change that took place is the departure of Lincoln. He was a great puppy, but we were in just a tad over our heads. Fortunately the shelter he was from was able to get him a great home back in IL.

Elisabeth is the Christmas person between the two of us, and she has done pretty well in decorating the house. I'm a grinch and just study in my office. Elisabeth set up the tree with Roman's help and she worked with him on respecting the ornaments. :) Here are a few pics of Roman with the tree and his stocking.

I get to be a big helper!

It took Roman a little time to get use to the hat, but he does look great in it.
What a funny little elf!

Life's tough

2006-10-31T19:16:00.000-05:00

Well, I had a rough week before we went to pick up Lincoln. I thought I would take a minute to play with Roman, and then settle down to do some homework. Well, Roman was so groggy I got groggy and before you knew it ... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Elisabeth came back from working out at the gym to find two sleepy heads on the floor. She was disappointed but amused, so I guess we succeeded. :)

I've got a little brother!!!

2006-10-26T19:37:00.000-04:00

Well, Elisabeth and I fell prey to a beautiful little guy on petfinder. He was in a great foster home and no serious application had been sent in regarding him. I'll have more on him on his blog. Here he is...little Lincoln!

Roman's first snow!

2006-10-17T21:06:00.000-04:00

Well, Roman didn't know what to think of our first flurries this season! He was really amazed by that white stuff falling from the sky! He wasn't sure if it was a threat or a new toy!

It was warm enough outside for the snow to melt quickly, and Roman looked more than disappointed...

However, some managed to stick in the grass and provided a tasty treat!

"Is this stuff falling everywhere!"

stylin!

2006-10-12T11:46:00.000-04:00

Roman knows that his new shirt as tight! (like "cool" duh?)

Mommy and Daddy both approve!

Mr. Roman could care less! (Actually he did really like it: he didn't scratch or pull at it a bit!)

sorry for the delay

2006-10-09T10:14:00.000-04:00

Well, we've been keeping busy here and lost our camera cords so we don't have any new pics to show, so we'll be posting ones we've had. My parents came to visit around Labor Day. We had a nice visit and just relaxed. They got to meet Roman for the first time, so that was exciting for us! Thankfully, Roman was good around them. This was one of the few times we didn't have a home project for dad to help us with, so instead we went out! They took us to IKEA! What an amazing store, I was somewhat overwhelmed, but it was really cool in there, plus we got tons of ideas for our kitchen remodel. We went out for dinner, went to church, took Roman on walks and figured out what to do with my garden. It was such a fun, relaxing time getting caught up with them! We look forward to the next time they come out! We miss you guys and can't wait till Christmas!

Spoiled. Spoiled Rotten...

2006-09-26T08:35:00.000-04:00

I would like to preface this picture by stating that I am not one of those "germy" people that washes their toothbrush for 5 minutes before using it (if you are one of these people, no offense). However, I have never liked the idea of drinking city water out of the tap. When Elisabeth and I first moved here, one of our first purchases was a Brita pitcher with a built in filter. (Oh, I'm not advertising: I just like it a lot!) Anyway, since I wouldn't drink the water from the tap, why should Roman? Momma doesn't like me pouring it right in, but I confess that I have on more than one occasion (it's just so much easier!).

These next 2 pics are a little off topic, but they were there and so I uploaded them. When I'm in my office working, Roman feels the need to protect me from all of the evilness in the world :). He will sit in front of the door for hours, just looking and being curious. The other day he let out a little growl and then stood with his ears up. I looked out the door and saw a little furry friend! I don't think Roman will ever make friends with the squirrels, but at least he is entertained by them.

So helpful!

2006-09-19T20:56:00.000-04:00

Many hands (and paws :) make light work! Roman has decided that he needs to carry his weight around the house, so he decided to help momma with the laundry!

Here, Roman is showing off his ability as an .html consultant. Thanks for helping daddy with his theology blog Roman!

Daddy! I'm bored...

2006-09-14T18:11:00.000-04:00

Roman does great traveling, but I think our last trip back from Chicago was a bit boring. As you will see, he slept a lot (which was good!) but my poor boy was terribly bored. Love you puppy!

Roman's New Friend (and Cousin!)

2006-09-04T11:50:00.000-04:00

While we were in Illinois, Roman got to meet Joel and Lilah's "puppy" Asia. She is about 2 weeks older than Roman and they absolutely loved playing together! Even though they they're the same age, Asia weighs roughly 50 lbs. more then Roman! Asia is a South African Boerboel and is so beautiful and very good tempered. Peter and I enjoyed her as well and loved watching her and Roman play together. Peter is convinced that we need two dogs now so Roman will have someone to play with. (Maybe a South African Boerboel?!?!) We can't wait to get the puppies together again sometime soon! Roman also loved all the attention from the kids!

Where We've Been...

2006-08-30T21:42:00.000-04:00

After Delilah's accident, Peter and I decided to take time to go to IL for a weekend visit. I ended up staying for a little longer than expect: I stayed for 9 days! Peter went back home with Roman after the weekend, and then came to get me the next weekend. I was able to help Lilah and Joel with lots of different things around the house. Also, I was able to help the girls get ready for the school year. It's amazing how much more kids need these days compared to when I was a kid!

Anyway, I was able to spend lots of time with my new nephew Alton. Isn't he too cute?

Peter did get to spend some time with the kids, even though it wasn't as much as Auntie! (Peter is a little sour about that... )

Overall it was a great visit and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Lilah is getting so much stronger and Peter and I are so proud of her. Keep getting better, and we love you! We will be putting up more pics soon so stay tuned!

Week-End Guest!!!

2006-08-17T15:29:00.000-04:00

Well, last week-end, one of my best friends, Jenny Ostergard, came down from WI to visit me! We hadn’t seen each other since last May when Peter graduated from NBBC, way too long to go without seeing each other. It was so fun to get all caught up on each others lives and show her my home. We were talking about how weird it was for us though having her “visit” when we both feel like we’re still in college and should be in a dorm, but friends of our have kids now and we’re all growing up! It just feels weird for some reason! We ate too much, stayed up too late, talked non-stop and had a marvelous time. I was so sad to see her go, hopefully we won’t let so much time go by before we see each other again! Of course, Roman was quite taken with her as well! We kept forgetting to take pictures till her last day here on Sunday, so we will share what we have! You can come and stay with us anytime Jen, we’ll always have a room and bed ready for you! We loved seeing you!

Roman Returns!

2006-08-14T22:31:00.000-04:00

We were so happy to get back to our puppy! These pics were taken on the Sunday after we returned.

Roman had grown so much! I decided to get a cheap training collar for him to wear all the time. He has become quite strong, and I think that this will help Elisabeth control him a bit better. See our little stud posing... :)

Relaxation

2006-08-11T19:03:00.000-04:00

We didn’t get to do much while we were there, we just kept putting things off, then it was Friday and we were packing. Oh well, it was nice to just have time to ourselves, even without our puppy. Not a single responsibility and we didn’t have to wake up early to take Roman out! How wonderful! But we did miss him and called almost daily to check in on him!

We did go to a really cool golf course called Congo something. It was like a whole safari adventure theme, super neat!

We met Jared there, so it was guaranteed to be a good time right from the start—first of all, it’s me trying to play golf, second, it’s Jared, need I say more!! We went at like 9 pm so that way all the little kids would be gone and also, we were hoping it would be cool outside. Neither was true. But we still did manage to have a good time overall. Jared was crazy, but what else is new, it’s never a dull moment when he’s there!

So, let’s just talk about how HOT Florida is in August, shall we! WOW! Oh, and FYI, it doesn’t cool off at night, it just gets dark. Anyway, we were all amazingly hot as you can see from our pics, I am more than glistening, it was gross and a cold shower was definitely the perfect end to that outing! It seriously looks like we walked under/through a waterfall, but we did not, it’s just sweat, but hey, my pores got cleaned out in the process, so it’s all good!

There were live baby alligators there too that you could feed. But you had to pay to do it, so we just watched other kids feed them! But it was pretty cool to see. That’s about the closest I’d ever want to be to those and also the biggest I’d want to meet too. They were pretty feisty as it was for being that small.

So, that, in a nutshell, was our lovely trip to hot and sunny Florida! Roman will be back with a vengeance next week! Trust me!

Pool time fun

2006-08-10T08:28:00.000-04:00

Well, after the wedding, Peter and I left our hotel of 3 days to join the rest of the Ashmores at their resort, where we finished off our vacay. We were there from Sunday to Saturday. His parents and grandparents left really early on Tuesday morning, so it was good to spend some time with them relaxing before they had to leave. Mostly all we did was lay around and eat every meal as if it were our last! Hey, where else can you do that but on vacation! We also spent TONS of time at the pool with them. Peter and I went to the beaches later that week. Thanks mom and dad for the resort, we enjoyed it! I had fun with mom and we were both cracking up how I’m white and trying to get tan and using tanning oil and she’s dark, trying not to get any sun and using SPT 90 (not really, but it’s not far from the truth!) sunscreen! We love you guys, see you in a week when we come to Illinois!

Indian Rocks Beach

2006-08-07T11:27:00.000-04:00

Well, we’ve decided to post more pics of our vacay in Florida for the family. We’ll be back to posting on Roman in a few days! I know mom, how will you survive without new pics of Roman?!? Our first few days in Florida we spent enjoying Indian Rocks Beach, near Clearwater where we were staying. It was a very nice beach with beautiful white sand and clear water. On our way in to the beach we passed a “restaurant” (local seafood eatery) called Crabby Bill’s! So, I stood by the sign that read the restaurant motto: “Don’t Worry, Be Crabby”! I’ve since decided that’s going to be my new motto, poor Peter and Roman! Actually, that’s not a new revelation; I just finally found some validation! Yeah!

We absolutely loved being at the beach, and were sure Roman would like it too, hmmm, maybe someday he’ll go to a beach, not anytime soon though! We thought we took more pics than we actually did, but here are a few that we took! Enjoy the beach through our eyes!

"Hair's" to you Sis!

2006-08-07T10:56:00.000-04:00

Some of you may know that my sister was recently in a very serious car accident (more detail is on my blog). Praise God that He spared her, my nephew Alton, and Delilah's mother-in-law Jan. To support my sister from afar, I have a new dew (and I'm trying to talk my wife into joining me!).

Love you sis! Keep getting better!

The Ashmore - Beaton Wedding

2006-08-02T11:28:00.000-04:00

Since we left Roman back at home, we don't have any new pics to put up of him! :( I thought I would take a few posts to show some pics of my little bro's wedding just a few day ago. Congrats Rachel and Jacob!!!

left to right: Amber, Michelle, Rae, Elisabeth, Jarelle

New sisters!

these were the centerpieces on the tables...

A new Mrs. Ashmore!

An Ashmore family Pic.

Our good friend from college, Jared Weaver, lives in the area and was able to come to the wedding (and took all of these pictures :). Thanks Jared! We loved seeing you!

Mom and Dad Ashmore

Lucky me (and I'm not even getting married!)

You can't see the bubbles very well, but they really were there! Have fun on your honeymoon you two!

A case of mistaken identity... ?

2006-07-29T08:55:00.000-04:00

Hello from "not-so-sunny-FL!" Elisabeth and I will be getting pics up of some of our time here. Until then, I thought I would share a little pet peeve.

On our walks, people love to admire my puppy (naturally :). The first question usually asked is, "Is that a Boxer?" After biting my tongue, I attempt to politely respond with a, "No, he's a Pitbull," which always get the, "Oh! You know, it's all in how you raise them..." Thanks: I'll make a mental note.

Anyway, above is a comparison of a Boxer pup and Roman around the same age. I could see someone mixing those up. Below, is a comparison of Roman and a Boxer pup around the same age. I GUESS I could see how someone MIGHT be able to mix up the two... :)

PPA

Fatso!

2006-07-24T19:12:00.000-04:00

As Roman begins to put on the lb's, I think about how difficult (at times :) it is to handle him. I can only imagine how difficult he will be when he gets heavier. Today he weighed in at a whopping 35 lbs. and shows no sign of stopping! We are definitely trying to keep him out the heavyweight division :0 (welterweight will suffice).

PPA

Sleepy Head

2006-07-19T18:55:00.000-04:00

This is the first pic that really shows how much Roman is beginning to look like a Pit bull (except for mabye the "big foot" pic). Roman's nose and face are beginning to become more pronounced, and his chest is starting to widen and deepen (and I guess his feet are getting bigger as well :). At any rate, I fear that my denial must find a resting place: my puppy is gone. When I am greeted at the door, it's like getting hit by a small truck! Sleep well crazy pup...

--PPA

Mother May I?!?

2006-07-17T16:09:00.000-04:00

Don’t we all remember that game? Haha! That’s exactly what I think of as I think about Roman’s behavior this last week. He does really well for few days, and we feel like we’re making some progress, then the next couple of days are horrible and we’re all at our wit’s end. We literally are taking baby steps in getting Roman trained, but as hard as Peter and I try, Roman is insistent on taking giant steps backwards causing Peter and I to double our efforts to keep him on track. Just when we think we’ve got Roman back on track, he throws in some scissor steps! We’re getting sick of this game and it is now one we shall not be playing with our nieces anytime soon!

--Elisabeth

Sleepy Head

2006-07-13T19:24:00.000-04:00

It seems like the only time that I can get decent pics of Roman is when he is either sleepy or asleep! I may do a weekly post entitled "Sleepy Head," but we'll have to wait and see... Till then, here's our sleepy boy.

--PPA

He’s on a Roll!

2006-07-11T17:30:00.000-04:00

Yes, the pun was intended! I know, I’m hilarious! So, our Roman is getting very brave in testing our boundaries lately and it’s starting to get old. He just needs to learn what he can and cannot do/have. So, on Saturday Peter and I were in the kitchen talking while I was slicing strawberries and we heard a noise that we’d not heard before, and given Roman’s recent track record, we weren’t about to wait till it happened again. So, off we took in a mad dash to see where Roman could be and what he’d gotten into and we found him coming out of the bathroom into the hallway with a trail of toilet paper behind him. He was quite proud of his new discovery as he pranced around with a piece still in his mouth that we were trying to get away from him, but alas, he ate it. FYI: toilet paper is not “soft and gentle” on puppy’s systems! But, before we could thoroughly reprimand him properly, I had to run and get the camera! Which I’m positive is sending all kinds of mixed messages to poor puppy. Here’s the funny part, it had to happen a few more times before mommy was smart enough to just close the bathroom door! Hey, I’m catching on at least!

--Elisabeth

It Finally Happened!

2006-07-10T18:33:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I’ve been really proud of my puppy lately and was going to post that this week about how good he is and he’s not like the typical puppy that tears everything up. . .Well, that was until last week. Roman discovered my rug by the front door, boo hoo. But, as I told Peter, at least it wasn’t expensive, plus, I’ve been preparing myself for the inevitable! I think Peter took it harder than I did, mostly because he didn’t know how I’d react to the news, but it’s fine! For now! I went home that night thinking that the corner would be chewed away, but nope, Roman decided that the dead center of the rug looked pretty tasty to him, so away he went at it. He didn’t chew a hole through it, but snagged it pretty good and tore out lots of really long strings. So now, it doesn’t lay straight, it’s just all bunched up so I trip over it all the time! That’s getting really old! But, at least it still gets the job done for now. We’ll be purchasing a new rug eventually, but not till he’s got the chew thing out of his system.

--Elisabeth

Front Garden

2006-07-07T17:41:00.000-04:00

Well, lots of people have been wanting to see what Elisabeth's front garden looks like, so we tried to include Roman in most of the shots. I'll try and get some pics of the vegetable garden next week (older and newer ones).

Separation Anxiety

2006-07-05T18:25:00.000-04:00

Roman loves spending time with us, and we like to spend time with him too, but when one of us leaves, he really freaks out and it’s a huge deal for him. He’ll try and run out the front door as we open it and once, he even got his head stuck in the screen door because Peter wasn’t quick enough in closing it! (Roman was in no way hurt during this ordeal, just waited till Peter opened it up for him). He can see out the front doors window when he stands on his back legs, but now he’s finally big enough to look out the big picture window in front. Or, maybe he just realized it was the same view, but a lot less work! Either way, he will sit there and just stare out the window/door waiting for Peter or myself to come back home for like 20 minutes, seriously, really strange, but he thinks he’s accomplishing something! More power to him I say! At least he doesn’t bark the whole time, that would so not be cute!

Elisabeth

Roman and Momma

2006-07-03T17:14:00.000-04:00

I finally convinced Elisabeth to get on the floor and play with Roman, and she did, but while he was sleeping! When Roman did wake up, he was pretty lathargic, so I was able to snap a few pics of him and Mommy without him going nuts. Poor guy looks so groogy! Roman has been taking baby steps in obeying us, but he definately has times of complete and utter mischeviousness! When I'm not home, E is usually in the kitchen or cleaning and Roman is pretty content to relax on the kitchen floor or watch Momma clean the house (this of course, is after he runs his needed 15 laps through the interior of the house!). My boy is definately getting bigger :( but what can you do? Well, E will probably post tomorrow or the day after, so look forward to pics of Roman and Momma's garden.

Bye!

Funny huh?

2006-06-30T19:57:00.000-04:00

Well, this is the best "smile" pic of Roman I was able to take, but he sure thinks he's funny! I'll try to get some of him with bigger grins, but I guess this will have to do for now.

--Peter

Teething

2006-06-28T19:31:00.000-04:00

Yep, our puppy is losing teeth fast and furious. The more he chews on his toys, the quicker they come out. So, we’ve been keeping the raw-hide supply well stocked so he’s not one bit tempted to chew on my rug, couch, coffee table, etc. . . I think so far he’s lost about 9 teeth with more loose ones still barely hanging on by a thread! They don’t seem to bother him too much, but it kind of freaks him out when they fall out—trust me, it’s not pretty—and there’s usually blood involved, but he gets over it and keeps on chewing on his bone! (We just have to make sure to keep an eye out for the fallen teeth before Roman is tempted to eat one!). Peter’s pulled a few, cause at first Roman didn’t handle this whole “teeth falling out” process too well, but now he’s a pro at it and usually doesn’t need any help. Let me just say, his new teeth are GINORMOUS!!!!! Well, the back ones anyway, the verdict is still out for the front ones. He’s just starting to lose the “fang” ones, so I’ll keep you all posted, all three of you out there that read this! This first picture absolutely cracks me up because he unrolls his bones, not just tear into them, I don’t know, maybe that’s how it’s done, I’m not a dog, obviously! The other is just his little “collection” of teefers!

Elisabeth

Sooooo Big!!!

2006-06-27T16:17:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I realized you guys don’t have much perspective of how big our “puppy” actually is, so I thought I’d fill you in. When we got Roman, he was 12 weeks old and only 15 lbs. But as of today he is now 20 weeks (5 months) old, and now weighs 30 lbs. What happened to my baby?!? I knew he was growing and was heavier for me to pick up, but wow, he has gained 15 lbs. in 8 weeks and won’t be stopping the growth anytime soon. Every time we take his harness off to give him a bath and after the harness has been washed and we’re putting it back on, we keep finding ourselves having to adjust it and make it bigger! He is turning 5 months old this week sometime! I say sometime because we don’t know the actual date he was born, the vet he was first taken to estimated the last day or two of January. Whenever we are out walking him the first thing people say about him is that he has huge paws, so we thought you’d like to see them for yourself!

Elisabeth

My Puppy and His Daddy

2006-06-26T18:37:00.000-04:00

Roman loves his daddy, I’m tempted to say more than his mommy, but we all know that’s not true! Roman loves his daddy because daddy will get on the floor and play with him and let him lick any skin that is showing, where his mommy just likes to pet him and have him follow her all around the house so she’s never alone! When daddy is on the floor with Roman after they’ve been playing and it’s time to “calm down”, Roman’s favorite place to chill out is right on top of daddy! It’s so cute! However, Peter has ended up with not so nice parts of Roman in his face, but Roman usually circles around a couple of times before deciding on a permanent location, which is good! Roman just loves to be as close to his daddy as possible, sometimes I find them all curled up or stretched out and I just have to take a picture of them, it’s so precious! Then love each other so much and are already best buddies that are inseparable!

Elisabeth

Down came the Rain!

2006-06-23T16:59:00.000-04:00

My wife has never been known for her throwing arm, but she managed to launch Roman's "Air Kong" onto the roof and lodge it securely in the gutter! Well, it rained really well that night, and what do you know!

"Down came the rain and washed Roman's 'Air Kong' out!"

My Puppy, My Baby?!?

2006-06-22T10:11:00.000-04:00

You know how lots of people who don’t have kids, but have a puppy/dog will refer to their pet as their “baby” always get made fun of by the people that don’t have pets? Well, I was always the first one to jump on that bandwagon! But guess what? Now that same person I’d laugh at, I’ve turned in to. I know, it’s absolutely not like me. People that know me can’t believe I allowed Peter to get a dog as it is, but for me to now baby my puppy as if he were our child, I’ve officially gone off the deep end. Sorry mom and dad, but it was either a puppy or a baby. . .hmmm, let me think. Puppy it is! And, going even further, Peter and I have now become “mommy” and “daddy”. So, Roman is our “baby” and gets treated just like one too and is very spoiled. He’s got us wrapped around his paw and he knows it. We’ve gone from sitting on the couch—Peter and I—to sitting on the floor so puppy’s not alone, as he is not and never will be allowed on my couch! I have yet to make the move to the floor, Roman can still see my feet when I’m sitting on the couch, he’ll be fine! Bedtime is a huge ordeal as well, saying goodnight, putting him in his crate together, telling him he’ll be fine, etc. . .yes, we have become what we mocked and we are not ashamed.

Elisabeth

Why did we decide on a Pit Bull?

2006-06-21T14:25:00.000-04:00

Well, ever since we had started to seriously consider getting a puppy, I thought we’d end up with a Boxer, don’t ask me why, that’s just what I pictured. Peter had always wanted to get a Pit Bull, ever since we’ve been married, that’s the only dog he’s ever talked about getting because a guy he worked with in Wisconsin had two of them. So, I figured since we could never agree on the breed, we’d be safe and never have to get one! Boy was I wrong! After that week or 5 days we’d been looking at Roman on line, we just knew he was the puppy for us. We definitely did our research though because I wasn’t going to just make a quick decision about this. We needed to make sure that we knew what we were getting into and to see if a Pit Bull would fit in with us and our lifestyle. I mean, seriously, if you don’t know anything about the breed, of course they sound scary. But after we had poured over tons of information and seriously thought about the change Roman was going to make in our home, we decided we had to have him. Pit Bulls are such a misunderstood breed to begin with and it seems like the only time you hear about them is when they attack—which has to do mainly with the owners, not the breed. So, we decided to go ahead and adopt Roman and give him a good home where he was loved! I haven’t regretted that decision yet! (I’ve certainly second-guessed that decision—especially in the middle of the night when he was whining and getting potty trained!). He has truly been so much fun and I’m learning a lot about myself and my husband in the process! He is our little “experiment” and we’re glad he loves us no matter what!

Elisabeth

What’s in a name?

2006-06-21T14:19:00.000-04:00

Well, since we have a Pit Bull, we didn’t want the usual tough “pit bullish” names like Killer, Duke, or Rocky. But, at the same time, we didn’t want the typical puppy names like Fluffy, Patches, or Buddy. I mean seriously, you’ll be yelling these out the door one day. . .Fluffy?!? At least we don’t have kids trying to name him, maybe that’s where the “Fluffy” names come from! Anyway, we decided we wanted a name that was tough, but not attacker tough, whatever that means! I immediately fell in love with the name Roman, but it took some time to grow on Peter, he wanted some ridiculous ones like Phinneus or John Calvin, was he serious? I tend to think that John Calvin himself would be offended, so I was just trying to honor his legacy by NOT naming my puppy after him, and I’m sure he’s greatful! Finally, I won, I mean, he got the Pit Bull didn’t he?!? So, it was decided, we shall call him ROMAN! His original name was Zach, how boring is that? So, we promptly changed the name. Oh, and it took Roman a good 2 days to realize that was his new name too. Thinking back, two days wasn’t bad, but at the time it was since we were saying it every 5 seconds! It got to the point where we had to say Zach before Roman, so the typical command for the first days sounded like this, “Come here Zach Roman. Good boy Zach Roman.” So, it truly sounded like we had given him a first and middle name, but he caught on quickly for which I’m greatful! So, all that to say, his name fits him well and we love our little Roman!

Elisabeth

Our decision to purchase a puppy

2006-06-21T14:12:00.000-04:00

Peter and I both grew up with dogs, so we weren’t at all unfamiliar with what they do and how the act, but we never thought we’d ever get a dog. Well, let me rephrase that, I never thought we’d ever get a dog, sure, puppies are cute, but then they grow up! But Peter was determined to get me to cave in to the pressure, which obviously worked! I always thought that dogs smelled, got in the way, never listened, were too much of a responsibility, etc. . . For some reason Peter got it in his head that we needed to get a puppy, end of story. If we ever did, I told him it couldn’t be huge and had to be short haired. I for sure knew we’d never own a “yappy”, jumpy dog, way too annoying, and my patience is only so long. I was leery of dogs anyway, cause I have been bitten by one in the past, mostly my fault, who knew dogs were territorial and if you stuck your hand in a crack in the window of the car it’s in, it won’t just look at it! Long story short, through a bunch of unusual circumstances, he found Roman on line from a lady who took in Pit Bulls. He found Roman on the first day or two of May, and we “adopted” him on Sunday, May 7th! (Yeah, very fast, but Peter knew time was critical, for I might change my mind!) So, in a nutshell, that’s how we came about finding and getting our Roman, which of course leads us to his name. . .

Elisabeth

Looking for a family

2006-06-20T16:08:00.000-04:00

These pics are a little small (sorry!) but they were the ones on the shelter's website. Roman was one of 12 puppies given to a shelter in Charlotte, MI (30 some mi. south of Lansing, MI. When we found him he had lots of brothers and sisters to choose from, but we loved his little bib and socks!

Another older pic

2006-06-20T14:32:00.000-04:00

Well, we have a bit of catching up to do since our puppy is so big now! Here's another pic of him when he was just a little guy!

Our little guy

2006-06-19T13:37:00.000-04:00

This is a pic of our little guy before we got him. I'm not sure how old he is in this pic, but the shelter said that he was born in the last week of January. I figured I would post his earliest pic first. Isn't he just vicious? :)