Today is definitely a no sun Sunday. The sun isn’t peaking through at all and the entire sky is full of clouds. It definitely doesn’t feel like a beautiful May day. No, it kind of feels like a go-back-to-bed day. Today might not be the best day for outdoor fun but Mommy & I DID get something accomplished. We picked up food for me. It’s nothing special but at least we took care of that errand.

Even though it’s dull and dreary out there, Mommy and I have tried to go outside when the weather permits. As a lot of you probably know, I don’t go outside if it’s really raining. Instead, we keep our eyes on the window and when the rain lets up or stops, that’s when I go outside for little play breaks.

Mommy and I just came inside and, boy, did we walk inside just in time! As the door shut behind us, I heard the raindrops falling again. Sigh. At least I know Mother Nature is getting the rain over with quickly. I looked at tomorrow’s schedule and I think it is going to be mostly sunny. Not only will that be good for playing outside but it will also be MUCH BETTER for my hair!

How are you spending your Sunday? I hope it’s more exciting than mine! Please entertain me and tell me about it!

XO- RH

You guys probably don’t know this about my Mommy and me but we’re really big New York Rangers fans. Mommy became a fan before I was even born. Even though we live in New Jersey, we don’t really like New Jersey’s hockey team. Actually, we don’t like the Devils at all. We don’t even like them a little bit. Right now, the Devils aren’t a big threat to us because they’re really having trouble winning games but when they play well, we get kind of nervous.

Mommy went to the Rangers game with Grandpa last night. Grandma babysat for me. I hung out with Aunt Molly and she didn’t bother me at all. It was like a miracle! When Mommy got home, she told me that the Rangers scored SIX goals!! We watched a game together tonight and they scored EIGHT times!! Five of those goals were scored in under three minutes. That’s a record!!!!

There’s a reason that I’m writing about sports. I’m not just writing about them because I think the Rangers rule. I’m not just writing about them because I wish that Henrik Lundqvist could be my Daddy. I’m not just writing about them because I’m a little annoyed that Mommy didn’t ask ME to go to Madison Square Garden with her last night.

I’m writing about them because a few weeks ago, Mommy found out about a great event. The name of the event is Rangers Dog Walk and it is a walk in New York City with Coach Tortorella and several of the Rangers players. Can you imagine ME walking with the Rangers?! Those men are so handsome; I think I would totally blush the whole time, while making sure that I kept my cool. Anyway, the event is to benefit homeless pets and to help end animal abuse. Doesn’t that sound AWESOME????

There is only one problem with the event.  Mommy TOTALLY dropped the puck. The walk was LAST SEPTEMBER!!!! It was in September of 2012! Good work finding out about it NOW, Mommy. Sheesh. I really need a new Social Director. They’d better have a walk in 2013. I’m all set to shop for it. I know what I’d wear. I’d get a Rangers jersey, leash, and collar, and I’d wear a pretty red or blue bow in my hair. I totally root for the Rangers at home so I want them to see what a fabulous furry fan I am!

Mommy said that we are going to be positive and assume that they’re going to have another walk this fall. Soooooo, that means that I can start SHOPPING!!!! When I have my entire outfit all set, I’ll be sure to post pictures and you can let me know if I need to tweak any of the accessories!

Do you have a favorite sports team? Has your team ever had events that have included pets? If so, I want to hear about them because I’d love to know what to expect!

XO- RH

In case you didn’t see on my Facebook page, I’m welcoming a new sister into my family! I thought that Mommy had forgotten to give me an Easter basket full of goodies but she actually had bigger plans in mind! As I said on Facebook, I’m getting an Easterpuppy! I didn’t want to say anything too soon because it was only finalized today. My baby sister seems really, really cute and I even got to name her!

I went through lots and lots of names. It was pretty fun searching for the ideal name for my baby sister and I chose the name Lila Brooklyn. This name isn’t just any ol’ name. I put a LOT of thought into it. Here are some reasons why it is special:

• My middle name (Sydney) is a city so I thought that Lila’s middle name should be a city, too.
• Mommy likes middle names with a “Y” in it. First there was Cassidy Tyler. Then there was Cooper Dylan. Obviously, my name is Raegan Sydney. Brooklyn is absolutely perfect and Mommy agreed! The “Y” tradition will continue!
• Lila is ALMOST like lilac. Lilac is a shade of purple, which is my Great-Grandma’s favorite color.

As you can see, her name is very, very meaningful.

There is one additional thing that I should tell you about my new sister. SHE IS AN APRIL FOOLS’ JOKE!!!! Hahahaha. Gotcha!

Do you think that Mommy has room in her heart for anypup but me? Do you think that Mommy has room in her budget for clothes and bows for anypup but me? Mommy’s attention is indivisible and it all belongs to ME! We’re a fabulous duo. Why would we mess with perfection? Hehe.

Thanks to everyone who played along, whether you knew about the joke or whether I fooled you! Thanks to the people who called Mommy to ask her what was happening, when you could have ruined the prank online instead! You guys are the best!

XO from Mommy’s one and only- RH

PS- So…this means that Mommy DID forget to give me an Easter basket full of goodies. Oh boy, is she in trouble! We’re going to have to do something about that now.

UPDATE: The “no Easter basket for Raegan” situation has been fixed to my satisfaction. The solution will be arriving in 2-5 business days.

My niece, Raegan, asked me if I wanted to blog tonight because today marks a really super-duper special occasion. It’s my first anniversary of becoming a Huston. One year ago today, my parents (Raegan’s grandparents) came to my siblings and me to pick me up. I was eight weeks old. They actually first met me when I was seven weeks old but I was too young then to go home with them so they had to wait the extra week.

My first few weeks home sure were fun. I didn’t sleep at all!!!! It was like a constant party but I was the only attendee. Everyone tried to sleep through my partying so, eventually, I started sleeping too. Now I know my routine and I guess sleeping isn’t too bad. In fact, now that I’m a big girl, I sleep in my parents’ bed. I LOVE it when one of them goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night because it gives me the perfect opportunity to steal a pillow! Hehe.

Over the past year, I graduated from Puppy Kindergarten and Basic Obedience. I learned a lot and I listen a little. I have all the information from school stored in my brain and I use it when it’s important like if there is a treat involved. Boy, do I love my treats. Speaking of treats, do you know what my favorite thing is? I LOVE Kongs stuffed with treats and then topped with cream cheese. That’s the best. My parents leave one for me whenever they leave the house. Yum!

Over the past year, I figured out what part of the house I like the best. I like the staircase most of all. I hang out on it all the time. I bring my toys there, run up and down the steps, and nap there all the time. Sometimes the staircase looks like an obstacle course! It’s SO much fun!

This winter, we discovered that I LOVE snow! It’s awesome. I guess I’m different from Raegan in that regard. She doesn’t like snow (or rain, for that matter). I like jumping in snow so walks in the white stuff are pure joy! I pop and bop around like a little bunny.

I haven’t been on too many vacations but the two getaways that I had were to the Berkshires in Massachusetts. I really like it up there. I went with my sister (Raegan’s Mommy) and Raegan one time and I went with my parents another time. I think that I want to go to Vail on my next trip. I hear that the snow there is fabulous!

So, today is my first anniversary with my family. I love celebrating milestones so this is very exciting and I’m happy that my family (Lauren and Raegan, specifically) made a big deal about it. I’m also really thrilled that all of Raegan’s friends, both online and offline, have been so nice to me. I can’t wait to see what kind of adventures and fun I have during my second year. Bring it on!!

Puppy Love – Molly Belle

Some of you have noticed that I have a new Facebook page. I’m really, really, REALLY thankful to those of you who “liked” it so quickly. I appreciate you so much for migrating from the old page to the new one. The switch is a good one but it sure has been confusing.

It all started from an idea that Mommy had. Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure that a lot of the confusion in my life stems from Mommy. Oops…I should be careful about what I say about her because I know that she reads my blog. Anyway, Mommy had this idea that she was going to change some things around with HER Facebook page and, as such, we would change mine, too. I kind of understand her logic and I kind of think, “Why? Why? Why?”

Mommy and I do everything together, though, so I know that this is a good change. I know that she wouldn’t suggest that I do anything foolish so I don’t have any worries about it. I just thought that I would mention it in a post because some of you have asked me why I have a new page. I only used “Labradoodle Lifestylist” to coordinate with Mommy’s branding but there isn’t a use for it anymore since she’s ditching it. We both wanted something that was more “Google friendly” and Mommy says that “Labradoodle Sweetheart” fits me perfectly!

Like I said above, this was all because of Mommy and she elaborates further on a post on her blog. You can check that out if you want to know more. I don’t really care where I am on Facebook as long as my friends are with me! I love keeping in touch with all of you.

Feel free to tell YOUR friends about my new page, Raegan Huston – Labradoodle Sweetheart. As you know, I’m quite the social butterfly so the more, the merrier!

XO- RH

You guys! I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had any time to write. I feel a little guilty about it sometimes but then I realize that I do a pretty good job at maintaining my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. Once I think about that, I realize that I’m doing a pretty darn good job. I really want a Vine account, though. For those of you who don’t know, Vine is a new social networking platform. Basically, you can post 6-second videos on it. I want to show you videos of my life! Mommy says that I have to make sure that I keep up with my blog a little bit before I take on another social media account. Hmmmph!

So…I’m blogging. I’m not just blogging because Mommy is making me. I’m blogging because I know that I haven’t written in a while and it’s about time that I update you all with what’s been going on in my world. In a nutshell, I have had a very busy month and a half. I’m going to give you the highlights now.

• A photo shoot: I had a fantastic photo shoot for my 8-year-old portraits and holiday cards! Mommy’s photography teacher and friend, Michael Downey, took my photos. He was really, really nice to me and told me that I was so well-behaved. Mommy was a little late scheduling the shoot but that’s OK. We decided that we’re going to do photos in September this year so that we’re not rushing to seal, stamp, and send our cards at the last minute.
• Aunt Molly Belle’s first birthday: Molly Belle’s first birthday was on December 18th. Coincidentally, her birthday is also my Grandma’s (her Mom’s) birthday so we had so much fun celebrating! The second photo in this post is of Molly on her first birthday. We thought that since she was a year old, it was time for her to go to work. She got all ready to go with my Grandpa (her Dad) but then he let her stay at home to continue her life of leisure.
• Christmas: I had a fabulous holiday! Mommy and I wrapped presents together and had a great time with the holiday spirit. I got to visit Santa at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City, just like I did last year. It was magical. I talked to Santa for a while and told him everything that I wanted. Guess what???? He made sure that everything on my list was waiting for me on Christmas morning. He did an awesome job for a man who has to fly around the globe in one night!
• A cousin was born! Two days after Christmas, I got a new cousin. I’m still trying to figure out if he was a belated Christmas gift. Mommy’s sister had a baby so that makes him my cousin. I got to meet him the other day and he’s really cute! I wonder if, when he gets a little older, he’ll share his chew toys with me. I know that I’ll share with him.
• Another photo shoot: Mommy had a photo shoot of her own and I snuck into a few of her pictures. We love photos of the two of us so we’re really thankful to Michael Downey for capturing moments that we adore. Nobody in my family (besides Mommy) really takes pictures so these are very special for us.
• I fell asleep on the job: I babysit for Aunt Molly Belle ALL THE TIME. The other day, I was watching her and…OOPS. I had nothing to do with what she did and I was asleep so I don’t have much to say about it. I’ll just let the photo below speak for itself. BIG OOPS!
• I’m rocking my diet! I told you guys about my diet in my last post. It’s going really well. Mommy just weighed me and I lost a pound. That means that I only have one more pound to lose! My vet is going to be very pleased.

That’s all that’s happening on my end. I continue to work with Mommy day in and day out and we love every second together! I know that it’s already February but I want to say…HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope that you all have a 2013 that is full of puppy love, bear hugs, and butterfly kisses!

XO- RH

I woke up today thinking that it was going to be a regular Friday. Before going to bed last night, Mommy and I didn’t discuss anything out of the ordinary on my calendar for today so I didn’t realize that I was in for a surprise. When I woke up, I heard Mommy get on the phone with my vet and ask for a refill for my supplements. As it turned out, I was due for my annual physical so Mommy decided that she would bring me in for an appointment at the same time as picking up the supplements. An outing!!

My regular vet wasn’t in the office today so I saw another vet at the practice. The other vet isn’t the same as my regular vet but I like him. He’s a good guy and I’ve met him a lot of times so we get along just fine. I got to the office and I was a little concerned but Mommy told me not to worry.

First, I got weighed. Big mistake. I have to lose 2 lbs. Ugh. After that, I had my blood work done. Easy peasy. Needles don’t scare me! Then, it was time for the actual exam with the vet. He came in and told Mommy that I needed to work on restoring my girlish figure, which Mommy had already assumed. He checked my eyes and said that they look great. He checked my ears and said that they were beautiful. He listened to my heart and said that it was pumping quite nicely. Then it was time for the BEST part of the exam. He examined my teeth. Oh, how I love this part! He looked at my teeth and this is the conversation that followed:

Vet: Verrrrrry nice. Who does her dental work (to Mommy)?

Mommy: What do you mean? I do it.

Vet: I mean that her teeth are in excellent condition, especially for her age (MY AGE?! What does that mean?!). I can tell that she’s had work done so I’m just wondering who you used.

Mommy: I did it. I am SO glad to hear that, though! That just totally made my day. I floss her teeth, brush them, scrape them and everything. I’m doing a good job?! Yay!

Vet: Wow! She lets you do all that? She really is the perfect dog.

Mommy: I know, right?! I am thrilled that her teeth are looking so good because I never really know for sure.

Mommy was so proud and I have to say that I was pretty proud, too. I guess Mommy and I work really well as a team with my oral hygiene.

Finally, I had to have one vaccination. Don’t even get Mommy started on what she thinks about vaccinations. I was offered three or four and, based on the years of reading that Mommy has done, she declined all but one. I had my injection and even tried to lick the vet as he was giving me the shot. You can see me starting to lick in this last photo. I didn’t feel the needle so how was I supposed to know that it wasn’t play time?

All I wanted to do was have fun! So, that was my excitement for today. I’m assuming that everything will be fine with my blood work. Gosh, until I wrote that sentence, it didn’t even occur to me that something might NOT be fine but I’m sure it’ll all be OK.

What is your vet like? Do you like going and getting TLC from veterinary professionals or would you rather run out of the vet’s door faster than the speed of light?

XO- RH

Note from Raegan’s Mommy: I am so proud of my little girl. Her temperament and disposition both continue to amaze me. I have known this sweetheart for just about eight years so I shouldn’t be surprised but, nevertheless, this wonderful creature never ceases to make me beam with pride! XO to you, my Rae of Sunshine!

I decided that I would co-write this post with Aunt Molly Belle. Something happened today that I think only she can explain. I know that I sure can’t explain it! First, though, I will tell you a little bit about my day.

I woke up pretty early (for me). What’s early for me is probably very, very late for most of you, though. It was probably about 10:30am. Mommy and I got out of bed and she fed me breakfast in my upstairs bowl. Yes, I have a bowl and food upstairs because we don’t always feel like going downstairs immediately after waking. I ate my meal and then Mommy said that she had something for me. I got really excited because I didn’t see any packages or bags anywhere. She was REALLY sneaky with this gift!

She took a fuzzy new pink blankie out of the closet! I loooove blankies and I have a lot of them but this one is really, really soft. It’s smaller than some of my other blankies but I still like it a lot. Mommy put it on the floor for me and encouraged me to take a rest on it. I walked over to it and, oh boy, was it comfy! I cuddled up in it right away. Mommy and I both know that it will probably become one of my favorites. You can see me on my new blankie in the picture.

Then we heard a strange scratching noise at the door. We thought that we were imagining things so we waited a moment. Then the scratching noise started again. Now I will let Aunt Molly Belle take over the post…

My Mom and Dad went out and, since I’m still a puppy and a bit of a chewer, they left me in kitchen prison. Kitchen prison is like a regular kitchen but it has gates on both sides of it. It is like a puppy penitentiary. I can’t really remember but I’m pretty sure that my Mom left the house first and my Dad left second. When he left, I started to bark. He told me to settle down, so I did…until he was out the front door.

THEN…I started my grand escape. I pushed and pushed and jumped and pushed. With some strength and determination, I broke through the jail’s bars! I was FREEEEEE…free as a bird! I ran upstairs and decided that I would show my freedom to Lauren & Raegan. After a little bit of a laugh, they weren’t very impressed.

Raegan hadn’t been outside yet so the three of us went to the side yard. I spun around on my leash while Raegan ran around the yard. I’m not off-leash trained yet so I have to stay on a leash when we’re outside. When we went back inside, I wound up in jail again because Lauren had to shower and couldn’t babysit me. She secured the bars to make sure that they were extra tight. There was no escaping this time. I settled into my bed in the kitchen and decided to take a nap.

I think that I can speak on Raegan’s behalf when I say that the rest of our day was very uneventful. Hopefully we’ll have a fun week and Raegan will have some cool blogs to post!

XO- RH & Molly Belle

I hereby declare that I have neglected my blog and I find myself guilty as charged. I have not written in almost two months and I feel guilty, guilty, guilty. I should probably be in the dog house. OK, maybe that’s taking it a little bit too far because I like my comfy beds too much but you get the idea. I feel terrible that I haven’t blogged in so long.

SO much has happened in the past two months. I’m going to do my best to update you as quickly as I can so that move on to current “news” ASAP.

Liberty Humane Society’s Bark in the Park festival in Hoboken, NJ: Mommy and I went to the festival, which supported LHS, a local animal shelter and wellness clinic. We have gone to this event several years in a row and always have a great time. Some of the adoptable dogs were in a fashion show and I loved checking out the fall fashions. Lots of vendors had booths set up, all with pet-related items for sale. It was pretty cool.

Featured by “labradoodlesofinstagram” on Instagram: Breast Cancer Awareness Month is very important to Mommy and me. On October 9, I woke up to a great surprise! I saw that I was featured by “labradoodlesofinstagram” and I was modeling one of my “Go Pink!” outfits!

Go Pink! 5K: I didn’t run in this race but Mommy did. The proceeds from the event went towards breast cancer awareness and research. I was Mommy’s cheerleader and she said that when she crossed the finish line, she was SO happy to see me. In fact, she was so excited that she didn’t even look at her time and had to go back a few minutes later to check to see how well she ran.

My birthday: October 26 was my birthday and I turned eight. It was REALLY exciting because I had a birthday party that was so much fun. My good friends came over and the theme of the party was “50 Shades of Rae.” Mommy did a really good job with planning everything and the party was a smashing success!

Super Storm Sandy: Oh. My. Dog. This was craaaaaazy! Mommy and I went to Pennsylvania before the storm hit NJ and we didn’t return for two weeks! That’s how long our house was without electricity. Over the course of the two weeks, I slept in four different places. I kind of got tired of it at the end and didn’t really know what was going on but Mommy was so proud of me. I was SO happy when I was finally at home and able to sleep in my own bed again!

Halloween: This was a non-event. Everyone was spooked enough by the storm!

November 13: This was the first night back at home! It was wonderful!

Over the past few weeks, I am happy to say that life has been pretty quiet. I have been very thankful for that.

That brings us to Thanksgiving. Mommy and I had an interesting Thanksgiving this year. Mommy had to work so we weren’t with family. That was a first for us. We spent a lot of quality time together, though, so that was nice. I gave thanks for Mommy, food, a warm home (unless Super Storm Sandy is in town), toys and love. All of that makes me very happy!

I PROMISE that I’ll blog more because I really do miss the writing. I am going to write again this weekend and I’ll let you know what’s going on with Aunt Molly. OR…maybe I should let Aunt Molly speak for herself!

XO- RH

What is a Shelb-icure, you may be wondering?

It’s a manicure that features me, Shelby!

Lately, my Mama has become obsessed with painting her fingernails.  She does this pretty much every other day.  This summer, a polish brand called Zoya came out with a color called Shelby, and guess what?  It was a light pink, one of Mama’s favorite colors.

Want to know something even cooler?  The same collection had a purple-pink shade called Reagan!  I wonder who I have to email to tell them that someone spelled Raegan’s name incorrectly?

Anyway, Mama thought having a Shelby-colored polish was pretty cool, but then she met a fellow polish-lover who makes custom nail decals.  Mama immediately knew who would make a cute decal – me!  She asked her friend Teena to make the decals and in a few days, they arrived!

Teena sent three designs and I must say, I look really cute on all of them!  Mama has tried them all now, and they are easy to use and so fun!  In the pictures, Mama is wearing a light pink under the decals of me, but the bare nails are Zoya Shelby! I think it’s perfect!

What do you think?  Would you wear pictures of your furry buddies (or maybe human kids, too?) on your nails?

‘Til next time!

Shelby

PS: Mao and Kenzo say “Hello” too!