I hope everyone had a great holiday with lots of good smells and mystifying presents to open. Malcolm and I each got a stocking with toys in it, and even though I lost my soft green ball on the same day, it was okay. Malcolm doesn't care if I take his stuff. I just have to be sneaky about it, 'cause he's bigger than me now and getting pretty quick on the draw when it comes to catching frisbees and tennis balls.

...I'm still faster, though, when I want to be. And I'm the one who gets to curl around S's head and sleep at night. He sleeps on the floor.

Oh, but I digress! Christmas was so much fun with S's family, and especially with Pavel, Tyler, and Angus.

The best part was when S's youngest sister, C, entertained us by juggling in front of the Christmas tree:

...I had never seen juggling before. Look how riveted I was! Even Malcolm paid attention.

The only thing I couldn't understand was why they made me drop those fascinating little floating balls as soon as I managed to catch one. I was only trying to be helpful - C couldn't hold them all by herself, anyone could see that.

Snow started to cover the ground not long ago, and you know what that means? Soon there will be pretty lights to watch, and crinkly paper I'm allowed to tear open to get to the toys and treats I can smell, and a big tree that smells like outside living for a while inside. Last year I got to help pick out the tree, and I was soooo excited to go this year too, and show Malcolm that I know what I'm doing and he doesn't. He thinks he knows it all, just 'cause he's heavier and a little faster than me.

But despite me being an impossibly good dog all month, and all my clever hints like waiting strategically beside the little pine trees on our land whenever S takes me out to walk the property, her mind is made up. There will be no Christmas tree this year. I have to wait until we go to Pennsylvania next week, and share Grandma's tree with Tyler, Angus, and Pavel.

It's hard to be a good dog when you know you won't get what you want. But  it will be nice to see Pavel again, so I decided to be a good sport and pose in my brand new holiday bandanna for S today. Isn't it pretty?

The snow was hard and crusty because of the freezing rain on top of it, but I still got to chase Cuz for a while. Malcolm isn't too good at finding it yet when it's half buried in snow, haha. Which meant that I pretty much caught it every time!

Okay, so I let him have it once. I can be generous.