The Evolution of a Lawn

Finally! A lawn is brewing!

Dave talked a new friend into spending lots of time at our house last Saturday prepping our yard. He disced the yard and then used his bobcat to smooth the lawn. He did a fabulous job but then it was up to Dave and I to finish.

We spent all day Sunday spreading seed and straw. It was tedious! The wind was intense so I had to water immediately. We only had time to get the back yard done, but it's a start.

Our Past Week

Our past week has been busy. Lots of work around the house (of course) and lots of Patton time.

Dave has been busy this summer with softball. He's playing on 2 teams. Here's one of his most recent injuries.

We had to rent scaffolding again so we could hang trim and stain the windows in the great room. The windows are looking really good. It's amazing how stain can completely change the look of a room. Every spare moment is spent working on windows. Dave and my dad have almost all of the base and trim hung so I just have to get working on the stain!



Patton's been busy growing. He has a new favorite spot on the front deck. He can get into the chair on his own.

Talk about growth. The boy has no problem growing and he is always hungry!

Patton and Bentley

As I mentioned in another post, Patton is too big to fit under our couch. Bentley takes full advantage of this when playing with Patton. He will run up to Patton, bite his leg, and then dart for the couch. He will then harass Patton from underneath the couch. It's quite entertaining to watch!

Our House at 2 p.m.

In our house, on a Saturday at 2 p.m., everyone should be pretty busy. We have lots of house work left to finish (though the end is in sight). So, I thought I'd show you what a Saturday at 2 p.m. looks like...

Dave...


Mom...

Patton...

Bentley...

Winston...

Dad...

Thank God someone is working :)

For the record, I'm staining windows (and my arms).

No wonder this house is taking so long!

Hanging Out at Grandma and Grandpa's

Last weekend was state softball in Hastings so we packed up and headed home. Dave's team didn't win it all but they had a great time playing. We had great time watching and luckily for us, they played most of their games at the fields with awnings over the bleachers!

Patton spent the weekend playing as well. He was exhausted by the time we drove home Sunday. I can't imagine why...

He really enjoyed Grandma and Grandpa's grass. I think he's wondering when he'll have his own grass to roll in.


He spent some quality time with Grandma.

And napped with Dave. They were both exhausted after a long day of playing in the sun.

He really enjoyed Bentley and Winston's blanket and toys.

After all that playing, he and Dave were ready for another nap.

And if Dave wasn't available to lay on, he just used Bentley instead.

He discovered the best way to play with Winston was to corner him in his crate.

Patton also had his first ride in Grandma's mustang. His nose was sniffing the whole time. I think he really enjoyed it.

He had quite the weekend. His Monday's are usually a little rough after he spends the whole weekend playing with Bentley and Winston. I think he really misses having other puppies around to play with. We'll have to get him a little buddy soon.

Patton Meets Our Yard

Patton met our yard. Or lack of yard.

We have had so much rain lately that our yard is a giant mud pit.

We let him out there to see what fun could be had.

He had so much fun that he wore himself out.

Check out those muddy paws. If only you could see mine as well. My flip flops got sucked into the mud and are still there. I was covered in mud!

Patton's first bath. He did ok but it took us a while to get all of the mud off of him. I'm guessing this will be the only time we'll be able to wash him in the sink!

It’s been quite the week (and it’s only Wednesday)!!

I stayed home with Patton on Monday to help him adjust to his new home and it's a good thing I did. Beginning around 11am, the little guy started getting sick. I'll spare you the details, but he definitely wasn't feeling well. Our vet said to give it 24 hours and then bring him in if he didn't improve. He mentioned that parvo could be an issue but he didn't want to run the test to early for fear of a false negative. Patton slept all day Monday while I nervously watched him. I was attempting to work from home but I was so worried about him that I didn't get much done.

He didn't improve throughout the day but he didn't get worse either. We thought it was something that would pass but around 9:30pm he started throwing up. Immediately Dave and I were both concerned as puking is a sign of parvo. We rushed Patton to the emergency vet clinic. They tested him for parvo and the test came back negative. I think both Dave and I did a happy dance at that. Unfortunately they had no idea why he wasn't feeling well. He received a shot to help with the nausea and fluids to help prevent dehydration.

He slept pretty well Monday night but I decided to stay home with him again on Tuesday. He did much better Tuesday and has continued to improve. We think he just had a bad tummy ache. I can't even tell you how panicked we were. We've been waiting years to get a dane and we couldn't even keep one healthy for 3 days. We felt like huge failures. He's getting better and has kept improving since Monday so we appear to be in the clear. Hopefully we've gotten the emergency vet visit out of the way for his lifetime!

Oh, the craziest thing of all from the emergency vet visit? Even with being sick, he still gained one pound. At his vet visit on Friday, he weighed 10.5 pounds. By Monday night, he was up to 11.5 pounds!

Here are some photos from the last few days. I'm a proud mama and will be shoving lots of photos in your face, so enjoy!

Patton showing off his jowls.

Sleeping as usual. Notice the hassock in the background.
His favorite place to sleep is under the hassock or couch. That won't last long!

He also love sleeping on comfy blankets.

Comparing paw sizes.

This is his setup in the sunroom. During the day he has access

to the area within the exercise pen as well as his crate.

Giving kisses.

A boy and his dog. Buddies forever.