Happy Birthday!

Can it already be two years?

We love you, Hunter!

Here is what you looked like two years ago:

© Pat Murkland Photo

You've never stopped smiling.

Extremely rainy days

©Pat Murkland

We've been having extremely rainy days and flooding in Inland Southern California.

We advise all: Buy stock in towel-making industries!

Meantime, sometimes a wolfhound just needs a good raincoat.

Here Miss Liberty models ours.

It was made by Alexis Montgomery, Montshire Irish Wolfhounds.

©Pat Murkland

Before we got this raincoat, we tried blankets made for miniature horses.

(But no, we don"t have that saddle anymore, in case you wanted to ask.

Hunter ate it.)

Catching up

© Pat Murkland

It's been a while.

Time to catch up!

© Pat Murkland

Baby Hunter celebrates

his first birthday on Feb. 23!

© Pat Murkland

He's a baby no longer.

And Miss Liberty, running slightly ahead of him here, is now an AKC champion!

Happy Holidays

© Murkland 2009 Baby Hunter at 10 months

Happy Holidays from all of us!

Catching Up With Hunter

© Murkland

Hunter has his mother's eyes and His Dad's smile, along with his very own Irish humor and sense of mischief.

© Murkland

He's losing his baby coat.

Yes, Baby Hunter is now eight months old!

Six months

Hunter my dear baby, you are six months old today!

Baby Face

Five months old

Still Growing

© Pat Murkland

Before Hunter turns 6 months, we thought we had better post his five-month-old picture!

Celebrations!

© Pat Murkland Photo

This week, we celebrated!

Fathers Day (the first day of summer, June 21),

Blake's third birthday (June 22),

and Hunter's fourth month birthday (June 23).

© Pat Murkland Photo

Blake's best way to celebrate was to let his little son believe he was winning all the wolfhound games.

Mr. Growing Hunter

©Photo by Pat Murkland

Hunter is growing so fast.

He's all tall and rangy just one week shy of his fourth month birthday.

And full of growing mischief, too!

©Photo by Pat Murkland

It's so much fun to see both his mother and his father in him.

He has his father's head, for example, but his mother's expressive eyes.

©Photo by Pat Murkland

And yes, he knows how to use those eyes, just the way his Mom and Dad do, when he gets into trouble!

A Dream Come True

Gryffindor's Dream Hunter is now registered with the American Kennel Club.

Happy Birthday, Everyone!

Three months old today! 

Happy birthday to Gryffindor's Dream Hunter.

OK, big guy, thanks for scrunching up the rear and topline just as the shutter clicked. 

:-)

We'll post a better shot the next time we can get him to stand still for a few seconds ...

Maybe!

And in other birthdays ...

Happy one year to the X litter! Can you believe it's been one year already for Liberty's half-brothers and half-sisters? 

An especially happy birthday to Janey-Mac. 

Here she is, pictured at 10 days old. 

(Photo courtesy of Glenamadda.)

And here is Miss J-M celebrating her birthday earlier this week.

She knows how to party: 

(Photo by her Mom, Mary)

Wait, there are more!

Janey-Mac's partner-in-crime, Uly the Leonberger, also celebrated his birthday.

And our good friend in Southern California, Miss Pearl the Leonberger, also celebrated her three-month-old birthday on May 20. 

Rumor has it she had a b-a-t-h.

(Photo by her Mom, Genette)

Last but never, never the least, 

We love you, Vanna.

Happy Mother's Day

Mother and her ten-week-old child

Seven weeks old!

Growing

Eating like ... a wolfhound

One-month landmark

Happy one month, Hunter!

He weighed about seven lbs. this a.m.

This giant bunny was bequeathed by Erin, who won it when she won Best in Field in lure-coursing at the Northern California Irish Wolfhound Club specialty.

Future Coursing Hunter

As the saying goes, a wolfhound should be

Fast enough to catch a wolf ... er, a big stuffed rabbit toy ... 

And powerful enough to kill it.

It Takes a Village ...

Thank you to all who have helped answer questions from a first-time parent (me).

Thank you for your patience, your humor, and for sharing your years of experience.

Special thank yous:

Thank you Marian Temple ... always there when needed, and going more than the extra mile! Thank you Jocelyne Gagne and Susan Prokopenko, too. Thank you to the Souzas! 

Hunter especially says thank you!

Walking the Walk