Mid-Season Pick-up

Team Dickerson has a new member...at least for a few months. No, Grayson didn't come early, thank goodness. Michelle has moved in. Basically, she thinks we are the coolest people she knows (which means a lot since she used to work in the White House), and couldn't stand to be apart from us anymore. That, OR she needed a place to live for a few months and we had an extra room.

At A&M, Michelle and I were in the same christian sorority, Phi Lamb, and we all had mutual friends. When we moved up here a couple of years ago, I basically begged her to teach me about how to live in DC, as she had been on the scene for about 4 years already. She's had all the cool jobs in town, and we love hearing all the inside info she's got on everyone.

The best part is that she is cooking US dinner tonight...steak and potatoes! Lucky!!!!

You can check out Michelle at http://travelsofalosttexan.blogspot.com/

Life is Good (by Hank)

Hey everyone, Hank here checking in again. I say life is good because these past few weeks have been SO great for me! First of all, Aunt Betsy came to see me all the way from Africa; that's how much she loves me! (I don't think it had anything to do with the fact that she is about to have a baby) She took me for walks every morning after mom and dad went to work, clipped my nails (she's a doggy doctor), and made mommy really happy, I think, because they were laughing all the time. Here's a pic of Aunt Betsy and some of the other women in my life:

Hope, Mommy, Betsy and Susie (the 3 on the right just had a big lunch)

Then, ALL my dreams came true, because my Gran showed up the other day. I was so excited to see her that I started whimpering. In case you don't know, Gran is my BFF (best friend forever). Gran has always been the one who truly understands me. She gives me so many treats, takes me on LOTS of walks, lets me kiss her, and pets me constantly. I have had to share my Gran's attention a little bit this trip, as Gran seems to be really interested in mommy's big tummy. They keep cooing over little clothes and shoes and stuff. Strange.

Love you, Gran!!

Last night, we all watched Saturday Night Live, a staple of Team Dickerson. It was great to see Sarah Palin taking some shots at Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. We thought she handled herself really well, but it's a little too late for her and McCain to be making up any ground at this point. I feel that SNL is usually somewhat bipartisan in making fun of political figures, which is why I enjoy it. It seems that this year though, Obama is immune to any criticism from SNL. Not to say that McCain hasn't earned some of the shots they have taken at him, but they treat Obama like he is made of Teflon. But hey, that is just a dog's opinion.

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend- I've gotta get back to my Gran now.

It's a Boy!

As you can tell from the sonogram to the right, we found out this week that we are having a boy! Grayson Samuel Dickerson is perfectly healthy and was busy moving around and tap dancing on his mommy's bladder. When we tried to look at his face, he would hide behind his little hands, and when we tried to look "downstairs" to determine the sex, he quickly put his hands in front of the goods. We are so proud our little guy is already learning modesty!

Eventually, we did confirm that he was a boy, and got a few other pics that we'll share. Because of Grayson's athletic prowess, none of the pics turned out great as the doctor was busy chasing him around the womb.



His face is towards the camera here, and you can make out a "Skeletor" eye.


Here, little Grayson is hiding behind his arms and fists.

Matt's a daddy!

Introducing Brodie Kenneth Wheat, born Sunday at 5:35 pm in Tucson, AZ to my brother Matt and his fiancee Davina. My mom (Gran) says he looks just like Matt when he was a baby, and that Brodie has the same dimple in his chin that my brother and dad do. Also, Matt has already been instructing my dad (Poppy) how to hold Brodie, which is quite ironic. He's a sweet baby boy!

Snooze...

Dickerson living room 9:15 pm ET

Hank didn't think he was hearing anything of substance in tonight's debate, so he decided to sit this one out.

Seems the only thing we learned tonight was that McCain steals candy from small children and Obama hates puppies.



P.S. We do feel sad for McCain every time we see his arm movement (or lack thereof) due to his torture in Vietnam.

There really IS something in there....

I (Ashleigh), felt the baby move for the first time this past weekend. I was laying in bed half awake, when I felt something pushing outwards in my tummy. I sat straight up and yelled," I felt the baby move!" (A little shocking for Joe who was still asleep) I wasn't really expecting to feel anything for a couple more weeks, but this was different than anything I had ever felt before; I knew it was the baby. The baby stayed busy in there for the rest of the day.

With this movement came the realization that there really is a baby inside my tummy. As in, there is no going back (not that I want to). Kind of overwhelming. Sure we have seen the baby on ultrasound, I went through the morning sickness, and I have a little belly, but this gave confirmation that it is a living being that can move and stuff. And FYI, we find out the sex next week.

On another note, I had to post this picture of Hank because it is just so darn sweet. He dragged this stuffed sheep out of the back of the closet while we were at work. (Since we don't actually have the baby yet, Hank gets all the cute points).

Hank's First Post

Dear Friends, Family, and Fellow Canines,

After last night's Presidential Debate, I knew the time had come for me to write my first post. Overall, I thought the candidates came out pretty even. McCain clearly knows his foreign policy and can name drop the agricultural minister of Kerplakastan and has likely had tea with his grandmother. Obama was calm, collected, and organized. I do wonder who age is effecting more, as at one point, Obama referred to John McCain as "Tom". However, whenever they really started sparring, it must have really made mommy uncomfortable because she kept getting up and walking out of the room. Not sure if it was nerves or her bladder.

I thought it was my obligation to do some fact-checking for you:

At one point, McCain mentioned that Eisenhower wrote 2 notes on the eve of D-Day. One intended to congratulate the troops, and the other to tender his resignation if the mission failed.

FALSE. Eisenhower did write 2 letters, but in the one written in case of defeat he did not offer his resignation. He in fact blamed the whole mission on his dog, Heidi. I'm not sure that's the historical lesson McCain was going for.

Obama claimed that Henry Kissinger supported the President meeting with Iran without any preconditions.

FALSE. Kissinger did say in some instances he thought it might be helpful to meet with Iranian leaders, but at the Secretary of State level. I don't think this is a good idea under any circumstances, as generally speaking, the Muslim culture does not favor keeping dogs as pets. You won't catch me on a flight to Tehran!

Did you know that Obama does not have ANY pets? He needs to make a decision: be a cat person or a dog person. He can't make up his mind. Kind of like when 129 times in the Illinois state senate he voted "present" instead of "yes" or "no".

McCain, on the other hand has fourteen dogs, six cats, two turtles, three birds, fourteen fish and a ferret. If this isn't a clear case of political pandering, I don't know what is. Obviously, he is trying to cover every constituency.

My last comment is that I have been thoroughly disappointed this campaign season by the lack of one piece of proposed legislation in particular: top-to-bottom treat subsidies. It is getting hard out there for a dog to get a Milkbone these days, and I know this is one law we can all agree on.

I gotta go, my Aunt Betsy's on her way here, and she's going to clip my nails!