Gus

Since our February has been fairly uneventful, and I don't have any good, recent pictures of the kiddos, I thought I would dedicate a post to our 3rd child - Gustopher Bronco Rautenkranz - otherwise known as Gus or Gussie. He will be 5 years old next month, and really is the sweetest dog ever and keeps us constantly entertained. He is usually the first one to wake up in the morning, and the first thing he gives a big SHAKE - which is VERY loud because of his tags. Then he will walk over to my side of the bed (passing Damon's side on the way, I might add) and does his this high-pitch whine that he only does in the morning. If I don't get up right away, he will lay down on floor and wait. The second I move at all, he is up and whining again. This morning he came over and started whining and I said "Gus, that is rude! Lay down!" so he plopped himself down and gave a huge sigh. It was pretty funny! Various times during the day, he will walk up to me and do a low-pitch growl until I figure out if he wants food, water or to go outside. Sometimes he doesn't need anything, but just wants me to give him some lovin' and scratches on the booty. Here are some pictures of our sweet boy :)









Loungin' on the kid's picnic table outside. Somewhere I have a picture of him actually standing up on the top of it, but I can't seem to locate it. So funny!

Marina got this couch from Santa Claus two Christmases ago, but Gus quickly took it over. You can see in this picture that Marina has covered him up with some of her blankets while he was sleeping.

RIP Blue Bear . . . this was his favorite toy until it died last year. He would chew on the nose for long periods of time and we would joke that Gus was "making out" with his bear again. He got a new one for Christmas this year, and we thought he didn't like it at first, but we have caught him being intimate with it a couple of times now, so I think he is satisfied :)

He wasn't too happy about this Christmas collar I bought him. It has bells all around it, and I think those drove him a little crazy. He was a good sport about it though!

On this day, I was sitting on the couch doing some stuff on the computer and he was just sitting there staring at me like he tends to do sometimes. This time he rested his chin on the couch and proceeded to fall asleep. I didn't even notice until I heard him snoring.

He is so good with all kids. He lets them pretty much do whatever they want. Here is with

Finnley, Holly's little boy.

Yes, life would definitely be less exciting around here without Gus. Even if 90% of the time he is sleeping, snoring and passing gas. And I'm talking about gas unlike anything you have ever smelled before. Those of you who have have had the privilege of being around when he lets one loose know exactly what I'm talking about. But I wouldn't trade him for any other dog in the world, and I think the rest of my family would agree!