The Boys

So this is a post on the boys. They clearly aren't in first place these days, but it doesn't mean they don't hold a place in our hearts. April is the month of their birthdays. On April 4th Chet turned 5 and on April 26th Vlady will turn 3. I can't believe it. Time really does fly.

So while life is crazy and Avery seems to get most of our attention, we still love our boys dearly and can't imagine life without them. And either can Avery. They will always feel like my first babies.

So here's to the boys - Chet Lemon and Vladimir Konstantinov.


I call Chet "Prince Chester"


and his sidekick, the "Jester Vlady". Ha, just fits their personalities! :)


Their favorite girl


During our Christmas card "photo shoot" this year. They are quite a team those three.

And now we are going to look back in time a little bit....


The day we got Chet, June 16, 2005. My little perfect puppy. He was so sweet, tender and laid back. And he hasn't changed. Chet definitely has his quirks, but he is just so easy to love.


Such a "Chet" look! Even back then.


This is one of our all-time favorite pictures of Chet. He was 5 months old. That's Lake Michigan in the background. Isn't it / he just perfect?


June 2007. Vladimir Konstantinov barges into our life! Always the pretty boy.


We should have known what we were in for right away. He loved army crawling under the couch, from one end to the other. He was so sad when he got too big to fit! But Vlady, from the beginning, was rough and wild. Passionate is how I like to describe it. Never had any fear.


Chet's world (and mine) is rocked and the brothers become a twosome. It's amazing how much bigger Chet was then and now Vlady outweighs him! Chet is our big lovable bear and Vlady is our super star athlete. For 120 pounds you would be amazing how fast he can move!


With a face like that it's so hard to stay mad at Vlady! Wasn't he just the cutest thing? A stuffed animal.


Our Christmas card "photo shoot" circa 2007. Chet was still bigger than Vlady is this point, but Vlady was catching up quickly! I love this picture. Chet looks like he has on an amazing white fluffy turtleneck sweater under that jersey!

Pre-Avery we threw birthday parties for the dogs. The most famous one was in April 2008. I was just pregnant with Avery. We had two of our Berner friends over, Kona and Hampton. It was a whole lot of Berner with the four of them! (total weight ~465lbs of Bernese Mountain Dog) But such a great party. Lots of human friends too! :) Those days are long gone but we can look back fondly!


Chet all dolled up. He always loves to dress up.


Chet posing perfectly, Vlady totally uncooperative. The story of their lives. :)

So here's to my boys - Chet Lemon and Vladimir Konstantinov - 5 and 3 years old, respectively. And here's to many more years together as a family.