Well it's 2012 and lets hope for a good year. I can see already that a lot will change as each year sure has been an exponential difference can't wait to see what this year has in store!
One thing I learned living closer to the City in Prague this year is Czech's win the official pyro maniac award of 2012 Jesus Christ they started at like 7pm and it was completely constant till I went to bed around midnight! I mean boom boom every 2 seconds. We got lucky baby's slept through it all.
Well the Dell Streak lives again after a brutal fall the screen was cracked... Sad sad story and with no professional repairmen available for this product I had to take matters into my own hands. With the assistance of a brilliant China eBay'er I was able to have the parts shipped to my door and begin surgery.
I will be honest it was scary at times I wanted to give up. I was worried even with this massive transplant that my lack of expertise with this type of activity would render the Dell Streak useless and be officially pronounced dead however I did it!
Glass, LCD and touch assembly all carefully installed and working great!
The 9 lives Dell Streak has been passed off to the wife
Here is some info for any future Google stumblers with a cracked screen.
Personal experience is be careful lot of small pieces easy to lose a button! Do not try to pry the giant metal plate out.. and ummm have fun trying to get those little ribbons back in you can just yank them out but there are little flap hinges on the top you need to lift to put in... if you plan on saving the gorilla glass make sure you do not scratch the back when prying off the LCD.
Been so tired lately ugg I think it is the fact that we get about 1 hour of sunlight. Just got up today about 7am which is the time to wake babies but im chilaxin for some time before getting them up.
For those who remember I was huge into Everquest II and jut noticed that I can play my old character for free now! I played around with that for some time yesterday and I must say the game still holds up. I am not sure if I really will start playing it as the last thing I need is another computer hobby but I tinker with it hehe.
Well tonight is the last night of a very long vacation wowzers get to go back to work. Must say got to bond with the family a lot was fun and crazy at the same time.
We finish up the fun adventure with some games. Coco really is a crazy individual likes to be slammed around and of course slam her sister at the same time.
Today to give Amy some time off from the craziness that is babies I ran the girls up to the local mall where they have a playcenter with some fun toys. The girls had a great time they really love going down the slide and for some reason Coco was obsessed with these peg things she played with them almost the whole time?
Claire was all over the board pulling out legos and what not. They had some good interaction with other kids there including a boy who decided that they could not play with some toys it was funny watching them like what the hell is up with this kid haha.
Afterwards took a stroll outside where they had some Christmas stuff setup including some cotton candy where the girls both got to try there first bit of Cotton candy. Weird thing is Coco again does not like sweet stuff and didn't like cotton candy? Claire likes sweet stuff Coco likes salty stuff that is all there is too it but whooda thunk that a kid wouldn't like cotton candy.
Outside there were some umm midget horses (not sure what they are called) where kids could feed them or ride them around in a circle. Of course they are a bit young still and managing two would be nuts but they enjoyed just watching them go around in a circle and got to see them really up close where other kids were feeding them.
As always here are some videos of the above adventures which tell there own story.
Well we made it through the day the girls got a couple of walks today on by me and one by Amy just to give the other a small break. Claire has all four molars growing in so she has been a bit fussy and with her already abrasive attitude that is always fun.
She is going out of her way to be rude to her sister and little coco seems to take it pretty well but sometimes she gets fed up either fights for her rights or gives in and moves on.
They do do a lot of cute things too bringing blankets to each other etc very cute they just go HERE HERE HERE HERE HERE HERE and follow the other around. What is funny is when the other baby doesn't want it. Especially with Claire we try to catch the nice times and give her extra rewards.
Hold on have to do a blanket rescue mission.....
They are purposely throwing there blankets out of the cribs then wining to get them back now rather funny cute and annoying at the same time. BRB going to save a lost blankey that went overboard again.
Snuck in a few videos tonight. Babies always stop doing what I want them to when the film starts rolling but before this video Coco was wearing my hat really really funny and cute haha.
I did manage to get a quick hat trick from Claire the thief just as cute but not as long as I wanted.
Kanye started out in a puppy mill where he was rescued and transferred around as a puppy to different Humane Societies and nutritioned back to health. Amy went to see a liter of puppies as we were looking for a new crazy dog and he was the first one that started tug a warin with her scarf and was just the craziest puppy out of the bunch so she scooped him up and ran home.
Over time we ended up getting two other dogs and Kanye grew up in the woods of Northern Michigan with a doggie door and an electric collar where he could hang out outside and romp around. He loved the life but at the same time wanted to be in with us and always jealous of the other dogs.
We decided to move across the world and decided to bring this guy with us as he was always so emotional we hated to give him up and he always was a good buddy especially to me.
He was thrown in a bright spray painted dog kennel and flown across the world with his crazy owners.
With some mishaps and some tears
at the airport in fear they lost him he was retrieved. We bounced around apartments but always made him feel comfortable he always adapted well
as long as we were there with him.
As he no longer had a yard to run around in we needed to leash train
him and well get him ready for the
big city life. This was a bit hard for
an older crazy pit bull but he learned the leash and started enjoying seeing
all the random dogs and people on our walks through Prague.
He needed to be controlled of course as he just couldn't fit in with all the sissy dogs around here he would just want to romp and play with every dog and at first person.
We were able to control him though threw training as he always wanted to make us happy. We walked and walked and walked with him always on the leash as sometimes he just can not control his excitement for other dogs.
Surprisingly he isn't aggressive especially towards people but if a hedgehog or a cat crosses his way the nature takes over and well lets say Prague is short a couple of hedgehogs.
People always notice when Kanye goes by as he just loves everyone a lot of dogs you walk by do not even notice you but Kanye will stare at strangers and wag his tail away. It is funny to see such a big scary dog and of course if anyone wants to pet him you gotta control the situation because what he wants is to knock strangers over and lick the shit out of there face.
There was another sad moment here though where I went to a work party came home to an open door and a missing dog. We were lost in a foreign country screaming for our dog and finally found him on a website of a dog cather here. We went on one hell of a journey to pick him up as it was rather far away and when we got there he had all the people there scared shitless as he was so scared and unpredictable he wasn't barking just cuddled in a big ball all the time. When I first saw him he was still in this stage didn't eat drink or nothing just cuddled in fear. Poor guy we got him home and loved him to death. Kanye goes to jail http://ourlittlejourneycalledlife.wordpress.com/2008/06/08/kanye-goes-to-jail/
Great spirit and a lot of fun times this guy was part of our life in a serious way very close all the little games we played and funny "pitfits" he would get in and start running around the house made us just love him always. Even when we had our twins he was so gentle with them and the girls really really loved him. They had to learn of course to be careful as the idiot would just push em over or lick the shit out of them. I think Kanye used his licking as a defense because every time the girls pulled and tugged on him yanked his ears and poked his eyeballs he would just start licking them and they knew to lay down and cover there faces haha. It was really cute the bond between the babies and him. There was a time when we were worried about the kids safety but he never was mean to them and they all became good friends. He also learned babies drop a lot of food so he had fun following them around.
This guy held us together in a foreign country without our friends and family and really helped us adjust to our new life. We appreciate all this guy has done and love his warm heart and great attitude with life. He has gone through more then any dog I think in the world but always stayed positive and cuddly.
Kanye we love you and it is not over we will come see and visit you and wish you the best on your new adventure in life. Unfortunetly our little journey called life has taken another crazy ass big turn and this time it was best for you to find a new friend. Love you Kanye! Glad to have such moments like this to laugh about http://ourlittlejourneycalledlife.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/the-boys-hanging-around-the-house/
Now a quick Montage :)
Kanye always got cold on our long walks and we saw some of the other dogs with nice vests in the winter and though we would see how ti goes with an old sweater. The mitten socks were just for fun. He was not too happy about this but did get some walks and would soon forget about this.
This was from Northern Michigan on Innwood North where he got his last name Kanye North.
He has his zap collar on and for a bit stayed on only the porch for some time.
Here he is with his old muddy friends. He hated Einstein and had a serious crush on Ginger.
When it comes to games this guy does not want to play fetch he wants to ALWAYS kill shit and a water hose is the same. He attacks it like the crazy animal he is. Was one of his old favorite games.
Of course he is just a giant cuddly bear he loves curling up in small things we would always find in in some weird places. He is too good for the floor I remember and would always need something soft.
At one point I quit allowing him in our bed and he listened but the wife would always aid and abed this criminal after I fell asleep.
He was sneaky too knowing about when i open the door in the morning an hopin down.
Well yep his old personal sofa we had for him bit worn down he loves his rest.
He just wants to cuddle with you but warning this face means if you get too close you will get licked to all hell and eventually pushed over and chewed on.
He is just trying to lure you in!
Favorite thing in the world Tug a war. Hoses sticks ropes random things you find on a walk whatever it is he will play.
Not just play either I mean rip your fuckin arm off. The guy is really really strong to the point where I can not pick him up.
He shakes your arms out of sockets with just pure brute strength.
He sometimes likes the snow sometimes not. I remember him running around burying his nose in piles of snow on some crazy hunt he was always on but sometimes it was just too cold.
Amy would try I remember this rope been through alot even the trip across the world with us.
A poor spirited Christmas bastard he is not too happy here.
This was a trail he walked a lot. At one point we let him off the leash but it only took one bunny in the distance to visualize the raw power of this fucker he ran and ran had thought I lost him honestly.
Endless fields as far as the eye can see but I couldn't see him anymore! He is fast with a crapload of endurance.
Few hours later he came back.
And we are getting to Prague he was of course with us at this time.
Great friend.
Getting him to sit while you pet him is a tough task he would rather mall you.
Look at those nasty nasty jowls. Food lingers around or it is a hot day you will see spit 8 inches long hanging from those things.
He is so gross and so cute at the same time.
If yah pet him right his legs will do that dog thing. Guess what I know all the spots!
He loves rides in the car I think this is one thing he missed since we moved here. In this shot he is actually stuck in a small trunk though as my dad's car is tiny as hell.
He would behave though.
A walk around Prague with my boy.
I am pretty fat here but after some non american food and some actual walking I lost most of this weight :)
Me and my buddy
asdf
Here is the spit thing sometimes after the spit hangs from his jowels he will shack it off and in this scenario it wrapped his big nasty beak.
Well sneakin this in Amy started getting HUGE and Kanye got a lot less attention as Amy layed around being fat.
Kanye's two new future friends were born. They had so much fun together those memories remain with the girls as they grow up and learn to interact with such a big gal-lute. After time they were all such good friends.
This took some training but he did manage to get the point where we could him him up and go into stores without worrying.
I think he remembered being scooped up by the dog patrol as he always seemed so scared but hey at least we could bring him more places.
My buddy what can I say we look good together.
Glad this guy has so much life ahead of him still.
He sure lvoes his bed with the new laws of the house that he could not lay on the bed or the sofas he was stuck with his blanket and his bed where he layed and layed and layed forever as we had less and less time for our boy.
There was a good bond with him and the girls. I am glad they had even if it was only a short time experience with him. One of there first words were "SIT" as they always told him to sit.
We got lots of stories throughout time and a quick search on our blog you can spend hours reading about our life and how much he was a part of it.
Guy loved milkin his blanket. He spent hours of his day doing this cute thing to his blanket. Sometimes he would snatch up my pillow or blanket though and send me to bed with dog slobbered bedding.
Amy doesn't usually snore and that is not the point of this video but you can see Kanye sure loved laying with his mommy. They both love sleeping.
His journey in life is not over and this is no goodbye we will see him again and are getting constant updates from his new owner. We could not have asked for more this guy has been walking the shit our of him and loving him like crazy. Seems he has snuck into another persons life with his great energy.
His new journey called life is no longer a part of ourlittlejourneycalledlife but we will cross paths and still see each other and his memories paved the way on our journey.
Here are some recent updates from his new owner. Makes me so happy to read them we got lucky.
Right now Kanye is laying on my bed, i was wrestling with him and he was trying to lick my face off i think, very crazy boy :-)
We started the day with a very early walk (4am) a good 2hrs long and then straight to work for me, we went around the river for the walk which kanye always enjoys although he got a little scared when a big plastic sheet fell from up a tree (no idea why it was there) :-)
I came home early from work so we could have an easy afternoon walk which turned into a big run really because i made the mistake of giving Kanye some Ham when i came in and he was all over energized :-)
Tonights walk we stuck to the cycle path and then managed to get down to the river from another end so went to palces we havent seen before, Kanye saw what i think was a rabbit but could have been a cat and was very very excited to catch and kill it :-)
As i said tonight has been about fun, i felt bad for such an early start today so Kanye has been spoilt a bit, tomorrow is an adventure as i will be at home all morning and then at work until late Kanye will be coming with me and i ahve half the office lined up to take him on walks, Friday he is also spending the day in the office with me while the heating in my flat is being worked on so lots of fun to come and he so soooo sweet. Cant imagine a better dog :-)
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2 comments - Eric Soukenka and Amy Soukenka
Eric Soukenka - The plastic scaring him brings back so many memories haha such a bad ass boy is so scared of the little things.
The weather was perfect for a nice walk today, so we got up early and went for a big one. Kanye was pretty sleepy when we came home which is good for me so i can do a bit of cleaning :-)
He still hasn't had a bath but that is to come today, he inst going to be happy about it but it needs to be done, he cant go forever without one :-)
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2 comments - david maknine and Amy Soukenka
david maknine - Well Kanye has been trying hard to lick he to death today, so far i have resisted :-) He can be such a funny monster, he was out on the balcony today watching all the people and enjoying the cold air (or seemed to be) Tonight we had a really long walk the farthest we have gone on one route which he enjoyed we met a crazy dog on the way back which kept barking at him but he was so good just walked past.
Today was a bit of a treat, we had to get up very early for a walk because i needed to be in the office early but Kanye seemed to be happy to walk, he was spoiled last night because i let him sleep on the bed. We had a nice long walk and he chased a squirrel (i think) :-)
On coming home i cooked Kanye some chicken breasts and chopped them up for him which of course he loved, i just hope i don't spoil him too much :-)
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Amy Soukenka - I don't think u can spoil him too much, plus he's so cute he makes it so easy:)
I think its close to bath time for kanye, any tips, tricks or issues you guys know of?
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5 comments
Amy Soukenka - He doesn't care for it but if you are persistent in telling him to stay in the tub and talk in a calm voice while petting him and cleaning it works pretty good. Though he will run around your house and rub himself on everything when hes done ;)
Nov 17, 2011
david maknine - Do you do it with cups of water or the shower head? I dont want to stress him too much but i think it would be good to do it :-)
Nov 17, 2011
Amy Soukenka - We always fill the tub up a few inches then put him in and use the shower head. He gets nervous but I don't think it will traumatize him or anything :) He probably does need a bath too
Nov 17, 2011
david maknine - :) I will do it tomorrow night, today he's in a funny mood, he got scared when he heard some fireworks and he hasn't settled down too much since but hes still so cute :-)
Nov 17, 2011
Amy Soukenka - I completely know what you are talking about ;)
Kanye was the darling of the office today, he had people queuing up to walk him and everyone was really impressed with how good he was.
He's such a sweetie. We did a massive 2hr walk this morning which helped but he was friendly and quiet and so good with all the people, he wasn't scared and in the end he was playing with everyone. We just got back from another long walk, its been a long day but he's a happy tired puppy
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6 comments - Amy Soukenka and david maknine
Amy Soukenka - Well he is sure lucky to have you, he will love the garden. He loves to watch people and see whats going on outside. Who wants a normal boring dog right? Kanye keeps things interesting and is really well behaved considering his breed.
Amy Soukenka - Awww... he looks terffified :P Just want to smush his face :)
Nov 13, 2011
david maknine - He was a bit surprised, i popped around with the phone in hand pretty quickly ;-)
Nov 13, 2011
Amy Soukenka - Miss you Kanye but you look so happy ;)
Nov 14, 2011
david maknine - Hes such a sweet boy, he's come to work with me today and he is sitting in my office (that i share with the other senior managers) and being very friendly. He's such a good boy :-)
Last night was our first tough one, my fault though, i forgot to put away the bag of treats after our night walk which ended up being at 10pm so it was really late and Kanye being a good dog found the treats and thought he better eat them all to save me having to put them away.
Well all the treats did not go well for his tummy and he came to wake me at 1am needing to go out and again at 3am. He was sleeping on the bed so we both had a disturbed night but he's fine now, all out of his system and we just came back from a nice midday walk where he met a few runners and other dogs, we went along the cycle path this time as our 6am walk was through the trees and i like to keep changing it.
He is sitting staring out the window right now, which i' not sure why as he was only jsut outside but he likes it. I did a big clean of the flat this morning and he was a good boy staying out of the way, then we had some tug-o-war and he sat with me on the sofa for a bit, i drive him mad i think because i'm always doing something :-)
He's a cuddly boy today so its nice that i'm home all day and we can enjoy it.
Today started with a laugh, i had been working late (at home last night) and so was extra tired when i went to bed, my alarm woke me up at 5am and i immediatly turned it off and went back to bed. 10 minutes later i had a fury monster (Kanye) standing on my chest and licking my face :-) I got the hint and we went for our morning walk, which was a cold one with frost on the ground but Kanye didnt seem...
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5 comments - david maknine, Eric Soukenka, and Amy Soukenka
david maknine - Thank you guys for raising such a well behaved guy and for finding me :-) Kanye is easy to love, hes a sweet big guy :-)
Kanye is sleeping at my feet so i'll make this a quick one, we have had a nice day, playful and he is having a lot of fun. He knocked over his water bowl being too excited but it wasnt too much of a mess :-)
Hes a sleepy guy today :-) but so friendly :-)
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2 comments
Amy Soukenka - Awww ;) David thank you for being so awesome!
Nov 10, 2011
david maknine - He is awesome, we jsut got back from our night walk, he was growling (a little) at his own shadow in the torch. We had a long walk though (40 mins in the dark) and he wanted to see and smell everything, a bit of running but not too much thankfully :-) He has a little bone now to eat and hes been a very good boy :-)
The walk this morning was nothing new, the same places visited and really nobody around but Kanye still enjoyed the run and it was a good long walk as he was moving about a bit on the bed and we were both awake by 5am so we could put in a nice long one.
When i came home from work Kanye was so happy to see me, he was wagging his tail so much his whole body was moving :-) So we went straight out for an...
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4 comments
Amy Soukenka - So awesome! If you got the whole body wag then he must really like you :P
Nov 9, 2011
david maknine - :-) he has been very cute since we came back as well, ive been sitting on the sofa with him as a lop dog sitting on my lap and with him licking my face, he was very sweet and was being very cuddly, the most hes been with me :-)
now he is asleep and snoring a little in his bed :-)
Nov 9, 2011
Amy Soukenka - Watch out he will lick you as long as you let him :) He loves to be lovey sometimes too much :)
Nov 9, 2011
david maknine - :-) he does love it, we jsut got back from our night walk, it was pretty useful actually, i found some little places around i had never known where here before :-) the main walk was just a nice long walk along the cycle path and close to the river, we didnt go down to walk along there this time, i wanted to change it a bit so it all stays exciting and Kanye was definitively excited still :-)
The big adventure, today was a really good day, we are both completely exhausted, ive gotten into the habit of giving Kanye a little treat as soon as we come back from a walk and although its small he does seem to be enjoying it and its making him a bit more playful at home because i'm hiding it and making hi get it from me ;-)
Today we had the normal 6am walk which lasted almost an hour so Kanye was...
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7 comments
Amy Soukenka - So he didn't mind a stranger coming in? I am surprised :) Glad all is well though and seems to be settling in nicely. Sounds like he's getting you out and moving quite a bit too :)
Nov 8, 2011
david maknine - No, he has seen her a few times as she lives in the same building and we've passed eachother on walks etc.. so not such a stranger to him i guess, i was home by 4:30pm anyway so it wasnt so bad He sure is, making me exercise a lot which is good for both of us :-)
Nov 8, 2011
Amy Soukenka - Yeah I wasn't worried about him with a stranger just the stranger with him :) He can be a bit protective of his home and people but if he is familiar with her thats a different story then :)
Nov 8, 2011
david maknine - He's been such a good boy :-) he still sleeps so i'm waiting for him to come to me before tonights night walk :-)
Nov 8, 2011
david maknine - How is he with the snow/ice? is there anything i should consider when its like this? i don't want him to be too cold or anything like this?
Nov 8, 2011
david maknine - Oh one more thing, he had boiled chicken breast last night and he was loving it :-)
Nov 8, 2011
Amy Soukenka - You might wanna get him a sweater for winter walks as he gets cold easily the one we had for him was old so we got rid of it, but other then that he loves walks whenever. I am sure he loved the chicken, he would eat only meat if you let him :)
Kanye had spent half the night on the bed but he went back to his own bed early in the morning. We had an early start today, the first walk was at 6:30am and we went the normal route along the cycle path and around the field a bit, we were both a bit lazy so it was quite a quiet walk. I went to work early and came back at lunch time to check in on how he was doing, he was excited to see me (might be...
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6 comments - david maknine and Amy Soukenka
david maknine - :-) we are, our posts have overlapped a bit, ive just posted some of today we will still be going for the night walk so we will see what more adventures we can have. Kanye didnt sleep on the bed last night but he did come in as soon as i woke up and followed me around for a bit :-)
Tonight's walk was a late one, we went out at 19:30 so it was already really dark, i found that Kanye likes to stay in the light when i'm using the torch so he's kind of following the light which is a good trick :-)
He seems to like walking in the dark even more than normal, actually he's fallen asleep now so i think 3 long walks today has made him really exhausted. :-)
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2 comments - david maknine and Amy Soukenka
david maknine - Please ask away, i'm trying to write every day, its like Kanye's blog :-) Ill post in a minute todays walks and runs.
we found a new place to walk and a big field that soon, once Kanye is more settled i will let him loose to run around in, he was very interested in a few people on roller blades on the way and was scared of a jack russle for some reason :-)
He's a big softy really, sleeping now but i'm sure he will want his 7pm walk soon :-)
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4 comments - Amy Soukenka, david maknine, and Eric Soukenka
Amy Soukenka - If hes shy at home best thing is to play tug o war with him or wrestle with him those two things will get him moving at home, otherwise he is just a big cuddler at home. If you let him sleep with you on the bed or sit on the couch with you (though I don't blame you if you don't) he will love you even more. Oh and if he sleeps on the bed with you he likes to get under the covers :) He is such a baby.
Another long walk today, this time in daylight though so there was a lot more to see and do, Kanye met a few other dogs and some people on bikes, he was a very good boy. He was so excited to go for the walk this morning and played a little bit, he is still a bit quiet getting used to being here but he seems happy and he's being spoiled :-)
Kanye took me for a walk tonight, it was a nice long one a good 50 minutes walking, running and playing with other dogs. He met a nice female dog called Sarah and they chased each other around, she was a bit of a player making eyes at all the other dogs but she liked Kanye so they kept playing.
He was a good though he wasn't too rough with her but they played and chased and he had a lot of fun. He was exhausted after this and is asleep in the living room right now.
Well the Dell Streak lives again after a brutal fall the screen was cracked... Sad sad story and with no professional repairmen available for this product I had to take matters into my own hands. With the assistance of a brilliant China eBay'er I was able to have the parts shipped to my door and begin surgery. 
Well we made it through the day the girls got a couple of walks today on by me and one by Amy just to give the other a small break. Claire has all four molars growing in so she has been a bit fussy and with her already abrasive attitude that is always fun. 
He was thrown in a bright spray painted dog kennel and flown across the world with his crazy owners. 
People always notice when Kanye goes by as he just loves everyone a lot of dogs you walk by do not even notice you but Kanye will stare at strangers and wag his tail away. It is funny to see such a big scary dog and of course if anyone wants to pet him you gotta control the situation because what he wants is to knock strangers over and lick the shit out of there face. 
Great spirit and a lot of fun times this guy was part of our life in a serious way very close all the little games we played and funny "pitfits" he would get in and start running around the house made us just love him always. Even when we had our twins he was so gentle with them and the girls really really loved him. They had to learn of course to be careful as the idiot would just push em over or lick the shit out of them. I think Kanye used his licking as a defense because every time the girls pulled and tugged on him yanked his ears and poked his eyeballs he would just start licking them and they knew to lay down and cover there faces haha. It was really cute the bond between the babies and him. There was a time when we were worried about the kids safety but he never was mean to them and they all became good friends. He also learned babies drop a lot of food so he had fun following them around.
