Sophie

This dog is crazy, you guys.  Hyper and affectionate with an affinity for sniffing out dirty diapers (gross).  

But she's cute.   And she's slowly learning the rules around here.  So very slowly.

A minor sidenote

Know who this is?

Yes, that is Sophie.  Yes, she looks just a little silly.  No, we did not choose to shave her.

We took her in for her grooming (first since we adopted her, though we do bathe and brush her here weekly).  After talking extensively with the groomers about the cut we wanted, the groomer picked her up and said "Oh.... her legs are matted underneath."

Insert red-faced dog parents who apparently don't know the proper way to brush a dog.

Followed by "we're going to have to shave her.  It's going to be short.  It's going to be really short."

Folks, I hardly recognized her when I picked her up.  I mean, would you have thought she was the same dog?!

Before shot:

I thought not.  We were a little shocked but we're just happy the issue was taken care of.  Obviously we figured out what we were doing wrong, and hope to avoid it in the future.  

She's still our hyper, loving little lady despite her embarrassing cut.  (I know, it's not so bad, but she does look a tad goofy.)

New Family Member

I should say, we got the cutest, sweetest, most wonderful pup that we could find.  Seriously, she is a doll through and through.  We met her two Fridays ago after I saw her in an ad and said "that's our puppy".  I had been scouring rescue sites and the paper for months, so it was sort of a revelation.  We called immediately, visited her right away, and fell in love once she cuddled up on Kraig's lap.  So, so sweet.  We picked her up the next day so we'd have time to prep the house and buy the necessary items.

OKAY, enough info, I'll post some photos!  (these are all straight-out-of-camera. Sorry, I'm so behind on life that if I stopped to edit photos right now, I wouldn't hit publish until April.)

Ready for her arrival.

 Our first family photo, awww.

 Eating, I mean reading Kraig's philosophy book.

Her name:  Sophie

Her stats:
4 lbs of precious, 4 months old (born on our wedding anniversary!  CUTE!), will grow to be about 10 inches tall (she's currently about 8") and 8-10lbs.  She is a small maltese/mini schnauzer mix.  All schnauzer traits, really, except for her super soft, non-shedding maltese coat.  Love!

She's just as sweet as can be.  She's a little shy with newcomers at first, but warms up quickly.  All bark, no bite.  She has definitely attached to us and is becoming protective.  She found her voice now that she is comfortable at home.  She'll bark when someone is at the door, talking outside, approaching us, or at any knocking sounds.  (We're working on keeping it from being excessive.)  We definitely don't want her to bark at harmless people, but we feel extremely honored that she has adopted us so quickly as her family.

She is such a lapdog.  She loves to be near us.  She is cuddly and loves to give kisses, which Owen has become accustomed to.  It took him a few days to get used to her energy, but now he likes to let her kiss his hand, and he will voluntarily cuddle and hug her.  He's very gentle and a little too friendly.... he tries to feed her his food!  That's a no-no here, so we're trying to train him as well :)

And us?  Well, we are adjusting to having two "kids".  Honestly, it's a little crazy having a toddler and a puppy, but these growing pains will subside soon and we will fall into a normal routine.  Sometimes it's easier than I thought it'd be.  It gets easier each day, but I'm looking forward to the weekends when Kraig is here to help.  I'm also thankful for his awesome work schedule that has him home in the early afternoon, which is generally meltdown time!  The hardest days (when Owen was super clingy and not yet adjusted to her hyperness (I just made up that word)) are behind us.  And hey, it makes us keep the house straightened up a bit more so that things don't become chew toys!  Win!