anybody special tonight: Our Little Boy

When you feel lousy, puppy therapy is indicated.

-Sara Paretsky

It's official! We are puppy parents! We brought home Brutus Norman Weir on May 16th!

We got up at 5:30 in the morning (bleh!) to drive 3 hours away to Canton, IL to pick him up from the breeders. The Chapai's are a lovely family who breeds Boxers, we could not have been more lucky to have had Brutus spend his first weeks with such a loving, caring, responsible family. They even started his potty training and called him by his name for a few weeks. We got there, put his adorable new collar on him, and we were on our way.

Yes, that is a picture of our little boy howling. He spent the first half hour trying to figure out how to escape back to his mommy and his little sister. My heart was breaking for him, but I knew that Aaron and I were his new parents and that he was going to be the most spoiled pup in the world.

And then he was asleep. This is a continuing trend (as a matter of fact as I write this he is asleep in his bed) that he gets very energetic and then crashes. Isn't he adorable with his snugga wubba. He slept for most of the drive like this.

We had to stop for a potty break and we got some playtime in too!

Cuddling with Daddy!

Classic picture of my two favorite boys. Brutus loved watching daddy drive.

Once we got home, Brutus wanted to explore his new home. We went down to the lake, a few feet form our house, and he enjoyed looking out on the water.

There were lots of new things. Including his first meeting with Aunt Cassie.

And his Papa. My Dad LOVED Brutus, even though he claimed not to like dogs with short tails. Brutus loved when he got down on the grass with him. It was definitely a Kodak moment when they were playing on the grass together for the first time.

Daddy got lots of kisses. Mommy was jealous...

Actually, I loved that they were bonding so well. They were enjoying the view together.

He loves his fluffy bed. Aaron was worried it was too comfortable compared to his crate and he wouldn't like sleeping in his crate. Ends up that he likes his crate too. A tip for any new puppy parent who is crate training: Have your pup eat his meals in his crate. You don't have to shut the door, but making the crate a positive environment helps the dog realize that it is their space and it is not a negative experience to be in his (or her) crate. BUT be prepared for a few sleepless nights. Brutus cried for a full hour before sleeping for six hours the first night. We are proud parents, though, he is down to ten minutes. However, he doesn't sleep all the way through the night. He lets us know when he needs to potty around 1AM and then again at about 5AM.

We allow Brutus on the couch, and he loves sleeping on the blanket Mommy made Daddy for his birthday.

After we had been home for a few hours, Daddy played puppysitter while I went to Villa's Maypole. My beautiful cousin Sydney graduated from Villa last Sunday (I am so proud! It is my alma mater too!) and I was so grateful to see her perform in the traditional Maypole dance. He white dress was beautiful. She looked like such a grown-up. There have already been some tears about how much of an adult woman she has become. Family members can probably guess who those tears came from...

That night Brutus met his Grammy. He sure loves her. He was cuddling with he like crazy. It was adorable. She is so proud of her little grand-puppy.

The next day Brutus took his first trip to the vet! We brought along his favorite toy. He needed some comfort from Daddy at first.

He got over his fear quickly upon meeting our family vet Dr. Mike. They even posed for a picture. We'll see how Brutus does next week during his first round of shots.

Brutus took us on a little detour before returning home. We passed by a firehouse and he got to meet a real live fireman. It was a special experience and the firefighters were very generous and caring. They even had a water bowl out for the neighborhood dogs.

And then it was time to meet Penny. Honestly, I was nervous. Penny is my sweetheart and I was worried that after moving, once she found out that Aaron and I had gotten our own puppy she would be very upset. She was tentative at first. She went to my Mom for protection at first.

And then she did this. It was playtime! She was so sweet and loving.

She pawed at him and pounced around him. She did step on his paw at one point and I have never seen her jump that high to get off of him. It made me want to cry that the pup that I grew up with, who holds a really special place in my heart take on a Grandma role with my brand new baby. She was better than I ever could have hoped.

Marely met Brutus too. He acted scared and was drooling like crazy. He ended up going inside shortly after the introduction. I don't think he's used to dogs who are smaller than him.

Puppy kisses.

Brutus even got to meet the neighbors. We love the Kulmas and we were so happy they were home so they could meet the newest addition to our family.

My hubby was very happy to have his favorite dinner, Stuffed Shells, that night. He was also very happy to have a pup who doesn't beg for food at the table.

Mommy was tired...so was little boy.

I was very excited that Sydney came over to visit her new little cousin the next day. We had lunch and talked graduation and college. She got some cuddle time in too.

He was a sleepy boy.

Not for long though. Right around the time Daddy was leaving to come home from work he woke up and decided he wanted to play.

And then he crashed again.

I just want to thank God for giving Aaron and I this perfect puppy. He is such a joy to have and is so well-behaved. He hasn't even pottied in the house. We are so blessed and so lucky to have him as our own.