IT'S A BOY!!!!

Our little baby boy is finally here!  I can't believe it!  After debating for so long on weather or not we should have another one (I just wasn't sure when or if I would be ready for another one) I wasn't even sure it would ever happen again...but here we are with another little boy.  He is so sweet and cute and we are all in love with him already.  What a joy he adds to our family.  He came to us weighing 2 lb. 13 oz. and is 12 in. long and has lots of dark wavy hair.  He is tiny for now but he will soon grow and grow and grow as all little boys do.  As expected there was a little jealousy at first by Alexander, who is no longer the baby, but he has already gotten over that because the baby adores Alex and they have so much fun together.  The only jealousy that is still hanging around comes from Jack and Oliver (our ornery cats.)  They don't really hate the baby they just don't like it when he tries to play with them.  Being a baby he hasn't learned that they only like to be fed and looked at...not played with.  He doesn't care, he is a very outgoing and loving boy and he tries his hardest to win over the cats in hopes that they will finally learn that play can be fun.

Our new baby boy...Rascal.

He has lots of dark hair now (yes it's hair, not fur) but he
will lighten over time and probably be a light brown.

His toys are almost bigger than he is.



Rascal's first bath.

Like I said, I can't believe we have a baby boy...dog.  CJ and I were at the store last week and as we were leaving we saw a couple sitting out on the lawn with a box of puppies.  I usually pass these up as fast as I can because those dogs are too expensive for us plus we weren't even sure what kind of dog we wanted if we did get one, but I knew if I saw their sweet little faces I would want one.  This time was different however.  As I passed the couple with the box I had a strong feeling that I should go back and get one.  It was a feeling that I believe was from the Holy Ghost.  The feeling was so strong and I just felt that I was to go back because my dog was there.  I almost pushed the feeling away and kept driving because I wasn't ready for a dog yet but I figured it couldn't hurt to just look (the spirit wouldn't steer me wrong) so I turned back without telling CJ why and asked him if we could look at the puppies and he said sure.  He and I went to the couple and asked about the puppies.  They only had one left, a little boy puppy.  He was so mellow and cuddly.  His mom is a Yorkie, Shih-Tzu mix and they didn't know what the father was.  All I knew about those breeds of dogs is that they are small and don't shed very much.  That was a good thing because if I got a dog I really wanted a lap dog that didn't shed.  I forgot to ask how old he was but he looks to be about 8 weeks old.  I was really shocked when I asked how much they were asking for the puppy and they said they weren't asking much, they just wanted him to go to a really good home.  CJ and I stepped back for a minute to talk about the dog.  He said he didn't really like little dogs but he wasn't against us getting one so if I really wanted it I could have it and it would be my early birthday present.  We went back and paid for the dog.  When the girl handed me the puppy it just felt so right.  (Just in time too because as she placed him in my arms another lady walked up wanting a puppy and was so dissapointed to find that they were all gone because Yorkies are her favorite kinds of dogs.)

I left CJ in the garage holding the puppy and went inside to the girls.  I told them that we found something in the store parking lot and weren't sure what we should do with it so I asked them to go help their dad bring it in so we could decide.  They knew something was up because that was a really, really stupid story but they played along because they are so sweet like that.  They didn't know what it was that we "found" but a puppy was probably the farthest thing from their minds.  The older girls broke into a large grin but Megan looked at the puppy as if a real live Princess was standing right in front of her...it was priceless.

He is such a good puppy.  Even though it is like having a newborn and a potty training toddler rolled into one I don't mind because he is doing very well with crate training and house training so far.  He comes when I call him and he is soooo good with the kids and the cats.  I am so grateful that I listened to the spirit and went back to look at the puppies with an open mind because if I hadn't I would have missed out on "the most perfect little puppy in the world" as Dakota likes to call him.

Our little Rascal.