Introducing Cookie Crumbs!

We got a dog.  Or what I mean to say is that Santa got us a dog.

What was he thinking?

Santa had to bring the puppy a day early, because thats how it works when he is bringing a live animal that can't be hidden on the top shelf of your closet.

A thump at the door.

A big box.

Puppy wrapping paper.

Big red bow.

Santa's magic dust. (glitter.)

I thought Stella would open the door and jump for joy.  I was expecting the best reaction of our lives. Maybe even tears. After all, she has been begging for a puppy for TWO YEARS.

Instead she opened the box, looked at him, and said:

"Weird. Is that thing real?"

I took this as my cue to be the excited one and I did the appropriate amount of freaking out that Santa brought her a puppy.  It took about 30 seconds to sink in and then came all the excitement we were expecting.  Over the course of the next few days we heard things like

"I don't think I ever knew I could love something so much."

"I think we will be in love forever, because he's mine and I'm his owner, and we're best friends."

"He is seriously as cute as a real human!!"

And as time went on I started hearing things like:

"If he eats one more piece of my Christmas candy I'm going to trap him in the bathroom and never let him out."

"Mooooom! This dog is bugging me so bad! He's eating the crayons!"

"Can someone else have the dog and we can just borrow him sometimes?"

I must admit there were a few expletives from me when he shredded the back of the couch and ate a baseboard.

But overall we love him.  His puppy-ness is wearing off, which means he is a little more calm and a lot more obedient.  Before we got him I had big plans to be a strict dog owner - which included no dog on the couch or beds.  However as you can see in 90% of these pictures he is on the couch or beds.

How can I kick him off the bed when he looks sooooo cute?!


We decided to let Stella name him, although it was hard for me and Rhett to give up control on that one.  But we wanted it to be her dog, and we felt like her picking the name would reinforce that. After lots of deliberation the final names were Jon, Michael, and Cookie Crumbs. My vote was Jon, but Cookie Crumbs won out.

First trip to the pet store. She was so proud. 

I have loved seeing Stella be patient and loving, and it has been so good for her to pay attention to what Cookie needs and meet those needs.  She feeds him, walks him, plays with him, and yells at him like a professional.

Nobody loves this dog like Rhett does.  This pic is at my Mom's house after Christmas,  he slept with these two like this for several nights in a row.

On his last trip he called and said he missed the dog as much as he misses me.  Not sure if that was a compliment or not... but I decided to take it as one.  He is such a softie.

Welcome to the fam Cookie Crumbs!