Sleepless Week

It's been exactly one week since my new bundle of joy has finally come into my life.

 Arriving Home

This also marks one week of sleepless nights. Being a new puppy mommy sure is a 24-hour job. Waking up in the middle of the night to crying, cleaning up accidents, taking him outside to potty almost every hour, preventing him from teething on absolutely everything in sight, and the list goes on. Even so, there is nothing else I'd rather be doing right now. He is truly such a sweet joy. He has already warmed my heart and enhanced my life in a way I couldn't even imagine. 

He's also super smart -- which is a good thing, and also means I'm in for a lot of work ahead. It takes a smart dog to figure out how to open doors, garbage can lids, and cause major trouble! He's only 8 1/2 weeks old and already mastered commands such as "outside" and he knows to sit by the sliding glass door when he has to go potty. Seriously. And I didn't even "train" him. I just said the words when he was doing the actions and praised him. Like I said, super smart -- which is definitely a blessing, and a bit of curse ;)

He's also already had play dates with other dogs. My uncle's Maltese, Casper, and my friend's Shih Tzu, Oliver, have already introduced themselves to Figment. I'm glad to say they've gotten along tremendously and I'm so glad that he enjoys meeting new people and animals. Once he gets completely inoculated, I have no doubt he'll cherish trips to the dog park and puppy kindergarten.

 Figment and Oliver

Anyway, I'll keep posting Figment's progress as he adapts to his new home, makes new friends, and has new experiences. He loves exploring -- totally fearless! That's why he's now nicknamed Figment the Explorer. As much as I chase him around, pull grass out of his mouth, clean up accidents, etc., it is so worth it in a way words can't even describe. I'll gladly trade my sleep for those puppy kisses any day!

 Who can resist this face?

 

Puppy Breath and Babies

He's coming home this weekend. My little adorable, mush-ball, new puppy who I will name Figment. I don't pick out the actual pup until tomorrow but here are my options:

Figment's Litter

It seems like I've waited so long for this day to arrive and now that it's pretty much here, I can barely contain myself. The house is being puppy-proofed, the furniture doused in Bitter Apple spray, and his crate is set up. As I was overlooking my home yesterday, making sure all F's supplies have been bought and ready to use, I couldn't help but feel like I'm going to be a new mother.

Don't get me wrong, I know owning a puppy cannot truly compare to having a baby. They aren't even in the same league. But considering I'm not married and have no children on the way, as a woman of 30, my puppy acquisition may just be kicking in my maternal instincts. 

Make no mistakes, I'm not, and have never been, one of those crazy baby women. I don't want to have kids without first being married, and besides that, I've just never had that "baby itch." Do I want to settle down with a husband and eventually raise a family together? Of course I do. But, I just never go gaga over babies. I don't care about your baby's pictures, I don't see strangers' babies in the street and say, "Isn't she cute?", and I have very little tolerance for babies screaming in restaurants and movie theaters. 

** Disclaimer: I do adore some babies. My niece and my cousin's daughters make my heart melt. Also, I adore some of my best friends' babies. I just don't get all hard up on any little baby that crosses my path. Although I have been known to gush over mini baby sneakers... Adidas size 2 months is just adorable

But I digress... it seems that while I have no concept of how it feels to be an expectant mother, as I await my puppy's arrival, I am having feelings that I can only describe as maternal. First of all, I love this creature before even having met him. I would already do anything to protect and take care of him and he hasn't even spent one day with me yet. Secondly, I am willing to sacrifice for him. I understand that I won't have the usual freedom that I'm used to. But that's ok. I'm willing to sacrifice nights out or certain opportunities to ensure that Figment is happy and is well taken care of. Moreover, I'm proud of him and will love him no matter what happens. There is literally nothing he can do that will make me love him less. I may get frustrated, hurt, angry, or sad, but that will never diminish my love for this adorable doggy.

While I'm not going to walking around my dog in a stroller anytime soon, I am very excited to be a puppy mom! I'm sure all you fellow dog owners out there understand ;)

One week away

I'm pretty sure that one week from now will commence one of the greatest weekends I've had in a long time. Two major events will be taking place. First, my friend will be visiting from New York. This is no ordinary friend. This is the type of soul mate friend that you spent everyday with as a kid and then lost complete touch with for years but once reconnected, it felt like nothing had changed and you were able to speak for hours about everything, like you did back during your middle school slumber parties. Yep, that kind of friendship. Since we literally live across the country from each other and have pretty busy schedules (ok, maybe hers is a little busier than mine.. lately my nights have consisted of takeout and wii), we don't get to catch up as often as we'd like. But next weekend, we'll have all the time in the world to go grab some drinks, laugh till our tummies hurt, and talk (very fast... we speak very fast when we're together, so good luck trying to understand us) about EVERYTHING.  She'll also be here when the second major event will be taking place....

One week from today, I pick out my puppy! He's going to look something like this:

Teddy bear come to life (aka Wheaten puppy)

My home is already puppy-proofed and all his supplies are ready for his arrival in one week.

Anyway, I guess I actually don't have too much to say. I'm sure I'll have a ton to write about after that weekend.. and a ton of pics! But, for now, I'm just so excited that I had to make this post to prevent myself from bursting with happy excitement!