I've dabbled with blogging on and off for a while. It has mostly just been a place to share major life experiences or the occasional epiphanies that I think might encourage someone else. Nothing in particular has ever inspired me to do it regularly, or attempt to do it regularly, until now.
Meet my two little inspirations. The little person, who miraculously kept that headband on long enough for a picture, is Rylee. The fury one eating her boot is Bo. My days are pretty much consumed with keeping up with these two. I also do what I can to keep the house clean, make sure we don't wear smelly clothes, and eat decently balanced meals. (Applesauce counts as a fruit serving, right?!) I don't know that our little life is particularly entertaining or exciting, but I thought it would be fun to share some of our escapades and perhaps the occasional major life experience or epiphany to encourage a long the way. Besides, the media world can be such a gloomy place at times and I'm sure a toddler and her pup could brighten someone's day!
So let's get you caught up on how Bo the Bulldog entered our home a month ago. I have to first make a confession: I am not a dog person. For people who know me, that's probably not very shocking. My husband on the other hand, is a total dog lover. Opposites attract, right?! Also, we may or may not have attempted getting a dog 2 previous times. (Dog lovers don't worry, we found both of those little pups great homes where they have been loved and flourished!) In my defense, one of those times we were newly married with me working and finishing grad school. Not great timing for a non dog person to attempt to be the main person taking care of a puppy!
So fast forward about 5 years. My husband is now working from a home office (making him available to help with the pup's lunch and occasional potty time during a break). I became a stay at home mom (which has stripped me of some of the selfishness that probably contributed to previous pups not working out). We have a toddler who shares her daddy's love for dogs (clearly he brainwashed her somehow). Add in we live in the country now (something about that screams you must have an animal of some sort) and enter Bo the Bulldog. All jokes aside, I admit it has been so much fun overall! I wouldn't call myself a "dog lover" but a certain little bulldog has definitely won me over. I have pretty much decided that seeing my daughter's face light up about something could make me love just about anything. (Is there any other good reason to watch Frozen more than once?!) I mean just look at these two!
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| Yes, she is in his crate. I'm pretty sure she thought we bought this to be her new playhouse. |
I will be honest raising a toddler isn't easy and if you've ever had a puppy you know that isn't exactly a walk in the park. (Side note, whoever coined that phrase clearly never tried to take a walk in a park with a toddler and a puppy!) I repeatedly tell them both they are very lucky to be so stinking cute together! I could continue writing to catch you up on the past month with these two, but I think sharing some pictures would be a lot more fun. So here goes:
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| Rylee meets Bo. It was love at first sight. That is until his first nipping incident, which she quickly got over it and continues to think her fingers need to go in his mouth. She's a toddler, enough said. |
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| I swear I didn't stage this picture. He went and sat right beside her. I mean, who doesn't love a good Sofia episode?! |
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| Notice, she still hasn't learned to keep her fingers away from his mouth. Let's just say God is greatly using them to teach me to have more patience! |
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| I don't even know how to caption this sweetness. |
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| Where she leads, he will follow. (Sorry, I just binged the Gilmore Girls revival so I couldn't resist!) |
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| She was not too happy about Bo deciding to sit on her Sofia couch. Perhaps this puppy will help in the learning to share department! |
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| Sharing victory! Unfortunately, Bo has since decided to "mark his territory" on the Sofia couch. Perhaps her initial feelings towards him on it were warranted! |
This past month has been quite the adventure adjusting to life as a family of 3 + Bo. I joked earlier about God using these two to teach me to have more patience, but I must say He really has. I tend to love order and at least some sense of predictability to my day, but one thing that toddlers and puppies have in common is they can be pretty unpredictable. Through raising Rylee (and Bo) God continues His process of decreasing me and increasing Jesus in my life. In a way I think God is using them to "raise" me in a sense, but I'll leave that for another post for another day. For now I will leave you with one last picture of the stars of the blog!
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| He really does make her so happy! |
