Happy Valentine's Day to US!

 Meanwhile, on Facebook...

"So every time we have the thought, "maybe a cute, small little dog would be perfect for this place!" the neighbors happen to let their (VERY untrained) pit bull puppy (who is already gigantic!) out, tie him up, and let him bark for hours. Oh, and there's the several times a week when he poops in our backyard. Sweet. Summer's gonna be AWESOME with a toddler running around out there!"  --January 22nd

"Nathan is cracking me up playing with a tennis ball. We don't need a dog; we already have a puppy! Eating off the floor, wanting me to throw balls so he can go chase them, incontinence, we have all the boxes checked. Except Nathan's cuter than a puppy. And when he throws a ball himself he does this cute little growl because he has to get up and go get it! :o)"  --January 8th

"uh oh...Mitch is in the mood to adopt a small (already housebroken) dog...I better be in the mood to argue the "we already have a baby!" side of things...too bad I'd secretly love a little dog too!" --January 3rd

Can you tell we were around a little doggy we loved dearly at Christmastime?

A little dog has clearly been on our minds ever since!

Here they are this summer: Nathan and my in-laws' dog, Onyx: (She is the black background blur, but she's still so cute with him in person!)

So, yeah, after holding my husband off for almost two months, we got a dog. 

I've been holding him off much longer than that, like from the time we got married, but finally he was getting impatient.

Like visiting the animal shelter twice a week impatient.

Here's our sweet little man: I am officially surrounded by boys!!

 

He's a very complacent little dog that I keep calling a she, with a very laid-back temperament. He was in a great family before that had five children, including two under the age of five. He's only a year and a half old, so three months older than Nathan :o) He's also been around young children since he was born.

 He minds his own business and lets us know when he wants to go outside. He was neutered very young, so we were told that he won't mark his territory all over. This is also as big as he will get! If Nathan stands beside him, his head comes to about Nathan's chest. He's a good lapdog but also loves to be active. Nathan loves to pet him.

He has also been trained, we were told, to NOT jump up on children, but adults he will greet. Again, he's not very big, so we don't mind this. I wouldn't like it if he were huge and attacking me every time I walked in! He knows basic commands like "sit" and "lay down" and expects his belly scratched when he lays down.

All in all, he is a VERY sweet dog, a perfect fit for us. We can't be up all night taking a puppy out to potty, but this little guy is just great. As far as breeds go, he is a Miniature Pinscher/Italian Greyhound mix, mostly Italian Greyhound, according to his paperwork.

As of right now, Mitch is his favorite and he's been wandering around looking for him when he's gone!

But, Mitch wanted a dog more, so I'm fine with that. Granted, I'm perfectly excited that he's such a good fit and will hopefully help teach Nathan how to share attention, but I would've been content waiting a few more years, too. 

We do have one problem, though! THIS DOG NEEDS A NAME!!

He's very laid-back, but still shows a bit of puppy energy when he comes in or out of the house. He's a smaller dog but quick on his feet. He's also quick to be the biggest cuddler you've ever seen, but is ready to get up and play when he wants to. He also doesn't care at all if Nathan pokes him in the eye, pulls on his ears, or surprises him. Which was the biggest selling point for me!!

Anyway, that's a bit about his personality. Our top names right now are:

Apollo 

(he's quick like Apollo Ono)

Rex

(a slight homage to Rexburg, since we won't live here forever)
and Dallas.
(What can I say? Mitch grew up in Texas.)

But we want something a bit more human than the three above.

My sister-in-law, Dani, and her husband were over earlier meeting our little guy. We both agree that a name slightly human, but slightly doggy is perfect...now to come up with a name that isn't also one of our relatives' names!

We were thinking Scooby, so his name is Scooby Dooley...ha! But, he just isn't much of a Scooby...I'd love something that sounds adorable rolling off Nathan's tongue!

So, let me here what you think! I'm excited to choose a name. I'm envious of my friend Karissa, who's also picking a name, but hers is a brand new puppy!! So small and sweet! I love it!