3 boys and 3 girls

Adelle and I aren't outnumbered any longer.
We have a dog now, and she's a girl!

Just so you all know I was on the fence with this one. Jeff wanted a dog. The kids wanted a dog. I was happy with my little dog-less life I was leading.

Jeff thinks I am a bit of a priss when it comes to animals. It's like I say that I like them, because I do like them, but I don't want them to smell bad or rub their butt on my clean floor or jump on my kid or shed all over or drool or throw-up... and that's all just part of having animals. They do that.

But I do like them. Really. I grew up with a dog. I like the character they add to the family and I have wanted my kids to have the experience of having a dog. I think it teaches them a lot. Not just responsibility but also loyalty among other things.

This little brown eyed girl has completely won my heart in less than 2 weeks. Now we both laugh at night when the kids are asleep and Jeff's on the couch reading and I'm curled up on the floor next to the dog, rubbing her belly.

We kinda sorta inherited the dog from some close family friends who recently both passed away. The dog is 2. Her name she came with is Sophie. She is 1/2 blue heeler 1/2 black lab. She was trained really well and well taken care of. She is great with the kids. Exceeded all my expectations to say the least.

My aunt asked if we wanted to try it out for a week before we decided to keep her. The funny thing is Jeff was convinced he and the dog were going to be best friends. He would try and play fetch with her. Pet her. Let her in and out. The dog wanted nothing to do with him, actually avoided him at all cost. I played hard to get. Not really, but one could assume. I just went about my own business and before I knew it the dog was my fourth little shadow. Following me around everywhere. Checking on me. Anxiously waiting for the kids to be playing so that she could have me to herself. Flattering, really. On day two that we had her I got my kids down for nap and went into the laundry room to wash some clothes and Sophie crawled right between my legs (so yes, now I am straddling the dog). It was pretty funny.

So yeah, I guess that's the dog story.
It's like she is part of our family that we never knew we were missing. My kids are totally in love. Braxton was instant. Emmett was instant. Adelle took a little while for her to get used to the idea but now she's on board, napping beside the dog. And Sophie has warmed up to Jeff. They are officially friends. He's pretty excited about that.