Tuesday, November 17, 2015

What I've Learned....

A lot has changed in my life over the last year or so - a wedding, a new house, and a career change. But, I would say that the change with the biggest impact on my life would be this little face right here.

Although, this was back when she was quite litte. She looks more like this now:

And she's the cutest thing I've ever seen. Well okay, Zuko is too. They're tied. See:
I digress.

Ellie has made a HUGE impact on our lives. Last night, while I was taking her for a walk even though I felt like absolute poop and just wanted to be in my PJs and on the couch catching up on the DVR, it hit me just how much our lives have changed since July.

Without further ado, some things I've learned since July:

Also, I just added a bunch of cute pictures of her... barely any method to the cute puppy picture madness. 

Puppies are hard. 

I had never had a puppy before that I was in charge of raising. I didn't realize that we adopted a mix of the two smartest and full of energy breeds. I didn't realize how hard crate training would be - and how awful that whine was!
No personal space in this household.
I didn't realize how expensive puppies were either.. vets visits, getting them fixed, training classes, doggie day care, etc. Yes, some of those are optional, but if you meet Ellie you'd realize they're not. I didn't realize that I would be spending the next few months finding every way possible to keep her busy so she wouldn't chew holes in our walls (yes, that happened).

I'm cooking - she's sleeping underneath me.
All of these lead to...

I can survive on less sleep than I thought. 

If you didn't know, puppies have tiny bladders. This means that you're waking up throughout the night - sometimes more than once. I was lucky to have a partner in crime that we could switch off times, but I still hear him when he gets up to get her. So, even though I'm not physically out of bed, I'm awake. I never thought I could survive waking up at 1:30a, 5:30a and then getting up for the day at 6:30a and still be a functioning human.
Don't mind us, Ellie. Your couch.
But I did. 

Dogs will change you're entire life. 

You see a puppy and you think "aw how cute! I wish I had a fluffy snuggle bum with an adorable wet nose and puppy kisses". So, you adopt one. Then you find out they need frequent potty breaks, they want to play all. the. time, they need walks every day, and on and on.

Just stopping to smell the... air?
We've changed our entire lives: we make sure we're never gone from the house for more that 5-6 hours, we choose places to go based on if they're dog friendly or not, we can't go on vacation at the drop of a hat, I leave for work early twice a week for doggie day care - what the heck!

A picture of her at daycare!
Just guarding brewery doors to make sure everyone pets her as they enter.
You can love a dog just as much as a human - even when they drive you crazy. 

Let me preface, I love Zuko SO much. But, he didn't disrupt my life like Ellie has. He literally showed up and started snuggling with me. Yes, he used to sit on top of my textbooks while I studied and he didn't sleep much as a kitten, but I was in college and neither did I!

Ellie on the other hand, like I mentioned, changed our entire daily routine, costs us more money than I ever want to count and has left some great holes in our yard.. And I love her more than I ever thought possible. That little nugget has me wrapped around her little finger and I'm insanely overprotective of her.
Never any personal space. Ever. 
We are not ready for kids. 

The little bit that Ellie has disrupted our daily routines and sleep schedule is NOTHING compared to a baby. I can't imagine having to get up every couple of hours to feed a baby (I'm also just assuming it's every couple hours - I have no idea). Or changing diapers - I don't even like scooping poop in the yard! Or trying to raise a child to be a good upstanding citizen. How do you do that?? I have no idea.

So, we'll just be over here being fur parents for the next few years :)

post signature

2 comments:

Pleas(e) and Carrots said...

Ellie is so adorable! It's crazy how much we can love our dogs!! We are definitely not ready for kids yet either, I need a few years!

Kayla MKOY said...

You pretty much just summed up why Caleb and I won't get a dog yet -- SO. MUCH. WORK!!!! Ha! I know you love that sweet pup so much, but woo! I was tired just reading this! ;) ONE DAY, we'll get a puppy, but right now is not that day, haha!