Right after we took Nonnie, Papa O and Uncle Allen to the airport, we kept on driving south because it was the Big Day. Right around Christmas, we decided that we were ready for another puppy. We kept hearing that if you get a puppy before your older dog is too old, it can bring some new life into the old dog and then he can help “train” the new addition.

We found a breeder since the people we got Kody from were retired, picked out our pup and she was ready to go the day that everyone left.

So, here is Maila! Three kids were absolutely ECSTATIC.

Particularly this one. Parker is SO sweet with Maila. He adores her. We all kind of know that she’s basically going to be his dog.

After a HORRENDOUS first night and day (which was also my birthday – ugh), we are slowly adjusting to each other. Oy. Friends, I have completely forgotten what kind of crazy a puppy brings into a house!! Last time we did this, we had zero children and I was just working from home, so I was able to focus as much time as I needed to on Kody. Plus, his breeder was amazing and he basically came to us crate-trained. This time around is VERY different. I do not deal well with insanity and it has been total chaos in here. My poor family. After the first night, I immediately put Maila on a VERY strict schedule and she’s already doing a lot better. Someone asked me where I got the schedule and I was like, “Um, Babywise?” Ha! I think she had basically spent zero time in a crate by herself, so we started doing “crate time” every couple of hours and by the third night, it’s already WAY better. I couldn’t handle doing Babywise with my actual babies but I have no problem putting a dog on a rigid schedule. 😉

Time for another cup of coffee.