An Unexpected Addition

Meet Jake:

  

Two weeks ago, I found him in our neighborhood.  I snapped this picture below, and posted it to our neighborhood’s facebook wall.  Then, I continued on my run. And he followed me.  For almost a mile, he followed me.  All the way to my house.  And since I have a soft spot for dogs, I tentatively asked Lee if we could keep him for the night, because it was going to get really cold out.  Lee begrudgingly let me keep him an a cage in our garage.  And then he brought him bowls of food and water :)  He was a really sweet dog and obviously needed attention.  He went right into the cage and didn’t make a peep all night.  I gave him like 5 queen sized blankets because I was afraid he would get cold.

The next morning I took this picture and made some signs and hung them around the neighborhood.

That night, we let Cooper see him, which was instant excitement for him.  This dog played with him!  He didn’t run from him!  He loved it.

We also let the dog hang out in the house for the evening (after he got a bath).  Until he peed on our carpet.  Clearly not housebroken.  Boo.  Back into the cage in the garage.  Which he actually didn’t seem to mind, but still.

Over the next few days, we heard nothing on the dog.  No owners, no one wanting to give him a home.  Meanwhile, this was happening every night:

He is obsessed with me.  I don’t really mind.

Then one night, we moved his cage into the house.  I think you can see where this is going….

The dog, who we were calling “pup dog” slowly worked his way into our home.  Well, actually there was nothing slow about it.  He basically ran in and took over.  Haha. 

After a little over a week of trying to find him a home, we have decided to keep him.  Mostly because of how much Cooper loves him.  But also because he’s just a sweet dog.  He gets along fine with our two dogs, who are maybe getting a little jealous, but they don’t really mind him being around.  He doesn’t bark. (well, yet)  He loves to cuddle. And he’s catching on to potty training.

We settled on the name Jake this morning, and he’s going to the vet tomorrow to get checked out.  Hopefully he doesn’t have a chip, or else Cooper is going to be one sad boy!  And Lee and I might be a little sad too ;)

I never ever thought that we would have 3 dogs at once.  But he is really no more work than the other 2 so what the heck. 

Although, I’m afraid that Lee will never let me bring home a stray again….

Oh Cooper

Y’all.  My child.  Oh, my child.  He gives me a run for my money, that’s for sure.  One minute he’s screaming throwing a fit because he can’t do whatever he wants, the next he’s being sweet and loving and giving us kisses and all “Mommy hold you”, and the next, he’s being hilarious and trying to make us laugh.

He has started having…discipline issues at school.  No disciplinary actions have ANY effect on his behavior.  At this point, I just have to laugh.  I’m not in the least bit surprised.  Actually, I was kinda happy to hear that it’s not just me/us at home.

So…he has been sent to the office twice in the past 10 days.  Ha.  I mean, I told his teacher to do whatever (and that we would work on more consistent discipline at home.)  My dad picked him up the first day he was sent, and he texted us saying “Wooooo Cooper was sent to the office today, I think even Tyler was a little older than him his first time there”.  Tyler being my brother, who was NO stranger to the principal’s office back in the day.

We have been having stricter time outs at home, but who knows if it’s making an impact.  I have never seen such stubbornness. I really hope this is a two year old/toddler thing, and not an indication of future behavior!

Monday Brain Dump

I have lots of things that I would like to blog about, but they all include pictures, and I continue to forget my camera cord at home.  I have a goal to start organizing pictures tonight, so maybe I’ll remember to get the pictures off of my (REAL!) camera.

We volunteered to host Thanksgiving again this year.  Much better than trying to split between families and driving 3 hours to my in-laws’.  I bought cute little Thanksgiving plates and cups at PBK for Cooper and his little cousin.  I’m also going to get Coop’s little table and chairs out for them to have their own table! Cute!! :)

I can’t believe I’m talking about Thanksgiving already.  Wasn’t it JUST here?!

Cooper has been SO funny lately.  The things he says are just hilarious.  And he loves to make us laugh.  I really need to start writing down the things he says.

I have to run 5.5 miles in less than 2 weeks.  And I don’t remember the last time I ran.  Oh, wait, I do.  I ran 1.3 miles on the treadmill a couple weeks ago, and I had to LEAVE THE GYM because I though I was going to pass out.  So, sounds like I’m in excellent shape for the marathon relay.  Blah.  I thought it would be a good motivator to make me realize I like running.  But I don’t.  I hate running, actually.  Oh well, I won’t have to any more after Nov 18

I have the worst luck with photographers.  Seriously, they never respond to my inquiries.  I emailed one last week, and haven’t heard back.  Granted, I’m aware that it’s a little late to schedule a fall session, but I just asked if there was any availability.  I’m also aware that I’m impatient, so maybe it’s normal.  Anyway, I think my parents are going to be our photographers for some family pics.  I just want a couple of good family shots, anyway, so this might work better.

Yesterday, I ran to Target by myself (!) for a couple of things.  Well, my quick trip turned into almost 2 hours of leisurely strolling up and down every aisle, with an eggnog latte in hand.  They even had Christmas stuff out. It was heaven.