Gracie

[Let me first say this: My niece was born last week!!! But I want to write a long, elaborate post on her so I'm skipping ahead to something else exciting.. But please do not think that she isn't important enough to get her own post!]

So, remember that labradoodle I wanted? Well... somehow she turned into a dalmation. :) And her name is Gracie!

Logan and I had finally picked out a little green-eyed yellow lab named Liberty that we were approved to adopt and were supposed to meet on Saturday. Unfortunately, on Friday morning I got a phone call saying that Liberty had come down with Parvo and it was unlikely that she would survive. Talk about a MAJOR bummer. Even without meeting her, I had already gotten attached.

So, once I got over the disappointment of getting so close to Liberty and then having her pulled away (not to mention that she was likely to DIE... my puppy or not, that's tear worthy!), Logan and I decided to celebrate our six "monthiverssary" with a delicious breakfast at Noshville and a trip to the Humane Association and Metro Animal Care and Control to see if we could find a pup to suit us.

We went to the Nashville Humane Association first, because it was closer. Let me tell you, I had NO idea how awesome that place is! It's like a children's museum - full of life and color and people. I thought it would be a warehouse-like environment. I was totally wrong.

So we wandered through the rows and rows of homeless dogs (I had to take a minute to pull myself together at one point... I came dangerously close to bursting into tears), and finally ended up back in the first puppy room we visited.

There she was.

For Logan, it was like the world disappeared. I was commenting on how precious all the tiny chihuahuas were, and the chow chow mix, and he didn't hear a word I said. When I saw his expression at this precious, boney dalmation puppy I suggested we play with her and see how she behaves.

It was a match made in heaven. God miraculously made my allergies disappear with her, which was my main concern, and Logan was 100% smitten with her speckled body and mellow attitude. So we took her home!

These past couple of days have been exhausting, with training and waking up several times a night to take her out... but completely and totally worth it. I can't wait to see how she grows with us and adds to our family.

So, it is my pleasure to introduce Gracie Hartline: our new addition.

Taking her home! :) This is my Instagram introducing her to the Twittersphere.

We immediately took her to Petsmart to get all of the essentials. Including a HUGE bed for when she's full grown! :)

Really. How could we not be 150% in love with her?!

The experts say that Dalmations need a LOT of exercise to keep them from being insanely hyper and crazy. Fortunately for us (at least for now), she's the chillest little pup I've ever been around. But you never know... she may come further out of her shell soon! And we're prepared if she does. :)

In the three days I've had her, I've already bathed her twice. She smelled ROTTEN from the shelter, and then she had a few accidents.... Which she slept in... Good thing she doesn't mind taking a bath! :)

Thankfully, Logan observed his parents train their yellow lab, Georgia. So he's a great disciplinarian, and I'm trying desperately to follow his lead. We're currently reading a book about puppy training. She is learning so fast, I'm so proud of her!

She LOVES to take naps.. Which is convenient when we're trying to get stuff done, although she prefers to take them with us. :) She is also a bit spacey, which is hysterical... and she doesn't mind doing whatever she can to get as comfortable as possible. Haha.

Seriously. Cutest puppy ever. I'm convinced.

So. This is Gracie, and I can't wait to see how she grows to be more and more a part of our family.