Tomorrow's the Big Day!

If you ask anyone who's spent even a smidgen of time around me lately, they would probably tell you that I'm pretty excited. Tomorrow's the big day!

We are driving an hour and a half to pick up our new puppy from my aunt's home. I think our home has been about puppy-proofed (though I guess we'll find out for sure when he gets here).

It's been nearly a month since we've last seen the little guy, so I'm sure he's changed a bit. I was talking to my aunt on the phone yesterday, and she said our puppy is usually the first one to greet her when she goes outside, so that made us pretty happy.

We went to her home a few months ago with a very definite type of puppy in mind. The puppy shouldn't startle too much at loud noises (since we have a toddler), it should be curious, it should be friendly, fairly calm, and submissive. To our delight, more than one of the puppies fit this profile!

The mother was very friendly and calm, though I was surprised by just how petite she was. I'm used to Dakota's build, and this beautiful little mother was so delicate!

Our puppy's mother.

My cousin was pretty funny. He kept telling us, "You can have one for free! Take it with you!" We told him thank you, and we wanted to take one, but they were still too young. He then informed us that they had started eating solid food. His mother then explained to him that they still were drinking milk, so they still needed to stay with their mother.

When we saw the puppies, I was thrilled. Secretly, I hadn't really want just a black and white border collie. They're cute, but I like a little more color variation...and variation I received:

I love his coloring.

They were perfect. Now, if only they would fit our profile.

As we were examining the puppies, I made my elephant-impersonation, which if you haven't heard it before, can be quite startling. Two of the puppies were hiding, so they were ruled out of our choosing, one of the puppies took off running, and two sat still and didn't seem bothered by the sound at all.

We determined those two were in the running. They had similar markings (a.k.a adorable), so their look didn't affect the decision. One was a girl and one was a boy. I was more inclined toward the girl (I'd never owned a boy dog before), but Grig kind of fell for the boy. Both were friendly and laid easily on their backs (a sign of submission), but the girl fought it just slightly. I decided to step out on a limb and agreed to get the boy puppy (if we were going to get one). At the time, we still weren't sure, because we wanted to have enough money for vet bills and things.

Having decided which puppy we would take if we were going to take one, we took some pictures so that we could look at them while we were thinking about it. He's cute from all angles:

 Of course, the most important thing was that he got along with Kevin. Kevin had just woken up from a nap, so he wasn't too enthusiastic about it at first. However, he warmed up to it.

Do I need to say why I love this picture?

Grig and his two boys.

I'm so stoked! Tomorrow morning can't come soon enough. There are a few things we need to finish in preparation, but over-all, I think we're prepared. I've spent the last couple weeks deep-cleaning my house and we moved all the books and bookshelves to our room so they won't get chewed on. I just have to hide the computer chords (and finish the dishes) and we're good to go!

I think.

We went to the dog park last night with Dakota, and there were so many puppies there! It made me a  little crazy. They were really cute, and Kevin did really well with them. I think he'll warm up to the idea.

Dakota also did really well at the dog park. She usually likes puppies and bonds well with dogs that she's introduced to when they are young. Hopefully the pup won't bother her too bad. We're going to try to make sure he leaves her alone when she's had enough.

She is old, after all.

We think they kind of look alike too, down to the heart-shaped mark on the forehead.

I'm going to be a bit outnumbered by boys, but I'm getting used to that. At least I still have Dakota.

Wish us luck!

My neighbor is getting one as well, so we're actually driving back with two pups. She still has two more (I think they're both girls) if anyone is interested. Let me know ;).