The Dog Days of Summer - Julie

Hi Friends! I'm Julie...wife to Jon, and mama to Hudson.  I blog about life with a busy toddler over, my messy house, and my love for fruit snacks over at The Girl in the Red Shoes.

Before we had Hudson, our golden retriever Wrigley was our baby. I've always been a dog (and cat!) person but having him was a new experience for my husband. We both love our golden boy so much and I just knew that once we started a family he would be great with kids.

And I was right!

Wherever Hudson goes, Wrigley is sure to follow. He kept his distance for a while (thanks to Hudson pulling his hair every chance he got) but now they are best buddies. They play with each other, chase each other, and love on each other. It's enough to make my mama heart melt.

Hudson loves to feed Wrigley snacks (both the doggie and toddler kind) which I know is probably the number one reason Wrigley loves this boy. I can't say that I blame him! When I was pregnant I worried that our furry boy would be neglected...and it's totally the opposite. He is a member of our family and we wouldn't want it any other way.

And although we have our fair share of toy stealing, snack snatching, and rough housing we wouldn't change one thing about the relationship between these too. These are the days I will never forget.

The Dog Days of Summer - Natasha

Hello!  My name is Natasha and I blog over at Schue Love.  I'm a mama to Ethan, my wild and crazy two year old.  I'm convinced he and Mac would be best friends!  ;)

But long before Ethan, there was Wilson...our lovable golden retriever.  See how happy and unaware he is in the picture above??  He was so spoiled and loved on {he still is today!}...and really had no idea what it meant to have a baby brother come into his life.

Notice that look above now?  Wilson is the quintessential nervous nelly...he is such a people pleaser and I think he was really worried about what this new "thing" was and how they should interact.

They had some good moments in the beginning...

But most of the time though...he has those worried eyebrows...and nervous nelly expression!

I would say he "puts up" with Ethan now...who would love to rough house with him and ride him like a pony, naturally.

Poor Wilson looks a bit more defeated here...but I assure you he still gets his share of love, despite how he might look.  And I won't lie, it was an adjustment.  I felt pretty guilty in the beginning but have soon realized that he and Ethan will get to a point where they are best buddies.

The summer has been especially fun because Ethan throws the tennis ball for Wilson...which he LOVES.  They're already well on their way!

Now that we have our second on the way, I'm sure I'll deal with the same emotions that I initially did with Wilson.  It's hard to believe that there's enough room in our heart to love another, but I guess our hearts just grow!

Thanks to Sara for having me today!!  Give a love to Mac and Mim for us!

xo natasha

The Dog Days of Summer - Jenny

Hi! I'm Jenny and I blog over at the Chronicles of We. I am so excited to be here on Sara's blog today while she's loving on her new baby girl! Sara's blog was one of the first I started following and I blame credit her with my photography bug! I am a SAHM to a very active two year old girl named Callie. My blog is a little bit of everything! I blog a lot about my daughter and our little family, my adventures in running and weight loss, mom topics and the process of building our dream house on a lake!

I'm thrilled to be talking about something near and dear to my heart - raising a kid with animals! We have three fur babies two cats and the highlight of my post today, Winston, our dog. Winston is a Weimaraner who is full of energy even though he is almost five years old! If you met him you would think he was a puppy still! He is a big boy at 85lbs but has no idea how strong he is. Winston is the wimpiest big dog you'll ever meet - our cats boss him around including stealing his food! He has no alpha tendencies at all - he just wants to play and play. He's not much of a guard dog but if you heard his bark you would run the other way not knowing behind the bark was a happy dog wagging his tail thinking you are there to play with him!

While it hasn't always been perfect nor easy to have animals and a young child (oh the barking and nap mishaps in the early days!) these days I wouldn't have it any other way! Callie loves our animals and always wants to play with them. Well except when they try to take her food! I think Winston is her favorite but he's not always sure about her. He's a sweet dog but gets himself in trouble a lot either because of his food obsession or because he's a hyper spazz! There has been a lot of learning for him on how to play with a little person but we are finally starting to get into a groove!

She loves to mimic his play! I catch her regularly sitting when I tell him to sit and she LOVES to roll over with him! Callie also loves to "walk" Winston and will put his leash on and walk him around the house for at least 15 minutes at a time! It's a great winter or raining day activity!

Callie being her bossy self regularly gives Winston commands these days. She tells him to sit, to leave her food alone, to get down,  drop the ball, to stop (that never works haha!), and she calls him to "come here." The best part?! He's even started to listening to her a little bit. I give it a year or two and he'll listen better to her than to me. My favorite command is when she tells him to "calm down" (hand gestures and all) like she is in this photo below!

I can't help but love this photo. I can just hear Callie squealing with joy that Winston is playing with the ball she just brought him! At the same time I can see Winston being like thank you for standing three feet away from me crazy girl!

Winston can't help but play when she brings him his favorite toy - a ball!

We got this large ball about a year ago so they could play ball together without having to worry about Winston accidentally biting Callie's hand. It's still small enough he can get it in his mouth but big enough there's room for little hands. It's our favorite toy to let them play together with!

I am sure I complain about raising a kid and a dog together with the best of them. However I wouldn't have it any other way. Callie learns so much from having pets around and the joy they bring when the play together is just too precious for words!

Thanks again Sara for letting me share about my crazy dog today!

The Dog Days of Summer - Natasha

Hello friends. I'm Natasha from Hello! Happiness and today I am here thanks to Sara talking all about the Dog Days of Summer, and giving you the details about Chloe, our lovable CRAZY dog.

Ya'll are going to love this...I promise. It makes me giggle when people say "wait, you have a dog???" and I kinda laugh and say, yep, we sure do. I know most bloggers have their lovely canines and furry friends scattered all over their sites, yet it's not something I have ever focused on here at Hello! Happiness. Probably because our dog has a personality all her own.

Chloe is a German Short Haired Pointer and she is 8 years old... Jeff got her as an 8-week old puppy when he was in his senior year of college at UT and from day one, she was a nut. She was notorious for having accidents on people's beds, eating shoes, destroying anything of value, and never ever listening to Jeff. He planned on using her as a hunting companion so he sent her off to a dog boarding school when she was a puppy and it's safe to say she wasn't the valedictorian of her class, bless her heart. This might be something we still ridicule him for even to this day. However, I do have to say, she has the sweetest, most gentle disposition and is a great family dog, especially given the fact that the girls LOVE to ride her, wrestle her on the ground, pull her tail, and do anything to get her attention. I inherited her when Jeff and I decided to move in together and bought our first home, where she was babied like crazy and had her own room downstairs...easy life, huh?

Well, as you are well aware, not one, but two baby girls entered our world over the next 1.5 years so poor Chloe learned to take a backseat to the chaos that has ensued and was fine with laying on the couch next to us, just as long as she was included in all the family fun.

She LOVES to play fetch, loves nightly walks around the neighborhood (especially when we let her take a dip in the pond), can't get enough of some occasional steak leftovers, and makes a great snuggle buddy, though she still obeys anyone and everyone except Jeff. The only thing that seems to annoy her are the yorkies that live across the street that crawl under our fence to "play" with her...she isn't much a fan. Since we moved, she now spends the majority of the day out in the backyard, but sleeps in her crate inside and ALWAYS has a blanket over her at night because she loves it to be completely dark...so weird.

playing fetch with daddy and Caroline at our old house

 told ya she loves to cuddle...lucky she is so sweet to the babies and LOVES to give kisses

There you have it, a little show and tell about our dear dog Chloe! Thanks for letting me play along, Sara!

The Dog Days of Summer - Mateya

Hello there! My name is Mateya and you can find me blogging at The Best is Yet to Come or more likely, on Instagram (@mateyab32).  I'm a mama to Hayden and Baby #2 (who, at the time I'm writing this, has decided to put our patience to the test and come late.  If not here by Wednesday the 23rd he/she will be evicted.)  Thanks Sara for this fun topic! Can't wait to meet precious little Mim! 

Growing up, I was never a dog person.  My dad had hunting dogs (black labs) because he runs a pheasant hunting lodge. So these dogs were used for guiding hunters and weren't really "pets" to us.  My husband on the other hand, grew up on a farm, so he always had a dog.  When we got married he immediately wanted to get a dog and as much as I was indifferent about the decision I figured, if he really wanted one then why not.  So we got a Golden Retriever and he even let me name her.  I decided on Redick, after my favorite basketball player JJ Redick (I'm a huge Duke fan). 

After having her around, I totally understood how people loved their pets and definitely became a "dog person."  After we had Hayden I loved Redick even more because it was SO sweet watching those two interact.  She was such a protector of him and he LOVED her so much.  Definitely best friends.  

Last summer while Robbie was deployed, Redick went missing.  I truly think that she must have been sick and decided to go away to die peacefully.  We searched and searched, neighbors helped us look, and nothing.  The hardest part of it all was telling Robbie while he was gone.  He took it really hard. 

Over the last year we toyed around with the idea of getting another dog but the timing never seemed right.  Well, a few weeks ago our daycare lady told us about a friend of hers who was looking to get rid of some puppies for free.  Seeing how much Hayden loved her dog and knowing we wanted one eventually, we figured, why not?!  The timing definitely wasn't perfect (hello...toddler plus new baby, plus new puppy?!) but we went for it anyway.  

Lucy is a Lab/Springer Spaniel mix and Hayden loves her already.  It's so fun watching them play together and it's especially fun listening to Hayden boss her around or tell her "Woocy, stop!" when she jumps on him. We're excited to have a dog around again and can't wait to watch Hayden and the new baby grow up with Lucy.  I guess it's safe to say that I am definitely now a "dog person." :) 

The Dog Days of Summer - Lindsay

Hi there! Itz Zoey here from my momma's blog Itz Linz.  Sara asked me to write a post since she's busy with two rugrats - Mac and Mim. Actually, she asked Momma to write a post, but since my momma is busy with baby William, I'm taking over today. Itz my first time blogging and she's had the thing for two and a half years now.  Rude!

Anyway, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about how my life has changed ever since my momma and daddy brought home a tiny, crying, pooping little being whom they call Baby William.  Let's back up.  Momma got me in college when I was just a two pound furball.  I was her world as she took me everywhere. I especially loved going to college classes (why I'm so smart) and curling up in my momma's lap.  I even had my own wardrobe as my momma LOVED dressing me up.

A few years later, Momma met Daddy and we moved in.  Daddy loved me just as much as Momma did.  He talked to me nonstop.  He uses a little voice which he calls "Zoey voice" and says things like, "You're so beautiful. I love you so much."  Sometimes Momma thinks he's talking to her, and itz so funny because he's really talking to me.  I can get my daddy to do anything.  All I have to do is whine at him, wag my tale, give him my puppy eyes, a lick on the hand, and he gets up from whatever he's doing. 

My momma and daddy called me their furbaby.  My wardrobe continued to grow and I had several pieces that matched my momma and daddy!  We took lots of family pictures, especially in our college gear.  Mizzou for Momma:

And Miami for Daddy:

Anyway, a few years after my momma and daddy got married, my momma's belly started getting bigger.  I thought she was just getting fat, but lots of people called her "pregnant." They started changing our house, too. We got lots of new furniture and the walls painted.  I thought they were just redecorating.  They kept bringing home new little outfits, only they weren't for me.  They actually got rid of TONS of my clothes, and they did get me one new shirt that read, "I am going to be a big sister!"  Whatever that means.  Well, after about nine months, one day they left for a couple days and my daddy's parents picked me up to take me to their house.  When they dropped me back off at home, my whole world had changed.

photo by Stephanie Cotta Photography

They brought home this little... thing.  It made a lot of noise.  Sometimes it smelled good and sometimes it smelled bad.  Momma shooed me away before I could get any really good smells.  Momma got up in the middle of the night with him very frequently.  I stayed in bed with Daddy.  The baby thing stayed really close to my momma ALL.THE.TIME.  I don't know how she didn't get sick of him.  Sometimes I'd sit next to them.  I like that.  My daddy still gave me lots of attention, but now he was using his little Zoey voice on the little critter!

We've had so many people visit our house!  But they always go straight to the thing, and then sometimes say, "Oh hi, Zoey, we didn't forget about you!"  Gee, thanks.  We've tried to find some type of balance these last three and a half months.  I started getting my walks again.  Momma takes me and the baby on walks in the morning if the weather is nice.  I like that.

Sometimes Daddy lets me get real close to the baby and even share a pillow.  I like that, too.

But most of all, I still like when itz just me and my momma and my daddy.  My friends Mally and Sage tell me it gets better when the baby thing gets older because then he'll give me food.  Right now the baby wants nothing to do to me, and I kind of like it that way.  Sometimes he tries to communicate with me by making these crying noises.  I run over to him, but have not a clue what he wants.  Maybe eventually we'll become friends.  But for now, I'll continue to be the princess I know I am.

The Dog Days of Summer - Vanessa

Hi there, I'm Vanessa from Sunflower State of Mind!  I'm so very happy to be here today while Sara loves on that sweet new babe of hers and adjusts to life as a momma of two! 

Let me introduce to you my two favorite girls...

Hazel & Arden.

Best friends?  Maybe if you ask Arden...but our 4-year-old French Bulldog's love for her little sister is a bit more...well, complicated.

The day we brought Arden home from the hospital, Hazel immediately took on the self-assigned roles of bodyguard, babysitter, caretaker, responsible party, etc, etc.  We sometimes call her "Carl"...except I think Hazel's stress level is a little higher than Carl's was in the books!  {I mean, she would never let her baby swim in an aquarium or go down the laundry shoot. Ha!} In the first few weeks of Arden's life, every time she cried Hazel would jump up and give us that very-human look of "are you going to help her or what?!"  Yes Hazel, we'll take care of it :)  

I'll never forget the first time we left Arden with my parents when she was about 4 months old.  I had texted my mom to see how she was doing and my mom's response was "She did great, but I don't think Hazel trusts us".  She said Hazel was by their side, overseeing their every move...and when they put Arden to bed, our little high-strung Frenchie slept outside the door until we got home.  Apparently it's hard work being the big sister! 

Then there was the time that Hazel wouldn't come out from under the bed while Arden and I were out of town.  I was worried sick, but with a little love from her baby sister (and a lot of peanut butter), she was back to her old self again. Thank goodness!

Now that Arden is almost 2, Hazel seems to be letting her guard down a little.  However, I'm not sure if she understands that she'll be starting ALL over again in just a few months...when her new little brother arrives!  I foresee a lot of long nights for our sweet guard dog...but at least I won't be the only one losing sleep ;)

Thank you so much for having me today, Sara!  I'm SO happy for you and your precious family of four!!!!