Two Weeks of Lou

Holy shit I'm exhausted.

I'm about 5 seconds away from passing out on the floor right next to him.

I really can't think of anything else that could describe my current state. I had an idea going into this that a new puppy would require a lot of work, but I SO underestimated just how much. Oh, and did I mention? Mike was gone all last week. Monday morning to Friday evening. GONE. Lord help me.

Lot's of snuggles. That's how I  made it through the week.

Before I complain too much, Lou really is an awesome little pup! His personality is so sweet and funny, and we've come to the conclusion that he looks like a little old man ;) Not to mention he caught onto the whole potty and crate training thing really quickly! Like any new puppy, he had a couple of accidents in the house and attempted to chew on EVERY thing in sight, but there were more than enough good moments in the week to cancel all of that out :) And good thing, because when he peed on the curtains the first night Mike was gone, I about lost it, but then I just had an extra large glass of wine instead. #parenting

You're lucky you're so cute! ;)

For the first ten days after we brought Lou home, Mike and I (well mostly just me since Mike was gone...) slept downstairs on our pushed-together sectional in the living room. His crate is in the living room and between the number of times we took him out over night and the new pet parent fear of leaving him alone, we decided that this would be best for everyone. While Mike was in the field, I worked really hard at pushing him to "hold it" in the crate for longer and longer stretches over night and he did so well, that by the time this past Monday rolled around, we were comfortable leaving him downstairs from the time we went to bed around 10 p.m. to when Mike got up for work in the morning (usually between 4:45 and 5:15). 

We've also been working on teaching him simple commands: sit, lay down, stay, go to bed... That is going surprisingly well for his age. He turns 12 weeks on Tuesday so we weren't expecting a whole lot of knowledge retention, but at this point (as long as he's not distracted) he will sit and lay down on the first try! Smart lil' cookie ;)

I was laying on the kitchen floor too at this point...

Also on the agenda, BEACH TRIPS! 

Mike and I absolutely love to spend as much time as possible at the beach so it was necessary that we get Lou used to it ASAP. While Mike was gone, I took him to the beach on base to meet up with my friend Casey, her mom, and her 18 month old and Lou was in love at first sight! He was so excited to run around in the sand, play with a toddler, and get his little legs wet in the waves. 

We couldn't fit any more precious into this picture if we tried.

Then once Mike was home, we took him again to the same beach and had another very successful day. He loves to follow Mike any and everywhere so they both ended up pretty far out in the water until Lou got splashed in the face and came running back to mama, who conveniently got to enjoy a midday beer while dad and the pup played ;)

Daddy wore him out! :)

Overall, I have had an amazing experience with my new fur baby. We truly are so fortunate that I don't have to work because if I did.... Well I imagine that we would have a much naughtier puppy and a much dirtier house!

His "innocent" face... Yeah right bud!

Neither of us really grew up with dogs in the house, so raising a puppy together has been so much fun! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to him growing up juuuust a little... Between the hourly potty breaks and Lou's need for CONSTANT supervision, I'm just a little bit A LOT tired. But until then, I'll just keep chugging down coffee and taking a million pictures because he definitely won't be this little and precious forever!

All three of my boys together in one picture :)

In other news... This morning Mike was promoted to Sergeant!! This is such a huge accomplishment for him and it happened a lot more quickly than expected, so we are very excited!! Of course it was POURING rain this morning so not only did I have to get extra pretty to go see him on base, I had to deal with a rain shy puppy! Somehow I made it to base on time and I got to watch this handsome guy get promoted ;)

One new chevron...

Two new chevrons...

Lookin' good Sgt.! 

And finally... Only 43 days until the wedding!! Only a few small details are left to take care of (and a couple chalkboards to be drawn...) before it's time to partaaaayy! ;) 

The "old man" face :)