Emerging from the Puppy Void ;)

So I'm figuring out that having a new puppy is a lot like having a new baby. Actually, as my friend Patti pointed out, it's kind of like having a baby AND a toddler at the same time, because you deal with sleepless nights and potty training all at once. Plus, you can't go anywhere for extended periods of time unless you have someone to watch the puppy.

I'm also having flashbacks to my early days of motherhood. Sleeping when the puppy sleeps, even if I'd rather be doing the dishes or laundry; taking a super quick shower while he dozes; doing tons of online research about feeding and training; wearing pajamas for three days in a row and praying I don't get pulled over in my fuzzy pink cheetah print pj pants. All I can say is I'm so glad we didn't try to have a puppy AND toddlers all at once! I don't think I would have survived! ;)

As you guys can probably imagine (especially those of you who've had puppies before), my life has been a bit chaotic lately. My house is a mess, I'm way behind on my writing and illustrations, and I feel like I'm stumbling along, just barely coherent enough to get by from my lack of sleep. Blogging has been a bit of an impossibility.

That being said, I've lived through my first "solo" week with Teddy (with Hubby back to a full work week). And while I'm still learning how to adjust our schedule to take care of Teddy while getting the girls to school on time, getting to the gym, and having some semblance of sanity, things are looking up. I've started crate training him for nighttime and short periods during the day. Our yard still has too many hazards for a young puppy for him to be left there alone for extended periods of time. He does love running around and playing, though...and eating the rotten peaches from our peach tree, which has been an ongoing battle of wills. ;) (Don't worry, I'm working on getting them all cleaned up, but there are a LOT of them.)

I'm making sure he gets lots of good exercise during the day, which helps him sleep fairly well. (Seven hours in a row last night...whoo hoo!!) We're also spending lots of time with him as a family. He's been great for the girls.

I have a few small posts in the works, but I thought for today I'd just fill this post with "puppy spam" since that's been my life lately. And I hope you'll all be patient with me as I continue to work through this new transitional period in our family. :}

Here's Teddy on the day we adopted him, on our way home in the car.

Here he is in his new little bed. :) 

It's amazing how much he's grown already since this first day.

He loves sleeping in his bed...

...but he usually ends up like this, with his head on the ground. ;D Sometimes only his little hind end and back legs are in the bed. 

Middle Gal watching him sleep.

Sleeping with his tongue out.

Oldest Gal with Teddy.

By the way, don't be fooled by all of these sleeping pictures. He can be calm and lazy, but in the afternoons and early evenings, he turns into "psycho puppy" and runs around like crazy!! ;)

Sleeping with his piggy.

This was after his first introduction to rain. We'd taken him outside to go potty, and then a fairly heavy rainstorm hit. The girls held him and held their umbrellas over him to keep him dry, but he was NOT a fan of all of that water. ;) 

Teddy loves riding in the car, especially when he has a comfy lap to sleep on. :)

I took this picture just this morning. He was waiting to see if I would take the empty flower pot away from him. I did after he bit a hole in it. I didn't want him eating plastic. ;)

Little Gal with Teddy.

Those sweet eyes! :) You can already see such a difference in him.

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That's all for now. I'm working on a post about Ladies Retreat, a random toy post, and a Fan Mail Friday post, as I got some wonderful treats in the mail from my bloggy friend Treesa. (Thanks so much!!) Hopefully it won't be too long before you hear from me again, but if it is, know that I'm busy playing with my girls and cuddling my puppy. ;)