Busy week!

What a crazy, busy week it's been- hence the lapse in time between updates. So, a lot happened since the last post. When I titled that "Worst Night Ever," I had no idea what was in store the following night (Tuesday). Greg and I were pretty wiped out on Tuesday night and put the boys in their crates around 9:00 and fell asleep soon after.

We were awoken by frantic barking about an hour and a half later- which Greg got up and responded to. He took the boys out to go potty, but noticed that both had very loose stools. He came back to bed, and we were woken up about 30 minutes later. And this continued until about 4:30 am. Poor Lance had it worse, but both had diarrhea all night long (which Greg referred to as "chocolate pudding). They were miserable and obviously in pain, and there wasn't much we could do. They slept for about an hour after that, and then we were up for the day. Greg ended up taking a sick day, and I went in to make sub plans so that I could come back home after teaching my 1st period class. The boys were sick- but so were we. Two nights with no sleep is enough to make anyone sick (and crazy!). We got a vet appointment late that morning, and the boys tested positive for coccidia, which is a parasite they could have picked up anywhere. We were given a special (icky) food to feed them and 2 different medications to make the boys all better. By the time we were at the vet, the boys already seemed to be higher in spirits and otherwise looked okay.

By that night, their poops were solid again (yipee!) and they seemed to be pretty happy, but definitely tired. They continued to get better throughout the week, and we'll be taking a stool sample back next week to make sure that everything is okay and the parasite is gone.
The whole experience made me appreciate the boys even more. I have so much love for them already, but I was so upset when they were sick- I guess this is how parents of human children feel in a similar situation. And all of the experiences that we are going though with puppyhood make me a little less scared about being a mom someday.

We are continuing to use the gentle leader collars with the boys on walks, and they get a little better each time. They still don't really like them, but I'm sure (and I've heard) this will change in time. Lance has been much better with his, and Greg has been walking him on it for the past several days. Jackson didn't take to it as easily, but had his first successful walk with me today with it on. We've been teaching them to sit and stay (which they have mastered) and are trying to work with them each day to learn new commands. I keep thinking about how great it will be to start puppy kindergarten already ahead of the game.

After a long walk this morning, we took the boys back to Central Dawgma to give them a bath and get more dog treats. We love this place. It was a little easier to wash the boys this time, even though they are still scared of the hose and terrified of the blow dryer! They look so cute and fluffy and feel so soft now. I had to take a bunch of pictures, and was just playing around with different camera angles, which are shown on this page. I'm guessing that they will stay clean for 2 days, tops.

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Worst. Night. Ever.

So I'm updating this going on two nights with virtually no sleep.

Greg and I have about had it with Jackson. As much as we love the little guy and know that he isn't doing anything intentionally wrong, he is driving us out of our minds. Jackson is a great dog during the day- we love him. But at night, it's a whole different story. For the past 2 nights, he has woken us up literally every hour to go outside. Last night was especially bad, though, and after 6 trips outside by 2 a.m. we had both had it and decided to ignore his barking for the next few hours. Unfortunately, that led to him soiling his crate, which is not a fun thing to be dealing with at 4:30 am when you already have not gotten more than 45 minutes of continuous sleep. Most of the time that he barks to be let out, he needs to pee. But sometimes, he just wants to play, which is not welcome in the middle of the night. We try to keep his late-night bathroom breaks "all business" and talk to him as little as possible, put him right back in the crate when he's done. It just isn't working. When we talked to the vet about this, they suggested getting him tested for a UTI, which we are going to do immediately. I don't know how much longer either of us can go on with no sleep.

Lance, on the other hand, is still wonderful overnight. I feel bad for the little guy because Jackson's barking keeps him up too. He looked as exhausted and annoyed this morning as Greg and I were. I shot some photos this morning before I left for work. Of course, Jackson fell right asleep after we were all up for the day, but I have a feeling that Greg will not let him off the hook that easy. We're going to definitely try everything to tired the little guy out tonight so that we can get some much needed rest!
I think part of the issue with last night being so horrible was that the boys were off schedule. We had our second vet appointment last night, so they ended up eating dinner 2 hours later than usual. We try to feed them pretty early so that they have time to play and poop and tire themselves out before we go to bed. They didn't have that same amount of time last night, so it threw things off.

In other news, the vet appointment was great! I really, really like Kingsbrook Vet and am very happy that we found them (thanks to Rob and Staci again!). We met with Dr. Cook this time, who was wonderful. He got down on the floor with the boys to do their exams. And everything looked perfect for both boys. Lance's other testicle finally dropped-  hooray! The biggest shock though was their weight. The last time we were there, Lance outweighed Jackson by 2 lbs. This is not surprising at all, because Lance looks much larger than Jackson. he's longer, taller, and fluffier. So imagine our surprise when Jackson ended up outweighing Lance by 2 lbs this time! Jackson had gained almost 7 lbs since the last visit and Lance gained 4. Guess Lance really is "all fluff" while Jackson is just solid muscle. The boys got their second vaccine and didn't react negatively to it. We gave them Thuja, a natural supplement that was recommended by the owner of The Midas Touch, to ease any side-effects or negative reactions. Our next visit is in 3-4 weeks, so I'll be very interested to see how they weigh in then.

Through all of this frustration, Greg and I still try to find some humor, which is hard when you feel like the walking dead. The boys still constantly make us laugh- and I'm sure they always will. I almost want to watch Marley and Me again to appreciate what John Grogan went through when Marley was a puppy. But, I could only watch it up until a certain point- the end is just too sad. I will never forget seeing that in the theater and just hearing sniffles and sobs everywhere around me- including the giant frat-boy type sitting next to Greg.

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A week of ups and downs

So this week has been challenging, to put it plainly. As Lance and Jackson continue to grow and acclimate themselves into our home, we learn more and more about their individual personalities. A lot of what we thought about each of them initially has changed.

Jackson still seems to the be the alpha- he is usually the one that will end up with the toy after a game of chase or tug-of-war. Jackson is better in the car, and more mellow in general. Lance is more needy. He cries when one of us leaves the room- which has got to stop quickly. I blame that on us being around way too much, due to all of the crazy snow that has forced us to be at home so much. Lance still seems more curious, more happy-go-lucky, but also more likely to counter-surf. However, Lance is much better through the night. That little guy can hold his bladder all night and sleep through Jackson barking and whining to let him out every three hours. He hasn't had an accident in his crate at all- which is what we would fully expect. Jackson has had quite a few accidents this week. He will bark to let us know that he needs to be let out to pee in the middle of the night, but if we don't make it quickly enough, he will go in his crate. We've tried a couple of things, like getting up every few hours (which sucks) whether he barks or not to let him out. We're hoping that as his bladder matures, he will grow out of this. He barely has any room in his crate (which is recommended) so I'm very shocked that he has peed in there more than once.

The boys have also been chewing on everything. We have puppy-proofed the kitchen as much as possible, but they have chewed the edges off of the windowsills and the crown molding in one corner. We've tried two different "anti-chew" sprays, but nothing seems to last.

These are things that we can not wait for them to grow out of. Greg and I have been a little frustrated- it's a combination of lack of sleep, being stuck inside, and trying to have as much patience as possible with the puppies. We keep telling ourselves that spring is right around the corner, and the pups will be bigger, better trained, and have better bladder control. We know that all of this hard work will pay off in the end.
There is still no doubt in either of our minds that we made the right choice bringing these two boys into our lives. They bring us so much joy and laughter, and it's hard to remember life before they were here. We continue to walk them each day, which gets easier as the snow continues to melt. We drove down to Berryville to stock up at The Midas Touch, since they were having a 10% off everything sale this weekend. Since dog food is so expensive, 10% definitely makes a difference. While we were there, we picked up two gentle leader collars, because the boys (especially Lance) tend to tug and pull a lot while on the leash. Neither of them liked the collar- and Jackson would not keep it on. He actually got pretty hostile, so we just tried it on Lance. Apparently it takes some time to get used to wearing them, but pretty soon they will let us put the leaders on easily and walk with them with no problem. I hope so- I hate tugging at their little necks! I say again, March 11th can not come soon enough- that's when we start puppy kindergarten!

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My Funny Valentines

It's been quite a busy weekend! On Friday, the 12th, I turned 30. Because of Snowpacolypse I was still off work (which was nice that day!) and had dinner plans with Greg, Mom and Joe at the Tasting Room. While we were out at dinner, a bunch of my wonderful friends were at my house waiting to surprise me when I got home! And I was shocked- had no idea that this was going on!

It was such an awesome night, and one of the best things was that everyone got to finally meet the boys! They were definitely the life of the party, and the little guys slept like rocks that night. We generally get up 2-3 times per night to let them out (they bark to wake us up when they need to go potty), but that night, they slept 6+ hours! Guess we need to tire them out like that every night!
On Saturday we got a crate for the car. Up until yesterday, we've put them in a box, which has not been working well. Jackson does great riding in the car, but Lance is a nut. He won't sit still and is just a nervous wreck. We took them out to run a few errands, and the first stop was to get a crate at the evil Petsmart. Since you can bring dogs in there, we did- and it was sensory overload! They went crazy over the other dogs and sights and smells and had a great time. We immediately assembled the crate in Greg's SUV and put them in- and it worked like a charm! It must be the familiar environment- Lance was actually calm and fell right asleep! (And of course, Jackson was great.) We made sure to exhaust them again before bedtime that night, and got almost 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep! I really hope this trend continues...
Today is Valentines day, and i couldn't ask for two better Valentines than Jackson and Lance. And Greg too, of course. :) We went to Central Dawgma, which is this awesome holistic/natural pet supply store off Patrick Street, to get some dog food and supplies. While we were there, we figured we'd also take advantage of the self-serve dog wash. For $8, we got to wash the boys, and had a great selection of organic shampoos, ear and eye cleaner, etc. and had a lot of laughs. To say that Jackson hated the bath would be an understatement. Lance was a little bit better, but both were terrified of the dryer. The boys looked so clean and fluffy after and smelled so much better- it was totally worth it!

The staff at Central Dawgma were great- very knowledgeable and helpful and gave a lot of great information. They didn't have Nature's Logic in stock, but could special order it (or pretty much anything) for us. They had a great selection of raw food, but we are pretty well stocked on that. We like to alternate between that and dry food- so we decided to buy something different. We settled on Origen- which seemed to be the best option, and is pretty close to what they are used to eating. So we'll see how they like it! We also got a new water dish-
Lance and Jackson have a habit of knocking over the water bowl and carrying it into one of the crates. The one we got can't be tipped over and has a round edge, so they can't pick it up with their mouths. We had a good laugh tonight watching them trying to figure out how to pick it up. Obviously, they couldn't. :)

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Snowpacolypse 2010- part 2!

Today is the day after the big storm (which was even worse than the one last weekend) and somehow, we all survived (with power, no less)! I really thought I was going to go crazy yesterday- I think the boys fed off my stressed and anxious energy and they were just out of control. The blizzard started on Tuesday with some light snow (which piled up on top of the feet of snow that we already had) but got much worse overnight and throughout the day on Wednesday.
The winds were incredible- 40 mph+ gusts which literally shook the whole house. Lance and Jackson were terrified to go outside to do their business, and we had to try to coax them to go (without much success). Even when we walked out with them, they clung to our legs like little children. So much of yesterday was spent cleaning up pee and poop off of the kitchen floor. We've also basically been snowed in since Friday (I made a trip to the grocery store on Monday)- Greg and I are beyond stir-crazy! This morning greeted us with bright sunshine and winds that are much more tolerable, but the aftermath here is pretty insane. Some of the snow drifts all taller than me- it will be quite interesting to see how we are going to get rid of all of this stuff to be able to drive!
All of that being said- I am certainly enjoying school being closed (and really, everything is closed!) this week- especially since tomorrow is my 30th birthday and I don't have to spend it at work! I am hoping that I can go to my other job (teaching spin class) tomorrow morning, but not holding my breath since classes there have been canceled all week as well.
The boys are growing bigger each day, especially Lance. He seems so much bigger than Jackson now- it's hard to believe they are from the same litter! I can't wait for their next check-up, which is in two weeks, to see how much weight they've gained. I'm guessing quite a few pounds!
We are definitely regulating their diet very well to make sure that they eat enough, but are not overfed. And the boys LOVE to eat. They go crazy and can smell their food from a mile away. Since part of the raw food is dehydrated (the veggie/fruit mix) it has to be rehydrated with warm water before it can be mixed in with meat and served. This takes about 10-15 minutes, which the boys spend jumping up and down in excitement. We have been trying to teach them to calm down before they can be given food- we certainly don't want to reward this crazy behavior (even though it is pretty funny to watch)!
We've been taking them on daily (supervised) tours around the house so that they can explore and learn to respect the other living areas. Since they are confined to the kitchen and will be until they are housebroken, it's important to get them out of there once in a while. Especially with this insane weather- there's no way we could have taken them for a walk yesterday. They love to smell their way around the house- and they are PROS at going up and down the stairs now- they just love it!
Life has changed so much in the past 10 days- it seems like we've had them forever!

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Snowpacolypse 2010!

For the last two days it has been snowing. And snowing. And... snowing. It's finally ended and we're left with about three feet of snow. And what do the dogs think? They LOVE it!
It all began around noon yesterday. I was incredibly pleased that schools closed 3 1/2 hours early, so I got to come home well before the madness began. We were able to take the boys for a walk around the lake (a first!) around the time that it first started coming down. Jackson was good but Lance seemed terrified- there were lots of big loud trucks and school buses going by- these are all firsts for him!
As the day went on and the snow continued to pile up it became more difficult to let the boys out to "go potty." And unfortunately, they pee more than any dogs I have ever seen- they go at least once an hour, no matter how much (or how little) they have to drink! Besides being cold, wet and cumbersome, the snow presents another problem- the boys love to play in it so much forget that they have to go potty! We've continued to have a few accidents over the last two days, but Jackson has learned very quickly that he is supposed to go outside to do his business. He will sit in front of the door and bark to be let out. Lance, on the other hand, just goes wherever and whenever he wants.

We put the other crate together yesterday so that the boys finally have separate crates. We started feeding them in there as well- all part of making the crate seem like a comfortable, fun, happy place. I got Lance a nice comfy bed for his crate from My Organic Market- they have these great beds made from recycled bottles that are constructed in the USA (and not China)!
Lance is great in his crate- he will go right in and be perfectly content. Jackson is not so fond of his yet. He will whine, bark, cry until he either tires himself out or we let him out (we're trying to figure out which bark is for "I need to go outside" and which is "I just want attention). I said to Greg today "If we put them together- we'd have the perfect puppy!
Lance is sooo happy-go-lucky. Greg and I really thought that Jackson was the more mellow dog at first, but that is definitely not the case. Jackson loves to snuggle and be in your lap, but he also demands a lot more attention is a lot more jealous than Lance. They're both just so different.
Last night we took the boys on a tour of the upstairs of the house and let them sniff around. This was also the perfect opportunity to teach the boys how to walk down the steps. It took some convincing and a few treats- but they eventually did it! Both were terrified and so unsure about walking down- it was so cute! Lance made it down first, and Jackson was quick to follow. Once they figured out that they could do it, the ran up and down and few more times. It was another very proud moment in the Martin/Beach household!
Today was a combination of snow, shoveling, potty breaks, playtime, and of course, some wine and beer and good cooking. I shoveled out a tunnel for the boys to use in the back yard- they basement door to the backyard is the only one that wasn't blocked by 3 feet of snow. We ran around with them in the backyard (well as much running as we could do in the deep snow) and had a great time. I think we tired the boys out - hopefully they will sleep wonderfully tonight.
They haven't plowed or anything, and I wonder how long it will take for things to get back to normal around here. I'm predicting for a week off of school- which will make Greg very happy- he'll have me around to take care of the dogs during the day!

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Baby steps

Yesterday Greg and I taught Lance and Jackson to walk up the stairs. It was such a great feeling- I guess it's somewhat similar to the feeling a parent would get when the baby takes his first steps. I know that might sound a little over-the-top, but it really was wonderful.

Now teaching them to walk down the steps? That's a different story. They are still too little and scared to walk dowstairs, but it's got to happen soon. All of our doors that lead outside require walking downstairs, so you can imagine how much fun it's been to take them outside several times a day for potty breaks.

Maybe that will be our goal for the weekend- teaching the boys how to walk down the stairs. Since we're supposedly going to be getting two feet of snow, we'll have a lot of time indoors!

The boys definitely have two very different personalities. Both are playful, but Jackson is definitely more mellow (well, most of the time). He loves to cuddle and if you sit on the floor, he will crawl into your lap. I love to sit indian-style (or criss-cross applesauce you teacher-types) because he makes a little home in my lap. Both like to be picked up and held "like a baby," so I savor that. It won't be long until we can no longer pick them up! Lance is the more curious one. He loves to walk around and smell the smells and take in the sights. He's whines more and demands a little more attention than Jackson. And both of them just have these distinct looks that they'll give. It melts our hearts.

Greg and I have recently started walking the boys seperately. It's been too cold or snowy to do much- but we want to start doing as much training as we possibly can before they start puppy kindergarten next month. We took them out this morning, but since I don't have a job that I can be late to (my students would be there waiting without a teacher!) I didn't have much time. Regardless, I think Lance really enjoyed it (Greg walked Jackson). I can't wait until Spring when the weather is warm, the daylight is longer, and the boys are a little older to go on long walks with them. Walking them together right now is impossible- they want to play with eachother and I end up getting tangled in the leashes.

We bought another crate last night at this local pet warehouse-type store. Greg and I are pretty much against shopping at stores like Petsmart (we get our supplies from places like Two Paws Up in Frederick, The Midas Touch in Berryville, VA, or even My Organic Market, which has a pretty nice pet supply selection). However, for a crate, we had to go to one of these larger places. We've been keeping the boys in one crate, but definitely need to separate them so that they develop their own individual needs and personalities. Plus, it makes mealtime, bedtime, and potty breaks a lot easier. We got the crate- but still need to go elsewhere to get a pad for it- all of the dog beds at this store were Made in China.

We are very picky about what our boys eat, play with, sleep on, etc. Other people might not understand, but since we both eat natural and organic foods, we want to treat our boys the same way. We feed them a half raw/half dry food diet. It  is more work and more money- but it's the same way with human food. You pay for higher quality, better health and fewer doctor's visits. And they seem to love it so far- they are little piggies. (On the right is a photo of them patiently waiting for treats.)

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We've got two

I have to make one thing clear- when Greg and I decided to get a dog- that was exactly what I wanted. One Dog. I wanted a Golden that was at least 2 years old- near the end of his puppy stage, already trained, house-broken, but still high-energy enough to keep up with us. I also was sure that I wanted to adopt him from a Golden Retriever Rescue And Training organization (GRREAT), so that we would be getting a dog that was turned over from an owner that could not care for him.
Greg and I have been talking about getting a dog for almost 2 years now, and we were both getting really antsy. Imagine my surprise when I opened up my email at work one January morning to see that one of our fine custodians at LHS had Golden Retriever puppies for sale. I forwarded the email to Greg and just wrote "OMG!!!" in the subject line. His first response? "Let's get two!" My response? "Helllllll no."

Initially when the opportunity presented itself to adopt a puppy, I was a bit skeptical. But then I thought, hey, why not? The puppy is already here- he needs a good, loving home which we can provide. Plus, Greg has always wanted a puppy, rather than an older dog. And furthermore, who can resist a Golden Retriever puppy? But two? One is enough work- why on earth would we want two?
Greg and I emailed back and forth the whole day before we went to go meet the puppies and choose them from the litter. He tried to convince me that two would be better than one, but I stood my ground. When we went to choose our puppy that night, there were two males and two females left. I was certain that I wanted a male, and I'm partial to darker colored Goldens. So we chose Jackson. It wasn't easy- Lance was so darn cute and playful, but I knew that we just had to choose one. My mom had gone with us to see the pups (being a Golden owner herself) and was firmly on my side that two puppies would just be crazy. So that was that. We put a collar on Jackson and talked about our new puppy that would be coming home a few weeks later.
I barely slept that night. I kept thinking about the other male puppy. And I don't know why, but something clicked and I suddenly changed my mind. The first thing I did that morning was email Rosemary (the owner of the puppies) to ask if we could adopt the other male too. She quickly replied with a "yes" and I couldn't wait to tell Greg the news. I left him a voicemail to call me as soon as he was done with the gym, and luckily he caught me on my way to work. He was, of course, overjoyed with my change of heart.

So that's how we came to adopt two Golden puppies. And you know what? I'm glad we did. Even though it is twice the poop, food, expenses, etc., it really is great having two different personalities who will (hopefully) be best friends for life. They have each other to play with, which is great (except for when the play gets a little rough and leads to biting and barking)!
And although we have gotten very little quality sleep over the last few nights and have not been able to really relax (or get much done around the house) at all, I know it's all worth it. As the vet told us on Monday night- Golden Retrievers may be difficult in the beginning, but the payback is extraordinary. They will be loyal to you for life.
Greg sends me these photos with his blackberry throughout the day with subject lines like "Finally" as seen above. They're sooo sweet when they're sleeping....

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The first visit to the vet

Yesterday was a fun day for Greg. Well, maybe fun isn't the right adjective to use. Chaotic? Frustrating? Those words might be a better fit to describe Greg's first day back at work after being on vacation (snowboarding and skiing in Colorado) all of last week.

It's wonderful that Greg can work from home- I can't imagine how we would be able to even attempt potty training if this wasn't the case. And the boys are still so young- they need attention and need room to play. We have them confined to the kitchen (with a baby gate) since it's a lot easier to clean up accidents on the kitchen floor than the carpet or anywhere else in the house. Greg worked in the kitchen from his laptop, but definitely had to stop what he was doing a number of times for potty breaks and to remind the boys with "NO BITING!"

I had a meeting after work, which didn't allow much downtime before getting home and having to leave for the vet, but somehow we got them there. Lance still doesn't like the car- he gets nervous and whines and jumps around. We put them in a box this time, but Lance jumped out. Jackson was wonderful, just laid down and slept.
We chose to take the boys to Kingsbrook Vet, upon the recommendation of our good friends (and fellow dog lovers) Rob and Staci. The staff there was wonderful- and we learned lots of great information. The boys are very healthy: good hips, teeth, eyes and ears. They got their first vaccine and were pretty well-behaved for the entire 2-hour visit. One thing that we found out that just makes us laugh is that Lance has one testicle (he really does have the second- it just hasn't dropped yet). It's just ironic, because we named him after Lance Armstrong. :)

The boys were great overnight- less whining this time after putting them in the crate when we went to bed. I got up for potty duty in the middle of the night and they ran right to the door to be let out, peed, and came back in. Jackson went right in the crate, Lance took a little convincing, but he eventually went. He whined for about 30 seconds when I went back upstairs, but then quieted down.
Greg let them out this morning - both did their business outside and then were let back into the kitchen, where they had round #2. Lots of poop for such little puppies!
Hopefully Greg will have a better day with them today. He will be leaving for his massage and lunch for a few hours- so that will be good practice for the boys to be alone (which they haven't been yet). 

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The first 24 hours

Welcome to our blog!

This blog will document life with the newest addition to Lauren & Greg's family: two Golden Retriever puppies named Jackson and Lance. The boys were born on December 2nd, 2010 and were 8 1/2 weeks old when we picked them up yesterday. Jackson is darker and weighs just over 11 lbs. Lance is lighter and we predict that he will be a giant. He weighs 13 lbs.

The car ride home was interesting- both boys seemed terrified and curious at the same time. Jackson settled down pretty quickly and rested against my leg. Lance just didn't know what was going on or what to do, and had his tail between his legs the whole time. He whined a little bit too, but that stopped when we got home.

The boys arrived to our home and we quickly took them on a little tour of the yard. They had no idea how to walk on a leash and kept trying to bite it. We tried to get them to 'go potty' but they were so excited to play in the snow, they didn't go. After a half hour of playing with them outside, we took them in to feed them. They were little piggies- the food was gone in about a minute! We took them out again to potty, and again, no success. But of course, as soon as we took them in, the pee started flowing. I lost count of how many times I cleaned up pee that first day. Jackson also pooped on the floor. Both pooped and peed outside the other times that we took them out.

We had some visitors- Mom and Joe (and Brady) and Kelly, Matt and Max. Brady wanted nothing to do with them- but of course, the boys jumped all over him! The boys got lots of attention and play-time that first day, and were pooped by bed time.

Since we are crate-training them, we put them in their crate (with lots of toys) and left some classical music playing. We could hear them barking and whining for a little while, but they eventually got quiet and settled down. Greg got up to let them out to pee in the middle of the night and came back to bed. When I woke up, a little before 6, I let them out to pee again. I quickly got ready and came down to make coffe and play with them a little before I had to leave for work. I let them roam within the confines of the kitchen while I got my stuff ready for week, and in that time, both pooped on the floor. I tried to stop them, but those little guys are quick! Lesson learned- make sure they poop first thing in the morning! Also- it would be a lot easier if we had a fence (and could climb up/down stairs)!

It was hard to leave them today- I can't wait to get home from work and play with them more. Luckily, since Greg works from home he can let them out often and play with them when he has some down time. We have their puppy check-up at the vet tonight, which I am excited for. We are going to Kingbrook Vet, upon the recommendation of some very good friends. It will be great to learn some helpful information (and ask LOTS of questions)!

The first photo is Lance and the second is Jackson. The last photo is me playing with both boys in the kitchen.

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