April Fools....

....that's what we're feeling like after a couple of weeks with these puppies! They sure are a handful but just when you're about to send them back, they do something really cute and suddenly its all better :). This week Chris came home to an unexpected present in the dogs' kennel. Needless to say, he was not pleased. Of course the dogs had walked around in it too, so they needed a bath. The problem was, we didn't have any dog shampoo yet and they had never had a bath. What is a guy to do? Improvise. When I got home that day I knew about none of this until I walked into the kitchen and put some evidence together which brought me to the conclusion that something bad had happened. Behold:

Found: One dish rack in the 'used' position (also wet with soapy water) which Chris has never before used.

 Found: One bag of dog treats - opened.

Found: Two freshly cleaned and terrorized dogs.

We then promptly went out and got them some really fancy dog shampoo (makes them smell like coconut!) and gave them a proper bath....which they hated every second of.

On a totally unrelated note, my tulips are finally coming up! I'm so jealous of all my Des Moines friends and their stupid 80 degree weather. These beauties came up just in time to get dumped on with 4 inches of snow tonight - yay!

Learning and Growing

The little doggies are learning more and more every day! We have had them exactly one week but it feels like we've had a lifetime with them. It's been a lot to get used to, but they are so darn cute we can't imagine life without them. They are good eaters but don't like having separate bowls. They have way too many toys but only seem to want to play with whatever their brother has at the moment. They are gradually getting use to their crate, but they still have to come sleep in mom and dad's room to feel comfortable at night. They really hate it when anyone leaves the family room (where their crate is).

Rudy seems to be understanding that we have to do our 'business' when we're outside, but Leo has a tendency to forget that point. He is more interested in sticks, leaves and rocks when he's out there. This makes mommy mad when it's 3am. We can't wait until they can hold it a little longer and we don't have to take them out every 3 hours. Most of all, they like to sleep and are sleeping next to me right now, as a matter of fact.

We are trying to get them used to their collars and leashes - they don't quite know what to think of it yet.

They did learn how to go up and down the deck stairs to get outside, and they know how to jump out of the sliding glass door to get outside - progress!

We've had a lot of visitors and they think that little kids are especially fun! Here is baby Piers with the 'dah' as he calls them.

Bocce Birthday

We went to a new place in town, Pinstripes, for Chris' birthday party. Pinstripes has bowling and bocce ball as well as a bar and restaurant. It was a bit difficult to arrange the reservation (they are new and always VERY packed) but the place was great! The food was excellent and they even had bonfire pits outside that we sat around after playing. All in all it was a great night! Here are some 'candid' action shots from the night.

Introducing.....

We are IN LOVE with our new babies Leo (Leopold) and Rudy (Rudolph)! We picked them up on April Fool's Day but they are no joke! They are so lovable and cuddly that it is hard to leave them! They came from a breeder in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Their mom is named Wilma and their dad is appropriately named Trouble (these guys are double trouble!). They had a sister that got adopted the same day and her family named her Lilly. They picked her up at the same time so they all got to say good bye to each other.

Here is Leo with daddy.

Brothers!

Rudy

We like to sleep a lot.

We like to cuddle.

We are still trying to get used to our new bed, but we like it sometimes.

We sure do like to eat!

Here we are reading books about puppies with daddy.

We definitely like to play together, but sometimes it gets a little rough!

I think we're going to be in for it! So far we haven't had too many accidents in the house, but it's still early! We're doing okay sleeping at night time, but they still get scared sometimes. More updates to come!