Our Little Lucky Charm

Today marks our 1 month anniversary of having Miss Waffles in our lives. It's as if she knows I'm writing about her as we speak! She's tummy down with her nose touching my laptop, watching what I type. She has brought us nothing but pure pleasure and joy. Yes, we had a rough first couple of days, but once we got into the rhythm of things, we started to really enjoy each other's company. We call her our lucky charm.

Not only does it play tribute to the boy's home country, but she really is our little lucky charm. She has brought the boy and I closer than ever, she has taught me patience, she is getting me healthier, and she is teaching me to love more on a daily basis. The boy and I truly do believe we are the luckiest fur baby parents. Ever.

In the last two weeks, Waffles experienced new milestones and continues to change physically! Since her 12 week shots, she is now able to go on walks with us! And boy does she LOVE it! When I strap on my fanny pack (No, you don't get pictures of that. Nice try!), and say "ga ja" which means let's go in Korean, she knows we're going on for a walk outside! She gets tired after about 3 blocks, but we're so happy that she loves walks! We've been going at least once a day, twice if I can muster the energy!

When I take her crate out and say ga ja, she knows we're going on a car adventure and climbs right into her crate! We love that she thinks of it as her happy place. She's usually pretty good about car rides and rarely whines. She just snoozes away, but once the gear is in park, she knows it's time to get out! Only then will she whine to hurry me up! Silly girl!

She's still learning her name and learning to go lay down. For some reason, it's the hardest for her to stick to the brain. She's chewing a lot less, but is learning to "no touch." We hope that one sticks soon because I'm tired of saying, "No, don't chew that!" 503 million times a day. She still chews on dadda's everything, but I know deep down inside, she loves him to pieces.

They're so cute together!!

She still loves her naps thank god! But the sweetest thing she's been giving me?! Time to sleep in!! She's allowed me to sleep in to about 8:30 on a daily basis! It's absolutely incredible and I know all the puppy mommas are drooling over this one. One time, she loved me sooo much that she slept in till 10! She got lots of treats for that one.

Stop it, Waffles. Just stop it.

She still loves chasing after her water bottles and looking out the window. She's found her voice and loves to bark at anybody that walks by. It was cute at first, but now I want nothing more than for her to kindly shut her trap.

She still dislikes taking pictures...

She ruined a perfectly good photo. If only she was looking where she was supposed to!

... but you know what?? She's gotten so much better at looking into the camera! I have to be ready at a moments notice before I lose the opportunity, but I'll take it. The photo taking Nazi in me is glowing.

But the biggest accomplishment of all??? For the first time ever, she has had ZERO accidents inside the home today!!! It's the perfect one month anniversary gift she could possibly give us! We're hoping that this positive trend continues! :)

We're so excited to see her grow and experience new adventures together. Momma and Dadda loves you like you never know, Waffles!!

Puppy Model

You're probably really sick and tired of seeing puppy posts, and are probably thinking if I have a life outside of Waffles. You are right to think that because as of now, I really have been doing nothing but loving this pup! And quite frankly, I'm not one bit ashamed to say that I wouldn't have it any other way! :D I have to fill my time with SOMEthing, so I take any opportunity I can to take pictures of the beautiful Waffles. One because when she's acting like a little shit monster, I can come back to these photos and remember her sweet angelic face. Two, and more importantly, I never want to forget her puppy face. She will be going through many stages in her life, and I want to make sure I document it the best I can.

But like I've mentioned before a couple of posts ago, Waffles absolutely despises taking pictures. She knows what they look like and when she sees one, she immediately turns the other way. She won't have it. So the perfect time to get her to stay calm and listen is when she's schleepy. It works like a charm every time! And just for the record, I didn't drug her or feed her alcohol. I promise!!

She absolutely loves to give kisses!

Just look at her sweet puppy face!!

I love it when she calmly sits to watch my favorite TV shows.

SELFIE!! :)

She loves laying on top of Booger, my life-sized Android. Possibly a Google mascot one day??

The boy cherishes moments like these. So effing sweet. 

The boy and I sometimes have the urge to wake her up from her sleepy slumber because she's so dang cute, only to regret it 2 min later. But when we're not so crazy, we catch ourselves creepily staring at Waffles while she sleeps. It's one of our most favorite times of her because one, she's not terrorizing the house, and two, she looks like an absolute angel! Judge for yourself.

And with that, Waffles bids you a good night! :)

Happy 3 Months Little Waffles

Wow... so THIS is the feeling that parents have that compels them to take monthly pictures. Never in a million years did I think I'd be THAT kind of mom, but here I am, trying to keep up with all her milestones on a monthly basis. Geezus...  I barely recognize this person!

She went in for her 12 week shots yesterday and everything came out clean! She is as healthy as a horse. Her ear infection is gone, her teeth are clean and growing, getting little taller, and she gained a solid pound and a half around her ass. She's now at 6.6 lbs!

Just look at her! Can someone please invent a potion to freeze them at their puppy stage?? This is her furmomma talking so I may be a little biased, but my dog is crazy, stupid cute. You'd be out of your mind if you disagreed. She gets love EVERYWHERE she goes! I've had people on many occasions stop in their tracks, turn around, come back and give her some love. Another girl seriously almost cried after seeing Waffles at Target. She got red faced and teary eyed from all her cuteness. A little creepy if you ask me, but I'll take it as a compliment! :P

She also got evaluated from a doggy trainer and she is a very emotionally stable and happy pup. But even better than that, I got news that every parent, fur or human momma, wants to hear: she is gifted. Too smart for her own good. She could be eating rocks for 2 different reasons: malnutrition or boredom. Since I'm feeding her the best of the best out there in the food department, that was immediately ruled out. So it's boredom. Judging by how fast she was able to figure out multiple puzzle feeders, it's been determined that she's a brilliant dog. And add beautiful that?? The boy and I couldn't be more proud of our Waffles. Our only hope is that we can keep her stimulated enough to maximize her puppy brain potential. :)

Our Little Nerdling

I'm not one to dress my puppy in clothes and frilly bows and crap, but the other day, I thought it'd be funny to see her with my glasses on. Yup. Nailed it.

First 2 Weeks Home

Wow... Has it already been 2 weeks since Waffles has been home with us?? It's been a crazy whirlwind of different emotions throughout this puppy mommahood journey. The first week I was a complete wreck. I was waking up twice a night to take her out to pee, then waking up to go to work. For those of you that don't know me, I LOVE my sleep. I love it like a fat kid loves cake! I'm a hot mess without it. My poor kids at work probably felt the brunt of that. Thankfully it was only 3 days of grumpy teacher. :P

Which leads me to the next point.

Thank GOD for the boy. If he wasn't around to help watch her while I was at work, it would have only intensified the stress levels by 10967 fold. He helped entertain her, helped potty train her, and best of all, loved her with his whole being. He set the strong foundation of trust and respect in the crucial first few days. I truly couldn't have survived without him. I'm willing to be a hundred bucks that Waffles feels the same way too. :)

I'll be real with you guys and put it out there and say the first couple of days without the boy were absolutely miserable. I wanted to DIE. Giving her back was definitely an option for me. Not only was I backlogged in sleep, but I learned fast that she was an absolute terror. She constantly ate rocks, she ate EVERYTHING in sight, it took her forever to do her business, and her puppy urges to play were out of this world! Hot damn! I was ready to give her back! I definitely questioned my ability to handle her and be her pack leader. At my most desperate moments, I even went as far as calling dog trainers to get some professional help. There was one named Steve who I will write a separate post on, but he was a godsend. Because of him, I was able to survive my first week and truly enjoy week 2 of puppy mommahood. I got a better handle on her by learning her behaviors, her habits, and signals. Now, her and I are inseparable and I can't get enough of her!!

Some things that makes Waffles, well... Waffles. This is her in a nutshell.

Her Loves:

• Sleep - this girl loves her sleep. I believe that your pet is a reflection of you, and this one matches to the tee. After some fun play time with momma or dadda, she sleeps for a glorious 2-3 hours. It's absolutely heavenly. I've also learned that when your puppy sleeps, it is absolutely mandatory that you take advantage and sleep as well.

• Bull's Penis - Yes, you heard that correctly. Our little girl loves to chew on a bull's penis. It's her wooby and she carries it everywhere she goes! Her first day of discovering this delicious piece of meat, she actually debated whether to drink water or put down the bull's penis. You get one guess who won that one.

Her happy place. She only brings toys that she absolutely cherishes here. She loves digging it in the crevices of the cushions so nobody can steal it.

Will take it in her crate too to help her fall asleep.

• Tennis Balls and Alligator - She can play fetch for HOURS if her puppy parents had the energy for it. She also loves playing tug a war with her alligator friend. 

• Rocks - Oh. My. God. Does she love rocks. She loves to go hunting for them and will eat them any chance she gets! It drives me bonkers!!

• Water bottles - It's magic what a cheap water bottle can do for her. We spent so much money on buying her fun toys, and then we find out that all she really needs is a watter bottle! Wth?! She loves the crunching sound it makes and loves chasing it around on the floor. It's endless entertainment for her which means guilt free TV time for momma and dadda! :P

Her Hates:

• Camera - I loooove taking pictures of everyone and everything. If there's one thing you can count on me doing right, it's to take a million pictures of everything. So you can imagine how sad it made me to find out that she's not a fan. Right when I take the camera out, she looks away, up, down, left, right, anywhere but at the camera! It's a win for the day if I can get a good one of her looking. See what I mean??

Neener Momma. You can't get me to look!

• Digging for anything in her mouth - Wow... it's a battle on a daily basis between her and I. Her mouth is like a treasure chest. You can never know what goodies you're gonna find in there. And this little rascal will fight to the death to keep it in there. I've found things like pebbles, plastic tags, feathers, torn paper, plastic everything... And the crappy thing is is that she KNOWS when she has something bad in her mouth. She will get on her belly, keep her head down with her devious puppy eyes looking right at me calculating how long it's gonna take for me to take notice. She's too smart for her own good!

• Reflections in Mirrors - It's hilarious watching her look at herself in the mirror. She will paw at it and bark at it and eventually run away.

She Can:

• Sit - Two afternoons and a gazillion treats later, she learned how to sit. Right now, she can do it when she sees a treat or when she wants to be held, but anything other than that, she refuses to be my monkey. Damn it Waffles! What good are you if I can't be entertained on demand?? I've failed as a teacher with an extrinsicly motivated fur baby.

• Sohn - So I'm trying to teach her to be bilingual. I say "sohn," which means hand in Korean, and she gives me her sweet little paws! The boy didn't believe me, but we showed him!

• Do Her Business - She's been pretty good about going to the bathroom outside. We will only have about 2 accidents a day, which isn't bad at all! However, we've been her chauffeur and have been taxiing it to her pee spot. We now need to try to figure out how to teach her to tell us she needs to go. It's gonna be hard! 

• Sleep Through the Night - This was HUGE for me! I wanted to punch myself in the face twice a night when I woke up to take her outside for potty time. Thankfully after about 3 days, she's been able to sleep through the night without any accidents. She'll wake me up at about 7 AM, but will sometimes be very generous and will let me sleep in until 8!

Her Personality:

• Social Butterfly: If I had to use one word to describe her, it'd be hands down, sociable. She LOVES meeting new people. She gets excited and pees all over herself when she hears the door bell rings cuz she knows that only means one thing: GUESTS!! She has zero problems going up to people and wag her happy tail for some love! Unfortunately, I only have 1 picture with her and a friend. So far she's met neighbors, my family, the boy's mom, and friends. Researchers say that a puppy needs to meet about 100 people before she reaches 3 months to help build her socialization skills, so I'm happy to report that we're well on our way!

• Curious: She is such a curious little puppy. She loves playing explorer and sometimes sits quietly to hear what's going on around her. I always wonder what goes on in that developing brain of hers when she's in her thinking mode.

Hi neighbors!

• Sweet and Loving: Waffles is the epitome of a cuddlebug. She loves being scratched, played with, being held, and gives a million kisses to your face at every opportunity!

Waffles, some days are a serious struggle, but for the most part, your dadda and I love your sweet face! You've got so much spunk and personality in you that we hope you never lose. You're getting so big already so we're trying to soak up and embrace every puppy moment we can! :)

How can you not love this sweet face?!

And School is Out of Session

It's official. School is out for summer break!!! YEEEE HAWWWW!!!! I have year one at new school and grade level under my belt. I'd say it was a pretty successful year with a few minor bumps on the road. I was really apprehensive of going down a grade. With them being less independent, learning a new curriculum, and all the other emotional shenanigans that come with 2nd graders, I didn't know how the year would go. But they proved me wrong and they surpass all my expectations. They're super smart, more independent than I had imagined, and still had all their sweetness and innocence. That was my favorite part. They still enjoyed helping you out and pleasing you, and still looooved to do all the little things for me like drawing me pictures and giving me hugs.

But that's not to say that I haven't been looking forward to this day for a loooong time! Once that bell rang at 11:50, I rushed home to my 2 loves of my life!

I can't wait to spend a whole summer with this little one! It's going to be hard couple of weeks learning each other's behaviors and signals, getting used to new early morning routines, and most of all, potty training this little rascal. It's going to be just you and me little monster!!

Welcome to Your Forever Home, Waffles!

Today's the day that we brought our little Miss Waffles home! Out of the 4 3-hour drives we've made in the last 8 weeks, this one felt like the longest one ever! We couldn't get to Waffles fast enough.

When we got there, she was this squirmy little bundle of fur that wanted nothing but to play, play, play! We got all our necessities from Eva (who's been so helpful throughout the whole process!) and took some final photos with her brother, Henry. I bet he's so glad he got to live in peace for a couple of days before his forever momma comes to pick him up. :P

Yes Waffles. Dadda is a little special.

After playing with the two rascals, the boy and I were ready to bring Waffles to our home. Her forever home. But not before final family photos!! :P

Waffles: "Neener! I'm going hoooome!!"

And we're off!!

The drive home wasn't half as bad as we thought it would be. We were expecting ear deafening screeching, but this brave little girl barely cried at all! I have to put it on record and give credit where it's due. I wanted to hold her and make her feel safe, but the boy's idea of putting her in the crate was definitely the better one. After about an hour of her skinning me alive and squirming to find a hole to burrow her face in, I had to give the crate idea a go. She definitely felt more safe being in an enclosed space. I sat in the backseat with her with my fingers between the holes and she was as calm as can be.

Keeping one eye on momma to make sure she didn't leave her side.

I can't get over her sweet face!

After 3 pee stops, we were home!! She was shy at first, crawling around and sniffing and exploring, but it wasn't long before she warmed up to her new home and was zooming away!

When the boy and I discussed the different rules we were going to enforce, not allowing her to come on top of the couch was going to be one of them. Welp! That went out the door. Clearly.

How can you say no to her?!

She didn't eat too much, but obviously in a new home, that was to be expected. We played with her some more till this happened:

Yup, we pooped her out real good.

Then the dreaded bed time... The boy and I were dragged our feet on this one. We were expecting a sleepless night with endless wailing, but yet again, she surprised us and did exceptionally well! She cried for a little while, but with me sitting there next her with my fingers in the crate, it put her right to sleep. I had to wake up every two hours to make sure she didn't pee in her crate, and each time, she went right in her crate to sleep.

Good night sweet Waffles. We can't wait to see you in the morning!

P.S. We couldn't have asked for a better first day. We already love her so much, we don't know what to do with ourselves!! 

Puppy Nesting

The countdown is officially on! There are officially 5 sleeps left until we bring our new addition home. And might I say... the boy and I are INCREDIBLY stoked! She is going to add a new element to our every day life and we can't wait to see what the future has in store for us!

Time's a tickin' fast so the boy and I went puppy shopping. We bought all the essentials for our little Waffles, so that girl is set!!

Puppy bed must get my stamp of approval. Fluffy and soft?? Check and check. Our Waffles gets nothing but the very best!

Yup, I think it's safe to say that we are ready for her arrival! All that needs to be done is puppy proofing the house so she doesn't accidentally break anything. 

Waffles, we can't wait to bring you home! Hope you're ready for us!

Teacher for Life

There are many times when I've really disliked my teaching career. The poor pay, the demanding parents, the spoiled children that no longer have respect for others, the long hours... I mean the list goes on! But then once in a while, they do something that makes you remember why you chose this job and you fall in love with it all over again.

Today was that kind of day.

I was out ill yesterday due to a mild bout of food poisoning on Tuesday. I was in charge for Field Day today so I knew I had to take yesterday off in order to muster through the day. While I was gone, a group of my behaviorally challenging ducklings got together to make a poster of Waffles to make me feel better!!

I mean, how friggen precious is that?! Do you see the curly hair that they outlined her with?? Let's just say they had a couple of freebies today. :P

Another girl in my class had a similar idea and did the same!

Isn't that just amazing?! They are 2nd graders. 2ND GRADERS PEOPLE! I'm in my 30's and I can't even draw a tree without it looking like it's hemorraging alien brains. 

They know how much I already love her and how much I'm waiting for her, so they thought a picture of her would make me feel better! *swoooon* Even though they drive me a little bonkers on a daily basis, I have to remember they they have such big hearts, and somehow still love their Nazi teacher. And yes... I love them too. :)