Happy 3rd Birthday Zander!

Zander had his 3rd birthday this weekend. What a big boy! I can't believe our dogs are turning 3 this year. It seems like we haven't had them that long, but I guess we have. Here is a picture of Zander from his puppy days. So cute!

He was such a happy puppy! Always running around and sporting that really cute puppy smile. What a sweetheart. He was really timid when we first got him and didn't want to be cuddled too much. He would mostly sit on the other side of the couch or on the floor away from everyone else. But slowly he started to come out of his shell. Now he is a big cuddle bug! He loves to sit right on your lap and comes to greet you when you come in the door.

He's so sweet. Zander still loves to run around outside though, that is one of his favorite pastimes. Here he is recovering after running around like a mad man outside. Do you see his little tongue hanging out? So cute!

Here he is basking in the sun outside on a fall day. That dog loves to be outside. He will stay for hours and hours. Zander is also very fashionable. Here is one of his winter looks.

So happy birthday big guy!! We love you!

Dog Days Are Over...

Have you guys heard that song? Its totally rad...even though the video is super weird. Check it out.

Dog days are over is also a good way to describe the changes that are going to happen in our house over the next few months. For about 3 years now our puppies have been the apple of our eye. We have called them our babies and spoiled the rotten. Well they are in for a big surprise because a real baby is coming soon!

Are you wondering how we are going to handle a newborn and 4 rambunctious puppies all at the same time!?! Well we were wondering too so we've been doing some research and asking around. We've come up with a few strategies we plan to use in order to make it a smooth transition for everyone (including our 4 first borns :)

One of the first tips we heard was to let the dogs in the baby's room before he is born. They say its important for that new room not to be a mystery to the dogs once the baby comes. Of course, when he comes they will only be allowed in there if we are in there with them. But for now, we are letting the dogs sniff everything they want to in that room so they get comfortable with the changes in "stuff" in there.

Probably the tip we heard the most was to bring home one of the baby's blankets from the hospital and let the dogs smell it before we bring the baby home. This is supposed to get the dogs used to the baby's scent before we bring him home. We plan to do that.

Another tip was to make sure and set aside some special time for each pet, to make sure they don't feel abandoned or slighted after the baby comes. Of course, we won't be able to devote the time and energy to the dogs they are used to but we are going to try our best to pay attention to each of them everyday so they won't get mad at the baby. After all we are their mommy and daddy too! Besides how could you not find some time to cuddle these adorable faces?

We've already made some changes around here to get ready for the baby. We used to let the dogs cuddle on our bed and even let Freckles sleep with us at night. We have stopped that a few months ago and it seems to be going fine. We don't want any accidents with a dog jumping up on the bed if the baby is on there too. They have adjusted well to this change and we hope they will have no problem adjusting to the other changes when the baby comes!

I'm sure we will have much more adjusting to do when the baby comes but hopefully we can all become one big, happy family!

Wish us luck!

Happy Third Birthday, Zora!

Zora turned 3 last week! Can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home. She is so big now. I really can't believe she is 3 already. Time sure flies!!

Here she is the day we brought her home.

Wasn't she just the cutest puppy ever? She really was! Its crazy to think t how little she was when we brought her home. She was only about 5lbs. Boy did she get big!! She weighs about 35lbs now! That's my big girl!

Zora was our 2nd puppy after Zeus and when we brought her home, Zeus was not happy! Steve and I still joke about how Zeus used to drag Zora around the house by her neck fat when she was a puppy. He was bigger than her at that time but it didn't last long! She got bigger than him in a couple of months and quickly put him in his place! ha ha!

Even though Zora was supposed to be my puppy she's always favored Steve. I think its because he has been home with her more but who knows.

I mean I think she does love me and all that but if Steve is home, forget about it. She is right by his side or on his lap any chance she gets! Its actually kind of cute. I guess she's daddy's girl! :)

Zora is really a good dog. She is very low key and doesn't get too excited very often. She loves to look out the window at people and cars going by. She loves to eat too! This dog will eat anything, which is probably why she is so big! She is so funny, when we give the dogs treats she will gobble hers down in .2 seconds and look at you like, "That's it?" It seems like she wants to be ready for another treat at all times! One thing Zora doesn't like so much is going outside. She would much rather stay inside to cuddle and watch TV then go run around. Silly girl!

Here Zora is last year at her first photo shoot. I think she makes a great calendar girl, don't you?

Here she is hanging out in one of her favorite places. On the back of the couch! She just loves to perch there for some strange reason.

And here she is pretty recently just hanging out in the our bedroom with Zander.

So Happy Birthday to the diva! Can't believe you're 3 already!! Where does the time go??

The Dogs are Excited for Christmas!!

I have mentioned a couple times on here the photo shoot I did a while ago with the dogs to make a calendar. I subjected them to all kinds of horrible outfits! Well, since the damage is done, I thought I would share some of the goods with you! The Christmas outfits I put them in are too much. So enjoy...

First of all, that year we got sweaters for all the doggies! OMG. So cute. Too bad everyone hated them except Zeusy. We were able to get one group shot (minus Freckles).

Don't you just love argyle on a puppy??

Don't worry I don't make them wear the sweaters anymore. Most of them have been chewed up anyways! Silly doggies, sweaters are not chew toys!

Zander doing his best reindeer impression.

We got them these chew toys that said "Naughty" and "Nice". Zander is acting naughty here and not looking at the camera! Bad boy! ha ha

He makes up for it here! What a good boy!

Steve and Freckles wanted in on the action...

Zeus got jealous so we let him wear the Christmas tree hat. (Isn't Steve such a good sport? What a nice hubby I have.)

Finally, here is Zander wishing everyone a Happy New Year...it looks like he might have had too much to drink at the party! ha ha!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

More Doggie Pictures

Thought you guys might like to see some more pictures of the doggies!
Here's everyone hanging out on the couch.




Dogs that think they are cats...they love to sit on the back of the couch!

There's Zeusy just lounging around. Doesn't he look so handsome in his winter sweater? :)

I just love how they squish the cushions...NOT! ha ha!

Zora and Zander watching out the front window for daddy to come home...don't they make cute couple! ha ha!

Aww :)

Doggy Fall Photo Shoot

I think its about time for an update on the doggies! Poor guys, I've been neglecting them on this blog. I took some super cute pictures of them last weekend while we were raking leaves but, they were lost on my crazy camera. Well this weekend, Steve figured out the other camera we have (with some help from the Best Buy guy) so we are back in business! I took some pictures of the dogs outside in the fall leaves. They look so cute!!

Here's Zander being very regal...

Me and my #1 girl, Zora.

The sun was bright that day but I think these look kind of cool:

Freckles was enjoying a stick in the yard.

LOL. Doesn't he look so funny here?

Zander doing his "sit" command. He looks so serious. And tough with that snaggle tooth! ha ha

These two like to hang out.

And finally, the first video on my blog! So exciting! Its Zeusy acting crazy, enjoying himself outside and being his good, obedient self...

Getting Excited for Halloween

Ok people. I am getting really freaking excited for Halloween! For some reason, I love this holiday! I don't even know why. Maybe it has to do with loving it when I was younger, I'm not sure. But I love, love, love it. Is it sick that I put up Halloween decorations last weekend (in September!). Lol I was having an organizing day and put them all out. Our front room looks so festive. I will have to post pictures. But in the spirit of being excited for Halloween, I wanted to post some pictures of our dogs from our "Holiday Calendar" Photoshoot from last year. Lol. Steve and I made calendars of our dogs for our parents last year and that meant, I got to dress them up! Yes!! Here are couple of Zeusy and Zander in their Halloween costumes. Too cute!

Zeusy was our little pumpkin. Ha ha! He was pissed! But you have to admit, he makes a pretty adorable pumpkin!

Poor Zander had to wear the Frankenstein costume. (It was on clearance from Petsmart). He looks miserable yet adorable too.

This year the budget is pretty tight so I don't think we will be able to get any costumes, but maybe we can find some on clearance...We'll see.

More about the Dogs

So I suppose this blog has turned more into baby crazy than dog crazy! I guess I should at least introduce you guys to the rest of the pack! Yes, we are loco and have 4 doggies. I guess thats what happens with two silly people (with not much self-control, we are working on it, thank you :) get married and love, love, love dogs. Zeus is our oldest, a miniature pincher. But, I've already said enough about him!! We also have 2 puggles, Zora and Zander. They are 2 and adorable. Zora is our only girl and she is the biggest dog (30lbs! big girl!). She is sort of the leader of the pack I think just by her size. She is definitely a woman who knows what she wants! She loves meal time and really anything else that involves eating. She's so cuddly and cute sometimes though. The funniest thing she does is bark at dogs on TV. It is pretty hilarious. Here's her as a puppy:

So cute!



Here she is with 2 of her brothers! Such a big girl now!


Zander looks so handsome in his grey sweater, don't you think? He's 2 also and honestly for a long time he was kind of a loner. He just stayed to himself and didn't ask for much attention. But he has been much more interested in hanging out witheveryone else lately. He loves to be outside and will stay out for hours and hours sometimes by himself. (What does he do out there?) He also loves walks and exploring his surroundings. We take him to the park and he goes bonkers. He's a sweetie. Here he is acting all debonaire!

(No paparazzi! LOL)

Our baby is Freckles, a mini daschund. He's 1 going to turn 2 in December. When we got him they said he would probably max out around 5 to 7 lbs. Finally! The tiny little lap dog I have always wanted....Well now he's 14lbs. So much for that! But he's so sweet I can look past that. ha ha! Freckles is very affectionate. He is all kisses and love all the time. How could you not absolutely LOVE that face!?!

So that is our family for now...Steve and I love to play with our dogs and give them tons of love. Not totally sure what we will do when the baby comes but I guess we have plenty of time to figure that out!

Pictures of Baby Zeus

Here are some pictures of Baby Zeus. Most of these are from the first day we got him when he was only 8 weeks old and weighed about 8lbs! So cute!


He looks so scared! He was very timid when we first got him. This is our first family photo!




He was so small when we first got him that he could fit on Steve's chest or in the crook in his arms. Too cute!

Here he is having our first meal in the apartment. It took some coaxing to get him to eat but he finally did. Poor little guy!!

Close up! Adorable!!