The Dog.

The new one.  Where do I begin?  I guess at the beginning.  In January, we made the decision to adopt a new puppy.  My parents were getting one of his brothers and we (ok, I) had been thinking for a while that it would be good for us to get a puppy to be friends with Mugsy and a dog that Jackson would grow up with.  Enter Gryffin:

(This is him as a young pup in March, maybe 2.5-3ish months)

He is a goldendoodle (a 50/50 mix of golden retriever and poodle) and don't let that cute face deceive you, he is a pistol.  Don't get me wrong, he is a good dog (most of the time), but he is a puppy.  And this puppy experience is much, much different from how I remember Mugsy as a puppy.  For one, he was slightly bigger than full grown Mugsy already in the above picture.  So, he's big (well, big to me.  He will probably weigh 45-50lbs full grown).  He also has quite a bit of energy and it fairly strong willed.  Oh, and Mugsy doesn't like him.  

In retrospect, bringing in a puppy with a baby was not the best idea I've ever had.  Like I said, he is a good dog, Jackson loves him and he is really great with Jackson.  So that part at least worked out.  And I do like having a bigger dog around the house when Kyle is gone (he is really a big wuss, but you would never know that by the sound of his bark).  But it is a lot of work; it is getting better as he gets older, but still work.  I do like him too, he can be very sweet.  He actually thinks of himself as a lap dog and I'm not sure he doesn't think he is the same size as Mugsy.  In the long run I think it will be a good thing.  There are times that he gets to me, mostly because I am pretty sure Kyle is his "person" and when Kyle isn't around, Gryffin challenges my authority, but he is a good boy over all and will be a good family dog going forward.  So, here are a few more pictures:

Watching Mom set up the sprinkler

 Jackson giving Gryff a hug one morning

This is (literally) what he looks like today.  I took this picture a few minutes ago.  The true purpose was because I got a new lens for my camera and was messing with it, but it works out nicely.

Oh, and if you know where his name came from, you know how much of a nerd I am, and are likely one yourself ;)