Happy Birthday to Our 3rd Child

Before anyone panics, let me set things straight up front.

Our 3rd child is our sweet dog, Hope. I haven't written anything about her on the blog, yet she is such an important part of our family.

Clearly she can't provide me with all of the blog-worthy stories the way the girls can.

Or at least that's what I thought until this week. Her 6th birthday was yesterday, and I started thinking about all the funny things she has done and realized that she has given me plenty of material to write about!

A little background on our sweet Hopers:

We found Hope through a breeder. She was 4 months old when we got her, which was actually old for a new puppy adoption.

The breeder was hoping to raise and train her as a show dog. The one problem was that Hope's ears stand straight up, and always have.

Apparently this is a faux pas in the show dog world. If I remember correctly, we were told they tried all kinds of tricks, including taping pennies to her ears, to get them to turn down. In fact, this is where they came up with the name "Hope". They kept hoping it would work, but eventually decided they needed to give her up for adoption.

We loved her from day one and she truly is one of the sweetest dogs you will ever meet in your life.

Baby Hope and Baby Me (just 24 years old!)

Christmas Card (before kids, obviously!)

I could write for hours telling all the funny stories about Hope. Like the time when I had to go back to work (we got her on a long weekend) and we left her caged up in the kitchen.

That dog cried and whimpered as I walked out the door and I cried all the way to school (and for about 30 minutes after I got there)! I'm telling you, she was literally our baby.

There was also the time when we put up a 3 foot gate in the kitchen that blocked off the exit so she'd have to stay on the tile (while we were still potty training). When I came home from work, she was sitting on the couch, and the gate was still up.

It was one of the creepiest feelings in the world. Somehow she was getting out of that gate every single day without moving it. I tried to imagine her being so smart that maybe she would shimmy through the side of the gate, then bump it back into place with her little hip. I just couldn't imagine what was going on! We couldn't figure it out to save our lives. So we did the only logical thing we could do.


We videotaped her.


Yep. We set up the video camera in the morning, pointed it right at Hope behind the gate, and left the house for the day.

You won't believe it when I tell you, but we have shown the video to friends, so there are eye witnesses if you need proof. That dog climbed the gate. She stuck her little feet in between the rungs and scaled that fence! She disappeared on the video for a minute, then we saw her moseying past the couch like she's thinking, "This is just too easy."

Hope has definitely provided us with plenty of entertainment, and panic.

When Lauryn was about 2 weeks old, Hope decided that dirty newborn diapers were a tasty after dinner treat. We panicked, seeing as the ENTIRE diaper was gone except for the outside paper part. She ate everything, including the lining. If you are a mother, then you know how much that lining will hold and how much it "expands".

Since Hope gets violently car sick, Brent just put her in the car and drove around like a maniac for about 10 minutes. He pulled back into the driveway, Hope jumped out, and threw up the diaper all over the front yard.

A couple of years ago, I was filling a vase with chocolates around Valentine's Day. I made the mistake of leaving the bag out and later came home to many, many piles of chocolate on the floor. In a very different form.

We rushed to the vet with that incident where she was monitored and released after a few hours. I almost envied that dog. I mean, who hasn't been temped to just devour the whole bag of chocolates? I bet she was in heaven.

And then this week, the day before her birthday, Hope gave me yet another story to blog about. I was rushing us out the door to get Lauryn to a doctor's appointment. I grabbed Allison's milk from the fridge, and as I opened the door, a box of butter fell to the floor.

I hurriedly put it back and we left. Apparently I should have looked more closely. It seems as though one of the sticks of butter went flying out of the box and under the cabinets in the kitchen. I came home to an empty butter wrapper and a whole lot of mess.

And in case you were wondering, thrown up butter is almost impossible to clean up. And it was REAL butter. I wish I could have seen her face as she made that discovery. She probably inhaled it and didn't take the time to sit and leisurely enjoy her lard filled treat.

Despite everything, she is 100% loyal, obedient, and completely precious. We have never had to fear her being around our girls. From the day we brought them home, she has been an angel to our babies.

Lauryn's first day at home

Just hangin' out with Allie!

Unfortunately when the human babies arrive, the canine baby takes a backseat. But we adore her and she brings so much happiness to all of us!