Puppy Love

 

**Prepare to see an OB-noxious amount of cute puppy pictures.  I apologize in advance...

Our sweet addition was born on December 5, 2014 and was appropriately given the kennel name "Chase."  That pretty much was the deciding factor after a lot of "should we/ shouldn't we's?"   

Saturday, January 24th was Gotcha Day. 

He was 7 weeks and 1 day old and ready for his new home.  We made the trip up to Manchester still working on a name.  We had a running list going... Deuce (since he was Chase #2) Timber, Dash, Cajun, Hank  along with a lot of others that had been eliminated along the 4 week wait.  Trace REALLY wanted to be the one to name him.  It was very sweet that he felt so honored and proud to choose his name.  About an hour into the trip he finally decided on "Timber." 

When we saw a picture of him after he was born, his coloring was liver and white so we looked at a lot of "brown" names like Dutch, Chaco, Timber and so on.  Timber was one that stuck and I love it.  I love it even more that Trace was the one that picked it. 

We pulled up to the Stoneriver Kennel which appropriately sat on "Brittany Lane."  How perfect.  It was obvious she was a Brittany lover and we knew we had picked the right place.

 Ms. Rosemary adored her dogs. 

She handed him over and it was love at first sight.

 

And then we had the 1.5 hour drive back to Chattanooga with me sitting between the kids shuttling the puppy back and forth between them.  He wasn't quite sure what was happening but he couldn't have been any sweeter.

 Sisty and Granddaddy met us at home and kept him while we went to PetSmart and got all of his things.  He was worn out from his big trip!

 First night at home...

 I had the same anxiety that would come over me when my babies were newborns as nighttime approached.  You didn't know what the night would hold. Would he sleep a wink, would he cry all night long, would he pee everywhere? 

Well... the crate didn't work the first night without his litter mates.  We tried to put him in the crate in Jimmy's office when we went to bed and I've never in my life heard such pitiful cries!  There was NO way either one of us where going to do that to him.  So he slept (and continues to sleep) on a doggie bed in our bedroom floor.  I'm totally OK with him never sleeping in his crate, and am honestly just waiting on him to get big enough to sleep on one of our beds without worrying about him falling off.  Yes, we are OK with that too.  I'm such a sucker!

 The next day we took him to my parents and he peed and pooped in their house just like his own ;)

 He is a biter, a nipper, and loves nothing more than to grab the bottom of your robe or nightgown as you're walking by and take a swing.  The kids have found refuge on the sofa and the steps because he can't get to them there.  We are hoping that puppy biting wears off quickly and he learns to cuddle a little more.

 Many nights I've been standing in my frozen yard at 2 A.M. with my bathrobe, parka, and Uggs on waiting on him to tickle and poo.  At least when you're nursing babies in the middle of the night, you're snuggled up in your warm bed under the covers.  ha!

 The first morning I had him alone, I texted this picture to Jimmy.  He crawled up behind my head and I'm pretty sure that was his little du danky I felt in my ear.  Ha!!

 This didn't go well.  A failed attempt to get a picture of the 3 of them.  Keatyn ended up with a big scratch down her face.  The first of many...

 His first bath.  He started paddling before his little paws ever hit the water.  It was adorable!

 We have been trying to take him in the car on some short trips to get him used to riding.  So far, it's not his favorite thing but he's getting better.  Loved this one!

He's already grown and changed so much and has completely stolen my heart!  He fits right in perfectly with this wild, hyper bunch.  I've even threatened to give him some of Trace's ADHD meds!  Jimmy and I look at each other almost everyday and say... "Boy, we have our hands full!"  Might as well add a little, cute puppy to the chaos!  What can it hurt?

Hello 2015

Cofer Party of 5...coming soon!  The biggest news so far of our 2015 is that this little munchkin will be coming to live with us in a few weeks. 

Be still my heart.

It has been 2.5 years since we lost our sweet Ginger.  This is the longest in Jimmy's life he's ever been without a dog.  Now that we are settled in the new house, complete with a fenced in backyard, doggie door in the kitchen, and an already wired and installed underground fence (thank you previous homeowners for all those puppy perks) it is time. 

I always figured we would end up with another Brittany Spaniel.  Jimmy has loved that breed since day 1.  This little guy will make his 4th.  Copper, Chase and Ginger were all orange and white, so this time we went with liver and white.  When he found the website and discovered he had just been born on December 5th and his kennel name was "Chase" it just seemed like fate.  He doesn't have a real name yet, but we're working on it.  If left up to Trace, he will be... Jedi Master Awesomeness.  Wow.  That's a mouthful for such a little guy.

I have never really had a puppy from the start (that I remember anyway.) And our kids are going to have to quickly understand that this is like a baby, in dog form.  They are fragile and breakable.  This is going to be a learning curve for 3 out of the 4 Cofers.  We are depending a LOT on daddy to teach us the puppy ropes.  I can't wait to get my hands on this little thing!

In other New Years News, for as CRAZY as the week of Christmas was, the week after was about as lazy as you can get.  It was 2 extremes and kinda nice.  We lounged at home, we played, we watched movies in the middle of the day in our pajamas.  I'm not usually a homebody but it felt really nice.  One night we went down to eat and to the Mocs game with the grands, and one night Jimmy and I went to dinner with some friends.  A good way to end the year.

We have been trying, with failure, to get to see the guy that does our title work perform.  He is in a band and has told us many times of where and when he plays but we've always had a conflict.  He was SO sweet and sent us tickets to his New Years Eve show at the CBC.  Jimmy and I both looked at each other and said, "Can we stay out that long?!?"  It's been a while since we've been out "partying" on NYE.  ha!  But we rested up and made it all the way through!  Got home at 1:30 a.m. and miraculously I didn't fall asleep at the table. Woo hoo! We went to Kanpai to eat first because the only food they were serving was a breakfast buffet at 12:30.  Huh?  Mama's gotta eat before that.

These guys were amazing!!  Jimmy Tawater is over 70 years old and he and his wife own Northgate Title.  He really downplays how "famous" and talented he is, but now we know.  Wow!  He jumped over those speakers and dodged all those microphone cords dancing for 3.5 straight hours.  And the girl he's singing with was an "unknown" who had a voice that could win any reality singing show anyday.  I've never heard Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" sung any better.  We were seriously impressed.

Since our big night out, things have returned very much to normal.  ha!  A little puzzle working, feeding the horses, having friends over and playing lots of video games.

And then on the 9th, my mom's group had our belated Christmas party.  We ditched the ugly sweaters this year and wore real clothes instead of our momiforms.  These girls are so much fun!

And, yesterday we hosted a wedding, in our living room.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but both bride and groom are in their jammies.  Trace had one of Keatyn's hair bows clipped to his shirt for his bow tie and Keatyn wore my bath robe as a train.  They said vows such as, "we promise to be nice to each other" (which sadly were broken in wedding record time) and sealed it with a brotherly/sisterly kiss.  I even found my only 2 wine glasses filled with orange juice on the kitchen table.  Apparently, they had a pre-wedding toast I knew nothing about.

I love these two!