introducing: charlie the boxer

welcome to the fam-damily, charlie!

below (clockwise):

(top left) i love this photo on so many levels. it's the first one we took of charlie at home. addie wanted to be apart of things but was very scared (still is), so she's in the pic but is about 10 feet behind. this photo makes me laugh with her little head in the background.

(top right) a boy and his dog. carson's gotten nipped quite a bit the past few days during playtime, which doesn't hurt or anything, but it makes him a teensy bit gunshy to instigate wrestling with charlie now. both (charlie & carson) are learning how to play with one another.

(bottom right) charlie's gotten tons of visitors so far, and he likes every one. these particular kiddos are anxiously awaiting his awakening.

(bottom left) close-up of charlie boy. he looks so sad here, and i think (judging by the whimpering and crying at night...all night...for several nights...) he really was very sad. can't blame him. but i'll say this: i think he's actually happy with us now. he bounds around and follows us everywhere and licks our toes (ew, i know, but kinda cute) and actually smiles with his eyes these days. *whew*

below (clockwise):

(top left) charlie curled up in his crate the first day, cursing us all for taking him away from his mom and eight brothers. (by the by, if anyone in the neighborhood wants a boxer, you should get one of his brothers! they're all cute, good-natured, and helllooo, canine family reunion!)

(top right) cute, sleepy. check out the enormous paws on that puppy! they remind paul and me of carson as a baby--scrawny little thing with eNORmous hands and feet.

(bottom right) a pic of all the boys. (layla and carson think it's so very cool that our family is "balanced" now--3 boys, 3 girls. i just wish layla would accept charlie as something other than a fire-breathing dragon. the girl is a super-phobe. notice she's nowhere to be seen in any of these photos? it's because she locked herself in her room for about 3 days and wouldn't dare come out unless charlie was crated and asleep. she's getting better...mildly. by next halloween, she might be able to walk by him without whimpering...maybe...)

(bottom left) the kids added some "welcome home" decor to the top of charlie's crate before we got him. i thought it was awfully thoughtful and adorable of them.

i'm going to be honest: i've had a few "whuuuuut have we done? i hate this!" moments about the whole dog-ownership thing. mostly those emotions surface when i'm cleaning up the tangible evidence of charlie's existence on the carpet and/or the many middle-of-the-night potty trips outfreezingside and/or his constant nighttime whining. but we're in it for the long haul, and i can honestly say, even as a not-really-an-animal-girl, i have gotten to the point of thoroughly enjoying charlie over the past six days. i'm enjoying training him, playing with him, listening to his scampering paw pads across the floor (he sometimes wipes out on the slippery wood floors, which is hilarious), rewarding him when he's doing/being good (which is often!), scratching him until his back left leg goes thump-thump-thump in appreciation, and just overall learning to love the little dude for what he is.

so, yeah. charlie. he's a cool puppy. i hope to stay on top of training him so he becomes a cool (read: obedient) dog. especially since his dad was 85 pounds. hello.