Every Morning

 Mornings are hard. We've got to get up earlier than any of us want to. We like to sleep until 8ish. Every morning we tell Ollie, "Go get your girl" He runs to her bed and cuddles with her. It might be my favorite time of the day. Sometimes it's hard to have a dog. Sometimes he's annoying. But, there is so much love and joy that he brings to our family. I remember as a kid, just LOVING our family dog, Whiskey. I'm glad that they will have a similar experience. 

Ollie is also just a really easy dog. The only annoying thing he ever really did is chew their toys (which was annoying, but helped me thin the hoard of toys!) and run like a crazy dog outside, in a crazy game of "catch me if you can" tag (we've gotten better at being aware of where he is and not leaving doors open around him). With a little Dan Morris training, he is so much better. He rarely chews anymore, and is doing a good job of learning to "sit" and "stay". He is good on a leash with Chris, but not so good for me. He is such a lover, and is always so excited to go see Leah (it's the only bed he's allowed to cuddle in). Sometimes I let him sit on my lap when we are watching TV. He is big, but is so excited to get in my lap and cuddle like a lap dog. Whenever Chris or I sit on the floor, he cautiously tries to get on our laps. It's pretty funny. He loves water and drinks out of the bath when Leah and Juliet take baths. After Chris and I shower, he gets in the shower and licks the water off the floor. He also drinks out of the hose, which is pretty funny, but more rare now that it is cold. Juliet has grown to love him, too, which is pretty good news. 

 Some mornings, Juliet wants in on the pile, too. This morning she was cuddling up against Leah. Most mornings I wake up Leah first, cuddle her and the dog, and get her dressed before I wake up Juliet. She is NOT a morning person and usually wakes up with the loudest of, "AFFSSGINSESFH" sounds. 

 After Leah wakes up, she usually wants to dog to lick her. Ollie isn't much of a licker, at all, so he's usually pretty unsure if she actually wants to be licked. Once he starts, he can't stop. And Leah loves it. 

 We love the mornings when Daddy can cuddle, too. Juliet still loves to suck her fingers and "beep". We are trying to get her away from it. Sometimes she doesn't care, and will stop, other times she feels as though she "needs to" in the most desperate of ways. Sometimes Mommy is tired and will let her do what she wants in order to go to sleep.