Bringing home Charlie

We've been talking about getting a new dog since Jackson was a baby. Initially, the talk was about a boxer, but it soon turned to a great dane, and that is where it has stayed. I remember one day, needed a distraction for Jackson so I pulled up some pictures of great danes and explained to him that one day we would get one. That stuck, and he used to tell people that he was getting a great dane. Our response was always, "one day."

Well, when Callie died, we started looking. Not necessarily for right now, but for "one day." That one day turned into, "two weeks." We found a five month old fawn puppy looking for a home. We showed her picture to the kids and they both loved her. Jackson wanted "a girl dog with a boy's name." So we started throwing out names. Addison threw out Charlie, and it stuck. She then added "Good Luck" to her name, which sounded even better. 

Dave has been busy getting things ready for Charlie. That meant putting up an additional fence along the side of the house. It also meant getting out the baby gates again. We decided the kids needed a "Charlie free" zone. They each picked out a toy and the wait started. 

Yesterday, Dave and Addison went to pick up Charlie while Jackson and I went to soccer. She traveled well, and is adjusting. She is potty trained (woohoo) to go on pine shavings, so we have some of those on the side of the house (no more poop in the yard). Dave and the kiddos gave her her first bath and she did marvelous. She was a bit nervous last night, but has taken to me quite well. She follows me around, and actually made it quite difficult to make dinner last night because she was underfoot. 

Addison and Jackson love her, but they wish she would play a little more. She's still not totally sure about them, so she's been doing a lot of watching what they do. We have aluminum foil on the couch because this morning, Charlie had decided that her bed wasn't big enough. She also likes socks and my slippers (we're going to have to work on that). We're looking forward to all the Charlie adventures we have to come!!!

 Meeting Charlie for the first time.

 Bath time in the back yard.

 Her face!

 She loves her mama!!

 Hopping up on the couch (this is not allowed).

 Jackson thought it was cute.

All tuckered out after her first day at home!