Christmas Fun

I love having little kids around for the holidays. It just makes things seem so much more fun and magical. The girls had been counting down to Christmas for like, ever. Finally the big day came. The girls opened their presents and were so excited about everything they got. I didn't take very many pictures because I was too caught up in watching how much fun they were having. Then Jacob and I gave them the present we had been saving until last.....

The girls have been bugging us for forever to get a dog but Jacob and I didn't want one. They finally wore us down. For Christmas we gave them a black lab, who they named Shadow (their top three choices were Cuddles, Shadow, and Pinkie Pie. I'm glad they chose Shadow). As you can tell by Makayla's face in the picture, she wasn't very excited about this present. We had sent the girls to their room to get dressed while Jacob sneaked the dog inside. When Makayla and Kelli came around the tree first and saw him, they started screaming with excitement. Since Laney was behind them, she just heard the screaming and got kind of scared. I think she was also scared seeing a dog that was bigger than her! After playing for a few minutes, the girls settled down and started playing with Shadow. He is now their new BFF, especially Makayla's.

Shadow is such a great dog. He is very obedient and is excellent with the girls. He has never jumped on any of us or pushed us. If you tell him to sit or stay he does! Although he is housetrained, he has been an outside dog for the past year which is, big shocker for those who know me and Jacob, where he will stay. Makayla spends the most time outside playing with him and making sure he has plenty of food and water. Kelli and Laney also play with him a lot and every day the girls and I have taken him for a walk, even in the snow.

The best part of Christmas for me was seeing the absolute joy my daughters have in owning their own pet that they can touch and play with (they don't think fish qualify as pets). I know there will be plenty of not so pleasant parts of having a dog, but I'll just have to remember the looks on the girls faces when they play with Shadow. Besides that, Shadow is starting to grow on me. Even more surprising, I think he has definitely begun growing on Jacob.