New Addition

I've probably got a lot of you on your toes with that title don't I!?!? We are happy to announce that will have a new addition to our family come mid-May. (Do the math, not nearly enough time for a human pregnancy!) MariCagle and Nate have finally gotten their wish and we will be getting a puppy! I realize this may be a shock to many, it is shocking to me even as I'm typing this post. We have been adamant to the kids that we had to wait until Brandon finished school and we moved to get a dog, and they have been able to understand that and have been surprisingly OK with it. But with the prospect of BL's graduation so close, we have been contemplating the pet situation much more seriously in terms of what we want out of having a dog, indoor/outdoor, breed, etc. That 'planning' has quickly become reality as we have come to the decision that we would prefer an indoor dog that the kids had a relationship with and felt like a part of the family. Brandon began looking at small, less smelly, minimal shedding dog breeds and we decided that a medium to miniature labradoodle (poodle, labrador mix) was the pet for us. Brandon quickly found THE puppy for us...
Her litter was born April 1 so we will be picking her up around mid-May. MariCagle is especially excited. The puppy thing was her idea several years ago and she has not let go of the idea since. As we made our decision known to her and Nate yesterday, she was beside herself. She said that she had wished for a puppy so many times and her wish had finally come true!! She went to sleep last night with the above picture taped next to her bed. :) Nate is excited too but in a more general kind of way. He has enjoyed pretending to be a puppy with great imagination since the announcement.

After much deliberation and many suggestions including Minnie, April, Belle, Rose, and Pearl to name a few, we have named her Alberta. Alberta will always remind us of our time spent in graduate school as it is also the name of the female Gator mascot. :) Alberta also has a theme song of which MariCagle has quickly requested a CD - on Eric Clapton's Unplugged CD is a performance of Snook Eaglin's 'Alberta'.



We will surely be posting pictures of Alberta's homecoming come May, so stay tuned!