Sunday, May 16, 2010

Our new life :)

If you put yourself in a position where you have to stretch outside your comfort zone, then you are forced to expand your consciousness."
Les Brown


Christophe and I have always seen eye to eye on one thing : We enjoy stepping out of our comfort zone.

We like to try new things, and take risks and when we believe in something, we just go for it. When he had job offers that made sense we were always ready to jump in ! That's how we moved to the US, then later on to Ft Lauderdale, then almost moved to Australia, and finally ended up in Texas. Buying Real Estate, starting a family, we were getting into a new comfort zone . . . the next logical step ? Adopt a puppy :)
We both love dogs and always dreamt of adopting one. Since it is harder than we thought to have another child, we thought it would be the perfect time to adopt a puppy. After a full weekend I am so happy to have a puppy, a little shaken from my normal routine, but overall full of love and happiness and looking forward to our new adventures with my 3 boys ;)



Adrien and Carter got to hang out - here they are watching Thomas the train - same posture-
Thanks to Brian and Jodie's help, Christophe was able to put the Pergola up this weekend. We are so excited to have it installed and I feel so relieved not to have the box in my entryway like it has been the last two months . . . !!! Thank you so much guys !


The new member of the family: Duff Hanckowiak , a cute 4months and a half black labrador retriever. We adopted him from the DFW Labrador rescue club and his foster parents brought him home on Saturday morning.

Adrien is starting to learn to be potty trained, and was half naked all day today. It helps him know & feel when he has to go and it worked pretty well. I am basically potty training a puppy and a toddler at the same time - talk about being out of my comfort zone ;) We spent most of the day outside though to increase our chance of success !
Duff is pretty laid back, he's hyper in the morning but after a little exercise and play time, he seems happy to just sit and observe.

We took "the boys" to the park this morning. We wanted to see if we could do it. It was fun but a little stressful. Duff gets super excited at other dogs and Adrien wants to hold the leash, Duff wants to lead . . . and we're learning to become the "alpha dogs" of the pack ! Never I thought I would add that on my to do list but it's up there now.
We really are so happy to have Duff with us !
Christophe and I were still able to go out on a date Saturday night, we went to the melting pot and had a delicious dinner. The last time we had a date was in december so it was long overdue. The best part was to talk and catch up after the last two weeks. It was just what we needed and we had a wonderful time !! After our meal we just had to walk to Borders and purchase the Idiot's guide to owning a Lab - we've been reading ever since, a chapter here and there and are learning a lot. I know what you're thinking . .. probably should have read the book before getting the dog. Our hearts were ready but we definitely have a better understanding now of what the next few months will be like.

5 comments:

  1. Congrats on adopting your first dog! He is so cute and I know you will all enjoy him! You look so beautiful in all the pictures Joanne!

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  2. Finally - I have been waiting for the pictures:) Hope is all goes smoothly! He is adorable!

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  3. He is SO cute! You will love having him as part of the family and i know Adrien is having a blast with him! You look so pretty in all of these pictures!!!

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  4. I want to see the pic of you two in the car, in your driveway, after the park...the few moments of silence you enjoyed :)

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  5. The pergola and patio are beautiful. You're going to have such a great summer in your backyard. Duff is adorable and I think you're super MOM for potty training them both at the same time!

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