Dairy Farm Field Trip

Yesterday the boys and I joined our Mommy & Me group for a tour of a local dairy farm. The weather was beautiful and it ended up being a perfect day for this type of event.

We started our tour out by sitting on hay bails and learning about what cows eat, how they feed the babies, etc. Then we went on a hay-ride around the dairy.

The next part of our trip was going to the petting zoo area to feed and touch the animals.

Deklan spent all but 45 minutes of our day in the stroller and was perfectly content to sit back and watch the animals and kids.

At the end of our tour we sat down at picnic tables and ate the lunch that we brought. We also had ice cream that was made right at the farm. Grafton had Cotton Candy flavored ice cream and Deklan and I shared Pumpkin Cheesecake ice cream. It was delicious!

After lunch everyone but us and one other family left. We ended up staying for another hour so that Grafton & his friend could pet and feed the animals without all of the other kids in his way.

It was a wonderful day!

Love at First Sight

Less than a month ago I posted 

about the jack-rabbit living in our yard and how that would be our only pet until I have both boys potty trained. Little did I know I would be eating those words less than two weeks later.

When my family from Kentucky was visiting here recently we went to the mall to see the movie, "UP", and while there we stopped in the pet store. As we were looking at the puppies Vince noticed an Italian Greyhound and his exact words were, "I'm in love." About a minute later he said, "Her name should be Sophie."

I have never seen Vince react to anything in such a way, which actually made me consider taking her home. We held her quickly, asked a few questions, and left the store before we made an impulsive decision.

As soon as we got home we did loads of research on the breed of dog and the pet store.  

I do realize that buying from a pet store and not a breeder is highly looked down upon. However, we learned she came from a state-regulated breeder in Missouri and not a puppy mill. We even were given all of the the UABR (United All Breed Registration) numbers going back to her great-grandparents.

As far as the breed goes, we found out that Italian Greyhounds make wonderful family pets, are great with other animals, love plenty of affection, and do not shed much. Best of all, she'll only get to 10 pounds once she's full grown. This is a great compromise for Vince and I because he likes large "manly" dogs and I like lap dogs. Well, Italian Greyhounds are lap dogs that are still "manly".

We took this decision very seriously and prayed about it for almost a week. We also visited her 3 times. The first time that we took her into a room to play with her we sat down on the ground and she walked over to me and plopped right down onto my lap. I think she knew I was the one who needed convincing!

The night before my 3rd visit with her I had a dream that right before the boys and I went to see her a mom with 3 boys came in and asked to hold her.  It was one of the boys' birthday and he picked Sophie as his present. We were devastated to watch the dog we loved being purchased by another family.

The next day when I took the boys in to see her a mom and two boys came in and they seemed interested in her too. While Grafton, Deklan, and I were playing with her in a room the two boys were watching us through the window and I heard the mom asking questions about her and then she was looking in a dog book. When we left the store Grafton said to me, "Mom we don't like those other dogs in there, we only like Sophie."

This was the event that finally led us to our decision. I was so concerned my dream would come true that I texted Vince and said, "I want the dog, go buy her today!" We weren't ready for her yet because we had not purchased any doggy items. As a result, Vince put down a deposit so that they would hold her for up to two weeks.

The next evening when we went to pick her up I told the sales lady I was worried that the mom with the two boys was going to buy her and that finally made my decision. She told me they hadn't been back, but just that morning a couple had come in who had been looking for an Italian Greyhound. They were very disappointed she was sold because Sophie was the first Italian Greyhound that has been in the store since they opened almost two years ago.

Sophie has been home with us for one week now and we are so thankful she is part of our family. I really believe this was meant to be.

She's extremely cuddly, great with the boys, and a true companion. Right now the difficult part is house-breaking her. Once that part's over, I don't think we'll have anything to complain about.

I'm glad that our boys have a great dog to grow up with. I can't wait for all of the memories we'll make with her!

Our Rabbit Named Jack

We do not have any pets living inside of our house right now. Grafton and Vince would love to have a dog, but my rule is, "No house-breaking until I'm done potty-training". So, it doesn't look like we'll be adding any pets to our home anytime soon.

However, a jack-rabbit has adopted our yard as his home! We started noticing him over a month ago in the mornings and evenings when he'd eat the grass in our backyard (he also ate all of the purple flowers off one of my bushes). After a few weeks of this we decided he was around to stay and named him Jack.

We've tried leaving him treats such as carrots and alfalfa, but he only sniffs them and moves on. I guess he prefers the natural foliage growing in our yard.

We hope he stays our backyard pet for a long time!