A very Happy Birthday.....

It's rare that I can surprise Brian......and really, it's tough to come up with good gift ideas for him (and most adults, I think).....but this year, we GOT HIM GOOD!  Brian has been BEGGING for a puppy for quite some time.  We have been without a dog in our house for 2.5 years and I was holding firm that we would not get one until Mia's birthday next year.  But things changed.  Long story short, there was a string of events that led me to this cute puppy, who just HAPPENED to be available the day before Brian's birthday.  So going against my better judgment, I put down my deposit and agreed to make this addition to our family.  I only knew for about a week before his birthday, and it was tough to keep the secret.  Julie and I drove to meet the breeder and were gone from 8am-4pm on Friday.....and then I picked up the kids from Grammie's house and rushed to beat Brian home (it's 1/2 day Friday's at Clorox, which means he DOES come home before 8pm :).  I prepped the kids, tied a bow around the puppy's neck, and voila.....SUPRISE!  Here is the video from when Brian came home....it's probably not that exciting to watch, but notice how the kids completely ran away when Brian walked in....leaving the poor puppy just sittin' there!  Apparently they needed more practice on the how to pull of the surprise!  In any case, it was great fun and Brian was beyond shocked....in fact, I think he's still in disbelief.

And here are some pics from the weekend......the kids are in heaven and so is Brian.  After 3 days, the dog has been named Charlie (middle name is Teddy, per Jake).....he's super cute and is well behaved so far.....for a puppy.  I'm sure he'll keep me busy.....when we had Bailey, we didn't have toys all over the ground, so that will be interesting, I'm sure.  He's a sweet guy and we are all very happy with our newest addition to the family!  We hope he likes us too :)