Welcome Home Little Theodore Laurence 🖤

Yes, it's true, we have our very own Teddy!

Theodore Laurence, Guardian of Fanciful, Arizona.

Can you believe it?

I almost can't, someone please pinch me!

For the last week I have disappeared into the new baby nights and getting to know my sweet little Teddy!

He has come home to the country house, where we are all hunkered down, raising a young pup.

He was so little, and has begun to grow fast, in only one week.

I'm trying to absorb every last second because puppy time goes by so very quickly.

He's incredibly playful, cuddly, and can be super rambunctious too.

As you may know, he is named after a beloved character in Little Women.

Theodore Laurence, known in the novel as Teddy and Laurie.

Truth be told, I had a couple different names I had settled on, and only one he answered to – and boy did he answer to it.

And so, Teddy he is!

(He was originally going to be Wolfie, and sometimes I call him Theo, but he only answers to Teddy)

He hops and scampers to you upon calling out his name.

He's a pure delight really.

Long cold nights are forgotten at first sight of his darling little face, whose eyes say mommy pick me up!

He loves to bite and chew, so he has buckets of toys.

Of course, socks are his favorite.

To see a new furry face skipping down the country house garden paths is…

Enough to make my heart explode entirely.

He's so beautiful, and everything you can imagine, and more.

We spend 24 hours a day with him, and work in shifts.

In the early morning I track him over my giant winter coat by watching his shadow behind me.

Although, now he's starting to run in front of me, and faster than me, haha!

His favorite spot is in the verbena patch in the front garden, where Miles is buried.

Once again it is full of toys, the way Miles used to keep it.

We sit and play in the sunshine all day and think of Miles often.

When Miles first died, I thought, there is no way I am getting another puppy.

But as the year went on, and Matty and I found our rhythm, it always felt as though something was missing.

My heart was just so broken, and it slowly started whispering to me that it was time.

I did research for a few months, I joined rescue groups, I scoured sites and joined local adoption resources.

We needed a young pup because Matty would not accept an older dog.

We tried that, and it was not a good situation.

We waited and searched.

I knew if it was meant to be, it would all happen as it should, so I did not force the journey.

Then one day I made a serendipitous connection with a gal named Crystal.

I had no idea she lived just down the road from me, is a stellar dog mom, and had pups.

It just happened to be that she had pups right then, and true to my life, the number 11 was everywhere.

His birthday (my birthday) and a bunch of other things had 11's, and so I pursued the connection.

11's have always appeared in my life, so they make me pay attention when they turn up.

Crystal and I connected online a bunch, and then chatted for over 2 hours, and I knew it was just right.

She has a very serious adoption process, and I can appreciate that.

And so, in a chance meeting, in some magical way, Teddy came to be my next fur baby.

And here we are, playing in Miles' verbena.

All tired.

But crazy haaaappy!

A trio of adults to raise a couple pups.

How is Matty taking this you ask?

I thought he would play with Teddy right away, as he did with Miles.

But since he's an elder, his is more observing.

At first, he was totally uninterested, but as the days go by, he seems to be taking more of an interest.

I just hope and hope that Matty decides to play with him one day soon, because Teddy is dying to play with Matty.

It's been so chilly, this is the view from my old vegetable garden here in the country.

We walk around and around garden paths, with the snow dusted mountains watching over us.

And this is what taking photos of Teddy is like.

He's a tiny little guy, sooooo cute!

Which is well worth it to capture these invaluable memories.

Snapshots in time, that are changing too quickly as he grows.

You never know how life will twist and turn.

It feels like such a different journey, 11 years since having our last puppy.

We are at the country house, as it's a great place for a pup to grow and learn his surroundings and parents.

It's our homebase, and always will be.

I am taking this time, in between Teddy's naps, to deep clean and go through 20+ years of stuff and purge.

It feels so good.

I've been washing curtains, recycling endless stuff in my original office and cooking up some fun meals.

I am trying to just live in the moment and push away my busy brain that says I need to do this and this and this and that.

Right now, I need to only do this.

To be with people I love, and two dogs I adore.

Be in the sunshine and light, paint at night whilst puppy sleeps, sip tea in the cold.

Revolve my days around a puppy, who will outgrow puppyhood so fast.

Thank goodness I grabbed my parka and my warmest scarf though, because the nights have been so cold up here closer to the mountain tops.

Training a puppy little by little, being loving and patient, that's what it's all about.

Matty is snoring at my feet as I type, while Teddy is being chased around the garden paths by Mister Lovee.

I'm cooking for everyone, baking birthday cake for Irishman, making ginger and garlic soups to keep everyone healthy, etc.

I'm in charge of nights with Teddy, and after I take him out for his 5 a.m. potty, in the cold darkness we cuddle up in my bed and play. He attacks my hair, we play tug of war for an hour, and then he snuggles up close to me and falls asleep.

Then I carefully place him in his bed crate, and fenced in bedroom of his own, and catch some z's myself.

Funny how your heart knows how to expand again, so that everyone can fit in there just perfectly.

Baby, Miles, Matty and Teddy <3

And so, we begin again, another chance at this crazy kind of puppy love.

Hope to see you again soon!

🖤

Love, Vanessa