Long time no update: Where are we now?

Well Mommy got busy and forgot to update the blog for 10+ days. Oops!

Leia waiting to update her blog at the laptop.

Leia has been doing very well and is continuing to settle in (yep, it's not just a 1 to 2 week thing, it takes a few months to really settle in. Leia has been home almost 2 months and continues to grow and learn.

She has found a new favorite place to chill which is under the coffee table with her chin on my book bag. This can pose a problem though when  she is trying to get out to go to bed, mainly because she gets stuck and needs us to move the table.

She's gained 4 lbs since coming home but we're not worried about it. She's a big girl and it doesn't show on her at all. Even so I am trying to keep a handle on her treats and food portions.

That being said, she has discovered that she LOVES Dentastix and even though we are currently only doing one a week she would love this to be a daily thing. Someone discovered Bacon recently and we've created a monster. She will sit outside the kitchen and look in, patiently if she smells hotdogs or bacon cooking and wait to see if any of it is for her.

Leia is learning how to cuddle and is learning a hug command where she leans into us and we hug her. She is also beginning to master "down" (lay down). She knows the sit command though sometimes would love to ignore it, and is also learning that two hands held palms out means we are done playing/petting for now. She has also learned her own trick and will go sit beside her leash when she is ready to go for a walk.

She loves running around the tennis court and has developed a new mini game called bowling for Mommy/Daddy where she runs, full speed and risks taking us out at the knee. Great! She loves going to the court and "spinning her wheels" for a bit. We have to be careful with that hip and it has probably bugged her about 3-4 times now. Here is a short video of Leia playing around on the court. I am currently working on training a recall whistle that would help with distance recall. We're still working on it. Sometimes she is great about it, other times she just "can't"  hear us.

On an amusing note, Leia has mastered the dos equis pose "I don't always pose for cameras, but when I do I pose like a boss"

 She has gained a good appetite and now is excited about when it is time for breakfast and dinner.

 She also knows her bedtime routine. One evening I went to bed early and left Tom to put her up. Our room was dark, the living room was dark, and Tom was brushing his teeth. Leia woke up from her place at the foot of the bed, and walked out into the living room and stood in her cage until I got up and shut the door for her, as if she were saying "Ok ma, I know this, come tuck me in and shut the door!"

She is SUCH a good girl and knows when she is in trouble one example of this was the McDonalds burger box that she discovered in a low trashcan. I saw her gently lifting it out and yelled at her to "DROP IT!" She plunked it down and scurried away. After a while she came back over to see if she was in good graces. She still really wants to explore the trash, but knows that she isn't supposed to. She will look at it, look at me, and then back away.

She has started cuddling stuffed animals when she sleeps. I find this adorable beyond words.

All in all, things are gong well. She still occasionally cries when we leave but seems to understand that we are coming back. She will see me getting a Kong ready and runs to her cage because she knows we're going out, and that is the only time she gets Kongs. That being said, she doesn't mind us leaving, as long as we give her the Kong. I forgot once... never again!

I jokingly call her my velcro girl, because if she can't see me, she is trying to find a way to be able to. She isn't quite as clingy to Daddy but I think that is just because she came home with me first. She loves when he comes home or wakes up in the morning and just runs to him for Daddy/Doggy time. It is almost becoming a joke to holler "PETS Daddy!!!" across the house as she barrels after him.


 She also has her morning routine down pat and if I haven't taken her about by 10:30 or 11 she is circling, nudging me, and then sitting by her leash. "Mama, time to waaaaalk!"

She is very determined and expressive. I mean look at the picture on the right. Can't you just see the "Seriously mom, another picture!?" mentality?

I am so glad we brought her home. She keeps me active and smiling, even when things are hard. If I am crying she sits next to me quietly and firm, just trying to make it better. She loves cuddling on the floor and actually doesn't hate the vacuum any more, she still runs but her tail is up, not tucked. Even the maintenance man who saved Mommy from the porch can see she is become a more confident balanced girl. Very proud of her.

Additional Pictures!