Happy Birthday Daisy!

Yesterday was Daisy's 3rd birthday! And while I know it's silly...we celebrated. I have become "that pet mom" that bakes birthday cakes for her dog. It was actually really fun! I look for any excuse to use my stand mixer :)

Daisy is a fun dog. We got her right after we came back from Myrtle Beach when we got engaged. Eric and I pulled up to the Hildebrand's and out ran these two golden retrievers. Buddy (Eric's parent's dog) and this other little golden. Eric's mom exclaimed "Happy Engagement! This is Daisy!"

The Hildebrand's neighbors knew that their daughter, Kaitlin, had been looking for a golden (she got another puppy while back, no longer needing the golden) so when their daughter was moving into a new place that would not allow dogs, they called to see if she wanted Daisy. Since Kaitlin already had a dog, we jumped at the opportunity to own this little cutie. And that's how we got Daisy!

Our first time meeting Daisy

So now our girl is 3! I found this great recipe for a dog birthday cake (quit rolling your eyes, I know it's excessive) and the dogs LOVED IT! Each piece was gone in 5 seconds.
So here's the recipe:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup soft butter
½ cup corn oil
1 jar baby food (I used apple)
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 8x5x3 inch loaf pan. Cream butter until smooth. Add corn oil, baby food, and eggs. Mix until smooth. Mix dry ingredients into mixture until batter is smooth. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes. cool on wire rack 15 minutes. Ice with plain yogurt. Refrigerator left over servings.

The Duke of Hildebrand

Eric and I love animals, which is why we have a dog and a cat. Bella and Daisy are great. They add a great dynamic to our little family and we love them. But we had noticed that Daisy was really sad all the time. She had been living with Eric's parents, who have another golden retriever she was used playing with. Now we took her away from him and she was lonely. So Eric and I had discussed getting another dog at some juncture.

So one day while browsing the classifieds in the Washington Post, we came across the pets section. It's always fun to see the puppies for sale and think about what kind you may like. That day in the paper we saw the sweetest little faces! A little of Miniature American Eskimo puppies. I thought Eric was going to cry when we saw them. He has always had this obsession with Eskies...not quite sure where that came from.

So after a discussion about puppies, and training, and all the logistics, we called the number to get some more information.

The next day we went to check out the litter.

And that's when we fell in love.

Out of this litter of six, there was one little puppy off to the side, playing with a leaf, unconcerned with the other five and their jumping and barking. We had decided that we wanted a boy since Daisy sometimes has some issues with other female dogs. When we called we were told there was one male in the litter. So we started picking up puppies trying to find the male. After going through all the spastic puppies, we found they were all females. The little one off to the side with the leaf was our little boy. Eric scooped him up and he fell asleep in his arms. Love at first sight.

The drive home

Duke is such a fun little addition. I have never had a puppy that had to be house trained, so this a new world to me. Duke is an endless bundle of energy, until he drops suddenly into a nap. He is Daisy's shadow, whether she likes it or not.
This dog has no lack of personality. He jumps, runs, plays, snuggles, barks,and pees on the carpet. After than minute is over, it starts all over again.

We love him.

Movin' on up

On December 29, 2010, Eric and I struck out on our own. Just us...and the furry babies. That was the day we moved to Northern Virginia. After a 10 hour drive (each driving separately since we had to move two cars) we FINALLY reached Sterling! For those of you wondering where Sterling is, it's 30 miles northwest of Washington, DC.
When we got here, Eric's new office had arranged temporary housing for us. What started out as a nice little hotel became our nightmare. Two people, a dog, and a cat, all sharing a hotel room. Fun...not! But we knew we would move into our apartment in February!

Shortly after arriving, Eric started his new job as a Design Engineer with M.C. Dean. He works on large construction projects designing electrical systems.
So Eric went to work and I did NOTHING! That was the longest week of my live waiting to start my job. I did make the trip to Baltimore to see my aunt and her family. If ever there was a busy mom, Karen is just that! Mother of 6 kids...and doing it with unconditional love in Christ's image. She's such an inspiration!

Two of the girls

The newest (big) little one

I started my job the week after Eric. I love being in the ER. It's stressful at times, but what job isn't. I really like getting to see a variety of cases and helping people get better. My co-workers are great and very patient. I have already learned so much!

My first day. I spend a week in hospital orientation before starting on the unit.

So that was our first 6 weeks in Virginia. We started new jobs, got adjusted to the area, and saw some snow. Welcome to NOVA!