The fifth child

Meet Clyde the family dog. We were not planning on having a baby or getting a puppy in 2010 but both happened and our family is now complete. I have to say it was quite a year for us but things have begun to settle down. Even Clyde has cut down on the naughty behavior and has grown to have a special place in our hearts. We laugh though because Clyde has a lot of the annoying habits that our last dog, Payton, had. If you've ever seen Marley and Me you might get an idea of our last dog. After my husband and I finished watching that movie, we looked at each other and said, "Someone has been spying on our life for the last 10 years and written a book about it." Seriously, Payton was just like Marley in so many ways and we loved him despite all of the crazy stuff he did. We even started calling him Marley on occasion after that.

Clyde--also known as the Clydester, C-Dog, and Clydie--is not quite so quirky but he does have a lot of habits that drive us crazy. For example, just today as I tried to read the newspaper on the floor, he laid right down on top of it. Or, as you can see, he "helps" me fold the laundry by laying right on top of the sorted piles. Dogs are funny that way, they just want to be involved and they have no idea they are totally in the way. Since joining our family, Clyde has managed to find and destroy every stuffed animal in our house, remove every rattle from each baby toy, and chewed off ALL the buttons from each duvet that we own. Ugh. Having a puppy is similar to having an extra child. And it is uncanny how when the kids need you, the dog also needs your attention. Clyde always manages to steal a toy or shoe right when I am in the middle of changing a diaper or getting someone's lunch.

I laugh now because I never imagined myself having a dog. I think I was chased by a dog at a young age and had an aversion to any dog after that. Well, on our anniversary one year early in our marriage, my husband gave me my first dog, Payton, a big black lab. It was love at first sight and from that moment, I loved all dogs. I think it's the understanding that you suddenly have that every dog is special to it's owner and you can appreciate that once you have your own. Dogs love you unconditionally and it is so amazing to experience that. Even though dealing with Clyde is just one more thing some days, I could not imagine life without our fifth child.