It's been a while... our new addition

I realise that I haven't been around for a while. It's not personal, it just happens sometimes.
I have a new job, 2 smalls at various early years settings... and a puppy.

Yes, you read correctly, a puppy.

Puppy's name is Arthur, and he is currently 13 weeks old. He arrived on NYE, after a time of discussion. it all started when Small Boy had parents evening at school, and his teacher asked whether Small Boy was getting a puppy for Christmas, because he had told everyone that he was. We said no, and then tried to think of ways to dissuade him from wanting one. However, over time, I started to think it was a good idea. I wanted SB and SG to get outdoors more, and going for walks with a dog is a good way of forcing yourself to do that.

We started looking for a suitable puppy, and found an advert for a litter of miniature Poodle cross Cavalier King Charles spaniels. Perfect. Communication with the seller seemed ok, so we made the decision, and went to see them, with the intention of bringing one home.

We arrived at the address and my heart fell- this clearly was not the place to buy a puppy from. We knocked on the door, no answer. We walked around the side of the driveway, and probably 10 dogs came to greet us, from tiny Chihuahuas to bouncing Springers. The owner came out, and said she would go and get the puppies, and came back with 2 little bundles of fur, a brown cavalier coloured one, and a tiny little black one. It was raining, and these tiny puppies were getting cold and wet. It was decision time.

In that moment I knew I should walk away, but I didn't. I fell in love with the little black scrap, as did Small Boy and Small Girl, who looked up at me with huge eyes. I wrapped him up in my cardigan and took him home, cuddling him all the way. I am not advocating what I did, but it has worked out ok, even if it does turn out that we were very lucky (the vets words) and that he was in good health, aside from a simple hernia.

A month on, he is part of the family. He is like a toddler, removing shoe laces from people's shoes, eating random stuff he finds on the floor and generally being a bit of a nuisance at times when you would like him to sit quietly. Training is going well, and he is all vaxxed up, and has a microchip.

This is Arthur aged 9 weeks.