The End of February

Snoopy is a bad influence on my child.

Last month, Charlotte turned 7 months. I've heard this period around 6-12 months be referred to as the "Terrible Twos" for puppies, and I believe it - Some days, she turns into quite the little rebel. Even though she has so many toys, she'd rather chew on things like the wall or the floor. How do you find pleasure in gnawing on flat surfaces? Beats me, but she definitely enjoys it. 

However, there have been lots of good days as well, and we think that as time goes on, she's less feisty and more well behaved. Even if she doesn't obey us, she still knows what's wrong and what's right. 

This month, she added to her tricks repertoire the command "Kiss." She obeys it most of the time for me, and all of the time for Curtis. Especially if we just ate.

I've noticed that she's also recognizing more words. It used to be just "Food" and "Outside," but now she also knows "Walk," "Breakfast," "Fly," (which we use when we want her to catch a fly), and an assortment of names of her toys.

Last weekend, we hiked a total of 15 miles and she was able to walk the entire way (one day she walked 12 miles on her own!) It's a great thing to not have to have Curtis carry her parts of the way! She also saw her first rattlesnake...but being a protective mother, I did not let her meet it. I carried her till we were safe from it. :)

We're pretty 50/50 on the healthy meals. If I feel like eating healthy, we go all in, but once Valentine's candy goes on sale, there will be sacrifices made. I made Rolo cookies one day when we had a friend over for dinner. I made half of them with the Rolos on top, the other half had them in the middle. It took us the entire batch of cookies and we still can't decide which way is better!

Which is better?? So hard to choose. I should make more.

Charlotte is also getting more and more privileges, like not being put in the kennel when we eat, and that results in us getting some hardcore puppy eyes... (No, we weren't eating breakfast in bed... You can't have cookies for breakfast.)

Charlotte refuses to speak to me once she learns that the cookies are gone.

Last week, we had the pleasure of visiting with my grandparents and getting to show them around our desert. I'm so thankful that they made the trip down here and that we got lots of time to catch up. They were definitely deserving of a warm vacation, and the weather cooperated so that we could spend the whole time in the sun! I'm so thankful for them and how involved they've always been in my life. 

It was a great month, with lots of beautiful days and some rainy ones, but altogether we were able to hike 45 miles and enjoy several adventures with family, friends, and our new Jeep. We're excited about March though, and looking forward to having all of Spring Break for more adventures! Stay tuned!