6 months with our Koda Bear!

Today marks 6 whole months since we got this big handsome nutty boy! He drives me crazy but I look forward to seeing him every day when I get home from work. He loves snuggles on the floor, loves belly rubs and loves going for walks/runs. He is a very good boy, when he isn't eating food off of our counters and kitchen table (seriously....no food can be left unsupervised or it's gone!)

I don't know that I've ever seen a dog that's so photogenic before. His smile is just the best!

Just because I think they are adorable!

Here are my favorite recent pictures of my 4 loves! 

💙💙💙❤️🐾

Wildplay day for James and Dad. This is a day that I know I'll never forget! We both really loved getting to see him do something that he loved, right along with some of his best friends from school. Total heart warming day for us as his parents.

This is the lunch she packed for herself the other day! Never have to worry about this kid, prefers the fruits and veggies over anything else. I hope this continues on in her life because getting the oldest one to eat anything healthy these days is sometimes quite the battle!  

My two walking buddies. I see many more hours ahead of us in the next two months of evenings walks along the sea wall in the setting sun and cool breeze. I have loved these moments with my middle boy so much and treasure these times because I know how fast it could change where he won't want to spend any time with me. I'll take any chance I get to spend time with my kids and spending it doing something active is even better!

And of course just because...this guy is maybe the cutest of them all! Pretty sure I already shared this photo on this blog and IG/FB, but I LOVE it so I'm sharing it again! 

Another day…another dog post!

Yes, I’ve turned into the crazy lady who loves her dog maybe more than her kids. 😉

This dog is just too cute and the bond he has with these kids just makes all the barking and dog hair absolutely worth it, even on the days he drives me crazy. I still get excited when I see him when we get home and he's so happy that he howls uncontrollably until every person has given him his pets. I love that he waits for me to go to bed, falling asleep behind my chair at my desk in the den. He has the best doggy smile and loves being anywhere with us that he can. He loves to be in the car going for a drive, at the ball park watching the game, or just being outside in the yard while we jump on the trampoline. 

Cuddles with Koda Bear

We are making progress in their friendship and it's cute to see. He absolutely understands now that she is the boss and has made zero attempts to nip at her in well over 2 weeks now. He takes treats from her really gently and he walks great with her on leash. I am so relieved because those first few days were super scary for me. 

These two get me every time with their big brown eyes staring at me. They are the best of buds and I love watching them together.

Jordie is the only kid that I've seen Koda do this for. He likes the other two kids for sure, but you can definitely tell that he has a fondness for and a comfort with Jordie. In all fairness, Jordie is the one that spends the most time with him though and never passes up a chance for snuggles or pets or belly scratches.

Cuddles for Jamesie too!

Such handsome smiles on this big boys!

He will only give James “hugs” like this and he never does it uninvited! He has never once jumped up on either of the two little kids. This is his special thing with just James…and Jim and I on the odd occasion we invite him! 

The only great part of the last 4 days

Since Sunday late afternoon/evening I've been down and out with the weird flu-like cold virus that's going around. Not like the super yucky throwing up flu, just like the high fever, body aches, accompanied by a wicked cough, headache and chest tightness. I spent almost 2 full days on the couch/in bed and only today did I get up and get dressed and attempt to work from home for a few hours. It's been a rough one but I feel like I'm through the worst of it now. 

Thankfully these two besties have kept my smiling lots. I love watching their bond grow day by day.

Funny fact - he will only take his toys to me, Jim or Jordie. Never to James or Kennedy. He just adores Jordie and we knew this was the way this would go.

Just a puppy dog and his kids

We all feel like we hit the doggy jackpot with our Koda Bear. He has fit into our lives beautifully and we have all fallen in love with him. I'm sure another adjustment is coming for him and for us when we transition back into school/work/hockey, etc, but we are determined to get him out on a walk every day and give him all the love and attention that he desires. Lots of evening and weekend adventures to come in the spring and summer months with the days getting longer and the weather starting to warm up a bit in the coming months too. We can't wait to try this guy out on our paddleboards and out camping and see how he does with two of our favorite activities :) 

For now...here are my favorite photos of him with each of the kids. 

This kid NEEDED a dog in his life. We always knew he'd be the best big brother to a fur kid and we were right. He loves him so much and you can tell Koda loves him too.

I'm amazed every time we take him for a walk how good he does both on leash and off leash. His recall is great and he doesn't pull much at all and is easily corrected if he does.

This has been the trickiest relationship for us to navigate since getting Koda. He was really quite intimidating for Kennedy the first week that we had him. He is a big dog and was trying to herd her which resulted in some scary nipping, a LOT of tears and some real genuine fear on her part. She was a really brave girl and has worked through her fear (with us never leaving them alone anywhere together) while we worked really closely with Koda to ensure he understood that she was the boss and he had to be gentle with her. I won't lie...there were a few tough days that I feared we would have to give him back, but I knew with time and patience we would get to where we are now. They have an understanding...but I don't know that there is total love and trust there yet. I'm sure it will be different down the road, but for now he's still much bigger than her and I still occasionally see the faintest look of fear on her face. We are very careful with him and have noticed a few trigger moments that we need to work on with him to ensure that everyone is safe with him. 

Both the kid and the dog have the best smiles! 

Being a brand new dog owner has had it's challenges for sure, but I still feel like we 100% made the right decision in getting him, and we plan to love him as part of our family for as long as he is alive. We waited a really long time to take the plunge into the dog ownership world, but we feel like he was totally worth the wait.