we still love our dog.

When I was pregnant with Kyle, one of my biggest worries was that our beloved yorkie, Penny, would become a neglected step-child. I had heard from many people that once I had the baby my love for Penny would decrease dramatically and she would no longer be a priority to us. This made me incredibly sad, as Penny was such a huge part of our family. I was very concerned that all of these people were right: once you have a baby, the dog gets pushed to the side - or sometimes out the door.

Six months later, I'm happy to report that our sweet girl is very much still in the picture! Although she is understandably the 2nd priority (I mean, Kyle should be #1, right?), I feel confident that she still feels loved and part of the fam. And Kyle LOVES her! He's kind of obsessed, actually. Up until he was about 4-5 months old, he acted like he couldn't even see her. But now that he's growing up and more aware of his surroundings, Penny is like his little buddy. And she is so protective and patient with him.

I wanted to make a list of memories with Penny for us to remember, so here it is:

• Penny is a snuggle bug. Wherever we are, she is right there next to us. It's been hard for her to learn that she needs to keep a little distance from Kyle, because if she gets too close he will grab her legs, face, ear and start cracking up. Poor Penny.
• When Kyle wakes up from his nap and is making noise in his crib, Penny will push his door open and go check on him, then wait outside his door for me to go get him. So sweet!
• The first time we gave Kyle rice cereal, Penny jumped up on my chair to watch him eat.
• Penny will probably be the reason that Kyle starts to crawl. When they're on the floor together, he will do whatever it takes to get closer to her! (see video below for proof!)

• Thanks to Penny, Kyle gets to take so many walks in his stroller. We usually take between 3-6 walks in the park a day and Penny acts like she owns the place. The kids in the park love to pet her, and the old ladies love to go gaga over the baby.
• Penny still barks at the front door (her most annoying feature by far), but she seems to understand that his nap time is quiet time. Of course if a cat jumps into our back yard or a dog barks outside she'll make some noise, but for the most part she takes the opportunity to nap herself. And her barking has yet to wake the baby - we use white noise in his room when he sleeps, and he's probably used to the sound from hearing it so much when he was in my tummy.
• When Kyle cries, sometimes Penny is noticeably uncomfortable. She will lay in a corner and look very sad.
• If Kyle and I are playing on the floor and he starts to get bored, when Penny comes around with one of her toys it's endless entertainment for him. Speaking of toys - Penny hasn't tried to put ANY of Kyle's toys in her mouth! They are all over the floor but she knows which ones are hers and stays away from Kyle's. It's amazing how dogs just "get it" sometimes.
• I still make Penny do silly poses like this one to post on Instagram (check out #petselfiez - hilarious!). She is such a good sport.

• Since we brought Kyle home, Penny has become so much more protective of me. If Brian wants to take her for a walk without me & Kyle, she'll pretty much stay by our side until we coax her into going without us.
• Kyle loves to sit in his bumbo in the bathtub while I give Penny a bath. It's hilarious.
• We actually make decisions about where to put furniture based on Penny's bed and toys. Seems crazy, but we didn't want to move her bed from the place it's been since we brought her home to accommodate Kyle's high chair or pack-n-play. (Quote from Brian: "Hasn't she been through enough in the past 6 months?!") 
• Since we're on a tighter budget now that I'm not working full-time, I haven't been able to take Penny to the groomer as often for her deep conditioning oatmeal treatment (haha). Poor thing looks so shaggy since her haircuts are few and far between and I have been doing some (half-assed) home grooming. Check out Kyle's 1 month and 6 month outtakes below as evidence. (While she doesn't look as groomed, I think Penny would actually consider this a bonus since she absolutely HATES getting groomed.)

it's obvious dog grooming is not my calling.

Of course Penny is not the center of our world anymore and sometimes when I have the baby she gets in the way, but she's still a huge part of the Coriaty fam. We're lucky that these 2 are getting along so well, and that we have a dog that's so easy-going and patient. I feel so relieved that I can be a mommy to our sweet boy and still have room in my heart and home for my first "child" :)