Thanks for the treats GRANDMA!

Queso got a surprise in the mail today from Grandma Brenda - some puppy chewy treats! Yay! Thanks Grandma! We love you!

The first week has gone great so far. Queso has been learning more and more each day we spend with him - it's absolutely amazing! In just the few days that we've been together he has already learned to play "fetch", climb up and down the stairs, and go potty on his training pads near the back door all on his own. Such a good boy!

Crate training is still hard for us all, but slowly getting better and better. He is no longer crying at night when we go to bed, but still lets out some whimpers when we leave him for work each day. We have started bringing his kennel with us in the living room each evening so he can hang out in there and get used to it being his own little den. Now we can't hardly keep him out of it when we're at home together. He loves his little house!

Potty training is coming along slowly but surely. He knows that it's business time when we take him outside to the designated "bathroom" area in the back yard, but most of the time he'd rather just romp around and play in the soft grass - which is always a real pleasure for us when it's freezing cold outside at 2am! Aside from one or two accidents each day, he really does seem to be picking it up pretty quickly already.

He really likes to snuggle with us on the couch and nap so far, loves chewing on each and all of his many toys, and also loves to bite and chew on your fingers, toes, socks, and shoes. Getting dressed for work in the mornings has been quite a challenge!

We have our first vet appointment scheduled on Saturday morning at Central Texas Animal Hospital in Pflugerville. Mom has a laundry list of questions she's anxious to ask them for sure. So much for us to learn at the same time! The weekend will likely be dedicated to camping out on the couch with Ben as he recovers from his ankle surgery this week. More cute pictures to come soon!

Queso's first movie.

My two boys taking a nap on the couch.

Queso comes home - Slide Show.

Queso comes home!

Finally, after much anticipation, we received a call from the Hound Rescue folks this week saying that Queso (pronounced "KAY-So") was back from the vet at a healthy weight and a clean bill of health. He was ready to come to his forever home - two weeks ahead of when we were originally expecting him to arrive! Yikes!

The little guy was pretty scared for his first car ride alone without his brothers and sisters in tow. He instantly started to cry and howl and panic as we drove away. Fortunately, we live only about 10 minutes from the foster family, so his "miserable" car ride was short lived.

SO MANY NEW experiences, SO MUCH to learn!

Upon arrival at his new "forever" home, we spent some time outside in the yard and exploring all around his new house. It was a nice, sunny day outside so we decided to wash our cars and left him tied up on a stake beside us. This was his first experience on a leash, and it certainly was NOT very fun! He would run at full speed towards us (as fast as his little puppy legs can carry him!) and then run out of slack and choke himself. Not a fun learning experience for him -but funny for us to watch. Ha ha.

Later that afternoon we came inside and Mom decided it was time for a bath. He was pretty stinky after spending eight weeks wallowing around with his brothers and sisters and getting dirty in their little play-pen. Again, he didn't really enjoy bath time too much, and after about five minutes he decided it was time to come out. We dried him off and he instantly did the infamous doggie-dry-off-full-body wiggle that made us all crack up! So cute!

After some dinner, napping, and playing (plus a few potty accidents in between) it was finally time for bed. Little guy was pretty tired by the time we turned off the lights after such a big day. We put him in his crate beside the bed, and we both knew what was coming as soon as the lights went out. WAAAAAHHHHH!!! WAAAAAHHHHH!!!

He cried for about 15 min until he finally wore himself out, and then we all seemed to get some good sleep. Ben woke up once in the middle of the night to take him out and go potty, and he performed perfectly! Again, more crying when we went back to bed, but it was surprisingly easy to tune him out, give him a stern "SHHH!" and go back to sleep.

This morning he has already pooped in the house once, gone for a walk, and is now napping beside us as we type this. Lots more to learn still - and we're both dreading tomorrow morning when we will have to kennel him up alone and head off to work for the first time...NO FUN for any of us! :(

More to come later this week! Viva Queso! Ha! -B

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