Our Baby Boy...

This may come as somewhat of a surprise, but J and I already have a baby. He weighs about twenty pounds, sheds all over the place and he loves to eat anything and everything we give him, except grapefruit. He hates grapefruit. He will be nine in March and he is absolutely the light of our lives. He is a Jack Russell Terrier named Sherman.

The way that Sherman came to be a member of our family was a little unusual. He was given to us in late May 1996 as our first wedding present. We weren't getting married until September of that year, so the gift was a little early, but what a gift! When my friend asked me to come to her farm one evening to meet the litter of pups she had, I was happy to oblige. I love dogs of all breeds and mixes and love to cuddle with a puppy whenever I get the chance. In fact, one of my favorite smells is puppy breath. You know that smell that all pups have when they are eating Puppy Chow? Anyway, so I went and played with them all. There was one inparticular that continued to chew on my shoelaces, so he received the most attention, as I was always picking him up in an attempt to distract him from my laces. When I got ready to go, my friend quietly asked me if J and I would be interested in having the lace obsessed pup as a wedding present. I was floored. As it turns out, he was the only one that had not been sold yet. It was as if he knew he needed to "sell" himself or he would have to stay on the farm with his mom, who was none to happy about having puppies in the first place. J and I had just graduated from college and were living with our parents until we got married and J started his new job in another city that was about 2 hours away. I told her I would have to talk to J about it, and would let her know.

The next day, I decided that the best way to get J to say yes to owning a puppy before we were married, was to allow him to meet the puppy. So I swung by the farm and picked-up the puppy. I showed up at J's house that evening with the puppy in toe. Once J saw that face and heard that sweet little bark, he couldn't say no.

We are both so glad that Sherman is a part of our lives, now more than ever. As we wait for the time when we will be able to add another member to our family, Sherman continues to just be himself...his loving, spazzy, barky self. As anxious as I am to grow our family and to add another baby to the mix, I know that Sherman will always be our first baby.

Sherman, thank you for always greeting us with a bark and a wag. Mommy and Daddy love you!


Sherman 2004