Grown up

I still can't believe it.  My little furry baby is all grown up.  

Friday he turns 1 year old.

Be warned, this is a post of quite a few pictures...

the first time I ever laid eyes on him 

how I felt that first day as a momma 

signature pose: "will you marry me? I mean US?" 

First "family" picture

So in honor of all the love, laughter, fun & surprises he brings to our lives, here's a bit of what we've learned about Tucker during his first year...  

To always be prepared... now when we travel with T he has his own bag (toys, food, water, treats, poop bags...) 

He's very tolerant of being dressed up- believe it or not this was in his puppy kindergarten class (getting used to being 'handled' but letting us put a t-shirt on him)

He's extremely helpful... He also l-o-v-e-s brining us things.  I guess that's the retriever in him.

He makes the funniest faces!

Since he received this stuffed puppy, Tucker has always shown us its his favorite.  He sucked on this little puppy till it fell apart (2 times)! Now he's on to towels... 

You are even cuter when your wet... but you're still scared of baths, seriously scared. 

Swimming is a skill you had to develop.  While the first time was a little shaky, good thing you grew out of that because B and & I both L-O-V-E being on the water! 

There is never a shortage of people telling us how beautiful you are, how photogenic, and how badly we should get you into advertising or modeling. I couldn't agree more! 

He's extremely skilled- in his second puppy training classes he conquered his fear of new things (jumping, going under, as well as large awkward gym equipment)

Belly rubs are the key to his heart 

I've taken so many pictures of him that he now smiles at the camera! 

You are very trainable.  You've learned sit, stay, come, shake, down, & to fetch a newspaper!

You have a sweet tooth.  Favorite foods include: ice, ice cream, peanut butter, green beans & cheese

While you surely tolerate us dressing you up (for Halloween), you sure dont always approve of our choices.  Next year son, you can be Buzz 

You are very curious- your first snow was the cutest thing to watch, all 2 inches of it. 

Even though you are 60 pounds, you still want to be held and expect to be.  Oh and you give great kisses! 

You were a woodchuck in another life.  As long as you have a stick to chew, you're happy.  When you bring the stick in the house, no one else is happy.  

You play so much you wear yourself out.  

You make big messes! Good thing this is only with toys and not furniture, clothes or shoes.  I will happily spend $50 a month on new toys for you if you keep away from my shoes & bags

You are brave- even with party poppers around (for New Years)

You are friendly- theres hardly a dog that you dont like.  You loved Haley and helped keep her young and on her toes- she taught you so much and kept you company for all those long days when we were at work. 

You love car rides! We've taken you almost everywhere we can- VA, MD, DE, DC... beaches, mountains, wineries, target... you name it! 

You're a very fast runner... but you never go too far.  Which is great because we can take you off your leash and you always come back!

You make us think you are a human sometimes: You somehow now to lay your head on pillows and snuggle right in.  

Even when you're filthy, you're still the cutest dog I've ever seen! 

Tucker, if you could read, I wish you would read this.  Instead, I hope Mary Ellen (the breeder we got you from) reads this and knows how much we appreciate that she trusted us with one of her prized pups.  We hope we haven't let her down.  You've learned so much in this year- we just need to work on not jumping up on people you love and walking slower on a leash.  I've never cared about a 'thing' so much as you.  You are like a person to us, a person/ dog/ best friend we never want to live without.  We love you more than words can even describe and cant wait till all 3 of us live under one roof! Until then... come visit soon!