Proud Parents - Bostyn & Emmitt

Bostyn and Emmitt showing off their new neckware after their annual check-up with their doggie doctor.
It's amazing how you can get married and instantly become the stepmom. Grandma Little always said I would marry a guy with kids - I just didn't know they would be dogs! I already knew I liked Emmitt when I dated Brody the first time, but Bostyn was a new addition when we got back together so I had to get to know her. Just in the past few weeks, I have come to realize how much I love my kids. They are always happy to see me and even happier when I ask them if they want to go outside. Their ears perk up and Bostyn goes berzerk (more than normal). Emmitt, on the other hand, prances around and get that gleam in his eyes. Of course, their hearts will always belong to their dad - they only have eyes for Brody when he's home, no matter what I do to get their attention. Such devotion.

I realized last night that I was becoming one of those "parents." You know the ones. Always talking about how adorable their kids are and showing pictures of them. Ya, I do that. I have tons of pictures and videos of them on my phone and as soon as anyone asks what kind of dogs we have (which I can remember - finally), I whip out my phone and bore everyone to tears. But that's okay - I just love them! I talk to them all day and boss Bostyn around to do all the things I should be doing. One day I'll come home and she will have cleaned the house for me, right? Ha. Just teaching her how to "shake" took quite some time and lots of cookies, dog cookies, that is.

The weird thing is, Brody added Bostyn to the canine team at a time when he thought he would be a bachelor forever. He also wanted someone Emmitt could hang out with. Both dogs are rescue dogs and have some of the most interesting personalities. The most interesting part of it all is that the saying "owners are like their pets" is VERY relevant here, which is quite amusing. I marvel at the way our little family has come together. Emmitt (or Brody) tries to be the alpha male and is calm, loyal and steadfast. He can also be somewhat of a creep, with his shifty stare or his slow crawl when you're not looking. (Okay, Brody doesn't creep up on you like Emmitt, but he can look at you with those beautiful eyes of his in a creepy kind of way sometimes. It's cute.) Bostyn (or Jen) is always on the move, wanting to know what's going on with everything, extremely curious, yet cautious and fearful, and pretty much psychotic and needy.

We enjoy taking the kids out to the grassy area behind our condo and letting them play with their new friends. I always remember the names of the other dogs, but as much as we talk with the owners, I have no clue what their names are! Bostyn doesn't care how small the puppies are (like 5 month old Abby) or how big Bella and Czar are (they outweigh her by 60 & 95 pounds), she enjoys playing with them all - and we enjoy watching them. It's also great because they sleep through the night and don't stir too much when we're up at 4 in the morning to get Brody off to work. Emmitt will be a great big brother and Bostyn will be a great big sister when the time comes to add a human baby to our family!