Meet Nola

Meet Nola. Oh my goodness. Life has been a bit of a whirlwind since we last chatted. What with Summer and Fall gone, Winter almost over and Spring on the horizon....As much as I would like to say I just went into hibernation, I did not.

This is Nola. My new baby. I like having three kids! In the fall we decided we would wait until the coming Spring to take the plunge into puppy parenthood again.  How exactly did we end up with this little one 6 months ahead of schedule?  Well, our house just wasn't a home without our sweet, precious Butterbear, so I contacted Heartland Retrievers to get on their list for an upcoming litter. Little did I know we would be able to slip in and get a puppy way sooner than anticipated. When we found out she was available we couldn't wait any longer.

We went to visit the puppies, 5 in all, in her litter.  3 boys and 2 girls. We KNEW we wanted a girl. Call me sexist. I don't care. I love girl doggies and a good friend and doggie expert said girls are easier to train.  Sold! We visited in late November and immediately knew Nola was the girl for us. She was the smallest. A little on the puny side, which did give me pause, but the other girl was, to put it mildly, spirited! We spent time with each puppy and one by one they fell fast asleep, Nola happily on the bottom of a pile of her brothers.  The other beautiful, snow white and solid girl was still going. Playing, demanding attention, basically being the boss. She was lovely, but not for us. Nola it was! Even the breeder was surprised.

We brought Nola home on December 8th, 2012. I was actually not here (I was away on a girls' trip to Hawaii with my besties) so Daddy and the kiddos had to handle the homecoming. Ella proved herself an excellent surrogate puppymama.

She is a little mellow, especially for a lab and more especially for a puppy but we love it actually! It works for us.  She's been through most of her shots and Vet visits and is growing in leaps and bounds. We will go away for her first trip to the river next weekend and then she's off to the doctor to be spayed.  Poor puppy.

Welcome Nola.  We love you and are so happy to have you in our family. For those of you wondering, yes, she is named for one of my favorite cities on earth, New Orleans.