A Cause for Celebration

It is sooo time to celebrate!

We're talking about a celebration of epic proportions here people.

Why such a celebration you ask?

I shall tell you.

Our Newfoundland, Luca, is FINALLY turning three.

Which FINALLY means that he is no longer a puppy.

And he can FINALLY start acting like a proper member of the canine community.

If you know Luca or have ever heard about him, you know how much of a handful he has been in the first three years of his life.

To say the least.

But for now, let us journey back three years ago to where it all began...



Dear Luca,

Three years ago we left for Buffalo, NY at 2:30 am...

Drove 9 hours in the snow...

Met a guy in a parking lot who handed us a black 17 pound ball of fur...

and then we turned around and drove 9 hours home with you at my feet.

And our lives have never been the same.

We brought you home and showed you around.

Introduced you to your new brother and sister.

They weren't quite sure what to think of you.

Come to think of it, I'm not sure they still know what to think of you...

but you made your self at home.

You got acquainted with the rest of the family.

You chewed a lot of bones. 

And other things.

Speaking of which...

In these three short years, you have managed to eat the following (in no particular order):

• 3 DirecTV remotes
• 1 TV remote
• approximately 32 dog toys that didn't belong to him
• 1 pair of brand new Nike Sneakers
• 1 window sill
• 3 door stoppers
• 1 iPod Nano
• 1 air conditioner remote control
• approximately 7 pairs of flip flops (give or take 12)
• 1 iron cord
• 5 ant traps
• 1 dog brush
• 2 books
• 1 pair of pruning shears
• 15 K-cup coffee cups
• 2 wall corners
• 1 living room curtain
• 1 Yorkie dog house
• 9 cookbooks
• 32 bottles of Diet Snapple
• 2 baskets
• 1 whole corn cob
• 3 kitchen rugs
• 5 random pieces of home decor
• 2 of his own dog beds
• 3 sticky buns in the wrapper
• approximately 1,397 pieces of mail

 and those are just the things I remember.

All that chewing made you pretty sleepy.

So you took a lot of naps.

And you grew really, really fast...

So fast, in fact, that you didn't even realize how big you were.

Come to think of it, you still don't know your size...

or the fact that you now weigh in at around 160 pounds.

You also developed a few gross tendencies which made my quest for a clean house a virtually impossible feat.

You tested our patience on many, many occasions.


But you also knew how to make us laugh.

And after a long three years, you are finally learning how to kick back and relax.

Your sweetness is beginning to outweigh your downfalls.

And although it's been a long, strange, bumpy road, we still love our "baby".

Happy 3rd birthday, Luca! Here's to the next (hopefully less eventful) three and beyond!