Well, Gracie still thinks she's a mommy and she's very careful with all of her "babies". These pictures were taken this morning when I came back to my bedroom after breakfast. When I left for the kitchen the "puppies" were scattered around the bed, but I guess she thought it was time for their breakfast too! It's funny, but it's also sad to watch her care so tenderly for stuffed toys.

Momma Gracie

About two weeks ago I realized that Gracie was acting pregnant, but I knew there was no way she was pregnant. After a little searching online I figured out that she's having a false pregnancy. I thought she was just going to get a little fat, but I had no idea all the weird things to expect.....all of her recent weird behaviors are starting to make sense. A couple weeks ago Gracie started digging a hole in my backyard and now I've discovered that she's "nesting" for her puppies....she's also started digging in her bed before she lays down.

Last night was the saddest/cutest part of all. Gracie usually hangs out pretty close to me around the house, but she disappeared for a long time and then came and started begging to go out. I let her out the backdoor assuming she had to go to the bathroom, but she ran out, grabbed her toy stuffed pig, and ran back to her bed. I followed her and realized that she had gathered all of her stuffed animals as her "puppies" in her bed. It was so cute, but I kind of wonder if it will be sad when she figures out they're not real. She spends all of her time in bed with her "puppies" and the only way I can get her to go outside when I leave for work is to put all of the "puppies" on the back porch with a blanket. Poor girl.

When Casey's away, Gracie will play...

I went to San Antonio to visit Whit for Memorial Day weekend and Gracie stayed at Mom and Dad's house. I figured she would have a good time with them, but I was surprised to wake up and have emails of her adventures a couple of mornings that I was gone. First I received pictures of her playing with the water hose and the kiddie pool. Gracie loves water and I let her play in it often, but I can't take pictures because I usually end up soaked too. Here are a few pictures of Gracie interfering when Dad was trying to fill up the pool for the dogs.















On Saturday morning I received an email of Gracie's antics on Friday night. According to Mom's claims, she got up to brush her teeth Friday night and Gracie jumped in her spot and got right up on her pillow. I'm certain that my sweet puppy wouldn't have done that, but here are the pictures Mom sent as evidence. I'm pretty sure they're staged. She also claims the last picture was Gracie's sad face when Mom told her she had to get down. :)

Gracie knows CPR!

Well....sort of.

The other night I was sitting on the floor petting Gracie and my back was really tight. I rolled back on my back to stretch out and I closed my eyes. Seconds later I felt Gracie come sit next to me and then I felt her whiskers on my mouth and nose as she sniffed around and breathed on me. Then she put her paw in the middle of my chest and started doing compressions! Well, maybe she was really just poking me in the chest trying to get me continue petting her, but it seemed a lot like CPR to me! It's a good thing I have such a handy dog around.

Life with Gracie

Life with Gracie is going very well...aside from her dragging me around the neighborhood on walks (hopefully we'll get that under control). She's so good in the house and wants to be by my side at all times. Gracie has some funny quirks too...she hardly ever gets on the hardwood or tile because she freaks out when her paws slide...she gives a low bark at all uncertain sounds such as the washing machine, the dryer vent outside on the porch, the popcorn popper, water dripping after a shower, etc. She's a funny pup, but I love her!

Here are a few pics of Gracie, aka the guard dog, sitting watch at my bedroom window. She loves to sit there and watch the world go by. Sometimes she gets tired and falls asleep with her head on the window sill, but she's also scared away my neighbor who apparently was letting her dog go to the bathroom in my yard....heh heh heh.
Gracie has been great about sleeping in her bed and has happily stayed there at night since her first night at my house. She is afraid of storms though, and she ends up in the middle of my bed when there's thunder.














When Mom and Dad leave town, Gracie and I head over to their house since it's easier for me to take care of both dogs in one place. Gracie and Chewy had to check each other out at first, but they really seem to get along (or at least coexist) very well. Gracie and I spent the week before Easter over at Mom and Dad's and Gracie seemed depressed the first few days that we returned home. When I opened my back door that Monday morning to put her outside for the day, she sat down and looked at me like, "you call that a backyard?" Gracie gets plenty of exercise on our daily walks, but I think she really prefers all of the adventures that Mom and Dad's backyard holds.

Meet Gracie!

On Valentine's Day I adopted Gracie, a 2 year old black/chocolate lab. I love her already! More pictures to come...

Introducing Ava!

I gained another niece! Ava Holt Garrison was born to my brother, Matt and sister-in-law, Amy on Nov 1. She is a perfect blend of the two of them, and I can't wait to meet her and kiss that little round face!