It's been nearly three months since the day we picked up Charlie from the foster home. And, without fail, he's brought energy, laughter, and a little chaos to our lives every day since.

And sniffing e v e r y thing.

Exhibit B: 

Exhibit C:

Aside from smelling every square inch of our house, and eating socks and leaves, there's nothing he loves more than snuggling Josh. Every night he curls up in Josh's lap and falls into a deep sleep (and snores) while we watch a show. 

Two snuggly buds enjoying a Thanksgiving Day nap.

When one of us leaves the house, he sits and stares at the door until we come back.

As he's been teething, he's been a little needier. But seeing as I was grieving the loss of my Grandfather and fighting a bout of Covid, I didn't mind the extra company. We snuggled up in 'the big bed' under the fan and watched many, many baking shows in those weeks.

For Christmas, we bought him a new bunny toy to replace the one he'd demolished a few months back. I wish we had a video of his excitement when we pulled the bunny from the package because he went bananas. Just over the top joy at the return of his old friend. They've been inseparable ever since.

Though his given name is Charlie Ray, we've taken to calling him Charles Fitzwallace in the last few months, since we've needed a longer name to holler when he's up to something... which, as a puppy, is often.

But even when he's a feisty little troublemaker or a stubborn ball of emotions, we're so glad he's ours. We can't get enough of our Charlie boy. 

Five (more) things I've found (and favorited) while shopping for gifts for loved ones:

1. This pancake pet costume (above) kills me. I think Charlie would wear it for about ten seconds before trying to eat it, but it would bring me and Josh such joy in those ten seconds that it might be worth it. 

2. Speaking of Charlie, I feel like buying my puppy matching Christmas pajamas had put me in to a new realm of pet parent. I'm not ready to call him my 'fur baby' but I would wear this sweet ring to sport my love for him year-round. 

3. If we'd had any New Year's Eve plans other than hanging out on our couch, I might have purchased these earrings for the occasion. I'm a little sad I'm just now finding them... I would have loved to wear them on our wedding day. I suppose there will be many more sparkly-jewelry-worthy celebrations in the future, so I'll be keeping these in mind!

4. Our lease is up this Summer and we're talking about moving to a home with a yard. I think, with anything more than concrete slab, we could pretend we've got a National Park nearby and hang this sign. It would be a really fun addition to a guest room!

5. And because I can't seem to create a list like this without some sort of nerd paraphernalia (dinosaur or astronaut or both!), it feels appropriate to add this dinosaur light strand. You know how pople love their themed Christmas tree? I could definitely see this kicking off our over-the-top decorations.

As we talked more about it, Josh dove down a rabbit hole talking about all the albums he had, the other artists that performed that night, the excitement surrounding the whole event...

I love the deep memories associated with a night at a live concert and look forward to the day when we-- and a big group of strangers--can sing along at the top of our lungs as a band plays our favorite song.

I'm curious... what was your first concert?