meet bloom, our new puppy!

Well, we bought a puppy! Her name is Bloom, she's a Pomeranian/Jack Russell Terrier mix, she has a cute nose, and she'll be nine weeks old tomorrow!

Our decision to buy Bloom moved so fast - we just found out about her a couple days ago. The girl who sold her to us lives in Kentucky, and she had a friend who was driving through Nashville and could drop off the puppy to us.. So last night, we picked up Bloom and ran straight over to Petsmart to buy her some things.

And she is the sweetest thing in the world. She is extremely playful but as soon as you pick her up, she goes into sleep mode. And she loves absolutely everyone she meets. I haven't heard her bark yet, but she's definitely a whiner.. And she's so wobbly that she'll sometimes fall over when she's scratching herself.

Oh, and she has funny tufts of wiry fur everywhere. And a white belly.

As I write this, Bloom is sleeping on my lap in front of my computer. I've never had a true lap dog before!

Getting Bloom to sleep last night was an interesting experience. We don't have a crate yet, so we made a few attempts at a makeshift crate. She managed to jump out at every attempt.. even a tall hamper we had set up for her. So, we puppy proofed our bathroom and once she was sleeping on Neil's lap, we carried her in and set her on her bed. Five minutes later, she's whining at the door. Two hours later, she's still whining. She would fall asleep for a few minutes, whine, then fall asleep, then whine. At 2am, it was so loud that we took her into our room. She slept fine on her little bed next to our dresser with no accidents in the room - thank the Lord. She just needed to be near us, I guess.

There are traits about Bloom that remind me of our old dog, Scarlet.. she has white paws, she sighs in her sleep, she always has to be near people - all of the time, and she chews things with her paws folded over, just like Scarlet. And for some reason, both of them are scared or at least annoyed by cameras.. not a good trait in a cute dog! But it's nice to be reminded of Scarlet and feel a little sad, but mostly thankful. I hope Bloom grows up to be just like her.

We had tons of names picked out for boy pups (Hemingway from the author, Finnegan from James Joyce, Butters from South Park), but not many for a girl (maybe Ayn?). Neil suggested Bloom, and it was adorable so it kind of stuck. We're still deciding, but that seems to be the best choice for her for now. And in case you guys are wondering.. the name Bloom comes from the same place I got Blooming Leopold - Ulysses by James Joyce. Leopold Bloom is the main character.

Do you guys own any pets and if so, what interesting stories do you have of their young years?

And also, if you have any other good girl names in mind for puppies, let us know!