our pup Rocky: lazy or brilliant?

i will present my case. 

you decide. . . . 

EXHIBIT A: 
here is Rocky. 
smack dab in the middle of the stairs. 
because that is the best place to stretch out. 
this is an especially great place to be if either Bernie or Krystyne is trying to transport laundry baskets. 
it's also a great place to chew on his favorite toy. 

EXHIBIT B:
sadly, sometimes that toy is a tricky stinker. 
it's hard to keep one's paws on it. 

EXHIBIT C:
what is a pup to do when they "lose" their favorite toy?
first, we must weep and sulk a bit. 

EXHIBIT D: 
but, eventually, we must pick up our chins. . . 
but. . . then what?
clearly, this is an unsolvable problem. 
as such, one must sit and wait for someone to walk by and give them back the irretrievable toy.   

so. 

i'm torn.

i can't quite decide if our sweet puppy is smart, lazy, or just kind of a punk. 

not in general.

but in regard to a particular matter. 

sidenote: 

i do, also, still live with two small humans. 

who have been generating some great stories and pictures that must be shared. 

but, incorporating grad school into our lives has been an adjustment. 

an adjustment that pushed blogging straight out the window. 

winter break is just around the corner. . . 

fail photo friday: rocky heard it, too

during high school, my best friend's family took me along on a summer vacation. 

we stayed in a houseboat on Lake Shasta. 

it was amazing. 

except for two part of the trip. 

part one: 

lynn's older brother kevin and his friend thought it would be fun to take lynn and i out on the jet skis. 

which would have been fun.

in theory. 

until they proceeded to dump us in the middle of the lake and drive off for a bit.

this was less than fun. 

part two: 

one evening, i heard a sound that i will never be able to imitate or accurately describe in this life. 

all i can say is that, to this day, i can still hear it perfectly in my head. 

because it sounded like the growl/roar/cry of neither a human nor any animal that should have been in the area. 

or any area. 

i'm going to say that a Yeti was on vacation in Tahoe that week, too. 

i, of course, was thoroughly disturbed by this sound. 

years later, my best friend's dad admitted that he had also heard that sound. 

and was equally disturbed but trying to keep things calm. 

i took this photo of Rocky sitting in the sun the other day. 

and didn't see the expression on his face until later:

it seems as if i caught the exact moment my puppy also heard my friend the Yeti as well. 

people told me puppies are like babies...

and they kind of are. 

...except that babies come with one very critical added bonus. 

diapers.  

i never ONCE wondered if anth or benny might poop on the floor when they were 12 weeks old. 

for several reasons. 

one, i knew they were wherever i put them. 

two, because tiny humans are not mobile. 

(this is kind of an awesome design.)

three, THEY. WORE. DIAPERS. 

this being said, I haven't managed to find much time to post about the latest addition to the Savvy clan. 

this was last Friday, the day we picked up Rocky.

this photo was taken at the vet's office in their Pup in a Cup prop. 

no, he's not THAT tiny. 

and this was little man getting cozy in his bed. 

that i didn't even have to TRY to introduce to him. 

he just saw it and assumed. 

the boys. 

so. many. boys. 

he still looked a little anxious on day 1. things have settled in a bit now. 

a bit. 

ben likes him best when he is sleeping. 

and, of course, we chose a dog that doesn't do well in extremely cold (or hot) weather. 

during the worst winter in some time. 

so, this is his vest. 

sometimes just the idea of taking it on and off is exhausting to him. 

yep. 

that's a darth vader nametag. 

because, again, boys. 

he basically has the entire first floor at his disposal while we are able to be with him. 

but this. 

this 4-inch floor-to-ceiling spot?

clearly the place to be. 

also. 

this is what "productivity" currently looks like for me. 

"productivity" has morphed and shifted and been reinvented many times for me since anth entered the scene in April of 2005, so this is just a new iteration. 

i kind of wish i had a similar photo of benny or anth splayed across my lap like this, but I didn't actually do that. 

i promise. 

(perhaps because i didn't think of it.)

full disclosure: THIS is how I managed to write this post. 

thanks, anth. 

wish us, or Rocky, luck!

someone is going to need it. . . 

a lesson in democracy: puppy naming

for years, we told the boys that they could have a dog if we lived closer to work. 

we moved last summer. 

and now find ourselves living closer to work. 

the boys reminded us we have been overdue on a certain promise. 

we considered the current state of our lives. . . 

the boys have been potty trained and sleeping through the night for years. 

why embrace this sense of stability?

so. . . 

we are getting a puppy. 

more specifically, we are bringing home a puppy this friday.

we are pretty darn excited. 

not surprisingly, one of the biggest topics floating around the Savvy house has been "what shall we name the puppy?"

in an effort not to make this a boring conversation, all four of us wanted/liked different names. 

even different kinds of names. 

this was becoming problematic. 

until, of course, bernie pulled out his BA in Political Science and guided us through a multi-layered voting process. 

at the dinner table. 

here's what that looked like. . . 

ROUND 1: 

everyone put forward their suggestions for names. 

bernie wrote a master list of said names. 

here it is: 

in case you can't read the awesome green ink we used for this process, here are some highlights: 

bernie and I suggested some typical names: Tucker, Parker, Oscar, Obi

"Windmaker 626" - Ben

"Rudy, but only if he has a pink or red nose" - Ben

"Sonic, Link, Tails" - Anth

"Ketchup Wonder" - Ben

"Paul" - i have no idea. 

"Hairy Potter" - Anth

"Syrup Guy" - Ben

"Astin/Sanford" - it appears that Bernie got bored around #43

ROUND 2

after we all felt that we had added our potential names to the list, Bernie read through each name and we voted if it was one we would seriously consider. 

those are the tally marks on the long name list. 

shockingly, not many of the names received more than one vote. . . 

ROUND 3 

we moved forward with the ones that had 3 or 4 votes. 

bernie made ballots: 

of course, before i could properly cast my votes, i had to test out the names i was considering: 

(turns out it is "Obi Wan" and not "Obie Wan." oops)

but, then, the votes were in: 

ROUND 4: 

by a final vote of hands, we landed on Rocky. 

now, i imagine some people will think this little pup of ours is named after a certain boxer. 

not true. 

rocky was actually anthony's suggestion. 

becuase he has a teddy bear named Rocky.

it was given to him when he was just days old by a friend of the family, Ankita Rakhe, and her mom. 

their name isn't actually pronounced "rocky," but...details.

so, almost 8 years later, we have a dog, named after a bear, named after a friend in Northern California. 

even better?

benny panicked about a week after we selected the name. 

he realized that, because of a mark on the dog's back, he really wanted to call him Bolt. 

which, as you can see, was not even on the final ballot. 

we all compromised and agreed that our new family member could be Rocky B. Savarese. 

forever making him seem like he was named after Rocky Balboa. 

so, friends, meet our not-like-the-boxer Boston Terrier, Rocky: 

5 weeks

8 weeks

i'm certain there will be more posts to come as we all learn to take care of him together. . .