A boy, a girl and a lab named Layla

Christmas and the New Year

2010-01-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

Layla started the New Year off with a bang by having a snow day! She had lots of fun chasing snowballs even though she could never figure out why they fell apart when they hit the ground.

Layla celebrated her first Christmas this year. Santa brought her a big tennis ball, a rope toy, a new rubber soccer ball and a bone.

A Day at the Park

2009-12-13T07:57:00.000-08:00

Today we took Layla out to the local park and let her run and play in the freezing cold ponds and connecting streams. What could be more fun than fetching a pink tennis ball, pulling sticks out of the creek and scaring off massive trout and northern pike.

This will be Layla's final outing before going to the vet to get fixed. Once Layla has her operation she will have to lay low and out of the water for several weeks. Not to mention she's a "licker" so a lamp shade to put on her neck has been ordered, we'll post the pictures.

As we ventured from pond to pond letting Layla play in the freezing water along the way, she made a cautious discovery.

Not sure what to think, Layla was still very curious and decided to go back for a closer look.

She was so nervous about this random teddy bear at the park, that the hair on her back stood straight up like a mohawk.

Notice she tries to bark after cowardly running away. What a big baby!

Cheers,

Jennifer and Nate

She's getting fixed!

2009-12-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

Good news - Layla is getting fixed next week!

We put our name on the waiting list three or four months ago and our name finally came up. I took her in for her pre-surgery appointment today and everything looks good. At least from a medical perspective.

However, from a behavioral perspective, things are definitely looking south. Unfortunately, it seems Layla does not perceive me as the Alpha dog. No, she prefers to be submissive to male chihuahuas and terriers...Listen to me? Why on earth would she do that? I'm only twice her size (sort of) and control her meals. No,no, it makes much more sense to submit to a teacup dog.

So you can imagine our experience in the waiting room. As soon as we walk in she makes a beeline for a mom and son with their poodle-esqe looking dog. She was just shy of jumping on their lap when I managed to reel her back in. Then she proceeds to pull toward them while I "check in", which ultimately consisted of a partially sympathetic front desk clerk who said I could just sit down. Layla seems to make an impression with everyone.

Excellent.

So we sit down and another person comes in. It's a young mom with her even smaller daughter and a huge brown dog, who, as it turns out, is 8 years old. It's a shame because older dogs tend to not like Layla. She's too overwhelming. So we sat there for another 20 minutes while Layla struggled to get to the dog, got growled out, was yanked back to my side of the room, would sit for approximately 30 seconds and would then cry.

Repeat.

Oh and in the meantime, my commander's wife shows up with their terrier.

Awesome.

Layla proceeds to "make friends" and shortly thereafter is trying to tackle the small dog.

I'm not expecting play date invitations any time soon.

Finally we get back to the exam room for her screening (half an hour late, I might add). The vet was very nice and all of Layla's vitals checked out. Then they took her to another room to draw blood. I heard her cry out a few times, which makes me wonder why they had to take her to another room...

Eventually they brought out samples of her blood and told me to stick it in the German mailbox.

Wait, what?

Yep, we had to buy German postage so we could stick our dog's blood sample in a German mailbox. Apparently, they don't have a box on post so they put the responsibility to the owner. It wouldn't be so bad if neither of us worked, but these errands always turn into another 30 minutes to an hour.

Much to my relief, I was able to drop Layla off at work with Nate and he took over the mailing issue. Now all we have to do is gear up for her surgery next week.

And after she recovers? Training.

It's time to get serious.

Cheers,

Jen & Nate

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

Layla wasn't sure what to think of the pumpkin at first...

But she got over it pretty quickly. By the end of the evening she was eating pieces of pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Even now when we go outside she has to stop for a few licks of our jack o lantern.

I don't know what to say about this...

Cheers,

Nate and Jen

Recent pics of Layla

2009-10-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Updates: Layla is about 7 months old, 60 pounds and full of energy.

Layla gets friendly with Cat in the backseat.

Layla lifts up the couch cushions and gets comfortable.

What happens any time I get out of bed for more than 30 seconds.

Posing for the camera

Messing with the couch cushions...again...

Getting settled in for a good movie.

Cheers,

Jen and Nate

Layla updates!

2009-08-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since Layla ate our computer charger.

Yes, that's right, she chewed through an electrical wire. Fortunately, she didn't injure herself or anyone else. Although I think there were a few sparks when Nate tried to plug it in...

Since then we've gotten a new charger and some plastic tubing to protect it, but it prevented us from doing any updates for a few weeks.

Where to begin...

We started taking Layla to obedience school twice a week. So far, we've only gone twice due to long work hours and other commitments and I have to say I'm still not sold on the whole process.

I expected Layla to be learning commands - sit, stay, down, roll over - but instead the trainer (we'll call her Olga to protect her identity) has her doing agility training. You know, running in between sticks, traversing over a three foot ramp all for little bits of doggie treats. Layla seems to have a good time doing it, but it's not really what I expected.

Then at the end of class, Olga gives us homework like work on the command "down". This is where Nate and I run into problems. I mean, if we had the time, patience and discipline to work on commands at home we wouldn't be taking Layla to obedience classes.

I'm just saying...

Plus, the first time we took her to class we had an "incident". I call it an incident because we were shamed into leaving, but really it was just nature taking its course. So I'll just come out and say it -

Layla pooped in the middle of the training field.

There I said it - nothing earth shattering. Last I checked, we wanted her to go to the bathroom outside. Normally, we praise her. But this time it was different.

Every person - and dog - in the class watched Layla do her business in the middle of the field. Oh the horror! After that, everyone sent "shame" vibes our way. Olga was even shaking her head back and forth and started speaking to her friend about us in German. We're still not sure what happened. I mean, it was on a grass field and to his credit, Nate picked it up and threw it away.

Weird, right?

So anyway, the jury is still out on obedience school. I'm sure we'll go back to class next week, but we want to make sure Layla is feeling up to snuff before we expose her to other dogs again.

Unfortunately, Layla stayed in the kennel for a couple of days (Olga runs one out of her house) and she caught a doggy cold going around. She's been to the vet twice since she got home, had to get shots and is now on antibiotic tablets. The meds seem to be working since she's been a lot more active the past couple of days and is back to her ornery ways. Apparently, the cold has hit this part of Germany pretty hard and lots of dogs are sick. I wonder if this could be H1N1. Just kidding.

Other than that, Layla is doing well. She's up to about 50 pounds and doesn't realize how much power she has in her compact little body. She has a habit of running and jumping on you while you're sitting on the couch and it feels like a wrecking ball hitting your lap. Her tail is also fairly thick and she's now tall enough to knock things off the table with her tail. Earlier today she knocked a glass over, which somehow managed not to shatter and fortunately was empty at the time.

Layla has also managed to find a permanent spot in the bed. Despite having initially declared that she would never sleep in the bed, it seems to have become a regular practice. In fact, I am officially giving up. At this point, if I can keep her at the foot of the bed I'll be happy. However, I think this too will take some training. Currently, she prefers to sleep like a human with her head on the pillow and her body sprawled all over the bed. This results in her taking up 50 percent of the bed and the majority of the pillows. And if you try to move her she'll just move farther up the bed so that she's laying on all of the pillows. She likes to put her paws on your shoulders and rest her head on top of your head. Usually I wake up because she's trying to eat my hair. At which point, her taking up half the bed doesn't seem so bad anymore...

Ah and finally, Layla has most of her big girl teeth now. She shreds her toys like they're paper. We find miscellaneous feet and wings all over the floor. Not to mention, stuffing. These poor stuffed animals have their necks broken and their insides gutted. She shows no mercy.

Cheers,

Jen and Nate

34 pounds of chocolately fun!

2009-07-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Today, Nate and I weighed Layla for the first time in a week or so and were NOT surprised to learn that she weighs 34 pounds. I can definitely tell the difference when I pick her up. I'm also starting to realize that being able to pick her up will not be an option much longer.

At least, not if we keep feeding her...

Layla's big girl teeth are also starting to develop and they're razor sharp. She "accidentally" bit my thumb while we were playing today and she took a chunk of skin with her. Nate and I are starting to look like battered parents.

Nate also noticed that her baby teeth are falling out. She has a little hole near the front of her mouth where a tooth used to be. It was cool to see, but it makes me wonder...

Where the heck is her tooth?

Did she eat it? Am I going to step on it on the floor? Do puppies have tooth fairies?

My money is on option number two.

Also, Layla is biting anything and everything to help cope with her teething. This includes our wall, pieces of furniture, shoes, socks, dryer sheets, my hair and a special love for flip-flops. Oh and anything that moves - including us.

It seems like when we take her to the park now she's more interested in pulling on our pant legs or biting our ankles than actually walking. No joke, the other day she grabbed by pants at just the right spot and nearly de-pantsed me in the middle of the park. Now I wear pants with drawstrings and try to keep her on a short leash. We'll see if this improves with some time.

Anyway, I just wanted to post a quick update to let you know Layla is doing well. She's even transitioned to her new dog food pretty well. Although, she also does try to eat litter off the ground so there really wasn't any reason to be concerned with her not liking the taste...

Cheers,

Jen and Nate

Layla's personality starts to shine

2009-07-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

I like to think pets are like humans in the sense that they each have their own personality. Layla is already starting to show her personality, flaws included.

She's still a big sleeper and likes to be lazy after a long walk or a big meal. You can often find her lounging on "her" blanket on the floor in front of the couch.

She's also becoming more and more social, which is fairly characteristic of a lab. She LOVES people. If we're out walking she has to stop so people can pet her. Or if she's off the leash, she'll run up to people so they notice her. Same thing when we go out to eat. Here in Germany you can bring your dog into the restaurant with you. We've been trying to socialize Layla in this setting, but I think it will be an uphill battle. The entire time you're eating, she's trying to get to a neighboring table so she can mingle!

She's also starting to pout. She's got it down to a routine now. When you tell her no the first time, she barks. The second time, it's a smaller bark. The third time, it's a whimper or a whine. And the fourth time, she hangs her head and walks off to pout.

She's clever. If Nate tells her no, she comes to me. If I push her off the bed, she walks over to Nate to see if he'll let her up. She's just like a child.

She likes to be close. At first, she wasn't much of a snuggle puppy, but now she likes to be near you. If you're on the couch, she wants to lay on the pillow by your head. If you're in bed, she wants to lay on your legs. If you're getting out of the shower, she wants to lick your legs. And if you're watching TV, she'll lay next to you and watch too.

It should be interesting to see how much her personality changes as she gets older. I can hardly wait!

Cheers,

Jen and Nate

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-20T22:48:00.000-07:00

Dad -

Thanks for always taking me outside in the middle of the night, playing with me in the park and feeding me extra treats.

Love,

Layla

The Vet and a Medieval town? Now that's what I call a Saturday!

2009-06-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

Ah the joys of parenting.

Today, Nate and I took Layla to her first vet appointment. She behaved exactly as we expected.

Sort of.

We didn't have any problems in the waiting room, which was great. Although I think it was probably because the only other animal was a cat who was snoozing in its carrier. She even got on the scale in the waiting room after some slight nudging - or being carried (details, details) - and stayed still so that we could all see that she weighs...

24 pounds.

What the heck has she been eating? It didn't help that her stomach looked a little bloated...Or the fact that later we saw a puppy four times her size (granted, it had fluffy hair) who only weighed 23 pounds. One thing is for sure, Layla is solid. Muscle, fat, whatever - she's thick.

So we get back in the room and the vet asks us all the standard questions. We were actually only there for a shot, but ended up with a toe nail trim as well. She showed us exactly where to cut, which was nice because the last thing I want to do is cut her nails to short and hurt her.

Especially since she already doesn't like it.

Poor thing. At one point, Nate had her pinned down and then the vet had her pinned and then I had one of her legs. I think the vet mentioned something about obedience training, but I tried to tune it out. She's only 11 weeks for crying out loud!

And of course, things just got worse. The vet noted her bloated stomach - oops - but agreed that we were feeding her the right amount (although she did recommend we cut back a bit). She also suggested that Layla has worms.

Say what?!

Now, our breeder told us that she had been de-wormed before we brought her home (apparently, all puppies are born with worms), but the vet said her bloated belly was a strong indication of worms. So she recommended we give her the de-worming meds. She said it wouldn't hurt her if she'd already been de-wormed and if she hadn't, it would take care of the problem.

Being the caring parents that we are, we agreed.

Of course, the vet said oh puppies and kittens LOVE this stuff. It's got a vanilla flavor to it and she'll just suck it right from the syringe.

Uh huh.

Right.

Our darling puppy takes one lick and starts squirming like a wild beast. She does NOT like it. So the vet says too bad, yanks her mouth open and squirts the stuff in. It's all over Layla's face and later in the afternoon she had a yellow crust around her nose. It looked like she had gotten into a cup of yogurt.

But wait, that's not all folks!

She also needed the second of three booster shots. The vet asks us to hold the front end while she pokes her in the side.

Uh huh.

Right.

Haven't we learned our lesson by now?

So she sticks her once and Layla pulls away. She sticks her twice and Layla again pulls away. She sticks her three times and AGAIN she pulls away. This time was especially bad because when the vet pulled it out, it squirted on Nate's leg. We're lucky she didn't stick Nate! Finally, she got all of the meds into Layla.

Oh and the icing on the cake?

Layla starts licking the floor where the meds spilled and the vet says, "Oh look she's licking up the vaccine off the floor - see she'll be just fine"

Needless to say, by the time we got in the car I was ready for some hand sanitizer.

A lot of hand sanitizer.

Her next vet appointment is July 20. The vet said she hopes she's better prepared for her shots. Right, like we're going to practice sticking our dog with needles. Who is this lady?

To treat ourselves after that experience we decided to go to Rothenburg, the medieval town about an hour and a half away.

We strapped Layla into her harness. Side note: We bought her a doggy harness so she has a seatbelt in the car. HAHAHA. See below. Believe it or not, she actually likes it and stays calm while you put it on her. For a dog who doesn't like a leash, she sure loves a harness.

We get to the town and decide to walk along the main area with the shops and restaurants where all of the tourists are. Now we know that Layla is adorable. She just is. But we didn't expect the overwhelming German/American tourist love that she got.

It just goes to show you, people love dogs.

We were stopped - no joke - about every five minutes. EVERY five minutes. It would start with one person and turn into a family and then turn into a tour group.

Everyone wanted to pet Layla. They all wanted to know how old she is. They all wanted to take pictures. Yes, that's right, there were tourists actually taking pictures of our puppy on their vacation. We're going to have our puppy in someone's European Vacation 2009 scrapbook.

Our dog has paparazzi.

Some of my favorite lines heard from people who stopped to pet her:

"Thanks for letting me pet her. You just made my holiday."

"Oh she looks just like her mom" - Okay, WHAT?! I didn't get this once - I got it TWICE. I know I was wearing brown too, but really?

"Mom, can I have a puppy?" -- Oops!

"You bought her here? How will you get her home?"

"I love you."

It's too bad I don't trust some of Nate's single friends to watch Layla for extended periods of time. They could walk her down a busy street and have dates for the next two weeks.

Now, Nate is much better at this than I am. We were there for almost three hours and by two, two and a half, my patience was wearing thin. People were constantly stopping us, she was scrounging for food on the ground (with her bloated belly!) and she would often just stop and wait for people to come up to her to give her attention - she is a ham.

She's cute and she knows it.

Lord help us all.

Side note: I now feel a little more empathy for celebrities who are constantly stopped in the street. The whole time we were there I felt like people were watching us and sure enough, they were. Young, old, male, female - it didn't matter. Even babies were hanging out of their strollers to look at Layla. Good thing I wasn't in sweat pants and a hoodie with my Starbucks - People magazine photogs may have snapped my pic!

Eventually, we made it back to the car in one piece. We strapped Layla in and drove home. She slept the whole way home and hasn't stopped. Apparently, being the center of attention is exhausting.

Speaking of which, I'm on my last leg. Time to join the rest of the family for some much needed Zzzzz's.

Cheers,

Jen & Nate

Family Tree

2009-06-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hey Nate, maybe we should look at Layla's family tree again? The breeders did say she's 100 percent lab, right?

Layla is 11 weeks old today

2009-06-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Today Nate and I took Layla to the park for a picnic. While we were able to withstand the blazing sun, Layla didn't fare so well. She much prefers the shade and could be found laying in Nate's shadow instead of frolicking through the grass. To help her cool off, Nate decided to get her feet wet and put her in the nearby stream. We've been trying to get her in the stream for a couple of weeks now, but she's still scared. Notice what she does after she's walked around for a few minutes...I think she must take after me...

Apparently, the sun wore Layla out because she passed out for a solid snooze when we got home. Listen to the beginning of the video and you'll hear her snoring. I think she may be louder than I am!

Cheers!

Jen and Nate

Growing up

2009-06-13T23:54:00.000-07:00

For such a bold puppy, Layla can be a huge baby sometimes. We recently got her a travel water bottle so she can drink water from it when we're out on our walks or at the park. But for whatever reason, she wouldn't go near the water bottle. Any time she got close she would back up and run away. Even when we "nudged" her near the water bottle she would do her best to back up. After several "dipping our hands in the water and letting her lick them" she finally stuck her snout in the water. I'd say 15-20 more times of doing this and she finally caught on that the water bottle wasn't going to attack and was indeed beneficial. We'll see if this sticks the next time we go out.

Nate has been working really hard during the week to get Layla to listen to commands. One of our biggest problems was getting her food ready. She would sit outside the kitchen and bark and whine until it was ready for her to eat. Then she would nearly maul you when you took it over to her area. Fortunately, Nate has figured out a way to keep her under control. Watch the video below. Now she patiently waits behind the baby gate while we get her food ready and doesn't eat until she's told to.

Cheers,

Jen and Nate

Layla at 10 weeks

2009-06-13T23:51:00.001-07:00

Parenting Skillz

2009-06-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

It's official.

Nate and I have turned into bonafide parents. The change happened virtually overnight with the arrival of Layla, but I hadn't really noticed until I had a few moments of peace to reflect on our new family. There are a couple of blaring indications that we've made the jump to parenthood - and of course, I plan on sharing just a few.

1. We now have a Diaper Genie parked next to the regular trash can in the kitchen. Any time we need to dispose of an "accident" or puppy pad, it goes into the Diaper Genie. This thing is amazing. Designed to block out the foulest dirty diaper smells possible, it successfully hides the processed dog food coming out of Layla. I'm seriously considering using the Diaper Genie for all of our trash products.

No, seriously. I wonder if I should invest in stock?

2. As most of you know, I live in Heidelberg which is a solid 2.5 hours away from Nate and Layla. I hadn't seen Layla in about four days and I kid you not, I spent a full 20 minutes ooohing and aaaahing over how much she'd grown since I'd last seen her. I couldn't get over how big her paws had gotten and how even her head seemed to be growing. I felt like pulling out a camera to document this "new" development (I did, by the way). If that doesn't scream new parent - I don't know what does.

I mean, really - everything changes when it's your "child". Sure, there are others that do cute things, but it's not OUR puppy...Clearly our puppy's growth should be documented...Did I mention we're working on a coffee table book?

3. We have baby gates on two of our doors - one to the guest bedroom and one to the kitchen - so our furry child doesn't get herself into trouble. We consider these an investment.

4. We watch all of the puppy training videos and have Ceasar Millan on DVD. Had there been a "what to expect when you're expecting" book for dogs, we would have it on book AND on iPod so we could listen to it in the car.

5. We're exhausted. All the time. We wake up in the middle of the night when Layla cries, have to soothe her back to sleep and entertain her during the day. Say what?! Apparently, she doesn't realize we need our 8 hours. Or at least 5 - geez.

6. We finally appreciate the peace and quiet that comes when she's napping. No wonder our parents always talked about "peace and quiet". Kids - furry or otherwise - are noisy. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way.

7. Layla's needs come first. Her items are first on the grocery list. Our vacation planning revolves around her. Our nightly routine has changed to include long walks in the park. Being selfish is no longer an option. And the weird thing? We don't mind putting her first. Scary, I know.

Anyway, these are just a few things I've noticed and it's only been two weeks. Can you imagine how we'll feel when she's six months old?

And more importanlty, does this mean I get a Mother's Day present next year?

Cheers,

Jen & Nate

Layla at 9 Weeks

2009-06-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

Our puppy turned 9 weeks old last Saturday and weighed in at 15 pounds!

Layla comes home

2009-05-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

One week ago, Nate and I brought Layla home for the first time. Deciding to make her part of our family was a huge step for us - one that neither of us took lightly. One week later I can assure you that we both love our dog very much. I can also assure you that we're both sleep-deprived, slightly delirious from lack of sleep and dog-tired. Did I mention we aren't getting enough sleep? Hmmm...

In fact, the clock currently reads 12 minutes to 11 p.m. -- I am trying to launch a blog site and Nate is at the foot of the bed trying to convince Layla that it's time for her to wind down and go to sleep. Unfortunately, she would prefer to bite his hand, pounce on her stuffed quail and tug on the comforter.

Clearly, we are losing the battle.

So, I thought I would take the opportunity to start a new blog dedicated to our new puppy. Why not be productive, right? And seeing as we're at our one-week anniversary, I thought I would kick off the blog with the day we brought Layla home.

It feels like only yesterday.

Or rather, it feels like only seven days ago.

Last Saturday, Nate and I got up bright and early to go pick up Layla. The drive to our breeder's place is three hours long and they wanted all of the new families (10 families for 10 pups -- poor mama) to be there by 1100. Fortunately, Nate drives like the rest of the crazies on the Autobahn and not only were we fifteen minutes early, we had time to stop at McDonald's.

Yes, I know. We ate at McDonald's. And we live in Europe. And we went through the drive-thru. Get over it.

Anyway, so we get there and all of the puppies are playing in the yard (in a smaller fenced in area) with the next litter of puppies. Honestly, it was really strange. Our litter was 8 weeks old and the smaller litter was at 5 weeks. When we first picked out Layla she was only 5 weeks old and the difference in the two litters was amazing. It was almost like the 8 week old puppies were giant dogs ready to belly flop onto the younger set. We couldn't believe she had grown so much.

And if she grew that much in 3 weeks, how much was she going to grow in 3 more?

Yikes.

So we all sat around and watched the puppies play. Of course, we had to take care of some paperwork - including her new pet passport. I think we have to wait until she's older to take the photo, but it'll come in handy eventually. We also got instructions about how much to feed her, etc.

Feeding in and of itself is sort of complicated. First, there's the actual food. We're using a German brand called Happy Dog, which really sells itself. I mean, who is going to buy dog food called Sad Puppy or Angry Hound?

Anyway, first you put the food in the bowl. Then you dissolve carotin in a cup of warm water for 10 minutes. Next, you add a special oil to the water and mix everything together. You add this to the dog food and once a day you add another scoop of something that seriously looks like sand to the mix. It's supposedly for her joints, but who really knows. Between the two of us, Nate and I can order food and beer in German. Animal and vitamin terms are way out of our league.

Back to the story.

So we load everything into the car and then we find out the breeders want to take professional photographs with the pups. Apparently, they get pretty attached to each of their litters and they like to keep albums. We were especially popular since we're American.

I know what you're thinking - wouldn't that makes us less popular? And the answer is no. The breeders are super excited that Layla will be going back to the States in a couple of years and even blogged about us on their Web site. We've already promised to send photos.

Some of the families had to leave early so they took pictures in a nearby field. But we figured we were in for the long haul and went with the rest of the families to the lake.

At this point, we got to pick up our puppy and take her with us. This was the most interaction we'd had with her and she got a little nervous. She stayed curled in my lap on the drive over and I think she even fell asleep, which was a good sign.

At the lake, we grabbed Layla and followed everyone to a small area right off the lake. The breeders took three puppies at a time and played with them in the water and chased them around in the grass for their photos.

Layla did pretty well at first until it got to the actual water portion of the shoot. She didn't want anything to do with the water. She would get close to the edge and turn around and run away.

Eventually she got too close and the breeder reached out and grabbed her by the scruff. Poor Layla. Her little legs were going a mile a minute above the lake as if she could run through the air back to shore. But our breeder showed no mercy and plunged her into the cold water.

Fortunately her little head bobbed up above the water and she doggy-paddled her way back to dry land. And then she did what I probably would've done.

She cried.

She sat on the grass and whined like a huge baby and then ran back up the hill to the main road. That probably should've been a red flag that she was going to be a bit high maintenance...

After a few more photos (including a family shot!) we wrapped her in a huge pink and orange beach towel (much to Nate's chagrin girl colors do include pink) and went back to the car for the long drive home.

By now it was around 2 p.m. and we were both starving. However, in Germany there really isn't any fast food, except for the American stuff that we've polluted the entire planet with -- which in this case was a blessing, because as we came out of this tiny town there was a beacon of hope for our stomachs.

Yes, that's right - the golden arches.

And as much as I would like to say that we held out for bratwursts and brotchen - we definitely didn't. We ate McDonald's for the second time that day and were happy to have it.

Surprisingly enough, I ate mine on my lap (yep, Layla was there too) and Layla didn't try to eat it once. She kind of sniffed it and went back to sleep. Of course, this means one of three things. A - she was tired, B - she doesn't like people food, C - she has good taste.

Either way, I was glad she could control herself because I had no intention of sharing my lunch.

On the way back home we stopped every time she woke up from a nap. We were afraid she would wake up and pee all over Nate's car, not to mention my lap, so we pulled over...

Four times.

By the time we got home, we were all exhausted. We played for a little bit and walked around outside and I think all three of us were more than ready for bed.

We were worried Layla would cry and want to sleep on the bed, but she fell asleep on the floor and seemed content to stay there. She woke us up every two hours so we could take her outside to use the bathroom, but she usually went right back to sleep when we came back in.

I never thought I would miss getting up every two hours, but in just a week things have drastically changed. She now gets up maybe two to three times a night, BUT when she comes back she's wide awake and wants to play. And if you don't want to play or at least surrender your arm to hang over the side of the bed, she will yelp. No, not just yelp. She will release a high-pitched bark that only dogs and teenagers should be able to hear.

Seriously, it's painful.

Hence the reason Nate and I are starting to resemble zombies instead of people. We try to take turns getting up, but there's no avoiding the bark. Any REM sleep you're having is out the window for sure. And since I'm such a heavy sleeper, Nate is always sure to give me a swift elbow to the back to make sure I hear Layla too.

Zombies love company.

On that note, I think I hear heavy breathing from Layla and snores from Nate (who is currently hanging off the end of the bed to comfort Layla) and I should probably take advantage of the "quiet" until the next pee break.

Stay tuned for more Layla updates. I'm sure there will be funny stories in the near future and I'm going to try and get Nate to blog, too.

Cheers!

Jen & Nate