Puppy Stages

Every morning since I brought Olivia home last November, we have done the same thing. I pick her up off my bed (which is very high) and carry her downstairs (which are very steep) and bring her to the back door to go outside.

But this morning, when I reached for her, she walked to the end of the bed, climbed onto her chair that is sitting at the end of the bed, and then climbed down the little staircase that is against the chair (I set all of that up because I envisioned that someday she would be able to get on and off the bed without me, but so far, she only uses it to get ON the bed, never to get off). After she got off the bed, she walked to my bedroom door, and when I opened it, she walked down the hall to the big staircase, and, to my absolute shock, proceeded to climb down the stairs, walk to the back door and then go outside.

At 40 pounds, she is really heavy, and carrying her down the stairs is not the easiest job. She's going to get bigger and I have been hoping that eventually she would be able to do that, but to actually see her do it was amazing. She learned! She's growing up. I wanted to cry. I felt so proud. My baby is not a baby anymore.

And then there was the kitchen incident...

After her big morning, we went about our normal routine, except that I was volunteering all day and overnight. My roommates both had long days and wouldn't be home until late in the evening. Olivia is not used to being alone for any amount of time. She is either with me or at day care, and on rare occasions, she stays in the kitchen for a few hours. But today, I couldn't take her to day care and I couldn't have her with me. I went home halfway through the day and let her outside, fed her, played with her and spent time with her. I left around 4pm and D-Train was coming home at 8:30pm.

I got the call around 9:30. "Do you know what I've been doing for the last 40 minutes?" he asked.

Olivia had knocked over the garbage can, spread coffee grounds and other trash around the kitchen. She also managed to open our pantry door, dig out a Costco size box of hot chocolate packets, tear them open and spread chocolate powder all over the room (and herself). My first concern was if she was okay, but D-Train didn't think she had eaten much of the mess, mostly just spread everything around.

This is the first time she's been destructive or made a mess, so I was surprised. But she also hasn't been left very much. She let her opinion on that matter be known, loud and clear. My baby is not just growing up, but she's getting an attitude...