The Dog Days of Summer - Vanessa

Hi there, I'm Vanessa from Sunflower State of Mind!  I'm so very happy to be here today while Sara loves on that sweet new babe of hers and adjusts to life as a momma of two! 

Let me introduce to you my two favorite girls...

Hazel & Arden.

Best friends?  Maybe if you ask Arden...but our 4-year-old French Bulldog's love for her little sister is a bit more...well, complicated.

The day we brought Arden home from the hospital, Hazel immediately took on the self-assigned roles of bodyguard, babysitter, caretaker, responsible party, etc, etc.  We sometimes call her "Carl"...except I think Hazel's stress level is a little higher than Carl's was in the books!  {I mean, she would never let her baby swim in an aquarium or go down the laundry shoot. Ha!} In the first few weeks of Arden's life, every time she cried Hazel would jump up and give us that very-human look of "are you going to help her or what?!"  Yes Hazel, we'll take care of it :)  

I'll never forget the first time we left Arden with my parents when she was about 4 months old.  I had texted my mom to see how she was doing and my mom's response was "She did great, but I don't think Hazel trusts us".  She said Hazel was by their side, overseeing their every move...and when they put Arden to bed, our little high-strung Frenchie slept outside the door until we got home.  Apparently it's hard work being the big sister! 

Then there was the time that Hazel wouldn't come out from under the bed while Arden and I were out of town.  I was worried sick, but with a little love from her baby sister (and a lot of peanut butter), she was back to her old self again. Thank goodness!

Now that Arden is almost 2, Hazel seems to be letting her guard down a little.  However, I'm not sure if she understands that she'll be starting ALL over again in just a few months...when her new little brother arrives!  I foresee a lot of long nights for our sweet guard dog...but at least I won't be the only one losing sleep ;)

Thank you so much for having me today, Sara!  I'm SO happy for you and your precious family of four!!!!