Friday Favorites - Puppy Edition!

Happy Friday, guys! I've got only one favorite to talk about today because nothing else compares... We got to meet Henry this week! And it's all we can think and talk about. 

I've had this date marked on my office calendar (and every other calendar we own) since the minute our breeder confirmed when we could come visit and pick him out. I snapped this right before I left the office on Tuesday to make the trek down to central IL.

The drive should have been a little over two hours, but we ran into traffic so it ended up being closer to almost three. It's not a terrible drive, but it isn't the most fun either haha. (It'll be more fun though in two weeks when we go back to take Henry home!) But it's made less boring by these gorgeous skies and Midwestern landscapes. My heart can't get enough of it.

This is obviously a terrible picture (WHAT ELSE IS NEW) but I had to note how lovely our breeder's property is. They have ten acres where they built their home and an amazing facility for their dogs, as well as this man-made pond with a little sandy beach area for their kids and mini slide. The house has a wrap around porch that faces the pond and I bet sitting out there in the summer is just lovely.

Speaking of, our breeder has been fantastic so far and I would recommend them to anyone. They're family oriented and care so much about their dogs which is clear as soon as you talk to them, but especially when you meet them in person. Their facility is SO well kept, well thought out, and clean. I never doubted for a second the conditions the pups are in. They were also super responsive via email, which my needy ass certainly appreciated. And as a bonus...they were the cheapest breeder by far (like we're talking several hundred dollars difference) which came as an amazing plus.

When we finally got there...this is what greeted us. I MEAN. Can you even stand it?!

I haven't been around so many Golden puppies...maybe ever! I went with to pick up our Golden when I was in elementary school, but I have no memory of other puppies being there. I was losing my ever loving mind. This is my dream. 

All the puppies ran over to us and started whining and playfully nipping at our hands and I was living my best life. We stood there for maybe ten seconds, not even, before one puppy walked around his brothers and made a bee line for me. The most serious, chill dog you ever saw. Didn't nip me once (although, he's a puppy so like that's totally fine if he does haha), didn't whine, just walked right up to me, sat down, and looked up at me, and I was like YEP, there he is.

We are absolutely obsessed with him already. I actually kind of can't believe how into him Sammy is. I grew up with Goldens, so I'm suuuuper biased when it comes to the breed, but Sammy grew up with several different breeds, so he doesn't have the same attachment as I do. Until Henry. Omg, he's so excited to bring Henry home haha. And if this isn't the greatest picture of all time, I don't know what is.

Oh love of my life!! We're so anxious to get him home. We got the confirmation that we could come during the day to pick him up which was such great news because then we can control when we get back home with him. The plan is to pick him up the first Thursday in September, so I'll be taking off Thursday and Friday from work so Sammy and I can go pick him up together and spend a huge chunk of time with him from Thursday-Sunday (Sammy's off both Thursday and Friday as well), getting his schedule established and taking him to our vet Friday morning.

I've ordered a few things for him already like his Dino toy, and we got him his tag and collar (so I wouldn't lose the loose tag haha), but we're hoping to stop by TJ Maxx sometime next week and pick him up a bed (to use in addition to his crate) and a storage bin/basket for his toys. I plan on ordering everything else off Amazon or Chewy.com.

The only time our serious boy smiled ;)

And you knowwwww I've already got our stockings planned ;)

We're thrilled beyond words to be adding him to our little family. I just know he's going to make a huge impact on our hearts. 

We spent the whole ride home talking about all the things we can't wait to do with him. We're so excited to go on walks and hikes and take him around downtown CL and to the lake and majorly incorporate him into every holiday ever (already planning his Halloween costume and Christmas pajamas ;) ), etc., etc., etc. But mostly just excited to learn his personality and spend all the time with him.

If anyone has any dog product recommendations, please send them our way! Or any "taking your puppy home" tips. Like I said, Sammy and I grew up with dogs our whole lives, but we've never raised one as adults by ourselves, so we're basically useless ;) And since we've been keeping it a surprise from our families, we haven't had many people to ask, but I've gotten a bunch of advice from coworkers and that's been very helpful. 

So that's the big news in our household! He's all we talk about and I'm sure that's not going to change any time soon. Two weeks can't come soon enough :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend! xo

*Linking up with Christina & Andrea!