Whatcha Want for Christmas?

There are SO many material things that I'd like, of course... BUT! The greatest thing we could've had was a new addition to our family. And so, without further ado, let me introduce you to our greatest gift ever! A puppy! Welcome Xanny!!!! (pronounced Zan-nee)

Xanny, a little long-haired, but we love her

This first picture is a couple days after we got her... We'd already given her a bath, but you couldn't tell... (hee, hee!)

We named her Xanadu (like the ancient "heavenly" city), but call her Xanny for short. She responds well to that.

She is a poodle mix, probably Maltese and Poodle (Maltipoo), but we're not for sure. Anyhow, we're all really excited. We've wanted a dog for ages, but hubs was NOT giving in.  I had researched dogs, and told him IF we were getting one, I had 3 conditions:

1) Had to be a POODLE mix. You see, with 4 girls in the house, and all having long hair... we have A LOT of hair in the house to begin with. People shed, too. And I didn't want HAIR everywhere (I have serious issues with it!). So... poodles have a more hair-like coat than "fur" and shed the least (some people don't think they shed at all... but everything in nature does).

2) Had to be FEMALE!!! I cannot stress this enough. I have massive issues with the "little pink rocket" that comes out of a male dog's you-know-what (the rated "G" version) when he gets excited. AND when little male puppies get excited, they wee-wee-wee all over the place. (Apparently, I'm not the ONLY one with this issue, as some companies actually make diapers for little male puppies... SAW IT in a pet store! HA!)

and 3) IF we got a dog/puppy/whatever, it couldn't be just Marissa's pet; it had to be a family pet. I meant, hey! That's fair, right? I didn't want ANYONE to feel left out here. Plus, it puts responsibility on everyone, not just Marissa (at 5 years old, that would actually be ME!).

And so... one morning after work, he went and picked up this most lovable dog in the world. (She is 6 months old).

After her professional bath...

She desperately needed a bath, so... being a poodle mix... ya know... we had to get her groomed ('cause they're the grooming kind of dog, ya know!). She got a bath, teeth cleaning, renal glands expressed (whatever that means... ew!), hair cut, ear trimming, and nail grinding/filing. Here's the brief pictorial:

Getting a hair cut (or them all cut)

A little ear-trimming

And the Finished Pooch (with Natalie-the Handler)

Here she is! The beautiful wonderful dog that we have! She is fairly new to us (got her a week and a half before Thanksgiving), but SO a part of our family.

She is smart, too. She knows where home is, she rarely barks, she is trying REALLY hard to potty-train, and she listens. She shows unconditional love and does what I tell her! (She is the BEST kid I have!)

Seriously... I love all my kids. And we all love each other. Xanny fits into our family like nobody else ever could. Shortly after we got her, she got really sick. We thought we were going to lose her, but... with a lot of love, nurturing and totally round-the-clock care,  she did well, and became the springy happy little puppy we've come to know and love. She is attached to us, as we are to her. We wouldn't give her up for anything.

And if... we all got nothing else for Christmas... that would be fine. This gift is gonna last a lifetime. So... Watcha Want for Christmas? We've got all we ever wanted right here.