"Baxta"

Our new puppy Dexter (or Baxta as Anna calls him) could not have come at a better time. We got him Labor Day weekend, thinking he was going to help put an extra spring in Maddux's step. What Dexter did then and has continued to do is help us heal from losing Maddux. My words cannot express how great it is to watch the kids with Dexter, especially Anna and Austin. Each time we get home, it is a race inside to let him out and play with him. There is pure joy on their faces. It is something we never got to experience with Maddux because by the time the kids were big enough to play with Maddux, he weighed 100 pounds!

So much puppy energy! The adoption place told us he was a Boxer/Lab mix, but we're not so sure they're right. He is just so small still and doesn't seem to be getting any bigger than about 25 pounds.

It is so fun to watch Anna and Austin with Dexter. I don't know who gets more of a workout from it! It's a little terrifying to see him laying on top of one of them trying to wrestle his toys away, but their squeals of joy are evidence that they're doing okay. They get a few battle scars now and then, but they always go back for more!

Cute picture (ignore the "W" sitting that we are STILL trying to break Austin of)

Right after Dexter returned from his five day stay in the hospital after he was diagnosed with Parvo

The kids were SO glad to have him home!

Prince Dexter sleeps in a king size bed every night.

He stays in bed until he hears the kids up - SO funny!