Today we took Olive to the vet to check out her various issues (hole in her mouth, decaying tooth, paw cyst). She’s being kept there right now for the day getting two teeth removed and her paw lasered.

With Ethan’s arrival, Olive will be taking a back seat. In some ways, that process has already begun—less walks, less photos, less toys.

I have to credit Olive with making us feel confident enough to be parents. When she was a puppy, we got so little sleep. The first night she pooped in her crate and cried all night. She would bite our ankles with her little baby shark teeth and make us crazy with all her fears and barking. She could feed herself but could never tell us when something was wrong and we were constantly looking her over and scrutinizing her poop for clues.

As I like to say, she will always be my first baby. We grew up a lot having the responsibility of taking care of her. She helped us grow together as partners. And now here we are married and about to have our first (second) baby.