The new baby of the house.

You never know what life will be like when you bring a new baby home. What his personality will be and how the rest of the family will react. When we decided to adopt a dog, we decided ahead of time what physical characteristics we wanted and what sort of temperament we were looking for. We found the small, sweet, low-key dog, but ya never really know what you're working with until you're a few weeks down the road. Gumbo—as all babies do—has taken over our lives. He's quite the character with his happy howls and fierce protection of the yard. He doesn't like dog treats. He treats his best pal Coleman (a 17-pound cat) as if he's playing with a 60-pound dog. He thinks he's a lap dog and relishes all the loving we shower him with. He is in desperate need of obedience training and often has to be carried to his crate at bedtime because he's too stubborn to walk in on his own (and I think really likes the ride). But it's easy to deal with all the quirks and bad manners because he brings us all such joy. That's what the babies in our lives do isn't it. They come in, take over the joint, and fill our hearts. Even the four-legged kind are capable of making you forget what life was like before them.