If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that it's been a BIG week for our family. We got a puppy! She is super sweet. Irresistible, really.

The kids have been wanting a puppy for a really long time. Miss A has been asking ever since we moved to back to Colorado last summer. "When are we going to get a dog? You promised we'd get a dog when we moved here! We're never going to get a dog, are we? You promised!"

It took us a full year to be ready. Moving is a big deal. A whole year of settling-in. A whole year of newness. A year of sleep deprivation. (Little Z, who had been sleeping soundly before the move, kept waking in the night and coming into our room until very recently.)

This summer was really good for us. It was a super simple, low-key summer with very little travel. Just what we needed. The kids seem centered again. So, we gave them the green light. (Come back later this week for a summer-catch-up through Instagram photos.)

Miss M did all the research and found our little pup's photo posted on a local rescue shelter's website. She was part of a litter of puppies that were saved from being euthanized in a small town in New Mexico. As part of the adoption process, we went to her host home to meet the entire litter and really liked little Kelly. She's a pug/terrier mix and was super sweet. The next day, she came to our house for a "home visit" and we knew we wanted to adopt her. The final step was scheduling a time to fill out paperwork to make it official.

You might be wondering why we named her Kelly Pepper. Her foster owner gave her the name Kelly, which we liked. She has little white flecks on her face around her nose which has a salt and pepper look, so we thought of the name Pepper. We kept going back and forth between Kelly and Pepper, and finally someone suggested "Kelly Pepper." It just stuck and seemed to fit.

She's the perfect addition to our family and makes it feel complete!