Remember When?

Remember this little guy? The above photo was taken just a couple hours after Chris and I brought our adorable, sweet, shy, laptop-sized puppy home. He took an immediate liking to the space under the living room coffee table, and settled down for a long April's nap in his unfamiliar home.

He was only eight weeks old at the time, and weighed 13 pounds. Double that age, ramp up that weight by about 150 percent, exponentially increase his confidence to explore the house, and we come to today.

He's still adorable and sweet, but he's added a dash of rebellion, a whole quart of independence and maturity (now he only cries when he wants attention, the way toddlers throw tantrums in the grocery store, not as an innate automatic response to being alone), and a sprinkling of adventure.

"Those are nothing," he told me yesterday while pummeling down the staircase that used to stop him cold.

And yet, after all that growing up, he still finds comfort under tables and chairs (those he can still fit under).

As I first-time dog owner, I was quite surprised at how much Labrador retrievers grow from eight to 16 weeks, and how many of their adult facial features come in. Suddenly, he's a puppy in a little dog's body.

To provide some context, here is a new photo of Shadow under the same table this week. (Yes, the rug is now gone. And yes, that's because of him...)