hungry hippo.

Many of you have asked how Hippo is doing.. and he's blending in quite seamlessly! He still thinks Birdie's a chew toy (she will only entertain him for short moments at a time before she gets fed up), he now sleeps through the night (11pm-8am), and is the HUNGRIEST Hippo you will ever know! Haha.. I sing the old slogan to him while I fill his bowl. He gets so excited and does what I like to call the "full body bulldog wiggle" ..it's typical to the breed. Without their tails, their whole body tends to sway from side to side when they are happy.. it's one of the cutest things about them!

Anyway, he's no longer allowed on the couch when we're out (we had a ramp of pillows set up originally) because he's had 2 accidents up there (washed and pee free), so now he's happily sleeping on the pillow he's claimed to be his own in his crate! So nice. Bird LOATHES her crate. Also nice, if we leave, he only whimpers for 30 seconds and then moves on to his toys or bed. HEAVEN.

We are just loving him and his cute droopy face. Also true to breed, he is the friendliest little thing, loves EVERYONE. ALSO true to breed, he chews EVERYTHING. This is very very slowly improving with the help of a water squirt bottle. The water has proven to be the only thing to get his attention and to get him to stop temporarily and thus, is now causing him to sometimes think before he goes for our clothes, feet, etc. But anyway we've had to pull up our shag rug (which is also rolled away for potty training purposes), tuck away our bar stools, and put up a mini dog gate to our bedroom (which has doubled as a barrier from the carpet and office room chords and a safe place for Bird).

All that said, he was definitely stressful for the first 2 weeks but now we've got a pretty good system established and he's still potty training epicly.

My favorite little quirk by far though is one of his sleeping habits. When I let him nap next to me on the couch, most of the time he prefers sleeping on his back. And the best part of this, is how he gets himself in the position. He usually sits.. tips his head up.. and then thrusts his body backwards.. as if he's trying to gracefully swan dive his fat self into a dreamy pool. Hahahhaa. It's a must see in your lifetime. I'll try to catch it on film for you so you don't miss out.

Here are some top quality cell phone photographs.. to give you a little taste of his lazy daytime routine...

..the evening is a whole other story.