Saying Goodbye to 2018, and Hello to 2019!

Wow wow wow. These last 365 days have been A LOT for our little family.  I know we share photos and videos of Navy on Instagram daily, but it’s been awhile since we sat down and got personal. In January 2018 we started this blog for just that reason. We wanted to share a little more than the few sentences we type up in our Instagram captions. We wanted our online family to not only know a little more about us, but also more about our life with Navy!

This post shares some of our favorite memories in 2018. I’ll be honest with you guys, I did have to cheat a little and look back through my planner and Navy’s Instagram to remember all our fun memories in 2018 because there were so many.

Our biggest milestones in 2018

1. In January Zach and I traveled to Portugal where we met Keanu the Corgi. We also met puppy Aloy from D’Alma Castrense Kennel at the Super Pet Expo in Porto. This was Navy’s longest time away from mom and dad, but she did great staying home with her Grandma. We hope to travel back to Portugal in the next two years. Maybe we will even bring Navy with us next time!
2. In March I spoke at the Super Pet Expo alongside Pokey Pot Pie and Sheepadoodle Bear. We talked about social media for pets and our strategies for growing your pet’s Instagram. This was our first time meeting these two (along with the other friends we made at the expo) but we are so thankful for both of them and the friendships we’ve made outside of Instagram.
3. Also in March, Navy got spayed. Luckily she healed incredibly fast. It was so hard to see her uncomfortable but thanks to all of our online friends and the tips you shared, she was back to her old self in no time. In fact, Navy started agility training the next week (don’t worry, not jumps or running around. It was a very basic introduction).
4. In April Navy celebrated her first birthday! We threw a little party for some of her local friends. I think everyone had an absolute blast. Navy ate way too much birthday cake and her belly was sore the next day.
5. In May Navy was the cover girl for On Tap Magazine–how freaking cool is that? We were so honored that Navy was asked to model for the “Year of the Dog” edition of the magazine. After a little photoshoot we sat down with one of On Tap’s writers to talk more about our experience with Navy and having her on social media.
6. Navy also started agility level 2 training in May. Things certainly picked up from the level 1 training. Navy did very well, but had some issues with staying focused during training. All she wanted to do was play around with the other two dogs in class. We decided that we would repeat level 2 training at a later date, or purchase private lessons for her.
7. In July we went to the Outer Banks, NC with our extended family for the Fourth of July week. This was the first real time Navy has been to the beach and she LOVED it! I cannot wait to take her back next year. If you remember from our Instagram, Navy caught a bug or something our last day at the beach. We spent a number of hours and a couple hundred dollars to figure out what was making our baby sick. Unfortunately we never determined exactly what made her sick, but fortunately she started feeling better within a few days. Honestly, we were terrified. We cannot thank our Instagram family enough for reaching out to us to show us love and support.
8. In October we went to California… with Navy! There were so many firsts during this trip. Navy’s first time in an airport, her first time on a plane, her (and Dad’s) first time on the west coast… We truly had so much fun. I think we will be back again soon ;).
9. In November Zach and I traveled to Hawaii for a much needed vacation. Navy spent 10 days with her German Shorthaired Pointer cousins, Juliet and Josephine. I was really nervous about leaving Navy for so long, but she really did enjoy time with her cousins. I think it may be time to get Navy a sibling (hint hint Zach).
10. Later in November we visited both mine and Zach’s extended families’ in the Philadelphia area suburbs to celebrate Thanksgiving. Navy has never actually been to the city of Philadelphia yet, so we decided to visit for the long weekend after Thanksgiving. As we talked about in our blog recap, traveling with your pet in the winter can be hard! Thankfully we were able to find some fun seasonal dog-friendly activities in the city.
11. Our December was pretty quiet compared to the rest of the year. Zach started a new job so we had to cancel a few short trips we had planned (besides our super awesome trip to Iceland!).
12. For the holidays we traveled north to Pennsylvania to visit our family and friends. Navy was absolutely spoiled for Christmas. We participated in a couple secret Santa exchanges and her secret Santas really hooked her up with some goodies.

And that brings us to now! It was impossible to recap every little thing that went on in 2018, but I certainly tried to touch on what we consider the big ones. What we did not mention above was that we grew our audience to 60,000 online friends–wow! We also started partnerships with some amazing brands that we’ve always loved. 2018 was filled with so many awesome Instagram milestones.

Thank you all for following along with our story in 2018. Guys, we have the most exciting plans for 2019. We cannot wait to share them with you.

Here’s to an exciting 2019!