*Note: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Also, even though I was compensated for this post, these thoughts were my own honest opinions. I wouldn't advertise something I don't personally love for my own family.*

With that said, Gymboree has asked us to share what makes us smile as part of their #MadeYouSmile campaign. This is such a fun campaign! We should all savor the joy in life and soak up those fun moments that bring smiles to our faces -- especially with our kids! I could go on and on about all the things that generically make us smile, but I'd rather focus in on something specific to today...

Our family has decided that after 3 years of not having a pup (our sweet basset passed away of old age in 2015), it is time to bring a little craziness back into our house in the form of a 4-legged sibling, ha. In doing so, we've also decided we want to rescue a dog from a shelter. Last time, we bought our pup at 8 weeks old and enjoyed all the fun (and madness) that comes with puppyhood. It's great being able to train up a pup from birth, but I also think there's something special about rescuing a pup and giving him a better life! So, we've been skimming shelter websites daily. We had a little hiccup earlier this week with a possible adoption, but today was the day that brought absolute JOY to my boys' faces. We went into a shelter specifically looking at a sweet 4 month old Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Nothing else struck us on their website. However, we got there and while he was a sweet little guy, he didn't strike us as the perfect match. So as we were leaving, the boys ran ahead and I heard a squeal of excitement from my little guy. As they turned the corner, they ran across (what I think might be) the perfect match! There, sitting in the kennel, was a 3 year old Boston Terrier that absolutely won over the hearts of my boys. This guy wasn't even on the radar for what my husband and I were looking for. I love Bostons, but in our minds, we had envisioned us getting a (much) larger breed. However, I think that's all about to change. My boys had the biggest smiles I've ever seen as they asked for kisses through that poor Boston's kennel gate. They giggled nonstop, begged for me to take him home and said "HE'S THE ONE!!!"

We decided to do a "meet and greet" and take him out to the yard to play. The boys could barely contain themselves as they waited for Mickey (the Boston) to come play. As parents, seeing this kind of joy take over your child(ren) brings an indescribable joy and absolutely melts your heart! The pup was so sweet, the boys were in Heaven -- it seemed perfect. Because my husband didn't get a chance to meet him, I didn't bring him home (yet). However, for the rest of the day, the boys couldn't stop talking about him. They told everyone they ran across about Mickey. One pretended to be Mickey in the car while the other gave words of affirmation and loved on him (ha!). They nearly bounced off the walls with smiles from ear to ear just thinking about the sweet pup the entire rest of the night!

That brings us to now -- bedtime. After doing one more "meet and greet" to ensure that he's the right fit, I think he very well might be coming home with us tomorrow. If it works out, I have no doubt the smiles on my boys' faces will be there from here on out. It's the most priceless feeling seeing how much happiness such a little thing as a pup can bring!