Two years ago this past Saturday, a 2.5 lb ball of fluff arrived at the Orlando airport, barking like crazy and jumped straight from his crate into my arms, letting out a sigh bigger than he was.

My life hasn’t been the same since.

Riley has been the kind of dog, I deserve, really: challenging, sweet, naughty, smart, loving, adorable, obstreperous, untrainable, funny, entertaining. All I can say is “thank God I didn’t have kids!”

Riley came into the world with a very strong sense of himself that’s only solidified since. He may be only 9 pounds, but he is large and in charge and wants everyone to know it. At the same time he is completely adorable and regularly melts my heart.

These photos were taken the day before FLH and I left for California a couple weeks ago. Riley and I were hanging out in the car waiting for the maids to finish. He was avidly watching all the action in the shopping center parking lot.

He was also calculating the distance between the car window and the pavement, to determine if it was worth the jump.

Riley. The smartest thing I’ve ever done.