Happy Birthday Baby Brutus!

Brutus is turning 2 today! When Wil and I decided that it was time for Conner to have a baby sibling, we had no idea we'd be falling in love with the bratty poof that exhibited none of the good doggie behavior we had grown accustomed to with our perfect first child.
Brutus was fearless as a baby, which scared the living life out of me. He would be the first to stick his tongue in the light socket and vacuum hose to see what they felt like. He bullied all the adult dogs in the neighborhood into playing with him even though he was only about a tenth their sizes. He was mischievous to say the least and taught himself to chew his way out of collars and harnesses, eat electrical cords, climb over the puppy gate, and destroy all of Conner's perfectly manicured stuffed animal collection. He was cute and knew it. The attitude could not be contained in that tiny body.
When we lost Conner, no one grieved more loudy than Brutus. He would set out to do a room to room search for Con at all hours of the day. It got especially hard at night when he woke up and wanted to cuddle with his big brother. Trust me, nothing was more gut-wrenching that having to listen to a 4-month old puppy whinning at 3 a.m. because he couldn't understand why his Conner left him all alone in that big house.
Wil begged me to consider getting another puppy because Brutus was not coping well as the only child. We took him away from his litter and Con adopted him. Then for the first time in his life, he found himself the lone puppy. I was too sad and exhausted to protest, and Patton made us into a household of four.
Bru grudegingly accepted his role of a big brother. Though he would never intentionally show affection for our newest addition, sneaky parents witnessed Brutus lovingly clean his little brother's face and cuddle with him when it was nap time in their quiet private moments. And even though he bullied Paddy around the house, no one was allowed to be mean to his bro on the playground. We've seen Brutus going after much larger dogs to get them off little Paddy, even now that Paddy outweighs him by about 20 lbs. I think the poof gives him a false sense of security.
Brutus has grown into a sweet and loyal Steinhauer protector. On more than one occasion, he has proven that nothing was going get pass him to hurt Momma. Nothing except for black cats but that's a story for another time. He faces everyday challenge of living with severe hip dysplasia, which he never lets interfere with his fun time with Paddy and his friends at the park. We've decided against surgery for him because we know that being kept still in his kennel 3 months post-op is not for Brutus. We had unfortunately seen what hospitalization could do to his spirit. Bru only wants to sit in the wet and cold grass and keep his eyes on his charge and occasionally gets up to show Paddy who's the boss. Wil and I have made a conscious effort to not take our time with Brutus for granted because they could be ever so fleeting. For now he's a beautiful, happy, and healthy baby, and we can not be more grateful to have him with us. Don't tell him that I actually love having him climb in bed with us in the morning and sit on my chest to let me know that he was ready for us to be up. Our morning cuddle time is easily one of my favorite times of the day. Trying to have a "me" time and hiding from Paddy. They both served as witnesses at our wedding, which was a day after this picture was taken. Forced picture time with Momma.