"We Bought A Zoo"

Pets! In my opinion, they really make a family feel complete. But then, I'm a lover of animals and I have a very difficult time saying no to a fuzzy face. So yes, we are a family with animals. If you follow me on instagram though, you already knew that!

Our first cat together, Keke... she was special...

Even before Josh and I had the kids, we always had animals. There was one point in our relationship (probably even before being engaged) where we had three cats and two dogs. It was a full house.
At that time, having pets was just a way to make our family feel whole. We were definitely "those" people that had as many pictures of our animals as parents have of their kids. Pets are just like people and having them in our life felt right for us.

Since having kids, keeping pets in the family is important to us.

They teach unconditional love.
Admit it, y'all... when you were a kid and you came home from school to see your dog and/or cat so excited to see you, it made your day. Right? Right! Zander gets that with Gambit now. Both kids are learning that even when the animals may not want

forcing their love on the cat but she secretly loves it!

They teach responsibility. 
At two years old Zander started having chores. One of them was to feed the pets. Now, Ainsley feeds the cat and Zander feeds the dog. Chores in general help them learn responsibility, but having to feed the animals and make sure they always have fresh clean water helps them learn to take care of live things.

Endless play!
Are your kids and pets getting antsy? No problem! Send them both in the backyard and boom! They wear themselves out with a quick game of tug-o-war. My kids absolutely love running around the backyard with Gambit. Taking him for a nice long walk around the neighborhood is a close second favorite activity though too. By the end of the day, dog and kids sleep very well.

Similar schedules. 
Potty training, eating, playing... Kids and pets have similar schedules. I think having animals before we had kids was a good idea cause it helped teach Josh and I the importance of sticking to schedules. Sure, going on vacations with pets in the house is tough, but we're lucky we have an amazing system down to where the animals hardly know we're gone!

Rambo didn't know she wasn't toilet trained as a kitten... 

But in all seriousness, who wouldn't want faces like this giving you the "I love you" look daily? Having pets in the family really makes our home feel complete. I wouldn't have it any other way and I couldn't even imagine it any other way.

we are family! 

This is the last week for the Mamas Tell All linkup. These past several weeks have been really amazing and I've absolutely loved getting to know other mamas in the blogging world! In case you've missed the other topics, you can follow along here. Also, do you want more Mamas Tell All? Let me know in the comments!

That Southern Mama//Everyday ThoughtsThe So-Called Homemaker//The Rambling Llama

Do you have pets in your family? What do you love about having pets? If you don't have pets, would you consider adding them to the family (with or without kids! Fur mommies are mommies too!!)

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Link up below and connect with other amazing Mamas! 

1.	The Rambling Llama (co-host)	4.	ashley	7.	Essential Oils for Dogs
2.	Everyday Thoughts (co-host)	5.	The So-Called Homemaker (Co-Host)
3.	Rachel @ a Kenyan-Texan family	6.	emily // love me like you do

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