Getting Ready for a Puppy

Well, it's time to start documenting our road to puppy parenthood. We're but 2 weeks away from bringing little Tyler home, and now the "fun" begins. The list of things that need to be procured just keeps getting longer. Crate for home, crate for traveling, food & water bowls, beds, blankets, leash, collar, food, toys, toys, toys, toys, brush, nail clippers, it just never ends.
I'm also amused at how much of this I could remember from when we got our puppy as a kid and yet don't. I have no idea how many nights Buffy yelped herself to sleep at first. How long did it take to housebreak her? How long until we started introducing her to new people and dogs? How did we start training her? What kind of feeding schedule was she on? Part of this I blame on the fact I was probably in 4th grade when this was going on. Part of it is the fact that I've never had a stellar memory for stuff like this. I can still immitate Mark Grace's batting stance and many details of the Cubs-Giants 1-game playoff in 1998, yet I only remember 6f other peoples' birthdays.
On the plus side, we do have good friends with dogs that live nearby and would be happy to help out. And the breeder (Jerry Foti @ Watch City Bulldogges, if I may shamelessly plug him again) is a fantastic guy that would be more than happy to field calls from us every day while we figure it all out. Jerry's also a great resource for vets and pet supplies in the immediate area. And he's an officer of the Olde English Bulldogge Kennel Club (OEBKC). But enough about our puppy daddy.
The real fun begins when decisions need to be made. Biggest one so far; when to have him fixed. Breeder recommends 9-12 months to allow him to grow to a healthy size. Even the vet says 5-7 months for similar reasons, but also to allow their immune systems to get up to speed to aid in handling surgery. But that adds the fun of watching for any aggression or territorial/dominance issues, along with having to watch him like a hawk to keep him from making unauthorized puppies.
But all in all I'm pretty excited. I've wanted a dog pretty much since I left home and Buffy. Yeah, it's a ton of work and I'm sure I'll have days where I wonder what the hell I was thinking, but I know it's worth it. And it helps get me ready to make the jump to kids. Now THAT'S a frightening thought!