Archie and Nora: a love story

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It started innocently enough: About a year after Elizabeth Spence’s first child was born six years ago, she began chronicling moments with an iPhone and posting the images on her Instagram account.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/04/2016 (3797 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It started innocently enough: About a year after Elizabeth Spence’s first child was born six years ago, she began chronicling moments with an iPhone and posting the images on her Instagram account.

A second child was born, which led to more photos and the discovery of a supportive online community of parents also sharing memories of their day-to-day lives.

But nothing could prepare Spence for the attention she received when she began posting nap time photos of her third child, Archie, now five months old, with Nora, an eight-year-old rescue dog.

ELIZABETH SPENCE @wellettas

Archie with canine siblings Nora and Remington.
ELIZABETH SPENCE @wellettas Archie with canine siblings Nora and Remington.

The photos have quickly gained worldwide attention in the past couple of weeks, sparking interest from the Daily Mail, Huffington Post, Good Morning America, Canada AM, Babble.com, which is Disney’s parenting and lifestyle site, along with numerous radio stations and blogs.

Not surprisingly, the number of followers on her Instagram account has surged to 10,600 and growing.

ELIZABETH SPENCE @wellettas
ELIZABETH SPENCE @wellettas

For Spence, the photos are a reflection of a love-filled house, which also includes two other dogs, three cats and Spence’s husband, Free Press photo editor Mike Aporius.

The photos also help illustrate how awesome rescue dogs are, Spence writes in one of her posts.

ELIZABETH SPENCE @wellettas
ELIZABETH SPENCE @wellettas

There is no secret to getting the two to sleep together, Spence says.

“I generally nurse my son to sleep on my bed at nap time and then move him to his room, or let him stay on my bed if he’s looking too comfortable to move. Nora is always there supervising the entire affair and will definitely move in for cuddles if given the opportunity.

“She is the most passive and loving dog I have ever met and genuinely treats all the kids with absolute love and devotion…

“Does Nora choose a matching stuffie to sleep with or drape her legs across my son all on her own? Ummm…not always 🙂 Do I ever leave the baby unattended in her care? Never.”

Spence, who now uses a Fuji XT1 to take her photographs, can be found on Instagram at @wellettas.

ELIZABETH SPENCE @wellettas
ELIZABETH SPENCE @wellettas

ELIZABETH SPENCE @wellettas
ELIZABETH SPENCE @wellettas
ELIZABETH SPENCE @wellettas
ELIZABETH SPENCE @wellettas
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