Puppy Project week 3

If kids developed this fast, I'd be a grandmother by now.  

The puppies are up on all fours, walking all over the place.  They're also playing with each other, biting ears and noses and wrestling around on top of each other.  I've taken a million videos and I'm having a hard time picking which ones to put on the blog!

The puppies got a swimming pool for play time, they needed more room to run around than just a laundry basket and I don't want them loose on the living room floor yet.  And the pool can be hosed out as needed, I can't really hose down the wood floor.

 
They had their first baths this week, since one of them pooped and they all rolled in it.  It was really annoying the first time it happened, but four puppies in the sink is pretty darn cute. Elphie was hovering, she didn't like to hear them all crying at once.

At 21 days (this past Wednesday) their retinas were fully developed, so they can really see and focus.  In the middle of the night on Tuesday I got up to let Elphie out and the little boy puppy sat up on his haunches and looked up at me.  We made eye contact and he just starred at me for awhile.  It was kinda cool :)

The puppies are getting VERY playful.  They're interacting more with each other and with me and the kids.  Austin says they're socializing. 

Good news, we've already sold two of the puppies!  Ben's puppy sold first, Twilight, and I was concerned that he'd be upset now that the fact that they're leaving is more real.  Ben was actually very excited that his was first, his puppy was the best of them all!  I'm sure once the puppies actually go to their new homes in 3 weeks they won't be as excited. In the meantime, we're having the time of our lives.  :)

Pinewood Derby

This year was Ben's first Pinewood Derby and he and Austin had lots of fun making his car over the past few weeks.  It came down to the wire, adding paint yesterday and wheels this afternoon.  Ben designed the car himself, but Dad and Grandpa did all the cutting.  Ben and blades?  Do I look crazy?  It was done in time, weighing exactly 5 ounces.  Ben raced his car 13 times, and he won 7 races.  He had a lot of fun, and was a really good sport the times that he lost.  I was very proud of him, we all had lots of fun!


This is right after his first race, which he happened to lose.  He handled his disappointment well, and recovered quickly when he started winning :)

Here's a short video of one of Ben's wins.  Such a cute kid :)

Grace-isms

Grace is holding a puppy in her arms and singing sweetly to it.

She kisses it's forehead.

She says, "Little puppy, one day you're going to grow up to be just like your Mom.  You'll chase chickens and bark at doors."

puppies make good hockey pucks

So we've been putting the puppies on the wood floor this week and letting them explore a bit, letting our kids play with them easier, and letting Lady get to know them better.  She's been dying to get close, their box is totally off limits to chihuahua's.  She turned them into tiny hockey pucks!  She pushes them with her nose, and they go flying!  The poor puppies are also not very mobile on the wood floor, their legs look like flippers and their "crawling" looks like swimming.  It's absolutely adorable.

Big news this week... on Monday, the puppies started opening their eyes!  By Wednesday all four had both eyes wide open. 

Their mouths are wide open too, always ready to eat or YAWN!

They still sleep piled on top of each other, they find comfort in one another.  Wish my kids found comfort in each other.  Of course the puppies push and shove when it comes time to eat, so I guess kids of all species get along sometimes, and knock each other down sometimes.  At the end of the day we're all just one big snuggly family :)

Grace cuddling a puppy after her homework was finished.

One of my favorite puppy shots of the week.

And let's not forget, it was also Spring Break!  Time for tire swings and club houses and sunshine!  Grace made a club in our backyard and taped up pictures all over the block wall, swingset, and tire swing, identifying it as their club space.  Then she went swinging!

Of course spring break was also filled with CHORES (worst Mom EVER) but the house looked great.  Clean floors, bathrooms, walls, windows, bedrooms, dishes, laundry, counters and tables... it's all back to messy again, but for one day it was amazing :) 

I'm glad spring break(down) is over and the kids are back in school, now I get some quiet time to myself so I can catch up on laundry... after I finish holding this puppy.

Does this milk make me look fat?

So the puppies were one week old yesterday, and I didn't blog about it because I made the kids do chores all morning and I worked all afternoon, into the night.  I was just too tired.  Blogging takes energy, y'know? 

We've already had one interested party in our puppies!  I told Ember yesterday that it was one week down, five to go before they start going to their new homes.  Now that the puppies are here, it's even more tragic that they have to leave.  The kids are very attached, they've each named one and have staked claims to holding and snuggling rights.  We'll see what the next five weeks will be like.

I can't believe how much they grew in ONE week!  They've almost doubled in size, and they are so chubby.  We did a little "photo shoot" today and they mostly cooperated.  One puppy, the one Grace named Tinkerbelle, just wouldn't hold still.  But how do you get frustrated with a puppy?  :)

This is our first born, and the only boy, which Ember has named Moonlight. 

The second born was Tinkerbelle, and she's the chubbiest, fastest, and snarkiest puppy so far.  Grace named this one.  Hmm..... the kids also like to point out that the black spot on her forehead looks like a goldfish cracker.

 The third born is Star, named by me supposedly, heavily influenced by Ember.  That's because there's a little black spot in the white patch on her forehead that could be a star.

The youngest, and the one that surprised me, is Twilight.  Ben named her, again heavily influenced by Ember.  I have no idea why that name was picked.

We did our photo shoot today so I can put some pictures online to get ready to sell them.  I haven't decided if I'm going to list them now, or in a few weeks when they'll look more like puppies and less like hampsters.

Here's our proud Mama, who is looking very tired these days.  I have three kids, spread out.  She had four in one day and she nurses almost constantly.  It would be an interesting blog post to compare human vs. animal motherhood.  Maybe in  May, around Mother's Day :)  See?  Doesn't she look sleep deprived?

This is what the puppies look like after they've fed.  They basically roll off of Elphie onto their backs in a milk-induced coma, like they're passed out drunk.  Their little bellies are getting so fat, and when they move they look like seals... they just claw and drag themselves around their box with their back legs moving like flippers.  Soooo cute.

So that was week one of our puppy experience.  Maybe I'll do a weekly Wednesday post (or Thursday if I get too tired or overwhelmed... or forget) and give an update on their growth, and our funny stories. 

And... does anybody want to buy one yet?  *wink wink*

What a day!

So we had an exciting day here today.

I went back to bed after the kids had gone to school, and Austin woke me up about 30 minutes later to tell me that Elphie was acting weird.  She was panting heavily and whining, and when I came out to check on her she was shaking.  I jumped in the shower because we suspected she was going into labor and I wanted to pick up a few things at the store first.  The book I read said that labor can last anywhere from 6 to 12 hours.  

Well I got dressed, walked down the hall, and Elphie was walking towards me... with a puppy hanging out of her, still in it's sac.  She was dragging it down the hallway.  (She's a first time Mom, I guess she was freaking out too and came looking for me).

We threw down some towels and Elphie delivered her puppies right on the living room floor.  She wasn't sure what to do with them at first, I had to tear open the first sac and tie off the cord with dental floss and cut it myself.  The other puppies Elphie did better at cleaning them up and chewing off the cord.

Here's Elphie's first baby, a little boy.  She learned fast how to clean them up good, and the puppies learned fast how to find the food source :)

 

The next two puppies were girls and Elphie handled these much better.  By now she was a pro!  Puppy 1 and Puppy 2 were born within 15 minutes of each other (starting at 9:30 am) so I was expecting puppy 3 to come out quickly.  Elphie calmed down, quit pushing, and seemed to be totally relaxed while her babies nursed.  I thought we had a liter of two.  Then 45 minutes later she started pushing again, and out pops baby number 3!  I was so surprised and pleased.  Elphie is very nurturing, she snuggles and wraps her arms around her puppies while they're nursing.

 

We got Elphie all settled in her whelping box (a lot of good that did us... the living room floor has been mopped SEVERAL times today).  I checked on her every once in awhile as I was cleaning things up and everyone was eating and snuggling nicely.  Then I looked in on her about an hour and 15 minutes later because all the puppies were crying, and there was a fourth puppy!  Elphie was busy cleaning it up and the others were crying because mealtime had been rudely interrupted.  But they had another sister!

 

Now we have three girls and one boy. When Elphie goes outside to stretch her legs and other things, they pile on top of each other to stay warm.  Elphie had to visit the vet for a while today to get a shot because we delivered four puppies but only two placentas.  Just wanted to prevent any kind of infection, but boy did they miss each other while they were separated!  The puppies cried, Elphie has never been so anxious and whiny at the vet before.  She kept pulling me towards the door.  Mama missed her babies!

The coolest part (well, one of many) was seeing the kids faces when they got home from school.  Grace was first because she has half day Kindergarten.  She didn't react at first, just stared and stared at Elphie until she processed what she was looking at.  Then she got super excited!

They all couldn't wait for their turn to hold one of the puppies.

 

 

Here's Elphie with all four kiddos bedding down for the night.  Like any new Mom, I'll be getting up several times to make sure she hasn't rolled over on one of them and that everyone is still ok.  One of my friends today asked me, "how are your grandpuppies?"  It sure does feel like they're part of the family, and I feel a huge responsibility.  I love them already, and it's going to be hard to let them go in six weeks.  This has been an AMAZING experience, I got to witness the miracle of life and literally hold it in my hands.

 

 

We're happy to have visitors, just give me a call first and make sure I'm not outside or at the store.

Mom's field trippin'

I went with Ember's 5th grade class to the Flight Simulation Center at Lowell Elementary school today.  Ember had already been studying during the past weeks about the tacometer, altimeter, banking and pitching, but it was new to me.  (sort of... I have watched airplane disaster movies).

They practiced in these pretend cockpits first, using the control stick and pedals to maneuver their aircraft, all while keeping an eye on all the gauges.

 

Ember in the aircraft simulator.  This one was electronic and responded to her controls.  She got to "fly" this one after a few practice flights on the computer simulator.  She landed once, and she crashed once.  50% isn't bad, but it won't get you a job for United.

This is the helicopter simulator, made from real helicopter parts from the same model that the Mesa Police Department uses.  Ember has ridden in a helicopter just like this once before... sort of.  She was in my tummy; I was pregnant with her when I did my "ride-a-long" when I was a new employee with Mesa PD.

I like being a field trip Mom.  I like it when I'm in charge of 4 or 5 of her little friends and they all come to Mrs. Lawlor for help.  I like spending time with my daughter.  We had a great day together, thanks Ember.