Any guesses?

No, our sad pathetic puppy did not break her paw. yes, she is wearing the "cone of shame" as my kids so fondly put it.

Unfortunately for Elsa, she has a fondness for chasing and barking at car tires. Saturday morning she insisted on putting her paw under mine as Leah and I were heading out to run some errands. Nothing broken, but ripped the pad off one of her digits. The vet cleaned her up and she's bandaged for a week and wearing her e-collar because she just can't leave it alone. I sure hope she has learned her lesson, but I can't say I won't be surprised if she hasn't.

Did you ever see such sad pathetic puppy eyes?

Christmas Surprise for Leah & a dissappointment
"Kit"

I am so excited about my handmade Christmas present for Leah. One of the things that is so surprising to me about her is her lack of interest in baby dolls; but on the flip side, her extreme interest in animal dolls and how she treats them as if they are baby dolls. She dresses them up, feeds them bottles, and all of the things that little girls do with baby dolls, except she wants nothing to do with human babies! Anyways, in this interest, I found a cute pattern for a handmade baby doll here and the alterations to make it into a kitty (she loves kitty cats), plus outfits to go with it.

I've never sewn anything like this before, and was wondering how it would be to work with tiny garments and such. The whole thing took me just one afternoon, kitty and 2 outfits. It was very fun to do, and I sure hope she likes it!

"Kit" in her little pink dots pintucked dress


"Kit" in her birthday suit
Reversible jumper and shirt

the other side of reversible jumper

On another note, I also got a new foam cushion for Elsa's bed and sewed a nice fleece cover for it with a zipper so it could be removed and washed. The one she had previously was super thin, falling apart, and smelled horrible as well. I got her a nice 3" cushion for her to cuddle up on. I thought it turned out very nicely.

However she was very wary of it from the start, and wouldn't even get in her bed unless I physically put her in. So I thought it just smelled funny to her since it was new, and it would take her a little while to get used to it. Well, she had other plans. yesterday when we got home from church, she had ripped the fabric apart at the seams and chewed up the foam! I guess she was telling me that she really didn't like it after all! We got a good laugh out of it, and now she's sleeping on the floor of her crate with no cushion for the time being. She seems to like that just fine! So much for appreciation from the dog!!!

Compost Love

Our silly puppy has found the compost pile. It is her favorite place to run to when she is let outside to play. She typically comes back with a cob of corn, or watermelon. Of course, she eats anything she can fit her little jaws around. I'm not sure if other puppies are quite so indiscriminate in what they eat, but she seems to have no problem eating ANYTHING.

What is so funny is that she thinks she is doing something sneaky and she carefully guards her prize. She won't let any of us near her with her goodies! I had to zoom in with the camera on her tonight to capture these pictures of her. Very funny!

What'cha got, Elsa?
Grrrr, stay away from my watermelon!

You're getting too close for my comfort. I'm taking this elsewhere.

I'm ready to grab it and run as soon as you take another step closer to me.

Elsa Honigbraun

German translation "Honey-brown princess"

Here is our newest addition to the family. She is now 11 weeks old and has been with us for 2 weeks now. She is adapting quite well. Full of energetic bursts and lots of puppy naps! The kids are enjoying her as well, though she is very aware of who is in charge...and it is not the kids! She takes full advantage of them when either Dennis or I are not in sight. What a stinker :) More on puppy training later if you are so inclined...

We're Getting a Dog

Okay, so it's been a long long time in the "talk about it stage", actually about as long as Dennis and I have been married, maybe even before that. A few things put us over the edge to make the plunge: the kids are old enough now (no more babies in the house for me to take care of) and can all help out in some way AND Bay is an extreme dog afficionado, and by that I mean that he could be the dog whisperer. Every dog he meets acts like he and it have been best friends all of their lives!

Anyways, we have always wanted a boxer, so it didn't take us long to find one. We went and saw her and the breeder last weekend and will be bringing her home in a couple of weeks. She'll be just a little more than 8 weeks. Here she is at 6 weeks.

Of course the kids are super excited. We are too! We have been reading books, and the questions have been pouring out of the kids...where will her food bowls be? where will she go to the bathroom? will we give her people food? where will she sleep?... We haven't 100% decided on a name yet, so we'll save that for you to find out once we bring her home! Hint... it will be something of German origin since the Boxer breed originated in Germany!