16 Weeks!

Our little Tovah Rose Twinkle Toes turned 16 weeks on Friday. Here she is all freshly bathed and brushed. She promptly messed up all of my hard work this weekend when she went playing in the baby pool. :)

Blogging has taken a back burner to spending every possible moment I can with the two pooches. I, of course, have a million photos from the past 8 weeks and hope to post more! We're ALL (Mom, Asher and me) enjoying Tovah Rose so much. She's a wonderfully joyful and well-tempered puppy.

Here she is hanging out in Asher's crate, as she did in the very first photos I posted. You can get some perspective on how much bigger she has gotten. She LOVES Asher's crate (aka The Palace) and he doesn't seem to mind sharing it with her. When we first took her to the vet she weighed just 3 lbs 1 oz. I can't wait for her to get weighed again this week!

When we decided to get a puppy we wondered how it would all work out. We worried about how I would manage health-wise, how Mom would manage the extra duties, and how Asher would adjust. I'm known for being a pretty risk-averse person. We knew that getting a puppy was a big risk. Sometimes, big risks pay off with big rewards. We never could have imagined just how wonderful this whole experience would be for all of us. I don't think I have been this happy in more than 7 years, possibly 14. Mom really enjoys having a puppy too! And Asher LOVES his little sister. 

We love our little family.

Blessings,

Emily

Asher Has An Announcement!

Asher Noam would like to share our joyful news--the arrival of his little sister. 

Tovah Rose

Born May 5, 2012

Gotcha Day July 3, 2012

Big brother, big sister, Mom and Tovah Rose are all doing wonderfully! 

Asher is a very watchful big brother. Mom and big sister were most nervous about his transition to the puppy, but he would like everyone to know that he has learned to play gently with Tovah, share his water bowl, let her steal his treats, and share toys. In fact,  he says, she makes him feel young again! :)

  Our biggest challenge is that we are all exhausted, which is to be expected!

Tovah is amazing and Emily is head over heels in love with her. Asher hasn't seen her smile this much in a long time and Emily hasn't seen him so playful in a long time. She just wishes all of the playing didn't make him so sore and achey. 

Mom picked up Tovah in NY. Since then she has been on major potty training and puppy duty. She's being a super trooper.

We're so incredibly grateful for the blessing of this new family member, and to Dayle, our breeder for entrusting us all with the care of this beautiful girl.

Blessings,

Asher

Puppy Switcheroo

All three puppies! :) June 24.

We received an email from the breeder earlier last week saying she felt that she had jumped the gun in matching the puppies to the families. She so wanted us to be able to follow one puppy and know she was ours, but ultimately asked myself and the other family if we would be okay with a little switcheroo.

So, instead of the girl in the middle, we will be getting the girl on the left. The middle girl is more active and likes chaos, while the girl on the left likes to be held and have her belly rubbed. The other puppy will be going to an active family with two young boys. We all agreed that Dayle (the breeder) knows best and we would be fine with the switch.

I admit that I had gotten attached to the sweet little face in the middle, but now I'm just as ready for the other girl to come home to us, and I've fallen in love with her sweet face. Now, if only I could decide on a name!!! 

Here are some photos of our new girl taken Saturday afternoon.

Dayle and our girl.

We've been busy getting things set up before the puppy arrives and letting Asher get used to all of the new things. He seems very interested in the xpen and most especially all of the boxes that have been arriving with puppy goodies. 

We've spent the past three months working with an animal behaviorist to deal with Asher's anxiety and barking issues. Looking back, it's something we wish we had done years ago. He's happier and more relaxed. We feel in many ways that, while he still cannot handle certain situations, we have a new dog on our hands. We hope this hard work will pay off as we introduce a new family member. It has been a great learning experience for all of us, and I am excited to use clicker training with the puppy, as it is something that people with limited mobility can easily do.

Another box? For me?

Let's see. What do we have here?

Ah-ha! A toy!

I had to 'rescue' this toy from Asher, since it is specifically for a puppy.

Just some of our goodies.

Thankfully, the family receiving the other puppy had kept all of the photos Dayle had sent of the puppies. So, we exchanged photos of our girls. Most of the photos overlap a great deal with the ones I posted earlier, but here are a couple of her when she was smaller.

Mom and Jeannine will be meeting Dayle at a halfway point to pick up the puppy on Tuesday around noon. She'll be here with me by Tuesday afternoon! 

I'll do my best to keep up with you all via my blog and Facebook, but I expect email to fall even more by the wayside than it already has. I appreciate your continued patience and acceptance of my inability to keep up, and apologize in advance for the fact that my correspondence is likely to get even more sporadic with the arrival of a puppy! 

I want to enjoy every moment with her. 

Blessings,

Emily

Happy Birthday 2nd Birthday Lanadoodles!

Wrapping her Baby Doll up in Tissue Paper!

Visits from Lana, Sarah and Bob are always a favorite of mine. I've been so fortunate to see Lana three times since April, including today, for a little birthday celebration. Lana went right for her present as soon as she walked in the door and it seemed to keep her entertained for much of our visit. We also had some watermelon to celebrate.

Again Daddy! Again!

She's getting so much less shy and starting to recognize her Auntie Em right away when she arrives. Today she had a little baggie with a card on which she had colored in PINK and a new toy for the puppy that she eagerly delivered. She also willingly gives hugs and kisses and lets me help her with things. She says: "Help?" and looks at me with those big brown eyes. (When she opened her present she handed me each little piece of paper as she tore it off so she wouldn't make a mess! Ha! She so does not take after her Auntie Em!)

Lana Gives Hugs and Kisses Whenever I Ask! :)

We finally got a pic of Lana and I together, as well as Lana and Bob. Next time, I'm making sure to get a photo with Sarah, because I love the whole family!

Visit at the Beginning of April. Ladybug Bowl Hat.

We have a tupperware filled with some random items for Lana's visit, including three plastic ladybug bowls, a wooden spoon, a spatula, crayons, coloring books, a purse, and a few other things. When Lana arrives she knows to go right for the box that awaits her arrival. Our favorite is when she wears the bowls as hats. :) But she also makes us all sorts of yummy goodies with her spoon, spatula and bowls.

I'm tired. I need a nap!

She was so sleepy, we got out pillows, teddy bears and my prayer shawl. She got everything organized as if she was going to take a nap. 

End of April Visit. I know how to color now. PINK is a good color!

She looks so grown up with her new haircut and bangs! 

Blessings and Happy Birthday to My Wonderful Niece! I fall more in love with this little girl every time I am with her. I thank Sarah and Bob for their friendship, love and kindness. And I thank them for blessing me with being an aunt to their daughter and making her such an integral part of my life. It is a true joy to be her aunt.

Emily

Comfy?

This is for my paws to rest on, right?

We have no idea why Asher finds putting his paws over the base of chairs, tables, stools, etc. so comfy, but he does. Here he is perfectly content under the coffee table. He's also freshly groomed, so he looks extra handsome (or at least we think so). :)

Hanging Out..

Blessings,

Emily

Cousin Jan! Cousin Jan! Cousin Jan!

Cousin Jan and Me.

I am always SO excited to get to see family. Cousin Jan, the wife of my cousin Mike, was in town for a conference and we got an afternoon visit out of the deal. :) I've known Jan since I was as little girl, since she and Mike started dating and visited us then. We're hoping that next time we get to see each other she is able to come with more of the family, especially her youngest child, Lizzy. 

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon visit, Jan!

Blessings,

Emily

Puppy Countdown!

June 10. Our girl!

Now that you've endured reading two long medical posts, here are some fun puppy photos. The top photo is the most recent photo we have of our girl. Lowchen have small litters, so there are only three pups in this litter. The two girls are going to homes and the boy is staying with the breeder. We finally know, with about 90% certainty, that this is the girl the breeder has chosen for us. She loves to be held and give kisses.

We're less than three weeks away from bringing our girl home on July 3rd! I have narrowed the names down to three, and hopefully as I see her grow more (or when I finally get to meet her), I'll know what her name is meant to be. 

The breeder is great about sending regular stories, updates and photos, and now it's fun to go back and look at all of the photos now that we know which puppy will be ours. I love photo days! :) In addition to connecting with this wonderful breeder, I've now been in contact with another woman who owns one of her Lowchen, as well as the other family who is getting a puppy from this litter. I'm enjoying this community of women and dog lovers!

Thanks for sharing in my joy. I have not felt this joyful or excited for a very long time. I feel like an expectant mother, busy nesting and getting everything I can ready before our girl arrives so that I can spend all of my time with her. :)

Enjoy the photos. It's amazing how quickly they change in such a short time!

Five Days Old. (Our girl is on the left)

Nine Days Old. Our girl is in the middle.

Seventeen Days Old. Look at their pink noses! Mama is ever-so-watchful she can't catch a break for some grooming. :) That's our girl digging in for some food!

Nineteen Days Old. Just the girls (ours is on the right.)

Twenty-four days old. Our girl is in the middle.

Moving day--June 2nd. The puppies move from the whelping box to their new little home.

June 4. The puppies have their first real food--Goat's milk, raw honey, and slippery elm (an herb). Usually this is a messy process, but as you can see everyone was pretty neat and tidy, except the boy got one paw dirty. Our girl is in the front left.

June 8--the puppies have their first exposure to the Lowchen Lounge--the room where all of the other Lowchen in the family live--and go straight for the toys. Our girl is on the left.