Little panda bear/racoon Bella Puppy has left our family to be with the Hall family.
And it seems she's fitted right in with her new family and is living it up in her new digs! read all about it here.
We now just have Dotty left with us....and it's hard to part with her so we're keeping her for a few weeks more and will see what happens after that.
Time is flying past and the @Home|Away Retreat is fast approaching. And the plans are all consuming - living and breathing the retreat plans here like you woulnd't believe! Lots of work but exciting and SO worth it!
Annnyway, here's a puppy pic - puppies are starting to go to their new homes this weekend - which is kinda sad but it's time to move them on and know they are all going to happy homes. In fact the first one leaves the nest this morning - in about an hour so I should get moving!!
This photo cracks me up. Such serious little faces and a total fluke that they all were lined up like that because a split second later they were scattered all over the place. They like to explore now. And wrestle with each other. And race round like mad things. They're busy little dudes. And are in and out of the garden - hence the scruffy coats.
They need baths as they are a bit dusty and scruffy but they're too little yet for a bath...
Our White Boy who is to be names Charlie by his new owner is heading off this morning. He's the one second from the left. His new owner is a young girl and she was smitten as soon as she saw him!! So he leaves us today, followed by a few of the others over the weekend.
Thanks for still reading - i know the posts are few and far between and I'm trying to post more..stay tuned!
Time for an update - if there's anyone still reading this blog!!!! More puppy updates...I took some recent photos of the puppies through the week.
In fact even some of the poses from these puppies are the same as from the last litter almost! Here's the white "boy" puppy with Kendalina (or Bella) looking over his shoulder..He's the biggest of the puppies but very gentle and placid in nature. And we have a young girl who was very interested in this little guy and she's calling over today to check him out..
And
this one is the most active. She's a busy thing but such a lovely nature...we have a family coming today to meet Bella:)
And here's our little favourite Dottie..and our still sooky black and white boy. We have a potential owner for the black and white boy too - a young family with one little boy who is about 7 or 8 - they are looking for a "boyish" puppy as a companion for their only child...They're coming over today to check him out too..
I
am sort of coveting Dottie a bit..ideally I would like to keep her but
three dogs is ridiculous. But she's so little and cute!!
Yesterday they headed to the Vet for their 6 week puppy check. Here they are waiting...and waiting, and waiting. We were there for ages. and more waiting...in this room... And finally the Vet arrived. They were checked out and given a clean bill of health! None of them liked the thermometer (and who could blame them!) or the immunisation needle or the BIG microchipping needle..but they were brave..although Dottie and the sooky boy screeched the loudest!
We'll miss this lot when they go to new homes too.
This week the puppies celebrated their fourth week of life. They have certainly developed and grown rapidly this last week. Plus they moved out of their box in a laundry home (just for the daytime) to outside! We have the fence we borrowed last time to keep them contained
and the heatpad also borrowed, to keep them cosy and warm.
Plus the days have been so nice and they needed the fresh air and to get out of my laundry so I could actually do some washing!
Mojo was beside himself at all this new activity out in the yard. He's
been a little neglected since the arrival of the puppies and
desperately needs a bath plus a cut and style. He's SO shaggy.
But he was thrilled to have five new playmates to occupy him.
I took a few photos of the puppies on the weekend..it's hard to get them all lined up and posing for the camera!
This little one is the most adventurous and the most advanced as far as running and her motor skills..
Here's Capri with a handful of puppies...
And this little one is still my favourite. She's a little "dot" of a thing so is really suiting her Dottie name, despite the fact that she doesn't really have a very distinct "dot" of colour on her like some of the others. Except a very pale brown (and I mean very pale!) behind her ears..
Dottie is quite quiet..she's very placid and not as advanced or developed just yet as the others..she's still finding her feet and doesn't run or venture too far away so she's a little behind the others with her growing...but she will get there. If you pick her up and clings on like a little koala - every time..very cute..
and this one is the sookie la la.
Brandt's named this one Papa Guiseppe - and I heard Capri calling him Papa the other day!! Such a macho name for a bit of a sookie puppy! He's a gorgeous thing though and is our little panic attack puppy - our fraidy cat. He ventured outside the puppy pen and couldn't work out how to get back in and was having quite a panic over it! And he doesn't cope very well if he's left alone in their bed..he whinges if he can't see the other puppies.
They are still so tiny really..but starting to get lovely and fluffy!
Still tiny...
And
please excuse our dirty glass - Mojo likes to let us know he would
rather be INSiDE and spends a lot of time scratching his muddy paws on
the glass! Let me in. Let me in!
Puppies are growing and becoming very mobile. They still can't walk - they have no control over their back legs but they do manage to wobble around the place although they don't venture very far from their box in the laundry. I rescued one little frightened puppy from behind the washing machine a short time ago. Goodness knows how he managed to find his way behind there and he was quite distressed.
This little female Kenny (or Kendalina as Capri calls her or Bella as the Halls call her;) is a very placid and calm little thing.
They are trying hard to walk..and can lift their heads up for a short time..
before their little wibbly, wobbly heads fall back down again..
Little Dot is still my favourite. She's the smallest one in the litter and has very tiny features and is a petite build and sooo cute...
Here's Dot with Kendalina...
and quick..don't blink but here's a few of them trying to walk...they can hold this pose for about half a second!!
They are certainly getting cuter now that they are starting to look like dogs and not just like rats or guinea pigs...their little noses are almost filled with black pigment and they are starting to do more than just sleep and feed!!
School holidays are coming to a close. Capri went back to school today, Brandt returned to Uni and Jamison heads back to school tomorrow.
We did lots of stuff - movies, sleepovers, birthday parties, visits with cousins, Brandt's birthday and of course the arrival of the puppies.
The puppies are GROWING fast. It's amazing the growth they have over such a short period of time. They are now TEN days old today and their eyes are starting to open and the black pigment is forming on their little eyelids and noses..
They still don't do much other than feed, sleep and wriggle around. My favourite is the smallest of the group - a little white girl with a very small pale brown patch behind her ear..so I feel quite justified now in calling her Dot even though the patch is barely noticeable and much bigger than a dot!
I'll be back with some more photos from the holidays..just wanted to get the puppy photos posted..
I can't believe I am writing this. I can't believe we are hurtling on down the puppy path again. I can't believe we have FIVE new little puppies to love taking up residence in our laundry. Again.
But we do.
After Roxy had puppies at Christmas and they had all grown up and gone off to happy new homes, we thought our puppy days were over. And while it was a great experiece and the puppies were gorgeous little beings and we were so relieved they all went to loving and beautiful new families, I really didn't want to go through it all again.
And we had NO intention of having more puppies. BUT it seems the snippety snip Mojo had a few months back was a week too late and here we are again with a new family of puppies here in the Archer household.
We weren't 100% certain when Roxy was due but knew it was somewhere between the 16-23 July. I truly thought she still had another week to go and when I said goodnight to her on Thursday night, as she stood wagging her tail at the side door, I had NO clue she was about to go into labour! There had been NO signs of labour about to happen. No nesting (that we knew of) and no signs that she was about to have the puppies!!
We had a stressful and distressing night.
In fact I had only an hour and 20mins sleep so I was totally exhausted yesterday and fell into bed early and slept a solid night's sleep which I SO needed. Capri stayed up until 4am with me
and then slept in until around 9am whereas I was up again at 5.20am as Ken
woke me after checking on the puppies and said that he needed to cut the cord on the 5th puppy as
Roxy hadn't been able to do that. Oh great!
Basically..our night was looooong. Roxy had six puppies. But very sadly, puppy no 2 was stillborn which was so sad. Capri and I witnessed that and we were both quite affected.
It was a long labour.
The
first puppy was born just around midnight and the 6th and final puppy
appeared at 7.30am. In fact we didn't realise there was going to be a
6th puppy as Ken ended up leaving the still attached puppy until 7am
when he the cut the cord while I held Roxy as she was a bit aggressive
toward us - and we thought that little one was the last one...BUT after
Ken went to work, Roxy started acting weird again and at 7.30am the
last puppy was born.
We
have three girls and two boys this time and it's exciting to have some
little girl puppies in the house. They had a Vet visit late yesterday
and were all declared to be in perfect health thankfully and so was
Roxy. She hasn't coped as well this time - it was a long time for her
and she had been shivering and panting all day after they were born which the Vet said is a
result of a long and hard labour and that she's fine but will take some
time to heal and recover..the poor thing..
Again, Roxy headed for the bushes to deliver them and had been busy digging a hole at the opposite end of the garden - no doubt right under our noses for the past week but we hadn't realised.. And here I was keeping an eye on the same spot she had dug out last time! I had been watching the wrong end of the garden for her nesting signs!!
Brandt had worked late at his Pizza Hut shift and was on the computer in my craft room around 11.30pm which has a clear view of the garden and I had heard him tapping softly on the side doors to tell the dogs to stop fighting. Mojo and Roxy were rumbling with each other, like they do now and then, playing but were getting a bit loud. Around 11.45 Brandt came racing into our room and yelled, quick, shes having the puppies. NOW!
And so began our adventurous night.
The puppies are all a great size and just look like like little rats for now...We have a
female "Kenny" this time around and one of the boys is also black and
white (but not as marked as the female) and we have three white ones.
We already have a little one who is proving to be a little fiesty! See if you can pick him out...I LOVE the black "dot" on his butt...
and wish he was a girl so we could call him "Dot" after my Nana:) - he's quite a character already...just like she was!
And likes to climb over the others at feeding time.
And so that's our big news...and I apologise in advance for the puppy posts and the stack of photos I will add to the blog as they start to develop and grow!
Just some show and tell layouts...Here's my very first 6x12inch layout (the size is inspired by Mardi who has been completing ALL of her Snippets samples for each month in this size).
Photo is of me and my Grandad and my cousin Jacki - yep, the same Jacki who now owns Maxi!
and this one of most of the cousins together...
I am loving the pom pom trim!! (thanks Janelle)
Trying to update more regularly!
So Maxi has settled into his new home very well indeed. He's been there for a few weeks now and has had a fun filled time getting to know his new family. He has been out and about on many outings, already found the one teeny, tiny hole in the backyard and escaped into the neighbours yard plus learned instantly how to go up and down the back steps.
Annnd he was recently treated to a bit of a shampoo and a CUT AND STYLE...
He says, "Hey, look at me..I'm having a play in this really cool place. I wonder what I am doing in here? And who's the dude?
Whoa, hang on mister. Watch where you put that hand will you!
No. No. Not the clippers. Not the clippers!
Man. What a ride.
Well that was an experience and a half.
Hey check me out. Yeah..kid..look at me. I am lookin' good!
I think that's enough clipping mate. You can put away the scissors now:)
I am one fine and dandy looking puppy. Hey, and cute kid."
I LOVE getting the updates on Maxi's adventures from my cousin Jacki!!! And I know, like all of the puppies, that they have all gone to loving homes. That's made the separation so much easier 'cause we love those little guys!
Time to add some family updates I think! Firstly a puppy update! Max has now left the building. He left our home and moved in with my cousin Jacki and her family in Sydney several weeks ago.
Ken gave him his first bath so we could get him all ready for his big trip in the car to meet his new family. He needed a nice wash and snip around the eyes..
He wasn't too fussed on his shampoo and blow dry and in fact he looked hilarious when he was soaking wet. There's not much to him when he's wet (his very first bath!!) and somehow he developed a beard!
But he started to look his usual self once he began to dry!!!
and he was soon tearing around the house and rolling and shaking off the water!
We headed off the Ettalong on the Central Coast to meet up with my cous Jacki, Mattie and the kids and to deliver Max to his new family. Jacki said her family have been beside themselves waiting for the day to arrive.
Before we left, Max had a play inside and said his goodbyes..
Jacki said they have been very obsessed with getting a new puppy. They had a little kennel, puppy pillow, bowl, collar, lead, squeaky toys...all ready for "Maxi"..
Here is Maxi with his brand new family.
We had a nice lunch of fish and chips at Woy Woy fish co-op! Was lovely. Max was quiet..in fact he barely moved...The kids watched the pelicans being fed and it was a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
here's a few shots of the kids..
and then my camera battery ran out and so I took a few shots using my little Canon camera but I haven't downloaded those ones yet.
SO Maxi is now in his new home and we have just one little puppy left - Banjo!
