Time out for puppies.

Underdog goes to her new home in Rexburg today. That leaves us with Freckle and Gus (Gus goes to Nevada on Friday) for another week.


Freckle soaking up the sun



Yesterday Gus wouldn't stop trying to nurse Molly. She hasn't let them nurse for quite a while so I don't know why he keeps trying. Molly clearly lost her patience with this impertinent little boy and she pinned him to the floor where he squirmed and yelped. After a minute he gave up and laid quietly.

 Jenna and I were watching the whole thing. When Gus finally gave in, Jenna started laughing,
"Look mom, Gus is in time out!"

 I thought it was cute. Incidentally, the puppies are all sleeping through the night now only waking up at around six.

Let there be sight!

Sleepy-eyed "Sparrow" poses for a picture


We have had a busy week around here. Illness still plagues us. Just as we finished the stomach flu we were hit with strep throat (yes, all five got it at once!). Our youngest was hit the hardest developing Scarlet Fever. I've been spending most of my time holding sick kids. I couldn't do it without my husband who is a huge help. Thankfully, we have great antibiotics and all will recover well. I may spend the rest of the week finishing laundry---sheets, blankets, pillows, puppy blankets, more pillows, clothes... You'll understand if I am slow to get these cute pictures uploaded. I also intend to tie some ribbons on each puppy so they can be more easily identified in pictures.

The puppies are growing like little weeds! They started opening their eyes on Saturday and they are making adorable attempts at walking. Very sweet. Molly is still a great mom and is taking care of their every need. I'll keep those great pictures coming. The puppy in this video the kids call "Arrow" because of the obvious markings on his neck. He's one of the two boys.

One Week

Mom and babies are still doing really well here. Between the kids' flu and the puppies I am doing a lot of laundry! Thankfully Molly really does all the work for the babies. She has eaten more food and water in the past two weeks than she did in six months previous. She looks great. Coat is nice and shiny and she seems happy.

The babies are nursing less and sleeping longer making it possible for Molly to leave them more often. We even went for a good long walk yesterday. We are starting to see more differences in both size and coloring in the babies. The smallest is a little girl called "Mo" and the largest is the last born, "Little guy". One of these days I will get ribbons on them so we they are easier to identify in pictures. The kids can tell them all apart at a glance.

For now we are just waiting for their little bright eyes to open!

We have babies!

We have six cute little, wiggly, squeaky babies. Four girls and two boys. Labor and delivery went great. Molly started panting on Friday night. She was clearly in early labor all day Saturday as she could barely walk up and down the stairs without her belly rubbing. She kept asking to get up on my bed--a place she is not usually allowed--and she wanted to be scratched constantly. I have to admit that I gave in to the little cutie. Who can resist those big puppy eyes at a moment like this?



I originally planned to let Molly whelp the puppies in my room where she is most comfortable but she wasn't interested in the box we prepared. I still wasn't sure exactly when the pups would come and I fell asleep at about 1 am. I woke up with a start at 3:30 to the surprising sound of three squeaky little baby girls. Molly took it upon herself to "nest" in the big bean bag in the downstairs family room. Unfortunately this was fatal to the life of the bean bag which is now on its way to the dump. I of course woke the kids (Dallin was awake and waiting for me--Benson stayed asleep.) We tried to move Molly to our prepared box but she seemed to become disoriented and very anxious so I just put down some towels and flattened out a big spot and let her do her thing in her chosen spot.

I am a mother of five and a registered nurse. I was sure that Molly would require my expertise in the birthing department. I had my scissors and pads and towels and bulb syringe all ready. I have once again been humbled by the beauty of Mother Nature. I quickly realized that Molly was completely in control and required very little help from me. In fact it turned out that I was the nervous momma. We helped a little by trimming the umbilical cords and keeping the tiny ones warm while she took care of each new arrival but that's about it.

The pups had all clearly arrived by about six. I smoothed out the bed turned off the lights and cleaned Molly a bit. I took my little ones back up to their much needed beds and everyone promptly fell into happy "puppy dream" sleep. I threw away all the icky pads and put a load of towels and blankets into the washer. Molly settled down with all six squeaking pups. They each found a spot to nurse and quieted right down. Molly looked up at me with half closed eyes and curled around the babes and went peacefully sound asleep.

I was truly amazed to witness the beauty of life. What a pleasure.