Pregnancy Announcement {of the NON-Human variety}

Well hello there, long lost friends!

I have some exciting news to share with everyone on this fine Cinco de Mayo! Lola, one of my family’s Goldendoodles, is pregnant with her second litter of puppies! Can you say “Hip hip hoorayyyy?!”

My mom took her to the vet yesterday, where a sonogram confirmed her pregnancy. Not that we had any doubts… {And yes, it was planned. Lola is a well-mannered lady, after all}

Lola’s sonogram

The vet counted 7 puppies so far. Do you remember the counting mishaps we encountered last year? We will get a more accurate X-ray when she is 55 days in {Goldendoodles typically deliver around 61 days} to know what to better expect. I’m guessing 9-12 based off of last year! I will keep you updated as we find more information out!

In case you don’t already know, here is a picture of both Bentley {big daddy} and Lola {pretty mama}.

This litter of puppies should be born the first week of June. I will be preparing myself for the dog birthing process again, since it’s been over a year since I last assisted!

Goldendoodles have the absolute goofiest personalities of any dog breed I have even encountered. I am completely obsessed with Teddy and cannot wait for the other puppies to be born and watch their own personalities grow and develop. It’s such a neat process!

OODLES OF DOODLES, here we come 🙂

QUESTION OF THE DAY

• Have you even assisted in a dog birth?
• What is your favorite breed of dog?

Weekend Happenings

This weekend I did a lot and not much all at the same time. Not sure how that happens, but it totally did!

After my long run on Saturday morning, I spent most of my time hanging out with my dogs because I’m cool like that. {Who needs people? ;)} Paul and I also attended our friends’ Couple Shower for their upcoming wedding, which was a lot of fun.

MEAGAN & COOPER’S COUPLE SHOWER

A late afternoon full of hors d’oeuvres on a lakefront was the shower setting. Everything was super cute. The hostesses spared no detail! From the delicious food and country chic decorations down to the cake and gift time, all aspects were planned!

 

I really like the idea of a Couple Shower as opposed to a Bridal Shower. It’s not fair to the groom when the bride gets to open all of their joint gifts! As you are about to enter upon a union, it seems only fitting that the first celebration should be about the couple as a whole, not just each member separately. I’m glad this is becoming a popular “thing” to do!

I am so looking forward to their wedding day in a little over a month! Love is in the air!

 

NEW JOB CELEBRATION DINNER

On Sunday night, Paul had planned to take me out to celebrate my new job! {I still get giddy thinking about it! SO EXCITED} I had chosen a delicious Italian restaurant that my mom and I enjoy, Mama Lucia’s. Paul and I had been there together for one of our “Sunday Brunchdays” but he had never been for dinner. After going to Italy this past May, I still say Mama Lucia’s has better food than Italy! Their Chicken Pesto pasta dish is to die for. Yum.

When we arrived for dinner, Paul told me that he had secretly invited Meagan and Cooper to join us! I couldn’t believe it! I adore surprises and was happy our friends could join us!

We ate until we were stuffed and mostly talked about our puppies… shocking! Not. They’re just such a huge source of entertainment! Actually, for the Couple Shower, I also included a gift basket for Milo {he was one of the puppies from our litter} because he is part of their family. Can’t forget him!

 

Between Cooper, Meagan, Paul, and I, we all have gotten our first full-time jobs in the past 4 months. It’s an exciting time in our lives’, that much I know!

TEDDY BEAR

Now, about those dogs. This weekend Teddy ruled the roost. We went on a walk, played, and even folded laundry together. Well… kind of!

Teddy and her teddy bear

Princess of the pillows

I love this pretty girl!

“Mommy, why are you taking my bed away piece by piece? It is warm and smells so clean!”

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

• What did you do this weekend? Anything fun?
• Bridal Shower vs. Couple Shower? Opinions?

Pupdate {4 months}

In honor of “National Dog Day” yesterday as well as the puppies 4 month mark earlier this week, I thought I would do another pupdate!

Sawyer, Daphne, and Teddy are now four months old! The time has absolutely flown by! At their last vet appointment two weeks ago, they weighed in at 40, 36, and 35 pounds respectively. They’re probably 5 pounds each heavier now. It’s crazy to think that just a short time ago I could fit all 10 puppies in my lap. Those days are long gone!

Currently, they have started losing their baby teeth! I have yet to find one {and frankly, I probably never will} since there are so many animals in my house. I wish I would find a lost baby tooth though, I’d totally be the person to save it forever 😉

SAWYER

Hello, mister Sawyer

Sawyer is a handsome boy! He absolutely takes after his daddy, Bentley. Both of them get so excited when they see you that they can hardly contain themselves. I always laugh at Bentley when he does “The Bentley Thing” and now Sawyer has adopted that goofy personality! He definitely loves to play!

He’s the most difficult for me to take pictures of because he doesn’t like sitting still for long {especially when he realizes that I don’t have a treat for him!}

Son and father

DAPHNE

Sweet Daphne

Little Daphne is a doll. She is sweet as can be and has the cutest face! Don’t let that fool you though, this girl is quite the adventurer! She was the first to need a professional bath because she ran into a muddy lake near our house and was filthy. Not to mention she contracted 100 “seed ticks” {you read that right. 100.} that I had to remove. She’s lucky she is so cute! Daphne has also discovered that the patio table provides an awesome vantage point over her fellow doodles. I went to put something inside one day, and in the 30 seconds I was gone she managed to find her way onto the table! Crazy girl.

I love adventures!

Daphne is quite photogenic! It’s nearly impossible to take a bad picture of her.

TEDDY

Last but not least, my precious Teddy bear. She’s pretty much my first child. It shows too. She follows me around everywhere and is always laying at my feet… even if I’m doing something quick like brushing my teeth! She doesn’t want to miss a second of bonding time with her “human mommy.”

Her red coat color is gorgeous. People stop me to ask about her frequently. {They usually think she is an Irish Setter. Nope!} Her eyes are a unique color, somewhere in the spectrum between green/brown/red. Hard to describe! They almost match her coat.

Teddy is a super fast runner and always looking to play. She will run circles around the others until they finally oblige and join her. Because she is so active, she crashes hard also…

Sleepy baby

Look at the teeth I’ve lost!

All three of them play so well together. They’re lucky to have playmates around all the time!

The girls

That’s about it for now! Plus, here is a picture of our “big doodles” from earlier when Lola returned from the groomer’s.

Reunion

I believe Ellie and Bentley were whispering sweet nothings into her ears about how much they missed her the past few hours! Sadly, Lola’s fur had to be shaved off 😦 Furless doodles make me sad. It will grow back though!

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

• Is your dog adventurous {like Daphne}?
• Is your dog like velcro to you {like Teddy}?
• Does your dog freak out in excitement when he sees you {like Sawyer}?

 

Energizing Weekend

Hi there!

This weekend {and Monday} have been full of activities! It’s kind of a hodge-podge of stuff, so bear with me!

FRIDAY

Friday morning, I woke early. And no, not just because my puppy woke me up. It was another lake day!!!! I think it goes without saying, but I was pumped! I met my friends again and we drove to Lake Lanier. Although the weather forecast was on the sketchy side, it all worked in our favor. The storms surrounded the lake at times, but never directly interfered with us.

I felt that it was my day to successfully get up on the water skis. There were hardly any other boats out {we think the forecast scared most people away} and the lake was blissfully still. I was the first to attempt of the day. After several tries, I had inhaled copious amounts of water and decided to call a quits for the moment. There would be more time later in the day… I just wanted the burning in my nose to stop!

Other people skied, we cruised around, ate lunch, and then I decided it was time to try again. I still felt it was my day. After several more tries…. I GOT UP! Then immediately fell down. But who cares? I GOT UP! Everyone was right when telling me it is like riding a bike though. After my first time getting up, I was able to do it every time after that! I finally figured out how to stay up for longer than 3 seconds and had one decent run over 3 minutes! My form is horrendous, but I’m sure it will come together with practice. I was incredibly thrilled!

For dinner, we went back to their house and had the most amazing tacos. Maybe it was because we were starving, but they seriously hit the spot! Paul was able to join us too. He didn’t have off Friday and was at work while we were having fun on the lake.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning, I made my way home and immediately hit the gym. Although water skiing is physical activity, I felt myself wanting to run. I knocked out a quick 3.5 miles at the gym {running in the afternoon in Georgia in June= bad idea} and felt much better.

Paul and I headed to our friend Erin’s place to have some dinner that night. It’s been way too long since we’ve seen her and it’s always great to catch up! Fun fact: The two of us would have never met had it not been for Erin!

We went to a great barbecue  restaurant and left completely stuffed. I’ll never say no to a good smoked brisket sandwich! Plus, their macaroni and cheese was to die for! We watched a movie and shared a gin bucket the rest of the night. My full stomach only allowed me to have one drink… I’m such a wimp, I know.

SUNDAY

After Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, we made our way back to my house to continue our weekend of randomness. I had wanted to see the movie Maleficent for a couple of weeks and we finally made it happen! We both thought the movie was… weird. Not really in a good or bad way, just weird. I didn’t like rooting for a traditional villain, it seemed so wrong!

After dinner, we went on a super quick walk with miss Teddy! She is still very new to walking on a leash and is hilarious with it! She tends to “walk herself” and I can’t help but laugh every time. She looks so darn cute prancing with the leash in her mouth!

 

These two make me so happy 🙂

MONDAY

This morning began with a thirty minute cardio warm-up on the elliptical trainer before beginning BodyPump! It was a great class {isn’t it always?} and  I left feeling sufficiently challenged. I did back off on the lower body weights though because the Peachtree Road Race is on Friday morning and I don’t want sore legs for the 10k!

After lunch, my mom and I headed out to take Teddy and Daphne on a little trip to Petsmart!

“Where are we going?”

We knew that they were going to draw all kinds of attention {since they’re the cutest puppies to ever live, and all} and we were correct. The girls liked looking around and ultimately fell asleep in the shopping cart.

Sleepy girls in Petsmart

I bought some more things for Teddy. My favorite purchase is a Kong teddy bear that is the same color as she is.

Don’t mind her crazy hair… I had just given her a bath! She was only half-way dry. ha

 

That’s about all for now! Today has been one of those errand-running days… lots to get done in the next couple of days.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

• Does your dog enjoy Petsmart {or other pet-friendly stores}?

 

Newborn Goldendoodle Puppy Photoshoot

I had promised some better quality photos of the puppies and they have arrived! A big shout out and thank you to my friend Brad Houston for doing the photography!

Without further ado…

Here are our four baby boys:

“ Green Boy“

“White Boy“

“Orange Boy“

“Blue Boy“

Group shot of the boys

Here are our six little girls:

“Yellow Girl“

“Purple Girl“

“Blue Girl”      <– This is my puppy

“Pink Girl“

“Green Girl“

“White Girl“

Group shot of the girls                 

Pupdate #2

Hi all!

As I’m sure you can imagine, there have been lots of little squeaks around here! The puppies are growing so much!

Puppy pile!

We had a big milestone yesterday: ALL puppies weigh over one pound now! Hip hip hooray!!! I was pretty excited by that. The first week seems to be the most difficult as far as making sure everyone is doing well. I think we will start having to worry about that less here soon and more about them starting to get into trouble 😉

One of my brothers, Thomas, was able to come home for the afternoon. Besides my mom and I, he may be the other biggest animal lover in the house. Actually, we are all three probably tied! Anyway, Thomas of course loved all of our little baby doodles.

 

Thomas keeping Lola company

He even picked out a favorite already and was loving on her. It would be impossible not to love these sweet puppies.

 

This is “his girl,” yellow collar. She has such a precious face! Such a calm demeanor, too. Like I said, you can’t help but love them.

I mentioned before that there was one special puppy to me. As the days pass, I find myself drawn to her more and more. I can say without a doubt that she will be my girl. This may sound silly, especially since they cannot see or hear yet, but I swear she knows who I am. She snuggles right into me and makes my heart happy.

 

She is so beautiful. They all are, truly. But I smile most when I see “blue collar girl.” I can’t help myself; we have a bond.

Tomorrow {well technically, in the middle of the night tonight} they turn one week old! Time flies when you’re having fun! It’s so incredible to see how quickly they change. One noteworthy change this week is some are getting black noses, lips, and paws. It’s fun to see which puppies get black noses and who will be red/brown. Bentley, the father has a big red/brown nose and lips, while Lola  has black. Another change, that had my mom and I giggling, was the puppies have gained enough strength to start wagging and lifting up their tiny tails! It’s downright adorable. It always happens when they are nursing… such happy little guys and girls!

Mom and “blue collar boy”

That’s all for now, folks! I hope these puppy pictures brighten your day, as they do for us!

 

Feeling Better

Good afternoon!

It’s been raining and cold here today. Not the “spring weather” people get excited about, but I’m perfectly content! I have a lot to do indoors today and am fine not being temped to soak up the {nonexistent} sun today!

WHERE I’VE BEEN

This past week has been a crazy one. I got sick for a few days and it completely knocked me down.

Stuff I was living this past week

I’m feeling a million times better now though, so it’s all good. I originally thought that my luck had finally run out. I have been fortunate enough to never suffer from allergies in my life. My sickness coincided with a huge pollen increase {think yellow cars everywhere} and I wondered if that was the cause of my sever congestion. Thankfully, I got over it in a couple days and there is still pollen everywhere. Now I just think that I caught something on a plane coming home from Texas. I’m okay with that over allergies!

MAMA LOLA

Our pregnant dog, Lola, has been getting bigger by the day! It’s pretty amazing to witness. She is due in about a week and I have definitely noticed a change in her energy levels. She normally has a lot of energy and loves to run around. Lately, she has been laying down a lot and resting. 

Lola says her stomach is huge!

Many of the things on my to-do list today have to do with the puppy arrival! Washing towels and such to have ready. I’m definitely getting more and more excited!

WORKOUT

This morning, I finally made it back to the gym. I wanted to wait until I felt strong enough to not overdo it. I did my favorite 5 mile treadmill workout. It felt so good to sweat and get my heart rate up again! 

That’s all for today! TIme for me to start crossing things off of that list!

{PUPPY} Pregnancy Confirmed!

This afternoon I had a big appointment on the agenda: take Lola to the vet to confirm her pregnancy! She is only about 2 weeks away from having her first litter!

Now, before people start freaking out and reprimanding my family for not getting her spayed, we wanted this to happen. It was planned. So don’t you worry yourselves!

I felt a little bad for Miss Lola because when I took her outside with her leash, she thought we were going on a nice afternoon walk. Not quite! More like a drive to her least favorite place. Although there were no shots involved this time, so I think it wasn’t too terrible for her.

I have been trying to educate myself on dogs giving birth through the best medium possible: Youtube. It’s a long process, so most videos are just snippets of the ordeal, but I got a general idea of everything. Here is one video if you’re interested! Warning: do not watch if you can’t handle “gross” stuff. You won’t enjoy this.

The vet was able to X-ray Lola’s {rapidly enlarging} belly, as well as find teeny tiny heartbeats.

 

How many puppies can you spot?

The were kind enough to give me a disk with the Xray pictures on it! Two veterinarians counted the puppies together, for extra confirmation. They agreed that there are for sure six, and possibly a seventh! Ohmygoodness. I can take her back again next week, when they have grown some more, to check again for the number again.

 

Lola says pregnancy is exhausting

I asked a lot of questions following the X-ray. I told her that I feel ill-prepared for all of this {my parents will likely be away on work and it will be my responsibility}. She gave me several sheets of literature on dog births as well as some good websites to read up on. I’m not worried about being squeamish or anything like that {I did major in Biology and want to go into medicine, after all}, but if complications arise, I want to be able to identify anything abnormal so I can rush her to the emergency vet. My main goal is for my Lola girl to have the smoothest delivery possible.

It’s time to prepare her whelping box and all of that good stuff! I’m super nervous, but excited all at the same time. We will have 9-10 Goldendoodles for a period of time! {Our three plus the pups} Crazy!

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

• Has anyone seen a dog give birth before?

Last Training Run!

Hi guys!

LAST TRAINING RUN

Yesterday afternoon, my best running buddy {Coty} and I completed our final training run for the Disney Princess Half Marathon! How exciting is that?! We scaled back the mileage a little from last week {12 miles} and did 9 miles exactly. It was sunny and in the 60s during our run… a little different than the weather we have been having lately! The warmer weather really took a toll on my thirst levels. I run with a hand-held running water bottle and found myself rationing the water because I was dying of thirst the entire way. I’m glad there are more than enough water stops on this race… as it will be warm in Florida too! I am absolutely planning on taking advantage of each and every one of them. This girl is not made to run in heat!

Glistening post-run

I downed an entire full water bottle in about 5.7 seconds when we made it back to our cars. Told ya I was thirsty! I was also craving a popsicle BIG TIME! I think it’s because I forgot my “long run nutrition” and needed some sugar. I decided to stop at the grocery store on the way home and purchased a box of pomegranate fruit bars. They hit the spot! I ate one before I even made it home… so good!

Pomegranate popsicle time!

TODAY’S WORKOUT

This morning my mom and I went to the gym for our beloved Body Pump class! Wooo! I love that class because it forces me to focus on all of the major muscle groups and it’s fun. If left to my own devices, I would probably only ever do back, chest, and shoulders because those are my favorites. {Is it so obvious that I was a swimmer?} And that’s not well-balanced! The class flew by, as always! I also did a total of 25 minutes of cardio {half before and half after class} to get my heart rate up a little.

LUNCH & OTHER STUFF

When I got home, I was surprised in the very best way. Two of the cats that usually HATE each other were getting along! I’m sure it was a fluke, but a girl can hope that they’re learning to live in peace, right? See, no cat fight here:

Isabelle and Sophie getting along

For lunch, I threw together a salad composed of leftovers from last night’s dinner. I made a “fajita salad” from fajita leftovers… I’m so clever 😉 And yes, I used both chicken and steak. Not afraid to admit I’m a meat lover {that’s what having 5 brothers will do to you}!

Fajita salad

As I was eating, I felt something tickle my foot. I looked down and saw this:

“Can I have some steak?”

Miss Ellie was looking at me with the most tried-and-true begging eyes. She just knew my lunch was delicious! Such a cute little goldendoodle. As you can see, I ate outside… it’s warm again. It was quite nice to dine out in the fresh air and sunshine!

That’s all I have for now! Time to run errands this afternoon in preparation for our Disney trip! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday so far. Happy President’s Day!