New Mom

Hello and good morning!

I wanted to share a bit of good news with you today - I've become a new mom!  To a sweet, little brindle boxer, that is.  She was born on Christmas Day, is AKC registered, and her full name is Sweet Sugar Baby, but we are calling her "Sweetie" for short.  I waited a couple of days to name her and kept calling her Sweetie anyway, and I've never been one to call a pet/companion by their "pet" name anyway and always resort to affectionate nicknames, so this time I decided to give her the affectionate nickname right from the start.  And a real Sweetie she is.

She was a surprise birthday gift, though we had to wait an extra week before she was old enough to bring home.  My DH and DD waited until I had left for my Copics class a couple of weeks ago then secretly went to Red Oak, about an hour's drive, to visit the breeder and see the litter.  (My daughter was the one who talked my husband into getting a boxer as it was my favorite breed, having had one many, many years ago.)

As she tells it, she stood next to the pen where the 8 puppies were playing, and this is the one that left the pack and came towards her.  She snuggled into my daughter's arms as soon as she was picked up, as if to say "I'm home."

We went to collect her 3 days ago and she's been a cuddle bunny ever since.  She never squirms when she's picked up.  We're going through the potty training phase, and I'll say it's the only time this winter that I've been glad we haven't had snow because it's difficult enough with the cold, rainy weather we've had the last few days.  She'd MUCH rather "go" in the warm indoors!

She's sleeping well throughout the days, but getting her to sleep in her doggie crate at night is a bit troublesome as I'm pretty sure it's because she'd rather sleep near me than by herself.  As it is, she's sound asleep on her blankie on the floor right behind my office chair this very minute.  Sure, all nice and peaceful and angelic.  You should see the bags under MY eyes.  But this, too, shall pass.

I'm learning again what it means to have a baby around the house.  Very little time for myself, baby toys all over the place, the bed doesn't get made right away, and I've fallen a bit behind on my blogging.  Hence, no card today.  None tomorrow, either, as DH and I are going to celebrate Valentine's Day by going to the "Die Hard" marathon today to watch four of the five movies, including the newest one, all in a row (because nothing says happy Valentine's like Bruce Willis and the accompanying mayhem).  We're going to miss the first one to wait for DD to get home from college so she can doggie sit the princess.  However, now that Sweetie is sleeping better during the days, I believe I'll have time to start crafting again (yay!).  Here she is on my craft room floor, on the other side of my work table.  

So here's wishing you a lovely day, with or without furry friends.  As for me, I think I'll lie down and take a short nap, following the age old mantra of all new mothers - sleep when the baby sleeps!

Happy crafting!