The Royal Pups

I can't hardly believe that the puppies are 2 weeks old already. They're getting so fat! They're just these little squealing balls of fat. They're so cute! We have 4 boys and 2 girls. When I was changing their bedding yesterday the girls decided to 'help' me. Which consisted of them playing with the puppies. Sienna refused to hold a boy puppy. She insisted that she hold one of the girls. And she found it hysterical that one of them was trying to get up on her lap. All of the puppies have their eyes open now. And they're starting to really get around. One of the boys is really a go getter. He's always scratching on their box and was all around the room when I took them out of their box. He seems to be much more active than the rest. Sierra has already started giving them names. Well, the girls that is. My girls seem to neglect the boy pups a bit. But the girls are royalty already. It makes perfect sense really. We've always said that Lola is a princess. She acts very regal. But Max, he's more like the jester. So I suppose it makes sense the girl pups would be princess like and the boy pups ~ well let's just say that they're not show any signs of regalness or royalty.

Singing and a Santa Visit Too

Sienna had her Christmas program at the preschool. I know I'm a little behind getting these posted but hey~ better late than never. Right? She was so cute as always. Santa made a surprise visit for the kids. Sienna would not sit on his lap. He called her name and she went straight to Mrs. Clause. She said Santa was just too scary.

Merry Christmas to all...

Merry Christmas everyone! As you all know by now, Christmas is my favorite holiday. And we had an excellent Christmas this year! (like always) The girls were spoiled rotten with to many gifts. (like always) They got everything they wanted from Santa except for a princess talking kitchen and a laptop. I tried to tell Sienna that Santa knew that she already had a very nice kitchen in her room so he probably wouldn't bring her a new kitchen. She still held out hope and was a little disappointed to not find a princess talking kitchen under the tree. And as for the laptop~ Sierra is very aware that Santa doesn't bring those kind of gifts until you have a NEED for it. This is the 3rd or 4th year that she's asked for the laptop. Sierra got busy immediately playing her new pink guitar. As for Sienna, she got over the lack of the new kitchen as soon as Daddy got her new doll house set up. She exclaimed, "Santa Clause is the best!!"

I don't even know where to start with Levi. He was so awesome. The morning of Christmas Eve I was telling the kids that Santa was coming tonight and they were getting really excited. I was wondering exactly how much Levi understood about what was going to happen. So I asked him if Santa was going to bring him presents and he responded with a very aggressive head nod. Then I asked him where Santa was going to put the presents. He ran straight to the Christmas tree and pointed at the floor. He knew exactly what was going on. He was so cute on Christmas morning. Some of his boxes were bigger than him and he was dragging them out from under the tree. He tuckered out and wasn't able to finish opeing the last few packages. But don't worry, Sienna made quick work of those for him.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Here's some cute pictures of the kids opening their gifts.

Lola is a Mommy!!

Lola had six puppies last night! AND SHE'S STILL ALIVE! She was so amazing. Momma and all the pups are doing so incredibly well. Lola is a really good momma. She looks sooo skinny now. The kids are so excited and doing really well about understanding that they can't touch the pups yet. Levi is trying to understand but he really wants to give them kisses.

Thank you so much to everyone who was thinking of and praying for us. I was terribly worried about Lola. I knew as soon as Lola got up yesterday that those babies were coming. She just wasn't herself and her belly had dropped. But even with that knowledge I still felt quite calm and peaceful. I had spent much time praying about Lola. I wasn't really sure if I could pray for a dog. Does God take those calls? God created all things (including dogs) and He is Lord of all things (including dogs). So, if He wanted to save and protect my dog, He could. So I asked God if it was ok for me to pray for my dog and He showed me (again) that I was praying for the wrong thing. I needed to pray (and mean it) that His will be done. I knew there was some sort of a lesson in the situation that God was trying to teach me. It was the first time in my life that I was actually able to resign myself to His will, no matter what the outcome. I was able to make peace with whatever was going to happen, before it happened. So through the delivery I just continued to pray that the Lord give Lola the strength she needed and to give me the strength that I needed, too. Through it all not only did I feel peaceful but Lola seemed to, too. Not once did she wine, yell out or even pant. It was actually a very amazing and peaceful event (and gross too). So here's some pictures of our amazing new additions.

"Jesus was with me!"

Sienna is alot like me on certain things. She is terribly afraid of spiders. I called my mother once while trapped in my own bathroom because a HUGE spider was between me and the exit. Sienna doesn't like anything scary or spooky. There were several houses on Halloween that she skipped because they were too scary.

That being said, Dave LOVES anything scary or spooky. It could never be too scary for Dave. Dave has a couple of scary masks that he bought at Halloween time. Sienna (and Levi) absolutely despise when Dave puts the mask on. Even though Sienna totally knows that it's just Daddy wearing a mask, she gets totally freaked out. In an instant she is hysterical and I'm screaming at Dave. He pulled one of his masks today and the usual hysteria ensued. Many hours later, I walked in on a conversation between Sienna and Sierra. I heard Sienna say Jesus, and my curiosity was sparked. So I asked her to tell me what she had just told Sierra. So she says me (so seriously), "Jesus was with me." So I responded just as seriously with, "When?" So she proceeds to tell me, "When Daddy had that mask on and him scared me, I was soooo scared! So, Jesus was with me."

Before & After Part 2

BEFORE: AFTER:

Do you want a time out?

It's been a while since I've done a Levi post. So this post is all about Levi. He's a wild man. He reminds me of the 'class clown'. The biggest mistake you can make with Levi is to laugh at him. Once he gets a laugh out of the you, the behavior will never stop!

We're making good progress on the temper tantrums, too. They're not as often and not quite as intense as they once were. I've known for quite some time that my main problem with Levi was finding the right form of discipline. Levi seemed to be immune to any form of discipline. I tried everything~ spanking, hand smacking, time out, smiley/nonsmiley signs (therapist suggestion), take away favorite toys~ it just didn't work~ any of it. Actually, they all seemed to make the bad behavior worse. I was starting to doubt myself (I never thought it possible, either) thinking that I might never find an effective way to discipline him. Then one day in the midst of my desperation set off and sustained by Levi not listening AT ALL and basically just running wild, I just asked Levi if he wanted a time out. He immediately stopped the behavior and shook his head an adament no. I couldn't believe it. It was the first time he actually listened. Well, technically, he didn't listen- he made a decision. So now I am using this constantly and it's consistently working. It's almost as though he doesn't want to be 'made' to do something. He needs the decision to stop the behavior to be his own. I'm just so incredibly thankful that we've finally found something that will work.

My Lola Bola

I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday! My was wonderful with lots of family. I'm putting up a picture of Sienna and Levi's tea party with Papaw just so my sister will stop complaining of my animal pictures. But this post is about Lola. Sorry Shell. Lola is pregnant and ready to pop at any moment. I'm very worried about her. She had some health concerns before getting pregnant but now I'm worried that the delivery will be too much for her. It's my own fault for allowing this situation to happen. I knew that Dave didn't want to get the dogs fixed and would still like to see them breed. He let me believe that I could somehow keep the dogs seperated and prevent them from breeding. However, it's still my fault for even listening to him. I knew what we both wanted was completely opposite from the other. I should have done my own research and came up with my own plan, instead of just using his 'keep an eye on them' plan.

But, whatever, my situation now is that Lola is going to give birth extremely soon. I'm scared. I don't know what to do. I've been reading the internet to get prepared and try to be knowledgeable on what to expect and do. However, that's making me even more scared. Things could go wrong. Lola could die. It happens with completely healthy and normal pugs, let alone one's that already have an issue or two. Or, Lola could give birth with no complications or problems and without needing my assistance at all. She could be perfectly fine. It's kind of like a coin toss. I feel like I'm holding my breath waiting for a coin toss to decide my fate. And yes granted, it's not my fate ~ it's Lola's. But it almost feels like it might as well be mine. Is that weird?

I'm an intense person. When I love, I love completely~ with every part of me and all that I am. I don't know how to half love or some love, it's all or nothing. And that includes my dogs. Dave isn't like that with the dogs. To him they are animals, nothing more. To me they are members of our family. Almost like my kids. (My kids do come first though). If Lola doesn't survive this, Dave will be a touch sad for the kids but he will move on, at the same moment that he finds out. But for me, it will be much different. I will morn her. I will morn the loss of her in my life and in my children's lives. And I will be terribly devastated by the role I played in it all.

However, I cannot focus on what could happen. I can only concentrate on now and what I can actually do. I can prepare the best that I can. I can be ready. I can help Lola be as comfortable and safe as possible. I can hope with all the love that I have that she is going to be just fine.