Life Under the Stars Blog

That's right. We are going to have a dozen dog summer. What does that mean? Dottie had 10 adorable and healthy little pups. They are now a week old and have fully captured our hearts.

Before I dive into birthday details I wanted to start with a few fun facts, really for my own future reference because being able to look back on Tippy's pregnancy was super helpful, and I wish I had documented a little more detail to jog my memory... although I didn't know for sure we'd want to raise puppies again.

So some fun stats... just in case we do this again...

Dottie's waist went from her first measurement (about 2 weeks in when I thought to measure) of 22" to 31". I am pretty sure she had a few more inches the final day because she got super big, but I didn't end up measuring her.

Dottie's first signs of pregnancy were loss of appetite then on day 5 she had some spotting. Her eating habits remained very spotty during pregnancy and she went from her normal two meals a day to one meal before bed, if that. She started showing very obvious changes in her body pretty close to halfway through her pregnancy but I was very hesitant to confirm since we didn't have a doppler to hear heartbeats like Tippy's pregnancy.

Puppies could first be felt slightly around 40-50 days gestation and she really started to get big and visibly uncomfortable at 55 days.

So with that, let's go back to the beginning of their birthday last Monday.

It all started on a normal Monday, the 5th of June. As the clock struck midnight, Tyler and I were getting ourselves tucked into bed and part of that process included taking Dottie's body temperature. It had regularly been tracked after day 50 at about around 100.5 - 101.6 degrees but tonight it registered at 99.6 degrees, a sign that something extraordinary was about to happen. By 8 am, she began digging, preparing a "cozy" spot for her imminent arrivals.

At 3 pm, right before heading to school to pick up the kids and their friends who were coming over for a planned playdate, the first signs of labor emerged as it appeared that contractions began and Dottie could not get comfortable. While walking home, Tyler texted saying I should probably hurry a bit as he didn't want to be the one helping Dottie, if necessary. I suggested to the kids that we pick up the pace and I could see questions in Viv's eyes. I kept it pretty vague but Vivian asked "Has Dottie's temperature dropped?" and that specific question I could not deny. I let the kids know that while Dottie could be in labor, we needed to give her space and make sure they did their planned activities and school projects.

Dottie's journey was not without its twists and turns, as she experienced a few surprises along the way. She even barfed water twice, demonstrating the physical demands of bringing new life into the world.

At 5:58 pm, the momentous occasion took place—the mucus plug made an appearance, signaling that the arrival of the first puppy was soon to come. It was an extraordinary sight when a breech puppy made an entrance, only to retreat back inside. This happened twice, leaving us all in awe and a little nervous so I called Carolyn, the amazing and well-experienced breeder who has the studs. She coached me through how to help the pup come through the birth canal without hurting mother or baby and how to quickly act if the sack had been broken. Finally, at 6:15 pm, with a bit of my help, a healthy baby girl was born with her sack in tact (thankfully!), weighing 371 grams. The atmosphere was filled with joy and excitement by all the kids watching this miracle. Dottie's first puppy, named Coral with the pink collar, was here!

With each passing minute, new miracles unfolded. At 7:20 pm, another beautiful girl joined the litter. She weighed 355 grams, and on her arrival she was marked by a vibrant purple collar and would later be named Sailor. Shortly after friends said their goodbyes, a breech boy made his debut at 7:50 pm, weighing a healthy 377 grams. Because of his size and position, he needed a little help out but was much quicer than hhis sister. The kids immediately and lovingly called him "Fat Joe" but would be named Sharkey with a blue collar.

As the hours rolled by, the diversity among the puppies became apparent. The first three pups were mostly black but then came another breech girl, showcasing a striking white and black coat reminiscent of a panda. She arrived at 8:24 pm, weighing 307 grams and we named Tsunami because of the tidal wave marking on her tush. At 8:44 pm, another lovely black and white girl weighing 300 grams joined the growing family, each puppy adorable and surely to have a distinct personality and charm as we get to know them.

At that point, five pups had been born and Dottie seemed to be content and resting. We took that opportunity to tuck kids into bed and left them with promises of news if any others were born during the night and equally hoping for our own rest but more puppies too.

I finally got a bite to eat and Dottie got to know her precious pups. Then at 11:27 pm, things started to pick back up again. A precious white boy with a distinctive dot on his head, weighing a mere 186 grams, was born. The next day it would be decided that he would be named Sandollar and called "Sandy" because of the marking on his head. Tyler went down to tell the sleeping kids about the next puppy, as promised but was met with sleepy "yays" while they continued dozing.

Just before the day was done, the litter continued to grow with another little girl arriving at 11:58 pm. She weighed even less than the last pup at 170 grams and we noticed she had a slightly hooked tail. An adorably unique feature just to her which would eventually lead us down the path of thinking "anchor", "hook" then "bait" and finally settling on the name Minnow and lovingly called "Minnie".

As the calendar day flipped anew, the cycle of life continued. At 12:34 am on June 6th, a lively boy, adorned with tons of spots, weighing 328 grams, added to the joyful chaos. He would be called Sunny with a bright yellow collar. Tyler decided to retire at that point so that one of us could be ready for the early morning with kids while I stayed loyally by Dottie's side. Soon after, at 1:53 am, a predominantly black boy weighing 307 grams arrived, radiating a sense of tranquility and given a grey collar to be called Rocky. Little did I know, we would have a final girl, weighing 326 grams, filled with vibrant energy and a voice, join the pack at exactly 3:00 am. She was given a red collar and because of her howling like the wind, came to be named Breezy and called "Bree".

Dottie's miraculous journey did not end with the arrival of her ten precious puppies. In the hours that followed, I stayed with her, not knowing if she was truly done or if we would have another break and more surprise pups. I knew she at the very least had some placentas to deliver at some point but knowing that process can take up to 48 hours after the pups arrive, decided to finally call it at about 5:30 am and went off to bed for a few very short hours of sleep before the kids would wake at 7 am.

The next day, I diligently watched Dottie when she went outside and confirmed that she did pass several placentas outside in the yard, a natural process to be expected.

Now a week later, Dottie and her ten beautiful pups continue to be healthy and well-loved. Tippy has been allowed to help care for the cleanup of the pups and is treading lightly with her grandmothering responsibilities but is willing to clean up any pup needing a freshen-up when Dottie is a bit preoccupied. Otherwise, Tippy is happy to lay on the couch, keeping Dottie company nearby while she lays most of the day, feeding her hungry hungry hippos.

We absolutely look forward to the fun and adventure this dozen dog summer will bring to us, our friends, and our family!

So while we await the puppies, let's jump back in time and continue playing catch up.

January 2021 began the serious hunt for a beach property. We had been looking since our couple of trips to Westport over the summer, and we finally jumped into action, checking a few places out along the Washington coast. The perfect house came on the market but was quickly gone pending and we were so disappointed we were not quick enough. But as luck would have it, come Feburary that same house would go back on the market after the buyers getting cold feet. We went and saw it immediately and it was as good as we imagined from the listing. There was a bidding war with three potential buyers and we were the fortunate enough ones to be chosen. It was the first time we had ever ventured to Ocean Shores (about 40 minutes south of our regular getaway spot, Seabrook).

Also in February, Vivian saved her money to get a pet hamster. We welcomed Pixie to our family and she quickly became Viv's emotional support animal - sitting with her for remote learning and being her ever-present sidekick.

On March 19, 2021, we closed on Gray Sands - our little paradise on the Pacific. I still pinch myself and cannot believe this is my life. We are so blessed beyond measure.

April brought another fun getaway with friends. We went to Leavenworth for Easter between visits to Ocean Shores.

Tyler ended up out at Ocean Shores doing a lot of painting and since by this time school was back in person on a shortened schedule, I was stuck home with the kids running that show. One thing we didn't plan for was Conner seriously breaking his arm on Tyler's birthday while he was at the beach. Conner ended up having surgery at midnight (because they had to wait for 8 hours after his last meal - despite having vomited all over because of the morphine they gave him - apparently he has the same reaction as me) to repair his elbow and place 3 pins to reconstruct his humerus. He spent all spring in a cast recovering.

in April, I was fully vaccinated, and so was Marissa so we went on a girls' trip to Puerto Vallarta. We basked in the sunshine without kids for a whole week and it was glorious... especially after the long lockdown.

Tyler's dad drove out to help with some work at our beach house and was the first of our family to get to see the place. It was so great that he taught his boys so much as they were growing up because it has come in very handy with both our houses! There isn't anything I cannot imagine Tyler couldn't do and I am positive he gets that directly from his dad's smarts, persistence, inquisitive mind, and work ethic! Of course, they didn't take any pictures...

We took our last planned trip to Seabrook, WA at the end of April with the Gilbert and Ross families. It was the first time we had rented a house as close to the beach as possible and it was a blast. It sure did make having our own beach house seem all the more surreal.

Also in May for Conner and my dad's birthday, my parents, aunt, and uncle came out to visit and we all went to the beach for our first vacation trip without doing work with visitors.

We worked all summer long on a driftwood fort on our beach. It evolved with everyone adding to it each visit.

We celebrated Claire's birthday as the first big celebration at the beach.

July took us back to Michigan to visit family and friends. Highlights were lake time, fireworks, and an elaborate treasure hunt at Nana & Grandpa's with the cousins.

To end July, my cousin Maya was able to come out and visit. It was a bittersweet trip because we had talked about her and Kela coming to visit and it finally happened and we deeply missed Kela there.

In August, Tyler's brother's families came out to the beach for the first time. We got to celebrate my niece, Brooke's, birthday together which was so fun for all the cousins to be together for a weekend.

September brought a camp trip, visit with Nana and another Furtwangler trip to the beach to celebrate the cousin's birthdays, and the start of school in person which included Kindergarten for Claire!

Viv finally decided she was ready to face her fear of needles and got her ears pierced on September 21st.

October brought us another visit from my mom and it happened to be the same time as the NILMDTS Virtual Remembrance Walk so she got to join us in honoring Zachary as we walked among many other fun activities.

The big highlight of October was Steve and Lacey's wedding in Hawaii. We spent a glorious week in paradise with all of the Furtwangler family celebrating this wonderful occasion.

November was a big milestone. Zachary's double-digit heavenly birthday. It seems impossible to already have been 10 years since he came and left so briefly.

For Thanksgiving, we celebrated with our friends at our house. And we went tree hunting for the first time out in the wilderness that weekend. It was an amazing adventure and the whole family really enjoyed the experience outside of the standard tree farm.

December marked the kids being fully vaccinated... We got to start doing things that seemed almost normal, like the Garden d'Lights with our friends and a small masked birthday party for Vivian.

While the kids were completely vaccinated, they were not considered fully vaccinated for a few weeks after and that was not quite fully before their first close exposure to COVID from my parents during their visit for Vivian's birthday. Luckily, no one got sick as my mom must have been out of the contagious phase and it was very mild to begin - so much so she didn't even think to test for COVID (one of the differences between Detroit and Seattle). However it did cause our family to need to quarantine for the beginning of their visit and the kids had to stay out of school. On the plus side, that meant more time with my parents once we got over the initial fear of illness and since they drove out, they were not on any timeline so they planned to stay for quite some time which allowed us to still get to go to Snowflake Lane.

We celebrated our first Christmas out at the beach with the Pedersens and Robertsons and it was a blast despite a COVID exposure after traveling causing us to miss the Gilberts. We were all sooo over COVID at this point and having just gone through the quarantine and stress of exposing friends and loved ones and messing up plans, it was a bit of a downer. Nonetheless, we made the best of it by doing a little virtual Secret Santa so we could still have some fun together. We ended up cutting our Christmas at the beach slightly short because of the weather forecast. Seattle was supposed to get a major snow storm so we ended up leaving Christmas Day to head back to Sammamish. We ended up stuck home for a week because of the snow that stuck around for quite some time.

So I had this idea in my head I’d have time to catch up on life in a couple summary posts before jumping into the now but gosh I just have puppies on my mind and just want to write!

Why you ask? Dottie is pregnant and due anytime after Friday! (So click that link and join the puppy pool to make your best guess about when we will have puppies born!) If I don’t get it out now, I’ll miss the pregnancy timing and will just have to surprise post about the birth of the pups!

Anyway, it’s funny because it seems like my last substantial update was when Tippy had her puppies, nearly 4 years ago and I only love writing about pregnancy and birth and babies… sure kids are fun to write about and I know family and friends love the updates but it all just moves too fast to keep up and I’ve been doing a pretty good job of keeping myself in the moment instead of worrying about documenting it all.

So, without further ado, let’s jump into Dottie’s story.

When I had said Tippy was the perfect dog, I never thought we could end up with a better dog but enter Dottie. She is the most patient, loyal, sweet, and kind dog. So we knew we wanted to breed her and were planning to last spring but ran into a hitch in the plan, literally.

Everything was lined up with the stud, but about two weeks before we were expecting her to go into heat we were doing our crazy Monday after school routine hustling everyone to activities. Tyler, Viv and the dogs were in the garage doing something while I was getting Conner and Claire loaded into the van to get to after school activities. As I was starting to back out, our neighbor had arrived, so I slowly pulled up to not block their driveway but no matter how slow I had been inching, Dottie got excited that she might get to go in the car (like how could I have forgotten her?) and came running out and in front of the right tire. She yelped and Tyler shouted “back up!” and everyone was screaming - it was horrific. So instead of going to all the activities I kicked the kids out of the van and Dottie did end up getting to go in the car because I rushed her to the vet. By the graces of God nothing was broken and only her paw was impacted with some deep cuts and scrapes that had to be flushed and stitched in a few places. She had to wear a cast to protect the raw skin.

The injury itself wouldn’t impact pregnancy and birthing however, the medications she was prescribed were a bit iffy and despite everyone’s disappointment, I made the call to hold off because we didn’t want to knowingly risk the health of pups just because we were planning on puppies and excited.

So we waiting a very long year until April when Dottie went into heat this spring. We had yet another surprise… not a bad one this time, thankfully, but one that continued to keep us on our toes. Dottie’s heat cycle came a week earlier than anticipated so it shifted our plans and was a little bit of a challenge around spring break and Easter.

I made the drive up to Mt. Vernon twice where the wonderful Carolyn lives with her Pacific Doodles. Since we wanted to breed Dottie’s puppies a bit smaller, I had picked out Magic as the stud. He was a mere 13 or so inches tall (to Dottie’s near 20 inches) and we knew it would be a little bit of a challenge to ensure his safety while breeding. He was up to the task right away on day one and both Dottie and Magic were happily paired with the help of a box to give him the extra height and stability. However on the next attempt, two days later, fate would not have it and they did not have a successful live connection. So to make sure we would have puppies (as this would be the last year I’d feel comfortable breeding Dottie) we brought in runner up - Prince Charming. As luck would have it, we made it work and here we are counting down the days until we meet Dottie’s pups! So now the anticipation is not only until their imminent arrival, but as to who the daddy will be!

Magic is an adorable Mini Aussiedoodle while Prince Charming is an equally adorable Mini Berendoodle. Both are about the same size (despite the deceiving images) and both have great temperament and genes. My goal is breeding out some of the Labrador genes as we apparently have some of the less desirable recessive lab genes (in the form of joint pain - Tippy has arthritis - and cysts, both of which are much more common in the lab breed).

January started off normal - I went to a photography convention in Nashville, then my aunt and uncle came to visit. February brought a fun weekend trip to Portland and another two photography conferences but in Vegas and Atlanta this time. Then on March 8, 2020 I got home from the photography conferences and the world shut down. I remember traveling and worrying about the start of COVID-19 since we had the first infected in Seattle and I was traveling (feeling fine) but concerned I'd be unaware and bringing something elsewhere. It was a strange feeling - but not nearly as strange as coming home and having that be the last contact with the outside world for quite some time. March 2020 we got the kids all desks and our upstairs turned into a schoolhouse with 3 kids trying to remote learn with two remote working parents.

So catching up on 2020. My mom still came to visit in March because things were not FULLY shut down around the country (if only we knew what was coming...) We did lots of reading, daily walks, and youtube yoga. Viv's exploration of baking began and April brought more crafts, zoom meetings, engineering projects, a simple easter at home, and a plethora of wine and sunsets on the deck.

May 2020 included puzzles, butterfly kits, hiking, swimming, rollerblading, driveby birthday celebrations. It was the first time my parents didn't get to come out for a birthday (Conner's).

In June, we were hesitantly over the whole quarantine thing. We did some serious quarantine and testing in order to finally have some fun. We went to Chelan with the Gonens to celebrate Ari's birthday then later that month we snuck away to Seabrook with the Gilberts who was had been quarantining with.

Finally, just in time for Claire's birthday we also did make it back to Michigan and stayed for the first few weeks of July since there was nothing going on back in Washington but we did make it back to celebrate Dottie's first birthday.

August 2020 we had an amazing day trip to Westport and this was the beginning of our dream to have a plot of land on the ocean. Claire learned how to ride a two-wheel bike. We spent a ton of time down at the lake keeping cool and the dog park running around.

September brought our annual Labor Day camping trip after missing Memorial Day with friends, we were all so excited to be together outside. Then entry back to the torture of remote school from home. We put Claire into a full-day in-person preschool because the spring taught us that we could not work, parent and teach 3 kids from home in different grades. It was the best decision we made.

October we went to a pumpkin patch and celebrated halloween and Lucia's birthday.

November we experienced the most isolated Thanksgiving ever but we made the best of it with zoom.

We did end the month with our tree hunt and we ended up with a perfect crazy COVID tree that went all over the place and was as unpredictable as the year was.

December we celebrated Vivian's birthday at home with my parents and brother in town but without our usual visit to Snowflake Lane for the first time ever. We also celebrated at a cabin with friends after family took off.

This was when we started getting into skiing regularly and enjoying it as a whole family. As we entered 2021, we went about three times a week. It was the perfect COVID-safe activity outside and masked because of the cold.

I cannot believe a whole pandemic has come and gone since I last popped into my blog to write anything. It surely is not for lack of content - life has been busy. Lots of ups and downs - plenty to report on. Just not enough time for everything.

I've been mostly off social media and maybe that is what is drawing me back to my blog a little bit - I am missing on updates from friends and many are asking what the heck is going on and asking for photos of the kids. Quite frankly, I've gotten quite bad about sending pics - even to grandparents - unless someone asks! Then, of course, I gladly share our adventures.

So what has been going on? We have had a lot of critters come in and out of our life over the last (four years!). Last I wrote, Tippy had puppies. Well, Dottie is now pregnant (more on that to come!) and Claire had just started preschool while Vivian was in first grade and Conner starting Kindergarten. I cannot believe Vivian is now double digits in age and in 4th grade while Conner is in 3rd grade and turning nine in 10 days. Then there is Claire who is now in 1st grade - the age I left you at with Vivian - and putting us through the wringer with her sass and aloofness.

Let's do a test on my memory for the overall highlights... or, if I am being honest - glancing at my calendar (which I live or die by) and photos (thank goodness for Google Photos organizing everything so well) to kickstart my brain and take a fun trip down memory lane!

2019 was mostly uneventful since I left off as puppies dominated the highlights reel, EXCEPT for the end. September after the puppies went off to their new homes, we headed to Michigan. We had our first epic family and friends trip to Cabo, Mexico. It was amazing and such a blast. We went for Christmas with the Gilbert and Ross families so we spent the holiday in the sand and sun together. We fully utilized the amazing kid's club (we were able to slightly alter Claire's age to allow her access) and got to actually enjoy parent's night out on the resort each night for dinner, which was probably one of the first times we felt like we had freedom like that in quite some time.

Looking back on all these pictures I realize how much the kids have changed in this time. It's bonkers! So many great memories - and clothes! - came from that trip. On the clothes front, Alaska had lost our luggage for 3 days so we got to go to town and shop for some essentials on day 1. We learned a very important lesson to make sure to pack the swimsuit and goggles in the carry-on from there on out. My favorite beach coverup came from this trip and we all still love the hats we got. After this trip we were ready to do it again and again and again... well, spoiler - we didn't get to do another amazing trip like this with friends until 2022 - this year!

Our new fall Monday routine includes Claire’s first dance class. She is in Creative Movement with her buddy Renee and has now done three classes. Claire lovingly refers to it as “ballerine”. 

The first class we ended up arriving with no more than 2 minutes to go in the 30 minute class thanks to construction so Claire went in, got a sticker and was done - she didn’t care and loved it. Thankfully they allowed her to do a makeup class later that week which she was so excited about. Her first actual class the following week with her teacher and Renee was even more highly anticipated and went wonderfully and was followed by a girls lunch with some friends. Mondays might become my favorite day of the week if this keeps up (minus the construction!)

It has been strange having only one kiddo home with me these last few days. Today was finally Claire’s turn for her back to school excitement. She has been so extremely excited to finally get to have class with her BFF Hudson three mornings a week.

It has also been strange getting out the door so darn fast with only one child to usher around. It was nice to have a leisurely breakfast with Claire after the big kids were on the bus and even then, we ended up at school 15 minutes early and boy was Claire impatient and ready to get into class!

Yesterday we had her Meet and Greet with her teachers. Miss Patti has had Vivian and Conner and is excited to have Claire this year! She will be out the first couple of weeks but Claire has already taken to Miss Louise, the assistant teacher too!

Conner was so excited to get on that school bus today! Last week we had Conner’s meet and greet and Tuesday, when Viv started school, we had Conner’s family connection meeting so that his teacher could get to know him (and each student individually) before his time entering with the whole class.

We are all excited that Conner has the same teacher Viv did last year. She was an excellent teacher that Viv enjoyed and Conner is really looking forward to being in her class.

When he left, it felt strange with just one kid at home and it was also glorious because there was about 90% less bickering and whining. I think we will all have a great year!

Conner’s report when he came home was that “it was good but a little boring at the end” oh boy! I sure hope he can stay focused!!!

I can’t believe they are here! Our Tippy girl has had 7 adorable little puppies - 3 boys and 4 girls. She was due 7/15-7/19 and they came right in the middle on 7/17/19. 

During the daytime on Tuesday, Tippy had a drop in her temperature - a normal sign that labor is near. She started acting squirrely and trying to burrow under our house and behind bushes. She is not a digger but now we have some pretty good size holes around the front bushes. I didn’t want to get my hopes up but it seemed pretty promising that we’d be having puppies pretty soon.

Sure enough, that evening, Tippy was starting to pant like crazy and at 11:40pm when she jumped up on our bed her lubricant plug came out (which is a lot like water breaking). Not knowing exactly what that meant for timing, Tyler and I started getting things ready. Tippy was extremely restless and could not settle down to relax. We tried watching some TV knowing we probably weren’t going to get much sleep.

With lots of ups and downs, Tyler and I finally decided to take Tippy for a little walk on our street - not going far with lots of down and backs in case labor really started. She went to the bathroom countless times and it was clear she was trying to push but nothing was coming out. We went back inside fearing that a puppy would be born outside. Upon coming inside Tippy immediately went into her crate - not where we were planning to have puppies. Knowing that this was Tippy’s safe place, we let her get comfy (as much as she could) and we got some cushions to lay by her. Not too long after I heard Tippy clearly trying to push with a little whimpering.

We migrated her into her whelping box in our room so we could try to have pups where we were prepared and had all of our emergency supplies. We moved the cushions next to the box so we could lay by her while she labored. Finally at 3:00am Tippy stood up and started pushing for real. At 3:04am the first little puppy (408g) was born. It was a little girl who had the exact markings of her mama.

Tippy was unsure what was happening for the first pup but her instincts kicked in and she cleaned up her eldest daughter. We had 62 minutes of downtime while mom and pup got to know each other before another little girl (418g) was born at 4:06am. Tyler and I were exhausted at this point - me having taken some melatonin and Tyler having taken some NyQuil because of a cold at 11:30, literally moments before Tippy started labor. Once Tippy started getting up and pacing again, Tyler went down to get the kids so they could see a puppy being born. They were super excited to be involved and see that two puppies had already been born.

The third pup, the first boy (417g), arrived only 34 minutes after the 2nd at 4:40am. Another boy (406g) quickly followed at 5:07am. Tippy was ready for a break at that point and Tyler got the kids some popcorn to make it even more of a fun experience. We all took a very brief rest not knowing if or when more puppies would be coming.

I took Tippy out for a quick potty break and when we came back in she had another girl (a whopping 440g), mostly white this time with two black spots on her butt and a black head, at 6:49am. I had a meeting at 7am so I had to leave Tyler and the kids to watch Tippy. As my meeting was wrapping up I got the news at 8:15am another little girl (350g) was born and she, instead of black and white was mostly black.

Tyler and the kids had some breakfast after that while I prepared for another meeting. They were talking to my mom on FaceTime showing her the puppies and all of a sudden they saw that Tippy must have accidentally gotten the collar off the last little black puppy. Upon another look, they realized that she didn’t get the collar off but had just stealthy delivered another little black puppy (340g) at 10am! He was the final surprise for the morning and Vivian came running in during my meeting announcing the newest little surprise pup. Of course everyone on my web call wanted to see the pup so Vivian went to get the final little boy to show my coworkers.

Once my meetings were all done, I was in total mom (grandma???) mode and pretty much didn’t do anything other than clean up after Tippy for the rest of the day and also try to take a quick nap while kids watched some TV as I was quite exhausted by the afternoon and Tyler had gone to work for a team event and dinner with friends that had been planned. Of course, the day we had lots going on was the day Tippy had her puppies.

Tippy has been an amazing mama and was a natural taking care of her pups from the get go. All of the pups have been gaining weight although both the little black pups are on the small side at about 100 grams less than the rest. We’ve been watching the last little dude very carefully as he is only very slowly gaining weight and he is quick to get pushed out of the nursing lineup.

The first night with the pups both Tyler and I were very light sleepers despite being exhausted - I can’t even imagine how tired Tippy must have felt - even I felt more exhausted than any of my own children’s births! 

During the night we helped a couple pups from getting lost and just generally checked on everyone’s wellbeing. Thursday was a blur of kids and puppies with a few visitors, Friday the kids and I ventured out of the house for a playdate at the beach trusting that Tippy and the pups would be ok on their own for their first time.

All went well and we stayed home the rest of the day with some more visitors.

The pups are doing absolutely amazing and are the sweetest things. Today, we had their dewclaws removed and now it is just living the life until they open their eyes and ears around 10-14 days then they get their first deworming at two weeks. Once they have their first set of shots at 4 weeks, they should also be able to walk and we will be able to play with them a bit - the kids are really looking forward to that phase but are loving the cozy snuggles right now too.

4 days in and we are loving the puppy life. We can’t wait to see how they all grow into personalities to figure out which will be staying in our home. Right now, we are just so excited that Tippy and our whole family can bond with her sweet loves.

There is clearly something about pregnancy that makes me want to write. A lot has gone on in the last couple of months. Lots of great things along with a very unexpected and tragic loss of my cousin Kela which lead to Vivian and I flying back to Michigan to drive 12 hours down to North Carolina with my parents and brother for Kela’s funeral. I ended up planning much of the funeral and helping my Aunt and Uncle as much as I could while they tried to navigate the unthinkable. I’ve been thinking of them daily as I know how hard it is when family all leaves and you are left with your own thoughts while the world goes on around you somehow. It has been a roller coaster of emotions for sure especially as school came to a close for the year and we had so many things to look forward to this summer, but now with the sinking feeling knowing someone is missing even though it still doesn’t seem real, it is a little confusing. It takes me back to losing Zachary when I felt happy for the first time, a month after he passed, and I felt guilty for smiling. If my aunt, uncle and cousin happen to read this, know you can smile and don’t feel guilty. It’s hard to come to terms with that.

Anyway, besides thinking of my cousin and family a lot lately, no, I am not pregnant but I have outsourced and am letting Tippy, our almost 4 year old Labradoodle (her birthday is at the end of the month), satisfy the baby bug for many around us. We will be adding to our family by keeping one of the puppies and we are so very excited! We have finally entered the one week countdown to Tippy’s due date.

Since before we even got Tippy, we knew we wanted to breed a dog. I grew up showing and breeding dogs and I really wanted my kids to experience the joy and challenges of raising puppies (and hopefully getting to see them be born)! We had to wait for quite a few things to line up perfectly and last year we started the search for the perfect stud (aka daddy dog) knowing that my cousin Jen was getting married in September and we likely wouldn’t go home for the usual Fourth of July family reunion. Basically the whole family was going to all be meeting up in September for Jen’s wedding so that left the perfect opportunity to finally breed Tippy and stay home with pups who would be ready for home placement perfectly before we would plan to leave for the wedding at the end of September! Stars were aligning! Little did we know, we’d be with all of our family for almost the Fourth of July for a funeral. In fact, I spent Claire’s third birthday driving back to Michigan from North Carolina to then fly back home early in the morning and pretend the next day was actually Claire’s birthday so Vivian and I didn’t have to miss it.

Ok, so back to Tippy’s story. She is a first generation CKC registered Labradoodle which means she is exactly 50/50 Black Labrador Retriever and Standard Poodle (her mom was black and white parti color). She has wiry hair as many first generation Labradoodles do and still sheds but definitely a lot less than a Lab and many other shedding dogs. I never wanted a shedding dog but Tippy was such a sweet dog right from the get go that I knew I wanted her because temperament was much more important than shedding. Not long after getting Tippy, we got Dusty - our Roomba - and that was the best decision ever to go along with Tippy girl.

Anyway, I digress! We bred Tippy with an AKC registered Standard Poodle with phantom/tri-coloring. Don’t let this picture fool you, Georgie was a big boy and I’d imagine when full grown, their pups will be a good 65 pounds of love and patience because both have amazing temperaments.

After a while of searching, I finally got serious last fall and found Pacific Doodles. It was important that I find a well tempered dog and that he have colors other than solid... oh an a pair of balls (you wouldn’t believe how many parti color poodles I stalked over the years at the dog park... most neutered of course). So I started talking with his owner, Carolyn, in the fall and they sounded like a perfect fit for us - well maintained family operated and oriented breeders - and not too far away (about 1.5 hour drive up to Mt. Vernon). When Tippy’s season rolled around in early May, I got in touch with Carolyn and we made plans. Two days after Mother’s Day Tippy, Claire and I (Viv and Conner were in school) made the first trek up to have a “Puppy Playdate” to let Tippy meet Georgie.

It was an immediate love connection - thank Goodness as that would have been a long drive for disappointment. We had timed it just right. We went back two days later per all standard breeding resource suggestions. Then we waited.

Dog gestation periods are only 58-68 days with the average being 63 days. You don’t even know a dog is pregnant for sure until they are half through their pregnancy!! We had lots of hope and thought she was pregnant but of course couldn’t confirm until we heard heartbeats. Puppy prenatal care is entirely different from a humans as it is basically nonexistent. We could have opted to do an X-ray the week before her due date but that would only be to get an idea of how many puppies to expect and I’ve heard they can be very misleading and actually cause more issue when you only expect 6 and start cleaning up but SURPRISE there was another little body hiding behind someone else who now went totally ignored. So, we are opting for the guessing game.

Today marks the end of day 57 from her first mating so the official watch begins with my expectation actually being pups born sometime next week. 

I started taking her temperature to help determine labor as she will have a decrease in temp when labor is imminent (give or take 24 hours) and she definitely has slowed down. She has been introduced to her whelping box, which she completely ignores, and I shaved her belly to help when puppies are born and need to nurse. Hopefully that will help keep her clean and make it easier for the pups to nurse successfully without a tangly furry mess of hair. It definitely made her look a lot more pregnant!!

The kids are excited and ready for puppies. Each day we feel Tippy’s belly and the puppies inside. We know there are at least three as we have heard three distinct heartbeats with the doppler and have felt puppies in various places at the same time. It has been an interesting learning opportunity and talking about how babies are born. They were surprised to hear we would not be cutting babies out of Tippy like they were all born. Lots of learning going on.

So we are all prepared with birthing supplies and we just wait... and hope she has the pups while we are home to help her stay calm and also have them in the whelping box instead of on my bed or in her crate (although I have prepared it in case that is the case).

Who wants in on the puppy pool? Winner gets lots of bragging rights!

Don’t give up hope on me yet ;) I still plan on catching up on the last six months of life here. It has been a whirlwind and I am loving it. While I am busy and even slightly stressed, I find it hugely important and exciting.  Hopefully in another month or so I will be a little more organized and together in my personal life as my kids and work side - photography and NILMDTS - has been taking over but in a good way. I was looking through my blog posts as of late and realized I started a post about Colorado and the NILMDTS Remembrance Walk back in September but never finished it and it is sitting in drafts... good intentions, lack of follow-through on that one! I still have my Michigan pictures patiently awaiting review from July and I promised I would get those up and I keep my word... I don’t believe I ever gave myself a deadline though so I it just kept getting pushed down on the priority list.

For the new year though, I want to make sure I am able to bring back this space as I do enjoy writing and posting for family and friend to keep up since I am clearly bad at calling too or when I do call, I can never talk because the iPad or phone gets yanked immediately out of my hand by a child takeover!

Speaking of my phone. Sadly I shattered it... again... today. I always seem to do that when I have an early morning shoot the next day and travel that week. Apparently that is my dangerous combo of phone failures. Now I have to figure out if I am getting a new phone (I’m up for upgrade) or just replacing the screen (again). Bah... choices, choices!!! Until then, I’ll catch up on some photo editing before I have another session in the queue tomorrow!