Well, today has been another momentous day for the girls for several reasons!

They got their nails clipped for the first time! If the nails are not clipped, they can make things pretty uncomfortable for mamma! They did real well – they mostly slept through it all!!!! The earlier nail clipping is done, and the more regularly the feet, toes and nails are handled, the easier regular manicuring will be later on. My suggestion to families that adopt our puppies is to play with and handle their feet and toes often for no apparent reason. The real reason, though, is to get them used to the manicure touch.

The babies have their collars now, also! All pretty much girl colors!! :=)  Again, most of them slept while I put them on. It looks like they can sleep  through just about anything! When I finished, they woke up with a new feel!  It has also given them another thing to chew on, play with and pull on – their neighbor’s collar!!!!

The other biggie for them today so far has been their second dose of worming medicine. They did better this time than the first time. First time they shook their little heads around like they couldn’t stand the taste. This time they wagged their heads a bit and then licked my hand and their sisters’ mouths beside them!!!!! The bottle says it’s very palatable to dogs! I assume so, because I also gave some to Sugar and Bella today, and they both lapped it right up!!!! Wouldn’t it be nice to have people medicine with such inviting tastes! I know it would have made colds and other illnesses less forboding with several of my children when they were younger!!!!! Oh, what moms go through!!!!! 

Here’s introducing the new daddy to our beautiful baby girls! Meet Hamilton with our son Erik! (Isn’t it usually meet our son, Erik, with the dog, Hamilton?!!!!!) Anyway, he’s a real sweetheart, and loves people and attention! Isn’t he a handome chap?! (Which one?!  Mom says both!!!)  

This is a quickie picture for right now. I will get a more “official” picture up on our Adult page in a bit.

We’ve had some amazing weather here the last month. Being just north of DC and Va, we got some of the big snows that hit them the begining of Feb. Fortunately, here in PA we’re a little more accustomed to snow than the south, so it didn’t paralyze us for long! We do have piles along driveways and roadways the size that we haven’t seen for years. The big dogs just love it! Bella runs and jumps like a deer as she makes circles in the yard! Sugar is a bit more subdued – she has babies, remember!!!!

Our oldest daughter is in college in Florida, and at times the weather here makes me think it would be nice to take a little vacation time and see the sunny south! She is about 1 mile from the Atlantic, and there are plenty of warmer activities to be involved in there. Maybe some winter we’ll just have to do that, but as for now, we have babies to care for in PA!!!

Well, the little girls are getting bigger and more experienced with life! Yesterday they had their first dose on their deworming program. Even though we’ve never had any problems with worms in our puppies, we still put them on the program as a preventive treatment. That way we know they are going to their homes clean inside and out!!! They also got their second serving of vitamins to boost their little energy packs!

 The babies new have their eyes and ears open. They respond to sounds, and are begining to distinguish different figures. When they aren’t sure of something, they’ll let out a little growl or attempt a baby bark!! They are so cute!  They try to be so brave, and act so tough, but picking them up and stroking them behind the ears just melts and soothes even the most ferocious of them all!!!!!

Today I noticed that they are starting to come to me when I get down on their level with them. Their little tails give just the slightest waggle as they make their way over to me – some more confidently than others – interspersing a half successful slow motion swat at a sister they happen to pass along the way! They don’t stay active though for long – instead, they’re back to sleep for another nap.

Now for the fun pictures!!! I took a few individual shots of our sleeping beauties. See what you think!!!

Aren’t they gorgeous?!!! And their eyes aren’t even open yet! Just wait for a few more days and their eyes will make them really blossom! See the little rose and liver noses? Just beautiful!!! Here I go bragging again!!!

For a very common question, there’s never one simple answer!! Not even for 7 little labradoodle girls who are eating and sleeping like that’s all they had to do!!! Well, they do have one other big thing to do right now. GROW!!!  And that they are definitely doing! No question, they are getting the nourishment they need from Mamma!

Within just a few days after birth, all the little noses and feet pads began to change from the newborn pink to the darker color that they will remain. For the first time, it looks like we will have some rose or liver colored noses. That is a recessive trait, so it can be easily over-ruled by the black nose. But this time, Sugar’s liver colored nose won out!! I’m so excited! The black noses are pretty, but there’s something about the lighter colored ones that I really like! It looks like we might have only one puppy with a black nose – very unusual for us!!

The puppies are beginning to move around more, and instead of the push/pull scoot, they are starting to practice the new walking skills for short spurts. That takes work to move that fat little body using just two little legs from behind! But how quickly they change and grow! Just the other day I saw one sit for the fist time. Her eyes aren’t even open, and there she was, sitting with her tiny little legs under her, her poochy belly on top of them, and her two front legs trying to support it all!!! She looked so cute and grown up! Too bad I didn’t have the camera right then. I guess I should leave it with the puppies to be able to catch just those kind of moments!

All the girls have had their first dose of vitamins – Fast Track Canine Gel – and they’ll get their second dose  on their two week birthday, along with the first dose of wormer.  I want to give them as much of a head start to good health as I can. Fortunately, up to this point, we’ve never had problems with worms in our puppies. It is a fairly common thing for puppies to have them, but I am thankful to the Lord that ours have always been clear. 

We’ve had some squealers and some “growlers” already!!! Might they be the barkers when they are older? Time will tell! Whatever they become, one thing is for sure. They will be loved by some special family, and they will give love and loyalty unconditionally in return!