first snow

Snow can be pretty confusing for a schnuppy.  We got up late this morning and we knew Zuzu had some things to take care of outside, but what happened to outside?

The ground was gone. And with it went the grass and the dirt and all of the smells of everything she has ever known.

 

 

She just didn't know what to make of it (or where to make) until she had sniffed the entire perimeter of the yard.  Ultimately of course, she figured it out - or maybe she just gave up.

Success!  Such a proud moment, and of course her magnificent intelligence was rewarded with a tasty chicken treat. 

4 hours later (so maybe we lost track of time) we realized our sweet genius probably needed to go back outside.  But Zuzu had already found the perfect spot - she had made a big pile of poo right next to the Christmas tree.  Pretty smart!

sweater weather

Snap!  It's cold here in Montclair.  I suppose it's to be expected - December 17th already, but we sure have been spoiled this fall.  Especially this baby doggie - she doesn't like the cold at all. Whatever the weather, she'd rather sleep on my lap than walk around the block, but now that it's 20° - this poor schnuggie won't leave the front porch.  She just runs right back into the house.  It's most definitely sweater weather.

I made this sweater for her when she was only 4 months old.  It was actually July - and a hot day to model a wool sweater in the blazing sun.  Bad Mommy!  But she was rewarded with a mozzarella stick...  at least not a mean Mommy.

And now that it's so cold, if she's wearing her sweater, she can stand to be outside just long enough to do her business.  That might even make me a good Mommy.

For you knitters out there this pattern is called 102-43 Knitted Dogcoat by Drops Design.   And it's FREE. The yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash.   I made the sweater a tad big, having no idea if it would fit this winter - but it does! 

Happy Halloween

 

 

 

temptation

Zuzu doesn't get upstairs very often - unless it's bedtime.  When she does we have to watch her pretty closely.  There are a lot of interesting things in Charlotte's room.  This basket for instance.

Admittedly, there's a lot of fun to be had with this basket.  It's filled with cute little doggies, monkeys and other undefinable stuffed friends.  Personally,  I'm partial to Pablo, the blue Backyardigan.   He's the enthusiastic, energetic one, always ready for adventure.    But Zuzu's never seen the show.

She's more interested in Madeline.  Could it be her beautiful red yarn hair?  Or her yellow felt hat?
Hard to say.

This is Caramba and Lalo.  About a week ago Charlotte woke up crying - which really only happens if she has a nightmare or a fever.  She was sobbing, in fact.  Caramba and Lalo are the two animals Charlotte sleeps with every night.  I knit Caramba for her about 2 years ago.  We made Lalo together this summer.  I'm a fairly able knitter, but I never did learn how to sew.  Lalo was a learning experience for both of us.  But he came out pretty well and it was nice that they had each other.   Not long ago, Charlotte and I talked about what we would save if we ever had a fire in our house.   Caramba and Lalo were at the top of the list.

We made the mistake (which, I think we can safely say will never happen again) of leaving Zuzu in bed with Charlotte when she went to sleep.  Doesn't look like Zuzu got much sleep.

 

Caramba (the kitty) looks pretty bad, but she shouldn't be too hard to fix.  Why the eyes?  Maybe Caramba was looking at her funny.  Lalo (the elephant) is actually the tough one to fix.  Zuzu worked on her ear for a while, it's pretty stretched out.  Hmmm.

For now, we have to keep a close watch on Zuzu when she's upstairs.  Like a kid, she loves toys.  But like a baby wolf, with big sharp teeth, she has a slightly different idea of how to play with them.

spayed

Just when you are right smack in the middle of enjoying puppyhood, the alarm goes off.  Suddenly, it's time to spay the dog.  A long time ago, when we had cats, we didn't think twice about neutering them.  They were both male, and we had no interest in having them mark our belongings with their horrid scent (not that that was the end of it).   But they were never going to make babies...

Every day I still marvel at how lucky we were to get this dog, this Zuzu.   Her temperament is everything we wanted in a dog, curious, loving, loyal, lazy and crazy.  We agonized, truly,  over what breed to get for 3 years.  We were so gun shy about getting a dog, where we had never been with cats (we found them on the street in brooklyn and just took them home) or even babies.  There were no questions, this was what we wanted.  And we've never questioned that we wanted a dog, so it seems crazy, now that we have the most perfect little peanut - to spay her.

Everyone told us we needed to do it.  First the breeder - it's in the contract.  She told us that it is very difficult to breed Frenchies, they cannot naturally birth their puppies, but must have a c-section, which is hard on them.  And if you know the breed, you are no doubt aware of the myriad of health issues they may have.  Finding a good stud would be a big job and we might not want to even do that to our sweet girl.

Our wonderful vet said that if you are not interested in breeding her, then you should spay her.  There are just too many puppies out there that need homes. It's the responsible thing to do.  An unspayed dog is also at risk for mammary cancer, tumors in her reproductive tract, uterine infections...

It's done now.  We're all a little sad knowing we'll never have a little bunch of Zuzus to love.  But we do have her.  And what more could you really want?

sleeping arrangments

Before Zuzu arrived there was much discussion over where she would sleep.  We asked everyone we knew where their dog sleeps.  Most people just laughed.

 

  

We knew it wouldn’t to be easy to have the sweet puppyschnooks in our room but not next to us.  But we weren’t sure we wanted a dog in bed with us every night. Thing is, once you make that decision, you have to stick with it. There really isn’t turning back. 

    

 

At 6 months,  Zuzu should probably sleep in her crate next to the bed.  She can just barely be trusted to make it through the night without having an accident (ask me how we learned that one).   But guess where she sleeps?
  

 

  
Who’s laughing now?

better than a baby doll

Charlotte hasn't been playing with her baby dolls much lately.

Why would she?

A real live cuddly furry snorty baby (albeit with fangs) who lets you do anything you want with her is so much nicer.

losing teeth

Both jasper and zuzu have been losing teeth this month.

       

Jasper has lost 3 this summer.  Most kids wait for their teeth to fall out by themselves - wiggling them every so often until they become so loose that they dangle in place like broken little saloon doors.  Not this kid.  In fact, this tooth was hardly loose.  We were out having hot fudge sundaes after their yearly physicals.  a piece of frozen caramel got stuck between his teeth and he decided to pull it out right then and there. I guess the tooth was in the way of his summertime fun.  It will be interesting to see how 3 big, shiny, new teeth will fit into these small spaces.  Hmmm.

            

   
Zuzu has lost 2 teeth - that we have found.  Others have probably been swept up with the little white hairs and other debris from the floor.  I will save them all - little fossils of their innocence.  Unless I lost them in the laundry yesterday.
           

a baby bulldog

we finally did it...

we've been talking about it and promising kids about it for 3 (or 4?!?) years.
why did we wait so long?

 

 

now our family is complete.