Ella and the Fur Babies

One of the questions I have gotten since Ella's arrival is "what do the dogs and cats think of Ella?"  That  is a great question.  Fortunately, the answer is everyone is getting along just fine.  But I was pretty worried that wouldn't be the case. 

What We Did to Prepare the Dogs
All the pets, but especially the dogs, were used to being the center of our world.  Early  in my pregnancy, like 8 weeks early, we started to retrain the dogs.  We set new rules- no dogs on the couch unless invited, sitting and waiting to eat, reduced number of toys (on the rare occasion Oliver and Matilda would fight, it would almost always be over a toy).  Slowly, the dogs got the hang of the new routine.  While I know it was hard for both Seth and I to enforce new rules, it would be so much sadder if we had to re-home any of our babies because we didn't properly prepare them.

After Ella was born, we sent a couple blankets with her scent on them with my mom (the dogs were staying with her), so that they could learn the new smell.  When we got home, Seth went in the house first and greeted the dogs.  Then he came out and got the baby and I went in and greeted the dogs.  We then set Ella, in her car seat, down between the two of us on  the couch.  Matilda was very interested in what was happening.  She jumped up on the couch (bad Tilly) and gave the baby a good once over.  Oliver was a bit more hesisitant.  He actually growled at the car seat (we weren't surprised- Oliver is a bit of a head case), so we let him out for an hour and tried again.  This time, we held the baby and hid the car seat.  He slowly approached the baby and gave her some good sniffs.

And that was that.  Ever since everyone has been fine.  The dogs are freakishly protective of the house.  We have to know when people are stopping by so we can make sure they are out (Matilda actually tried to nip a guy delivering flowers).  As much as everyone is fine with Ella, each pet has a different approach to her.

Matilda

Matilda meeting Ella

Tilly is out oldest baby (6 1/2!) and is used to being Seth's little princess, but like I said, she showed great promise in the beginning.  But she hasn't exactly warmed to the baby.  She likes to sniff Ella, but if you try and put that baby down anywhere near her, she runs away.  When Ella cries, she always checks to make sure she is okay, but then retreats to another room.  I don't worry that Til would ever hurt Ella, she just isn't particularly interested.  We are 100% sure that will change as soon as Ella can drop food on the floor.

Oliver

Oliver snuggled with Ella during nap time (excuse the unmade bed)

Ella is Oliver's baby.  This was very surprising.  He took a while to warm up to her, but as soon as he figured out he could give her kisses, he was sold.  Now whenever I put Ella down for a nap on our bed (she sleeps better that way), Oliver can be found snuggled right up to her.  We figure that he will want to sleep with her once she is in a big girl bed in a few years.  It makes my heart happy to know that Ella and Oliver will be best buddies for years to come.

Ava

Ava trying to get some attention too

Ava seems to be a bit jealous of the baby.  One day, I had Ella in the carrier and was working at the computer.  Ella climbed on my lap and proceeded to lie down on top of the baby.  I shewed her off and haven't had a repeat performance.  Since then, Ava has warmed a little to the baby.  She was hanging out on the back of the chair while I was burping Ella a few days ago and Ella got the biggest smile on her face and giggled at the cat.  I don't think Ava was amused, but she's coming around.  She also enjoys new places to sleep- mainly the changing pad and Ella's chair.

Henry

Henry says "What baby?  This chair is for me."

I'm not entirely sure Henry is even aware that someone else has joined our family.  He definitely likes to come visit when I am feeding Ella in the morning, but like I said, I don't think he realizes that I am up for any reason to do anything other than pet him.

Storms Coming

Storm door that is...  Sorry, I couldn't resist the batman reference (Seth is way too excited about the new one). 
On with the point, if you remember, our house has two front doors and no back door.  Both front doors have storm doors, which is nice because it lets us leave the doors open when we are home (more light and air flow).  The first front door got updated when Oliver broke through it about a year ago.  Long story short, my dad brought his dog, Bishop, over to see if all the puppies could be friends.  It seems Oliver thought he had enough friends and decided that Bishop must die.  Seeing as how we didn't want Bishop to die, we put Oliver inside.  He jumped on the door, smashed through it, cutting his chin in the process.  Much blood and chaos ensued.  The good news is no puppy (or human) was too badly injured and we got a new storm door out of the whole thing.

So this weekend, Seth and I (Seth) really got around to updating the other door.  The old door was in bad shape:

Please note two features:  One the obvious dent in the bottom of the door.  I'm not sure where that came from, but it's not attractive.  Two, if you look right above the dent, you can see where the screen in torn and Seth sewed it back together.  We figured out that Ava could fit through the hole in the screen (there's another fun animal story), so we tried stitching up the screen.  That didn't work so well, so we generally left the screen closed, meaning no air flow. 

So a trip to Lowes and a few hours late, we had this:

Major improvement right?  So much nicer, more secure, and we can open the screen.  AND it matches the other front door...

A major YAY if I do say so myself.  AND a big thank you to my hubby for his work on getting the new door in.

The Hazzards of Pet Ownership: Take 2

Last night, I had to work late and arrived home with a massive headache.  Fortunately, my darling husband had dinner made and Chuck queued up in the DVD player.  All in all, not a bad evening, and then...

Let me back up for just a moment first.  The weather here has been lovely and we just love having our windows open.  The kitchen door has a screen, but sadly, due to wear and tear it developed some holes and rips.  A couple of weeks ago we noticed that Ava could fit her little head through one of those holes.  Seth attempted to fix the holes and we didn't think much of it.  That is until one night, when Seth noticed a new much larger and a missing kitty.  Luckily, after a little panic on our part, we found Ava hanging out in one of my garden beds.

So back to last night, it was way hot and stuffy in the kitchen and Ava seemed to be down for the evening, so it seemed pretty safe to open the screen and let a breeze in.  You can see where this is going...

I was in the middle of getting ready for bed- contacts out, teeth brushed, night shirt on (a lovely picture, I assure you).  I was just cleaning out my stinky gym bag when I heard Seth yell "I think the cat got out again."  Sure enough, Ava was no where to be found.  I quickly joined Seth outside on the Hunt for the Little Gray Kitty.  Seth quickly figured out that the freaked out kitty has hidden herself beneath our neighbors very big van.  We tried everything we could to coax her out, but girlfriend was not budging.

Seth suggested that I run inside and grab a string that Ava likes to see if we could tempt her out with that.  I ran back inside, where both Matilda and Oliver were running around all jacked up.  As I made my way back out of the kitchen, Oliver made a break for it.  Yes, we now have two pets running wild through the neighborhood and 1 inside barking nonstop.  Seth ran after Oliver (I was wearing only a night shirt, luckily it was long and no shoes) and I continued to try and figure out how to get the cat our from underneath the car.

Seth finally got a hold of Oliver after a mad dash around the neighborhood.  Fortunately, one of our neighbors also has a compost pile, and y'all know how much Oliver loves compost.  That gave Seth the chance to catch the big guy.  Once Seth deposited Oliver back in the house, we were both pretty cranky and more than ready to finish this game of capture the kitty.

Noting that gentle coaxing had not worked, I decided it was time to scare the kitty.  I grabbed a rank and scratched under the car.  Fortunately, Ava went running straight for the garage.  Major success.  We closed the garage door, chased her a bit more and finally trapped her in a corner.  Kitty-0, Seth and Katie-2.  Thus ends our Tuesday night adventure.

Anyone else have naughty pets?

Pretty Pets

My mother-in-law has this beautifully framed, black and white picture of the family dog, Carl.  I can't even describe what a lovely and sweet homage this picture is to Carl and his memory.  And as much as Seth and I are in love with our pets, its only fitting that we honor our pets in a similar way.  And luckily we have the perfect space to display our puppy (and kitty)  love...

Lovely Green Kitchen

While we haven't hung anything yet, I have selected the portraits that will be hung...

I love this picture of Ava.  It's pretty classically her.  I can just hear her thinking "hooker, if you don't get that camera out of my face, I'm gonna get real angry..."

Matilda knows shes pretty and she has perfected the "I know you're there, but I'm going to stare off into space and look uninterested" look.  I swear this pooch could be a model if she wasn't so finicky.

And Oliver.  I can't even begin to describe how much I love this picture.  He's just such a goofy, sweet, lovable pup. 

So there are the babies in all their black and white glory.  While I have no idea when we'll actually get around to printing and framing these bad boys, I am so excited at how good they're gonna look.

While Away...

As I mentioned yesterday, Seth and I were out of town for the weekend.  Happily, we returned on Sunday to very sunny, warm weather and a few surprises....

Our tulips are blooming!!! And...

1 of our remaining camellias is literally falling over under the weight of all those beautiful blooms...

Of course, we left Ava alone with her favorite pet sitter (sister #3), but she (Ava, not sister) was in a mood when we got back...

That would be Ava getting ready to eat the beautiful centerpiece that the mother of the bride sent home with us.  Normally, yes, she does eat flowers, but I'm pretty sure this was done out of pure spite for leaving her.

Oliver and Tilly spent the weekend with my mom (who despite her protests that she isn't ready to be a grandmother, had picked out her grandmother name- mimi, prompting her to call sometimes and say "do mimi's granpuppies want to come over and play?).  Luckily, mom has two equally as nutty dogs and a good time was had by all.  Poor Oliver sure was all played out...

No Shame

Sweet tired puppy...

Introducing: My Silly Little Family

To adequately understand my little domestic life, you must first meet my silly little family.

Up First- THE HUSBAND

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This picture is one of my favorites of my husband, Seth.  It was taken on our wedding day, as ee worked to move our home theater surround sound onto the roof so we could have music during the ceremony.  He did a fantastic job and the music was enjoyed by all.

Next- THE 1ST CHILD

Matilda is a 4 1/2 year old beagle/german shepard mix.  Seth and I adopted her from a shelter when we were living in Roanoke, VA.  She sure was a cute puppy.  Her hobbies include barking, chasing squirrels and begging for food.

THE MIDDLE CHILD

Ava is a 1 1/2 year old terror.  To properly tell Ava's story, we have to back up a bit.  While house hunting in late spring, Seth and I came across a lack luster house with a kitten sitting on the front step.  Seth was immediately in love with this skinny little kitten and as all of the neighbor's identified him as a stray, he came home with us.  Mack quickly grew into a big lazy, hilarious cat.  Sadly, in December 2009, Mack went walk-about and never returned. Although we still miss him very much, his absence made us realize how much we loved having a kitty around.

Enter Ava.  We adopted her March 2010 from the Guilford County Animal Shelter.  She is absolutely fearless and loves to be in high places.  She also enjoys knocking things over and chasing her canine siblings.


Lastly- THE BABY

Oliver is truly the baby of the family.  He is a 9 month old pitt-bull/boxer/who knows what mix, who was picked up running around dirty, hungry and wormy in an apartment complex.  I quickly claimed him as mine and he came to live with us the next day.  Oliver is happiest when he is being cuddled.  He also enjoys excessively licking his people and trying to make his sisters play with him.  He's a bundle of energy!

And one last picture because it makes me smile-

Have a happy Thursday!