The Puppies have their first visitors

Yesterday (Father's Day), my sister Heather, her husband Steve, and their two boys, Lucas and Thomas came to see the puppies. Holly was very good -- she let the boys in the room, and they watched the puppies and were able to pet Holly. I was very proud of her! Here is Lucas (age 10) and Thomas (age 8) posing with the puppies. They, of course, were dying to hold them, but we all agreed it was best to wait.

Five days ago, at birth, Orange Girl was significantly smaller than Purple Girl. Look to the right and you will see that Orange Girl, while still smaller than Purple Girl, is quickly catching up! Also, if you look closely, you will see the markings on her face. She is no longer entirely black.

Here, to the left is our Blue Girl, She is asleep on top of Holly's paw. Nothing like snuggling in, but a paw doesn't sound like a very comfortable spot to sleep ... If you look closely at the back of Blue Girl's front left paw, you will see how much she has changed color as well!

To the right, is Red Boy. He too, has really begun to change color. He is starting to get a white bowtie on his chest, and look at the sides of his face -- quite beige. The backs of his legs are very light, just like all of the other puppies. At birth, Red Boy was the largest puppy. But I think he has been outdone, by ...

... Yellow Girl! She definitely looks the biggest. When the puppies weigh in at the end of Week One (Wednesday), we will find out if I am correct. Look at that nice round belly! She is a real sweetheart.

Of course, if you are going to think antics, then you should think Pink Girl. Check out this sleeping pose -- over the edge of the dog bed, head first. She slept like this for quite a while. But perhaps even funnier is Green Boy in the background. Once again, he is smiling! Isn't that just too cute?

Now, below, you will see a comparison that I have been giggling over for days -- and that I finally caught with the camera. Like father, like son? On the left is Harley, in one of his favorite poses. If Harley is sleeping, and you come up to pet him, he rolls over on his back, with his legs up in the air so that you can scratch his belly. Holly will never give you her belly to scratch. But look at Green Boy -- he sleeps in the same position as his daddy. An inherited trait, or just a fluke?

We have a growing concern over Holly right now. Yesterday afternoon, while I was out cleaning the pool (Harley and Holly were "helping" me), the puppies were sleeping soundly upstairs in their box. After awhile, I went inside to see if I could hear them, as Holly had been running in and out of the house, checking on them, and then coming back outside. I heard this terrible puppy screeching, so I ran upstairs to see what was going on. Holly had carried Yellow Girl into our bedroom and had deposited her on the dog bed underneath our bed. Poor Yellow Girl. I scooped her up and took her back to the whelping box, petting her until she calmed down.

During the evening, I realized that wherever I was, Holly was portraying "nesting" signs. She started digging at whatever form of a bed she could find. So, I settled in next to the whelping box for the remainder of the evening.

When I got up this morning, I hopped into the shower. Halfway through the shower, I started to hear puppy screeching. So, out I pop -- to find Purple Girl laying on the carpet in our bedroom. Holly was, once again, trying to move her to the dog bed.

We are not really certain what is going on, but we are keeping a close eye on things. It would break my heart if we lost one of these precious puppies ...

Finally, poor Harley! For the most part, he is miserable. Instead of getting attention from Holly or from me, he curls up with his racquet ball ... and goes to sleep ... Don't worry, Harley! Things are already starting to return to normal. You'll see!