Short and sweet...

It's cold and grey in our beautiful city and I plan to make the most of the wintery weather; spring starts next month, so I am full of hope of warmer weather.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, stay safe and warm.

Love,
Sue XXX

Busy Times...

Well, we have a new addition to the family... 8 to be precise...Jake has, for the longest time, been dying to have fish again.  When dropping his friend off last week and having tea with his parents (2 wonderful moms!), I spotted a baby fish in their tank that they hadn't noticed.  By the next morning, they had 21 babies and insisted that Jake come and get some.  We had nothing, so needed to get an entire tank set up for his new babies.  As most of you know, Jake's quite a money hoarder.  He's incredibly sneaky and will promise to refund me if I buy him X at the shops, but always forgets.  And yes, I fall for this every time.  Anyway, he had accumulated quite a bit, which he put towards his tank and, sucker that I am, I chipped in the rest.  We haven't had fish in ages, the last ones were washed down the drain when Jake tried to clean their tank alone.

 

Jake is THRILLED with is hew tank, which he has set up on his desk.  In the picture above, the fish are still in a bag, adjusting to the water temperature after their trip to our house.

Tiny baby guppies (they really are tiny, about 1cm in length)...

A very chuffed little man with his new treasures.  The babies are in there, you just can't see them, they're that tiny!  Jake has to take full responsibility for these little guys, he's got to keep the tank clean and feed his fish every day.  He's already started saving pocket money to buy some other fish once his babies are big enough to defend themselves...

In other news, we had a swarm of bees that settled on the park opposite our house.  We didn't see them swarming, but did see them chillin' on the lawns.  I tried calling just about everyone I could to have them removed for the safety of our neighbourhood dogs, cats and kids, but believe it or not, nobody wanted a swarm of bees.  Beekeepers wanted to charge me up to R750.00 to collect and our council couldn't (or wouldn't) help.  I wanted to check again last night if they were still there, but completely forgot.  They made for interesting conversation, Jake was stunned to see so many bees all at the same time.  And someone walking his dog saw me taking these photos at 7:30 yesterday morning and told me that what I was doing was weird.  Perhaps, but then he obviously doesn't read my blog...

Just to show you how many there really were, with Jake's foot for scale...

For a whole host of reasons, we didn't see the puppies over the weekend, so took a quick drive that side to go check them out yesterday.  They have grown and are getting nice and steady on their feet.  They're also starting to get teeth, which might explain why Laila's not all that keen on feeding them at the moment.  Jake managed to get her to lie down when we got there and she fed them well, but it's going to be quite a bit of work from now onwards...

 And for those of you who have younger daughters, another selling point is that Jake is incredibly gentle with babies.  He will make a great dad...

 A cuddly, furry baby... 

 Getting lots of love...

 Soft furry noses all in a row.  I play with their noses all the time, they are too soft for words.  Like the softest velvet...

 Jake had rugby practise after school yesterday and we didn't go home to change before going to see the pups.  Jake would be there every day if he could...

 And he'd sleep with them too....

 Jake... smile...

 No! You still can't have one!!  Not even when you look at me like that with those GORGEOUS eyes...

 Bok's still our funniest puppy.  He's very laid back.  He's also very white, which worries me a little, but he's got a great sense of humour.  Check out that tongue.  This is his dead dog impersonation...

 Alice is also a gentle soul.  And I love her freckly nose...

 Unlike me, Jake doesn't have a favourite puppy.  He gives them all an equal amount of attention.  Now that I know Rosie & Gareth are getting a little boy, I am drawn to holding their puppy (OK, there are 2 boys that they have to choose from, so I cuddle them both) most.  The little boy Jake's holding up in the 3rd & 4th puppy pic is the one I'd probably choose if I had to choose a boy...

 Puppy love is a very real thing... 

 Their noses seem flatter this time when we visited.  But still wrinkly and soft.  And don't get me started on their coffee puppy breath.  Oh my...

 Jake also wants a photo of himself with each and every puppy every time we visit them...

 He always tries to get in nice and close.  He knows how to look at the camera for a great photo.  Not like me...

Hello Bok.  I love your flat face and your coffee breath and your pink paws...

 No sis man!  You can't just pee on me (he didn't really, but looks like he might have)...

 There, there... that's OK, I still love you... 

 This is a photo of me holding a puppy, taken by Jake.  And no, I still haven't been for that manicure yet.  Jake's actually pretty good with my big camera.  All I told him was not to get my face in the picture and to get as close to the puppy's face as he could.  Am impressed...

 Paws.  Oh my...Their paws are so cute and so tiny.  Not for long though.  In a couple of weeks time, those paws will be digging up gardens...

 It looks like Jake's trying to burp a baby when he does this...  They all seem to put up with Jake's manhandling pretty well.  Hopefully it makes them people-dogs when they move on.  They've been forced into being kid-friendly in any case...

 By for now, freckle face... 

And that's it.  Life is busy as usual and it looks like tomorrow might be Jake's last rugby match of the season, which is always sad and exciting - it means we have 2 days a week back again.  I'm trying to calm things down a bit, everything just feels totally out of control at the moment.

Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead...

Sue XXX

It's a dog's life...

 Every free moment we have, we spend in the car, travelling up and down to see the puppies, who are growing at an alarming rate now.  Since we were last there, all their eyes have opened, although they're pretty murky still so I'm not sure they can see much.  The picture above and the 2 below is of 2 boys, one of which will be my sister's.

 

To say that Jake is besotted with them, would be an understatement.  He just can't get enough of cuddling and kissing them.  Their little noses are like velvet and the skin between their toes is so soft... 

 Blue eyed boy...

Laila continues to be a wonderful mommy, she even covers them with newspaper to keep them warm at night and she is a star feeder.  It's hard to believe that she'll start to wean them in 2 weeks time...

 Puppy love...

 Like babies, the puppies get so warm and comfortable, with their full bellies, that they fall asleep while feeding, often using teats like dummies... 

 Jake's new best thing is picking the puppies up after they've fed and letting them suckle on his nose/ears/cheek/finger...

 But after they've fed and once they realise that Jake's got nothing for them, they just want to sleep...

 Look how big they're getting... 

And that's it.  Jake was most upset about not being picked for the rugby team for tomorrow's tournament, but I guess it's good for them to learn to take turns.  The tournament's also a bit of a drive and they're only playing in one 10 minute game.  I'm quite relieved at the thought of a lie in!!  The weather's also not going to be great, so I'm thrilled.

 

Jake has a play date this afternoon after school and I'm going to the oral hygienist, which is always fun.  We have no plans for tomorrow; I'm seeing Danie tomorrow night.  Looking forward to a slightly calmer weekend.  Hope you all have a restful one ahead too.

 

Much love,

Sue XXX

Eye spy...

 When we visited the puppies on Tuesday evening, the puppies eyes have started to open.  They're still milky and this one's eyes were open the most, but Danie says they're all opening now.  Jake and I are popping through for a quick visit after school today, so looking forward to it.  The puppies are getting stronger every time we see them, especially their little legs.

 

Jake is absolutely crazy about the puppies and wants to visit them with every free moment we have.  I'm indulging him, they are very cute after all.  Jake and Jagger (cos of his lips apparently)...

 Little Alice all snuggled up in Jake's arms.  And yes, their noses are incredibly soft and furry...

 Jake is still upset that this one isn't going to be part of our family, but Danie's mom and dad are getting her, so we'll still see her from time to time...

 We were there for about 3 hours on Tuesday.  Jake didn't move, he was in heaven...

 This cute boy melts me.  Even more then those tiny puppies.  So much more..

 Jake's been adamant that he wants a photo with an armful of puppies.  It's not so easy when they're all wriggling to get back to their food...

 Another melt-your-mommy look...

 Puppies eat and sleep.  That's pretty much it for now.  We are looking forward to them being big enough to play with a little...

 Although, they try find food wherever they can.  Alice was sucking Jake's earlobe here.  Jake is VERY ticklish...

 Stop, stop!  No more photos, please!  This is the boy Jake's now got his heart set on for his Auntie.  He's nice and big and he doesn't have very much white on his face.  Just his chin and a little diamond on his head...

 He's cute and he sleeps funny and dreams a lot...

 Yes, you can have anything you like.  Except a puppy...

 Two boys snuggling each other to keep warm...

 OK, seriously, I don't know who's cuter, but I know which one I'm keeping forever...

 I am so excited that their eyes are open, at least now we can see when they're actually awake...

 Or when they're sound asleep.  The tiny paws and noses are my favourite.  I want to bite their toes...

 This one decided that Jake's nose was tasty, which Jake thought was hilarious... Poof...

Other than that, life's been busy.  Jake was at the oral hygienist this week for a clean up and I'm going tomorrow.  I hate going, but it's always good to know that our teeth are fine, especially Jake's - he's not too keen on brushing. 

 

I'm going to dinner with a good girlfriend tonight, am really looking forward to catching up with her, it's long overdue.  And of course, tomorrow's FRIDAY!  Finally, I can't wait for the weekend, hopefully it's going to be a good one with lots of sorting out happening.

 

Till tomorrow,

Sue XXX