Little man Finn

I took Finn to the vet a few days ago for his three month puppy check up. After collecting his morning poop as requested, I got a text yesterday it's free of parasites. That was a serious concern because Finn has a bad habit of eating bugs, both dead and alive, that he finds on the back patio or in the yard. Crickets, june bugs and roly polys are his favorites. I live in fear he'll try to scarf up a wasp or scorpion. And so I've scheduled our local pest control company to come spray the interior and exterior every month through Christmas. Hopefully by the new year, Finn will have matured enough and developed more sophisticated taste buds so he'll leave the bugs alone.

Finn is up to a healthy five pounds and was a very good boy for his visit to the vet. He protested a little when he got his shot and was obviously a bit sore the rest of the day. I also noticed he napped more than usual. By the next morning, however, he was back to his usual rip roaring self. Once he gets his four month shots in August, he'll be able to start training on the walking trail down by the creek in town. He's doing pretty well on the leash in our yard, but I want to start with his public socialization skills as soon as it's safe to do so.

Because of his size, I accompany Finn in the yard at all times. If you listen closely in the video below, you'll hear our local hawk squawking in the background. We're only on five acres, but it appears we're the lucky ones to have them nest on our property. I imagine Finn looks like a plump white bunny rabbit from the hawk's perspective as he hops across the grass in our yard. And so I'll be on guard duty until our sweet little doggo has grown big enough that a hawk can't swoop down and steal him away.

This weekend I loaded up a couple of our old shoddy dog beds that have seen better days to send to the landfill. I'm replacing them with some new ones to have around the house for them to accompany me and chill out while I'm in my office working, or making a meal in the kitchen. Thankfully, Pepper still doesn't seem to mind when Finn joins her.

I don't know that Pepper's as keen on sharing her toys sometimes, particularly when she's fetching and he tries to "help" her. It's hilarious to watch. Finn still turns on his back sometimes that mimics how our CPA daughter's Chorkie sleeps when he's very relaxed. Chorkie will be coming to stay with us for about ten days while our daughter is traveling, and so I'm hoping they all get along. And when I say they, I'm really just talking about Chorkie minding his P's and Q's with Pepper and Finn while he's here, keeping his teeth baring at them and leg hiking on my furniture to a minimum.

Maid of honor secured

It's social media official - our engaged older daughter asked her younger sister to be her maid of honor. She put together these cute boxes of goodies for everyone she's inviting to be in her bridal party. I'm sure it's no surprise our future lawyer documented her pretty pink box - gotta keep with the wedding color palette, of course - for friends to see. 

Our three generation entourage has a final Austin bridal salon appointment Saturday morning. I imagine if she's still not sure she has found "the one", we'll branch out to Julian Gold in San Antonio and then hit a few of the Dallas bridal boutiques to see what they've got up their lace and illusion sleeve.  

 

Not saying yes to the dress yet

With the younger daughter moving to Dallas for law school in late July, we've spent three of the five weekends in this month with appointments at four different Austin bridal salons. Me, the CPA bride, our future lawyer and my husband's mother have completed the shopping entourage. It's a fun group, the sartorial opinions of three generations involved in the process. My mother would have been over the moon if she had lived to experience this with us, oohing and aahing at the racks of dresses and veils on offer.

Each of the shops have had some lovely options. As I imagine is relatable to many brides, what she originally thought she wanted has been turned on its head a bit as she has tried on tens of options thus far. I think she has enjoyed looking online at dresses and then trying them on to see if they fit the vibe she has in her head. She has played with the idea of having separate dresses, a more conservative one for the Catholic ceremony followed by a fun one for the reception. Or maybe just have an overlay or insert that will make a sexier gown more demure for the church. 

 

 

None of those pictured above are the winner, just dresses that were tried and discarded along the way. With her cute figure, lots of different styles look good on her. As of right now, I feel like there are two serious front runners. But with over a year of lead time, that could still change since she doesn't need to order the dress until early in the new year. And who knows? Maybe we'll hit some of the nice bridal salons in Dallas when we're all up there visiting the younger daughter, and she'll stumble upon "the one".

Moving to Big D for law school

Our younger daughter doesn't have to officially vacate her Austin apartment until the end of July. However, she's well on her way to having her new place in Dallas outfitted for the start of law school next month.

 

 

Last week I met her in Austin at her undergrad high rise as the movers loaded all of her boxes to transport them 3.5 hours up I-35 to her Dallas digs. After securing a sweet little 2/2 near the SMU campus in May after she graduated, she enjoyed shopping for her furniture the next month. The coed spent her undergrad years in furnished apartments, so it was time to buy the necessities. I'm really happy with the queen bed that is located in her office space so we can go up and visit. With its own attached bathroom, it's super convenient for a couple.

She'll need to clean out the last carload of basics in Austin since she's still living there bare bones to enjoy the summer's activities. It's been nice to have our girl close enough this summer to see on a more regular basis before the demands of law school kick in. At this point, her Dallas place just needs finishing touches like artwork on the walls to make it feel like home. I've already penciled in a visit in October on my calendar for the state fair. Maybe a Cowboys game. And definitely a visit to this holiday decor superstore over in Arlington she discovered for me.

 

Independence Day

This year we stayed home for the July 4 holiday since it was on a Tuesday. The girls drove over from Austin to hang out with us, including the CPA's fiance. With the summer heat, our pool was a nice place to keep cool. The husband turned on the waterfall in the deep end and bubblers on the sun shelf. I absolutely adore the sound of falling water, and it just makes the whole pool experience more fun.

When the girls left on the 5th, Pepper sat at the front door for a while waiting to see if they'd return. Such a sweet girl!

Finn and Pepper are starting to become buddies. He's pretty good at coaxing aggravating her into playing with him when he gets bored. Thankfully she's a pretty good sport about it most of the time. When he gets too rambunctious, she gives him a warning nip that makes him yip to let him know to settle down. Their newest toy I recently bought them is the snuffle pad. I tear up little pieces of treats and hide them in it, then they have a great time snuffling through it in search of the hidden tidbits. 

Life with Finn

It has been a whirlwind three weeks with our new baby cairn Finn. He's such a precious little guy. Thankfully, he's getting the hang of using his puppy pads, as well as going outside. I still have to clean up accidents of both sorts, but no more than a time or two most days. I can't start the serious crate training for a few more weeks. In the meantime, Finn has what I've dubbed his safe room.

In the area right off the garage, I've created a space for him where he can't get into any real mischief. He has a couple beds and kennel to choose from, along with a puppy pad and space to stretch his legs. This is where he stays when I need to run an errand.

Shortly after we brought Finn home, I got a text from his breeder that Finn's mother Sissy died. I felt just awful for them because she was bitten by a rattlesnake out in the yard. If the puppies had still been with her, I imagine they would have followed her lead to investigate and perished, too. Farewell, sweet Sissy (below).

The timing of that was crazy. Not too long after we got our girl cairn Pepper six years ago, her dad Oz (below) was bitten by a rattlesnake. The breeder has all of her dogs take the rattlesnake vaccine because these venomous snakes are pretty common in Texas. Thankfully, Oz was rushed to the vet in time to survive it. And he's still alive today at the age of 12.

 

Earlier this week I couldn't help but laugh when I caught Finn starting to adopt the same sleep pose as our older daughter's Chorkie. With his cute little paws in the air, he's a sight to see.

New furry family member Finn

I kinda figured our Pepper girl would be lonely since Chorkie went to live in Austin with our older daughter and Ollie passed away. That's my excuse for cruising over to the cairn terrier breeder's website where we got Pepper almost six years ago. And boy am I glad I did since I discovered she decided to retire from breeding these sweet dogs. As luck would have it, two of her females had final litters this spring. Meet our newest family member, Finn, born on April 19.

 

 

Isn't he a cutie? So much so that I haven't minded my empty nester life being turned a bit upside down to accommodate this little guy's needs... much. Just like childbirth and bringing home a newborn, you forget all of the time and energy a puppy takes until they get past this stage. The transition to life away from mom and littermates that entails pitiful crying and whimpering for several nights. The need to puppy proof the house, investing in several new baby gates to protect our lovely zebra rug on the dining room floor. Taking this tiny-bladdered creature out into the backyard every hour or so to keep him from using my new living room rug for his personal toilet. 

It's a lot of work, y'all, but that precious face makes the effort worth it. He turned ten weeks old on Wednesday, so he'll need to mature a bit more before we can begin the serious kennel training. He's now my constant shadow, and Pepper has been really patient with him. The little fella stays busy trying to gnaw on my furniture, locate roly poly bugs on the back patio to eat, and fetch his favorite toys. Since he's still a baby, his motor runs down throughout the day and he flops down for naps. Sometimes he does the dream paddling and appears to be remembering nursing, so he makes little smacking noises and his tongue sticks out.

The younger daughter joined me on the drive to the breeder's ranch up in the northernmost part of the hill country to fetch him. While there, we got to see Pepper's mother Trudy (see below). She's an old girl at eleven, but is in good health and seems to enjoy her grub. I can relate!

This post will serve as a warning that you'll be swimming in puppy pics and anecdotes on my blog for the rest of the summer. There's nothing sweeter than a baby animal. And they're always doing cute things. Oh Lord, I'm praying for strength of purpose, mindful consistency and patience as I weather the next few months with our growing Finn.