Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Meeting Family and Friends

Moxie's made the rounds throughout the tri-state-area, meeting many friends and family. From her ride home from Canandaigua, to a walk (aka carry in her travel bag) to Little Italy, a cab ride to The Wall Street Journal and an Uber home - she's been safely and thoroughly exposed to a variety of people and things. Additionally, she's had at least a visitor a day, and we're very pleased with how she's learning to interact with other people. 

While I previously posted that she had met humans from age three to 95, that's now updated and she's actually met people from three to 98! We attended a large birthday celebration for Rob's uncle down in New Jersey on Saturday and she met the uncle's mother, who is a sharp and fabulous 98. 

In addition to that, she met many more people including most/all of her cousins, her great grandmother, wonderful aunts and more. 

She was literally held by nearly a dozen people at that party (there was a "wait list") and to my pride and comfort, she was amazingly good. She even had Nanny, who is very hard of hearing, speaking quite loudly right in her face as she proclaimed her love to the puppy. While I felt a bit bad for Moxie, it was so cute and Nanny was just in love. She held her for a long time and the happiness was painted all over her face. 

Nanny with Moxie.
On another occasion, Moxie also got to meet her Grandma and The Lady, Rob's mom and my mom, respectively. 



Mom with her "furry grandbaby."
The Lady with the pooch. 
She bonded immediately with both and it pleased me so. 

She also met her Aunt and cousin (sister cousin missing from the pic and there will be one to come).

Auntie and little cousin. 
And another cousin!

Lots of love for Moxie!
She's had lots of friends stop by too and there are more to come - continuing throughout the weekend. We had a former co-worker and friend come for dinner last night, a friend over tonight, Fantasy Football draft party tomorrow (there will definitely be a post about that) and more on her busy social calendar! 

It's really a blessing that she's so happy to be socialized so much and has quickly become a loved, cherished and welcomed part of the family.

Speaking of family, they're so in love with her, they want to put her name in the Secret Santa grab bag this Christmas - how funny is that?!

Not surprising though, as she's already received a good deal of presents!




Crazy Puppy!

I think we're entering a new phase of puppy-hood. 

Our innocent infant Moxie is growing up at warp speed and what was once a docile, gentle baby is quickly turning into a crazy, feisty toddler! One could even say, "that girl has moxie."

She's getting bigger by the day and has doubled in size, in the mere nine days we've had her. Her teeth are more visible and more dangerous each morning we check them. Baby-play is turned into mucho rough housing, nipping, pulling and so much more. She's pushing her boundaries, asserting her independence and often raising hell!

That said, I wouldn't have it any other way. Though I'm glad to know this phase will pass in a couple of months. It's all part of being a puppy mom, what I signed up for and providing so much joy and laughter for we both. 

Here she is, on her "race course" around the apartment (and this was three days ago, so she's gotten crazier/faster/wilder since)!



It's amazing to see this little thing grow on a daily basis and I can't even imagine what kind of cellular activity is going on inside her little puppy body. Rob and I have both wondered if she gets growing pains and while she never seems to be in discomfort, between the teething and growing like a weed, she has to be. It's probably why she sleeps so much. 

And speaking of sleep, we're pretty much on a 1 to 3 ratio. One hour of awake for every three asleep.

And wouldn't I like to borrow some of her sleep time?! Last night is the first I wasn't up every three hours to bring her potty (was so thankful to get a full seven hrs). And here I am now, wide awake since 3:30 a.m. Again, though, I'm not pissed, nor am I complaining. Before going into this, you have to have an understanding that the first few months (up to a year) are nothing short of exhausting.

This is the most tired I've ever been. A regular 8+ hour-solid sleeper every night, I've pretty much been up every three hours since the 17th. I finally know how insomniacs like Rob feel. Sleep depravation is a weird thing and I've been feeling a bit impaired and spacey at times. But this won't last forever, and soon we'll all be getting good night sleeps!

(Interesting tidbit - allegedly, the rule of thumb is a Frenchie can hold it one hour for every month, up to about 6-7 months/hours. And as Moxie is a bit under three months, that's about as many hours as she can hold it.)

We're so very eager to be able to take her out on the leash to run some energy out of her, but we can't, due to the fact that she's not fully vaccinated. It should either be two or six weeks depending on what the vet says. She's due for her first visit this Tuesday and will have a thorough exam, along with the third round of vaccinations and a nail clipping too (those babies grow fast and get sharp!). She needs one last set of vaccines after that, so think we'll be able to walk her in early October. Hopefully that will make a big difference in getting out this pent up puppy energy!

Just thinking to Saturday, at a big family birthday party (more to come on that), she was the calm and low-key infant I first met. Now, she's a "bat pig" (as Rob's friend refers to them) out of hell! Running, chasing, biting - but thankfully, just being a normal, happy, well-adjusted puppy!

And one saving grace is the fact that she only goes at 100% for a short time. Before we know it, she's back to sleep, just like this.