Our Little Lucky Charm

Today marks our 1 month anniversary of having Miss Waffles in our lives. It's as if she knows I'm writing about her as we speak! She's tummy down with her nose touching my laptop, watching what I type. She has brought us nothing but pure pleasure and joy. Yes, we had a rough first couple of days, but once we got into the rhythm of things, we started to really enjoy each other's company. We call her our lucky charm.

Not only does it play tribute to the boy's home country, but she really is our little lucky charm. She has brought the boy and I closer than ever, she has taught me patience, she is getting me healthier, and she is teaching me to love more on a daily basis. The boy and I truly do believe we are the luckiest fur baby parents. Ever.

In the last two weeks, Waffles experienced new milestones and continues to change physically! Since her 12 week shots, she is now able to go on walks with us! And boy does she LOVE it! When I strap on my fanny pack (No, you don't get pictures of that. Nice try!), and say "ga ja" which means let's go in Korean, she knows we're going on for a walk outside! She gets tired after about 3 blocks, but we're so happy that she loves walks! We've been going at least once a day, twice if I can muster the energy!

When I take her crate out and say ga ja, she knows we're going on a car adventure and climbs right into her crate! We love that she thinks of it as her happy place. She's usually pretty good about car rides and rarely whines. She just snoozes away, but once the gear is in park, she knows it's time to get out! Only then will she whine to hurry me up! Silly girl!

She's still learning her name and learning to go lay down. For some reason, it's the hardest for her to stick to the brain. She's chewing a lot less, but is learning to "no touch." We hope that one sticks soon because I'm tired of saying, "No, don't chew that!" 503 million times a day. She still chews on dadda's everything, but I know deep down inside, she loves him to pieces.

They're so cute together!!

She still loves her naps thank god! But the sweetest thing she's been giving me?! Time to sleep in!! She's allowed me to sleep in to about 8:30 on a daily basis! It's absolutely incredible and I know all the puppy mommas are drooling over this one. One time, she loved me sooo much that she slept in till 10! She got lots of treats for that one.

Stop it, Waffles. Just stop it.

She still loves chasing after her water bottles and looking out the window. She's found her voice and loves to bark at anybody that walks by. It was cute at first, but now I want nothing more than for her to kindly shut her trap.

She still dislikes taking pictures...

She ruined a perfectly good photo. If only she was looking where she was supposed to!

... but you know what?? She's gotten so much better at looking into the camera! I have to be ready at a moments notice before I lose the opportunity, but I'll take it. The photo taking Nazi in me is glowing.

But the biggest accomplishment of all??? For the first time ever, she has had ZERO accidents inside the home today!!! It's the perfect one month anniversary gift she could possibly give us! We're hoping that this positive trend continues! :)

We're so excited to see her grow and experience new adventures together. Momma and Dadda loves you like you never know, Waffles!!

Puppy Model

You're probably really sick and tired of seeing puppy posts, and are probably thinking if I have a life outside of Waffles. You are right to think that because as of now, I really have been doing nothing but loving this pup! And quite frankly, I'm not one bit ashamed to say that I wouldn't have it any other way! :D I have to fill my time with SOMEthing, so I take any opportunity I can to take pictures of the beautiful Waffles. One because when she's acting like a little shit monster, I can come back to these photos and remember her sweet angelic face. Two, and more importantly, I never want to forget her puppy face. She will be going through many stages in her life, and I want to make sure I document it the best I can.

But like I've mentioned before a couple of posts ago, Waffles absolutely despises taking pictures. She knows what they look like and when she sees one, she immediately turns the other way. She won't have it. So the perfect time to get her to stay calm and listen is when she's schleepy. It works like a charm every time! And just for the record, I didn't drug her or feed her alcohol. I promise!!

She absolutely loves to give kisses!

Just look at her sweet puppy face!!

I love it when she calmly sits to watch my favorite TV shows.

SELFIE!! :)

She loves laying on top of Booger, my life-sized Android. Possibly a Google mascot one day??

The boy cherishes moments like these. So effing sweet. 

The boy and I sometimes have the urge to wake her up from her sleepy slumber because she's so dang cute, only to regret it 2 min later. But when we're not so crazy, we catch ourselves creepily staring at Waffles while she sleeps. It's one of our most favorite times of her because one, she's not terrorizing the house, and two, she looks like an absolute angel! Judge for yourself.

And with that, Waffles bids you a good night! :)

Washcloth Lollies

My first DIY post ever! I don't really call myself a creative person, but I do enjoy trying to make new things as long as it doesn't consist of making pretty bows. I definitely lack in the fine motor skills department. Like I mentioned in the baby shower post, I made really cute DIY washcloth lollies as table decor for my sister-in-law! It was super easy to make, and I made a whopping 10 while watching an episode of Friends reruns. Thank you Pinterest for the inspiration!

You will need 2 baby washcloths (preferably different colors or patterns so it pops), a toddler spoon for the stick, tape, cellophane (in the baking section to wrap cookies with) from Michaels, and string to tight it all up together!

You're going to roll each of the wash cloths so that the white side is facing up and the colored side is facing down. 

Do the same thing with the second wash cloth. Be sure to tape the ends so that it stays put. It will make the next step so much easier.

Whichever wash cloth you want on the outer layer, make sure you put that one on the bottom. Put the second wash cloth on top. Roll the top wash cloth 2-3 times before you wrap the bottom layer over so when you're done, it ends more evenly. As you're rolling it, it should start to look like a snail!

When you're done rolling, tape both ends down so it stays kaput. It should now look like a delectable cinnabon! 

Next, take one of the spoons and tape it down to an uglier side because that will be the back.

Finally, stuff the whole washcloth lolly into the cellophane bag and tie it up with string. I decided to use twine because that was the only ribbon I had. Anddd... voila! A washcloth lolly!!

I put my lollies in a bucket I had lying around. A batch of 10 needed 3 buckets for me. The extra one went as wrapping decor for one of their gifts. Depending on the colors you have, feel free to mix them up so add the perfect boost of color to your baby shower table decor!

It definitely felt more meaningful that the mother-to-be can take home a part of the shower home with her and use for little baby niece. I thought it added more of an umph than buying generic table decor that I'd probably end up throwing away or stuffed in the black hole closet of mine. Make your own batch for the next baby shower and I promise it will be a hit! 

Baby Shower for Little Niece

I can't believe that my little baby brother is becoming a dad in a short 3 weeks!! I still see him as a little kid that I used to push around all the time, and now he's becoming a father?! What?! Mind. blown.

Well, in honor of the little niece coming into the world, I threw a small intimate baby shower for the new family. Catering Greek food and ordering the cake made preparing so much more fun and less stressful! Because this was my first time hosting a baby shower (and doing it all by myself might I add!), everything being a cinch was very important. None of this could have been possible without Pinterest!

A little something extra for the mother-to-be to feel special!

And then there's the beautiful cake!! C'est Si Bon Bakery in Cambrian Park did such an amaaaaazing job on the cake! Everybody was ooohing and aaahhhing at its perfection. Next to the momma to be, this cake is an absolute hit. Look at the cutesy feet, ruffled undies, and blankie! Nobody wanted to cut the cake because it was so pretty! Who can blame them?!

How gorgeous is this cake?!

I did minimal decorating outside. Even though I have all the time in the world as a teacher on summer break, I unfortunately don't have all the money in the world to decorate to my heart's content because well... I'm a teacher on summer break. The pom poms weren't much, but it held up it's end of the deal and completed the look of the pink theme I had going.

In the left hand corner, you'll see some lollipop looking things dancing around the vase of gerbera daisies. I knew I would need a little something for either table decor or centerpieces, so instead of just buying something generic at the party store, I opted to make a little something that would be both pretty to look at and functional for later use. Introducing Washcloth Lollies! They were super easy to make and I can't wait to share it with you all. I'll blog about that in a separate post.

There were no boys allowed for this baby shower, so they all decided to band together and have dinner while us girls did our thang! Boys being boys, they crashed our party. It was impeccable timing on their part because we were just about to open presents and have some cake afterwards! I'm glad they did because we got some really great family pics out of it. Good job boys!!

Waffles filling in for their little bundle of joy. But purely for picture sake.

I don't know about other cultures out there, but Asians need their fruit fix after dinner. That's why you'll always see oranges or watermelon being served at Asian restaurants after all the yum yums have been consumed. I could have served just regular sliced watermelons, but not this time! I decided to make a watermelon cake!

It looks hard, but it was surprisingly super easy to make! I wish I had taken pictures of each step to blog about it, but I was on get-'er-done mode and it completely slipped my mind! I'll have to find another reason to make a new one and I promise to take photos of it!

Overall, the baby shower was a huge success! The new parents-to-be received some more gifts out of it, the grandparents got to share this joyous occasion with their close friends, and me? I had the opportunity to throw the little niece her first party. I can't wait to meet the little princess and make me a real auntie!

Happy 3 Months Little Waffles

Wow... so THIS is the feeling that parents have that compels them to take monthly pictures. Never in a million years did I think I'd be THAT kind of mom, but here I am, trying to keep up with all her milestones on a monthly basis. Geezus...  I barely recognize this person!

She went in for her 12 week shots yesterday and everything came out clean! She is as healthy as a horse. Her ear infection is gone, her teeth are clean and growing, getting little taller, and she gained a solid pound and a half around her ass. She's now at 6.6 lbs!

Just look at her! Can someone please invent a potion to freeze them at their puppy stage?? This is her furmomma talking so I may be a little biased, but my dog is crazy, stupid cute. You'd be out of your mind if you disagreed. She gets love EVERYWHERE she goes! I've had people on many occasions stop in their tracks, turn around, come back and give her some love. Another girl seriously almost cried after seeing Waffles at Target. She got red faced and teary eyed from all her cuteness. A little creepy if you ask me, but I'll take it as a compliment! :P

She also got evaluated from a doggy trainer and she is a very emotionally stable and happy pup. But even better than that, I got news that every parent, fur or human momma, wants to hear: she is gifted. Too smart for her own good. She could be eating rocks for 2 different reasons: malnutrition or boredom. Since I'm feeding her the best of the best out there in the food department, that was immediately ruled out. So it's boredom. Judging by how fast she was able to figure out multiple puzzle feeders, it's been determined that she's a brilliant dog. And add beautiful that?? The boy and I couldn't be more proud of our Waffles. Our only hope is that we can keep her stimulated enough to maximize her puppy brain potential. :)

Our Little Nerdling

I'm not one to dress my puppy in clothes and frilly bows and crap, but the other day, I thought it'd be funny to see her with my glasses on. Yup. Nailed it.

First 2 Weeks Home

Wow... Has it already been 2 weeks since Waffles has been home with us?? It's been a crazy whirlwind of different emotions throughout this puppy mommahood journey. The first week I was a complete wreck. I was waking up twice a night to take her out to pee, then waking up to go to work. For those of you that don't know me, I LOVE my sleep. I love it like a fat kid loves cake! I'm a hot mess without it. My poor kids at work probably felt the brunt of that. Thankfully it was only 3 days of grumpy teacher. :P

Which leads me to the next point.

Thank GOD for the boy. If he wasn't around to help watch her while I was at work, it would have only intensified the stress levels by 10967 fold. He helped entertain her, helped potty train her, and best of all, loved her with his whole being. He set the strong foundation of trust and respect in the crucial first few days. I truly couldn't have survived without him. I'm willing to be a hundred bucks that Waffles feels the same way too. :)

I'll be real with you guys and put it out there and say the first couple of days without the boy were absolutely miserable. I wanted to DIE. Giving her back was definitely an option for me. Not only was I backlogged in sleep, but I learned fast that she was an absolute terror. She constantly ate rocks, she ate EVERYTHING in sight, it took her forever to do her business, and her puppy urges to play were out of this world! Hot damn! I was ready to give her back! I definitely questioned my ability to handle her and be her pack leader. At my most desperate moments, I even went as far as calling dog trainers to get some professional help. There was one named Steve who I will write a separate post on, but he was a godsend. Because of him, I was able to survive my first week and truly enjoy week 2 of puppy mommahood. I got a better handle on her by learning her behaviors, her habits, and signals. Now, her and I are inseparable and I can't get enough of her!!

Some things that makes Waffles, well... Waffles. This is her in a nutshell.

Her Loves:

• Sleep - this girl loves her sleep. I believe that your pet is a reflection of you, and this one matches to the tee. After some fun play time with momma or dadda, she sleeps for a glorious 2-3 hours. It's absolutely heavenly. I've also learned that when your puppy sleeps, it is absolutely mandatory that you take advantage and sleep as well.

• Bull's Penis - Yes, you heard that correctly. Our little girl loves to chew on a bull's penis. It's her wooby and she carries it everywhere she goes! Her first day of discovering this delicious piece of meat, she actually debated whether to drink water or put down the bull's penis. You get one guess who won that one.

Her happy place. She only brings toys that she absolutely cherishes here. She loves digging it in the crevices of the cushions so nobody can steal it.

Will take it in her crate too to help her fall asleep.

• Tennis Balls and Alligator - She can play fetch for HOURS if her puppy parents had the energy for it. She also loves playing tug a war with her alligator friend. 

• Rocks - Oh. My. God. Does she love rocks. She loves to go hunting for them and will eat them any chance she gets! It drives me bonkers!!

• Water bottles - It's magic what a cheap water bottle can do for her. We spent so much money on buying her fun toys, and then we find out that all she really needs is a watter bottle! Wth?! She loves the crunching sound it makes and loves chasing it around on the floor. It's endless entertainment for her which means guilt free TV time for momma and dadda! :P

Her Hates:

• Camera - I loooove taking pictures of everyone and everything. If there's one thing you can count on me doing right, it's to take a million pictures of everything. So you can imagine how sad it made me to find out that she's not a fan. Right when I take the camera out, she looks away, up, down, left, right, anywhere but at the camera! It's a win for the day if I can get a good one of her looking. See what I mean??

Neener Momma. You can't get me to look!

• Digging for anything in her mouth - Wow... it's a battle on a daily basis between her and I. Her mouth is like a treasure chest. You can never know what goodies you're gonna find in there. And this little rascal will fight to the death to keep it in there. I've found things like pebbles, plastic tags, feathers, torn paper, plastic everything... And the crappy thing is is that she KNOWS when she has something bad in her mouth. She will get on her belly, keep her head down with her devious puppy eyes looking right at me calculating how long it's gonna take for me to take notice. She's too smart for her own good!

• Reflections in Mirrors - It's hilarious watching her look at herself in the mirror. She will paw at it and bark at it and eventually run away.

She Can:

• Sit - Two afternoons and a gazillion treats later, she learned how to sit. Right now, she can do it when she sees a treat or when she wants to be held, but anything other than that, she refuses to be my monkey. Damn it Waffles! What good are you if I can't be entertained on demand?? I've failed as a teacher with an extrinsicly motivated fur baby.

• Sohn - So I'm trying to teach her to be bilingual. I say "sohn," which means hand in Korean, and she gives me her sweet little paws! The boy didn't believe me, but we showed him!

• Do Her Business - She's been pretty good about going to the bathroom outside. We will only have about 2 accidents a day, which isn't bad at all! However, we've been her chauffeur and have been taxiing it to her pee spot. We now need to try to figure out how to teach her to tell us she needs to go. It's gonna be hard! 

• Sleep Through the Night - This was HUGE for me! I wanted to punch myself in the face twice a night when I woke up to take her outside for potty time. Thankfully after about 3 days, she's been able to sleep through the night without any accidents. She'll wake me up at about 7 AM, but will sometimes be very generous and will let me sleep in until 8!

Her Personality:

• Social Butterfly: If I had to use one word to describe her, it'd be hands down, sociable. She LOVES meeting new people. She gets excited and pees all over herself when she hears the door bell rings cuz she knows that only means one thing: GUESTS!! She has zero problems going up to people and wag her happy tail for some love! Unfortunately, I only have 1 picture with her and a friend. So far she's met neighbors, my family, the boy's mom, and friends. Researchers say that a puppy needs to meet about 100 people before she reaches 3 months to help build her socialization skills, so I'm happy to report that we're well on our way!

• Curious: She is such a curious little puppy. She loves playing explorer and sometimes sits quietly to hear what's going on around her. I always wonder what goes on in that developing brain of hers when she's in her thinking mode.

Hi neighbors!

• Sweet and Loving: Waffles is the epitome of a cuddlebug. She loves being scratched, played with, being held, and gives a million kisses to your face at every opportunity!

Waffles, some days are a serious struggle, but for the most part, your dadda and I love your sweet face! You've got so much spunk and personality in you that we hope you never lose. You're getting so big already so we're trying to soak up and embrace every puppy moment we can! :)

How can you not love this sweet face?!