Friday, June 25, 2010

THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT (drumroll, please)

I've been hinting for so long it's almost hard to finally come out with it.  Some of you were very keen and picked up some teeny hints as long as two months ago.  Others have ventured some more interesting guesses as I got more blatant about the suggestions.  Many of you were right.  So here is goes....





BRUTUS HAS A LITTLE SISTER!!!!!!!!!!

(warning, cuteness overload and a photo-heavy post to follow)







I proudly introduce Carmen, a 15 week-old brindle Frenchie!  Officially known as Drama Queen d'Assisi (her registered name with the AKC),  she was bred & lovingly raised by our vet/friend Dr. Lori!



I've had the honor of knowing her literally since the moment she was born on March 8th.  This photo was taken within her first hour of life.


Happy Birthday, Carmen (on the right)!  Pictured here with her sister, Vera.


Carmen is from a litter of six - impressive for a Frenchie - two girls and four boys, all brindles (she's second from the right in this lineup, the yawning pup).  


Her parents are the handsome Doug (the fawn I showed you a few weeks ago) and lovely Gena, both owned by Lori. Both are Champions, have their CGCs, and are all-around great dogs that I've had the pleasure of getting to know over the past few years.  So when Lori told me they were expecting, I was so excited to be offered the chance to have one of their pups!


The proud new mom, Gena, with 2-day old pups.  She did a great job with her first litter!


I could go WAY overboard with the photos, since Lori was nice enough to send frequent "pupdates" from the very beginning.  Here are some snapshots of Carmen during her first few weeks of life, trying to keep the cuteness moderately in check.


2 weeks old, fat and happy!




Eyes newly opened, not quite 3 weeks old.



Up and getting around at 3.5 weeks.


I actually met Carmen and her brothers & sister in person when they were 4 weeks old, just starting to explore the little world inside their whelping box.  Since then I was able to spend a some time with her almost every week.  It was so special to have the opportunity to watch her grow & change, and I just can't help but share it with you!


A little more sure of herself, just over 4 weeks.



Ears at half mast, 5 weeks.



Looking more like a Frenchie at 6 weeks.



Already a show-off by 8 weeks!



My first photo with Carmen, 10 weeks old!



11 weeks old, with sister Vera, Carmen (sitting) came to visit and meet her future big brother.


Carmen came home a little late due to our Earlventure, as we didn't think taking a new (un-housebroken) pup on the road was the right thing to do for many reasons.  My biggest worry was how Brutus would accept her, but thankfully now that Carmen is finally here he has risen to the occasion.  Turns out that Brutus is a good big brother after all!  He and Carmen have spent the last few days playing for hours on end.


Someone new to play bitey-face with!!



Yikes, I think I've met my match here!


Then curling up together to recharge their batteries.




Mason, our tribal elder, is a little more reserved with his opinion on the bouncing bridle girl.  He pretty much ignores Carmen, unless she happens to be chasing/hanging off of his tail - in which case she gets a stern (but fair) warning.  They have interacted a little, but for the most part Mason is just glad that Brutus finally has someone else to mess with!


Young whippersnappers, wasting all that energy.  I tell ya....


Unlike her brother, Carmen is a real lover & cuddler.  She is a lot more independent than Brutus, and can play happily in her pen by herself.  She also sleeps contentedly (and cleanly to boot!) in her crate all night.  Carmen is far from housebroken, but shows signs of understanding the whole "potty outside" idea much more readily than her brother (who I still don't trust 100%).  I spend the most time with her, but Carmen also is fond of Paul (unlike Brutus, who won't give him the time of day).  To sum it up, I couldn't have asked for a classier, more beautiful, more fun little girl.  So Lori, if you are reading this - thanks again for allowing Carmen to come into our lives - she is all we hoped for and so much more!



As you can imagine, you'll be seeing LOTS more of Carmen in the coming months.  We're still getting into a good routine, and need to figure out how I'm going to "handle" Carmen on the blog.  Brutus and I need to sit down and have a heart-to-heart about that, in all fairness to him.  He'll still have his spotlight - both here and in the agility ring - and he'll always be my "mama's boy!".



Thanks for all your patience and putting up with my taunting and teasing about the news.  Just wanted to get Carmen home and make sure everything went smoothly before spilling the beans.  Have a great weekend, and tune in next week to see lots more Brutus, a little of Mason, and plenty of guest appearances from new sidekick Carmen!


44 comments:

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

Khongrats!

Welkhome!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

houndstooth said...

I KNEW IT! I have to say, she is just lovely, too! Brutus, I'm afraid she may steal the spotlight with her adorable cuteness!

Bunny

Coco Bean - The Princess said...

Oh My Dog!!! Check her out! you were totally right for warning us about the cute factor!

Tail Wiggles & Puppy Kisses,

Coco The Princess

Bunta the Frenchie said...

OMD!!!
I knew it!!!!!

How lovely she is!
I'm sure Brutus will be a good brother.

Can't wait to see more pictures coming up!


Bunta

Molly the Airedale said...

Congratulations! What a cutie Carmen is! Brutus is going to love having a constant younger companion!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Sonic said...

Welcome Carmen! You're so small and little! I can't believe how cute you are! We'll see lots of more you soon!

Sonic

Dexter said...

She is adorable! And she his stripes just like me! Brutus, you have really scored this time for sure. Of course I understand Mason's attitude. Momma has had brief thoughts of getting another pup but I say NO WAY because they are so annoying (even lovely gals).

A word of advise, though, don't let her go all stealing your blog from you, OK? Remember who is the big dog (at least for now).

Slobbers,
Mango

Kapitein Haakje said...

oh oh a little sister :D
she cute but cuteniss can be dangerous look at my litlle bro
he is cute but i work all day long to be cuter the him :D

welcome carmen :)

Kissslobbers
El'bow & Hauwii

Unknown said...

OMG! She is soo cute! How exciting!

Love those pictures of her an Brutus playing. I guess they have the same frenchie playing style! :p

Rocky Creek Scotties and Rocky Creek Ramblings said...

We are so glad that she is finally home and on the blog - it's great that Brutus really likes her too! It will be fun to see them interact together as she grows up. And we think he should share the blog with her - and definitely more appearances from sweet Mason - every time we see him, we get a warm fuzzy feeling.

XOXO
Lilly, Piper, Carrleigh, Ruairi and their Mom, Lynn

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

AHA!!! - we guessed it a long time ago but you were very good at keeping the secret. Carmen is just so adorable - love her coloring. And what a great brother Brutus is. Mason sounds a lot like Phantom, tolerating but old enough to just not want to be bothered unless on his own terms.

You are going to have so much fun with the new addition to your already gorgeous furamily.

Congrats to you and welcome to Carmen.

Woos - Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

Anonymous said...

SQUEEEE! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Oh, I'm so very much happy for everybuddy! Of course, I'm already sorta partial to Carmen for obvious reasons but GOSH, she's the cutiest patootiest that ever lived (um, besides you, Brutus)! I can't wait to watch her grow up!

Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie

Maxmom said...

Oh Wow! What wonderful news! I am so, so happy for you all. You were perfectly correct by warning us about the cuteness overload! What gorgeous pictures of a gorgeous gal.
Welcome Carmen!!!
Sending lotsaluv
MAXMOM IN SA

Punchbugpug said...

ADORABLE!!!! Such cuteness! Caught your blog through Shannon's.

Hugs,
Punchy

Frankie Furter and Ernie said...

WELCOME little CARMEN. I'm sure I can guess where Your name came from... butt I hope you will tell the story on the Fourth of July Post... for those who may not have a little hint about it. hehehe

Unknown said...

Oh my dogness!! She is the cutest pup I have seen in furevers!!

It must have beens soooo hard to keeps such wonderful news a secret!

So is there goings to be a Flat Carmen world tour?? Heehee

Congrats to all,
MinnaK

Kelly said...

OH MY DOG.

Carmen is a DOLL! Welcome to your new family, sweet girl! You don't even know it yet, but you totally lucked out!!!!!

ScrapsofMe said...

OHMYSTINKINHECK! WHAT A CUTIE PIE!! Lookit those ears! Can she get HBO on those? Carmen! Welcome to bloggie land! Make sure to turn on the charm with yer Mr. and you'll be the Princess furever. Guys drool...cute girlies RULE! Insist of shopping trips for pretty stuff. I love yer furr stripes...they look so Mangolishous! You are gonna be one cute hottie around this place.

Warm woofie kisses in welcome!
Bonnie

Brutus, Ellie, Pippa and Otto said...

OMD!!! Carmen is such a cutie!! Congratulations on the addition to your family :)

Love, love, love the pictures of her playing with Brutus!

Pugs & Kisses,

Yoda & Brutus

Donna said...

Dat is so awesome! Good for u. Yay baby sister. :)

dw said...

How cute!! And so nice that Brutus seems to be taking this big brother thing in stride! You have two little goblins to keep you busy now! *shout out to Mason, because we don't want to forget him!*

Kari in Alaska said...

as in Carmen Ohio? :)

The Adventures of the LLB Gang said...

WOO HOO!!!

Welcome Carmen!!

Smileys & Snuggles!
Dory, Bilbo and Jacob

Baby Rocket Dog and Hootie said...

OMD! Carmen is such a little babe!! We love her to pieces. Maybe in the future there will be a Flat Carmen!! BOL! She is waayyyy too cute for words.
Smooches,
BabyRD and Hootie

PS-Flat Brutus is having a blast here in farrr N.Idaho. We're doing a post on him now.

Kitty+Coco said...

Welcome to the world of little sisters, friend! Sometimes you love them, sometimes you have to give them a beatdown. She is super cute, and what better way to pass the time than to romp with Carmen? Excellent tugging skills already.
Sighs,
Kitty

Urban canines said...

Congratulations Brutus and Mason on your new sister!Carmen is such a beautiful puppy!

Pat Wahler said...

Awwww! Congratulations on the new cutie, Carmen!

Pat
www.critteralley.blogspot.com

Lucy-Fur, as typed by Dr. Liz said...

Yay!!!! HI CARMEN!!!! (Uh, Brutus, speaking as an elder sibling, you've really got to be on your toes with these little midgets - if you cut them ANY slack, they'll sleep all over you.... Oh. Wait. She already does that. Heehee!) She is a CUTIE!!! As for the blog thing, I don't know how you are going to handle it, but frankly, I won't let Abby do her own posts until she's old enough to correct her own typos. I'm just saying... Oh, and Mason - the spirit of TaiChi TOTALLY knows how you feel!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Mutant Puppy

Lorenza said...

OMD!
Carmen is adorable!
Glad to know she and Brutus get along pretty well!
I hope Mason gets used to have her around!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

The Oceanside Animals said...

Hooray for siblings! Not to mention AWESOME froot bats!

Tucker said...

OMG- Brutus your little sister is adorable - I'm so glad you have a new sibling to play with! GOod luck on the whole attention thing, you know she's gonna be stealing all of it.

woof - Tucker

Puglette said...

hello little carmen!! what a sweet little lady. i understand about mason and his relief, we added penny to our family because dodger was literally hanging on ollie all day.

carmen, i just can't wait to watch you grow up into a beautiful frenchie lady!
big hugs,
puglette
:o)

Smushie Ranch said...

Welcome home Carmen! Whew, it's been very hard keeping that secret. Being that we're planning the wedding and all, the momma's had to discuss and extra brides maid. So Punchy will have to make an extra dress for Carmen and Betty... She's so cute! we love the brindle!

Love,
Stella and family.

Oskar said...

We knew it, HOORAY!

Carmen is a beautiful girl. The pictures elicited many squeals of cute overload by my mom person.

Welcome little Carmen do the doggie blogging world!

bullie_mama said...

YAY for Bullie Poopay Puppies! She is just adore-a-bull! Wish I could get a little puppy brother for Miss Weezer, but I'm not too sure how she'd handle that.
Brutus looks like a great big brother - go Brutus!
Can't wait to see more pics of her and watch her grow into a little lady!

the booker man said...

ohmygoodness! welcome home, miss carmen!! she is the most adorablest cutie patootie evarrr!! gratsers to brutus on becoming a big bro!!
*woof*
the booker man

Lola and also Franklin, too said...

Congratulations to you and your family on the new addition. She is adorable, even for a Frenchie puppy, which is saying a lot. I do sympathize with her doggy mama. That's a lot of puppies. Looks like she did a great job with them.

wags, Lola

JD and Max said...

Oooh, how EXCITING!! Congratulations to you on your new adorable addition! We're really thrilled to meet Carmen - what a little cutie she is! We loved seeing her from an early age and witnessing how her ears gradually rise up to be true Frenchie - wonderful! The photos of her snuggling onto Brutus's back are so sweet! We also love the photo of her mom, she looked so happy! Schnauzer snuggles - JD and Max.

Amber and Nala said...

How cute!!! Congrats on your new addition! Carmen is a little sweetheart! :)

Nala & Amber

Taffy said...

Congrats on your new addition! Brutus you are gonna be the bestest big bro a girl could ever want, I just know it. Those photos of you and your new sis are so adorable. I really like the picture of Gena with her big smile and all the pups. We can't wait to see more of the two of you together!
Snuggles,
Twix

Golden Samantha said...

Oh how unbelievably adorable! Too cool that Brutus plays with his new sis! Sammie sometimes doesn't like all that pupper energy! Amazing, because Avalon was 14 weeks old 2 days ago - they're super close in age! Look forward to checking out all the new adventures with the three of you!
Hugs xo
Sammie

Nubbin' Tails said...

She is super duper cute!

1000 Goldens said...

OMD - I'm in love! So happy for you and very excited for more cute puppy pics :o)

Anonymous said...

OMD Carmen is such a sweetie pie. And she's already loved by Brutus and accepted by Mason. Great job and good luck, not that you'll need it. Carmen is a beautiful girl and I love her name. I love that she's cuddly too. :)
I sent you a message via FB just a couple of days ago, apologizing for dropping out of the face of the earth and... I sent it to the wrong Michelle. Tsk tsk shame on me. After that, I worried I'd probably text the wrong Michelle again therefore I waited till I had a chance to come here and get caught up.
Twinkie