Observing Amelia

*Little Amelia Babe*

This is for Kate- All you need to know about Shiba inus!

I dedicate this post to Kate:

What to know about Shiba Inus:
(however some of these facts may just refer to Zen)



1. Shiba inus will only listen when they want to listen


Example: if you want your adorable little Shiba Inu to come when you call, most of the time you will see her stop look back at you and then continue on her way. They will only come if they want to, and aren't too concerned what you want.





2. Give a Shiba an inch and they will take a mile


Example: If your shiba is off leash and you expect her to sit and play in one specific area think again- They are very adventurous and love to explore! The shiba inu was bred for hunting and I believe they are one of the least domesticated breeds out there. I'm still working on this one because I like to think I can trust Zen to stay in the yard at mom and dads HOWEVER she proves me wrong every time and goes straight to the back and will only return when she wants to....but at least she always comes back, but that's not to say every shiba would.



3. Similar to # 2 - A shiba inu needs a fully fenced yard



Example: Make sure you have a completely fenced in yard. If there are holes or cracks where Shiba can escape you have a big problem and that needs to be fixed. It will only take seconds for your little Shiba to run off, and you'll be lucky if they come to your call - However Zen was a very good dog today in this aspect- I came inside the house from the backyard and noticed that the side door was opened ( i forgot to latch it properly) I called for Zen in the house and couldn't find her so I knew right away she had gotten out..I panicked right away because last time she got out she was down the street and people were trying to pick her up and put her in their van...lol...so you can see why I was panicking. Anyways today I ran outside and started calling for her and she right away came from creepers backyard and came in the house with me no problem. She is getting alot better because we have really been working hard with her.



4.Not the typical small dog-

Example: Although these little dogs are the most adorable things you have ever seen they are no Maltese or shih tzu. They are a complex breed and you really need to train and work with them for the shiba to reach it's full potential. They are very strong willed and they have lots of personality. The shiba inu is also a very independent breed which is a good thing. They are fine being left alone at home and do not demand alot from you as an owner. They aren't at all a needy breed however they do require alot more exercise then your typical small dog..I will get to that in my next point.

5. Shibas need their exercise-

Example: The shiba Inu loves to run and play. The great thing about shibas is that they are content with playing in the yard, going for a leash walk or of course going off leash in forest areas. All they need is a good run or walk and they are good to go unlike Marley who is a freak dog who could run non stop for hours..lol.

6. Shibas love to cuddle-

Example: Marley is an extremely loving and affectionate breed however he doesn't cuddle like a Zen pup does. It may just be Zenny but she loves to cuddle and be close to people. Shibas love to sit on your lap and get a good massage- however this may also be Zen, not to sure. She also loves to sleep under covers, its the cutest thing when Joe or myself discover her sleeping in our bed and she put herself under the blankets..lol.

7. Socialize them early- in everything! -

Example: The shiba inu is a very intelligent breed and they are always looking around to see what is going on. The shiba inu is much like a german shepherd in this regard, they are always looking around to see whos near, what noises they hear, and what is to come...always on alert. Shiba Inu's are very skeptical of strangers, they are not like a lab or even Marley for that matter (however he is not typical for a shepherd) Some won't even go near strangers,which is abit awkward because when you walk your shiba down the street every person you see will want to stop and pet her, and your shiba will not react great when people go to pet and fuss over her.

Alot of shiba inu's are skeptical of kids as well. Zen is scared of most all kids, but we have noticed a huge improvement in her with Pavel and Danik. It's all about them getting used to kids, and feeling comfortable around them. I think now that Zen has been around Pavel and Danik quite abit she is learning they aren't a threat to her. The reason I know she sees them as a threat and that she is scared of them is because she reacts by running away from them with her tail in between her legs. This body language is showing that Zen feels threatened and vulnerable, so the result is running and hiding. She has never reacted in anyways aggressive to any children and I have never read about shibas being aggressive so I would never worry about that.

Every breed should be socialized in every situation, however the Shiba for sure because like I said before they are very smart breed, and the smarter the dog the more you have to make them comfortable with everyday things. It's all about making your dog feel confident...and to make a confident dog you should take them to many different places so they can see and smell all kinds of different things. This also goes for socializing your shiba to other dogs, it's just as important, make sure you start asap.

That is pretty much the basics, shibas are great companions and they truely are a very unique breed. All the best Kate, hope I helped abit!

The day is coming!!!

So by this time next week I may have my baby Amelia. I have progressed and she could come anyday. I have another ultrasound on Thursday and then another appointment and ultrasound monday. If I haven't gone into labour by monday night I will be induced on Tuesday. That would be June the 8th...St Josephs will be calling me on Tuesday anytime from 6:30am til the afternoon- whenever my bed is ready basically. Hopefully it's not to busy that day so I can go in as early as possible...it's not like I'll be sleeping that night anyways lol. I can't really explain how excited Iam. I'm not very nervous or scared about the pain just yet, however I'm sure that will come closer to the date. Joe and I are so ready and have been waiting so long for this so I'm not very worried about the whole labour process, I'll get threw it.

They are very good at St Josephs so I know I'll be in good hands. Joe will also be with me for every single minuet and I know he will be absolutely amazing and will do anything possible to make me feel calm and comfortable. The good thing about being induced on a specific day is that Joe knows when to book off work, he will be taking off Tuesday and the rest of the week. Marley will be going to Joe's parents for a few days once Iam admitted to the hospital, I think we will be dropping him off there monday night. Zen will be staying at mom and dads and we will most likely bring her there the morning of. I can't wait to get them back home though and see how they react to Amelia.

We are ready for her arrival, her room is all set, her baby bag is packed for the hospital...her swing is set up, stroller is sitting in the dining room. We did achieve our goal to sell the truck before her arrival, right now we have no vehicle...we are picking up our new Pontiac Montana tonight! I'm so excited. It has all the room we need and more. Joe's parents bought us a car seat for Amelia and they ordered it from Sears so we pick that up Thursday night, so everything will be ready to go! Such a nice feeling to have everything taken care of.

Only one more week!!

Naked babies in the pool!

Woah, its a hot one out today, and it is suppost to stay like this for awhile. Took the dogs for a walk in the ravine today and then went to mom and dads. Pavel and Danik got a little pool today which was needed due to the hot weather. Pavel loves his new little pool and was having a great time.

Marley was close by as he laid in the shade- what a proud looking dog.

I am doing alright. I think my body is getting ready to have little Amelia. I just want to meet her, and see her so bad! We are so ready for her arrival I can't even tell you...Joe seems very calm still, and doesn't seem to be nervous or anxious what so ever...I didn't think he would be though. He is very excited and just wants to hold her. I had an ultrasound yesterday and everything still looks great, The women gave me a picture of her little foot and I just love it. These cute little feet have been kicking me for quite some time...looks like a strong little foot lol...future soccer star

Below are some pictures of me and my huge belly- 37 weeks

my bags are packed for the hospital, as well as Amelia's with her little outfit to come home in.

AHHH I CANT WAIT!!

Spring & Easter pictures

Well it's been a busy last couple of weeks and I have been on top of bringing my camera everywhere I go. Spring is here and the weather has been absolutley amazing. I have been feeling great for the most part minus getting bigger and bigger and finding it abit hard to get around and also having trouble sleeping, but I'm still keeping active and only about 8 weeks to go...woah time flys. So here are some pictures of the last week and a half, I do very much enjoy taking pictures of Pavel and especially Danik, I will be starting a photography portfolio to keep all my best pictures together, Iam very excited for little Amelia to come so I can start taking beautiful pictures of her. Also there are a few pictures of myself and my growing belly so you can see what I look like as to date.

Pavel took this picture of Joey

Pavel also took this picture of Marge and Geeoff

A good picture taken by Pavel

Amelia and her button nose!

If you see a picture of Joseph when he was newborn Amelia looks alot like him. You can see the umbilical cord just around her face as well. This is my favourite picture because she looks at peace.

This picture Amelia has her hand over her right eye, you can see the little fingers if you look closely.

We all had a great time at the 3D ultrasound. A very nice environment, it is very modern and classy in the clinic and you get to go in a very nice room and lay on a bed, while steph and Pam sat in big comfy leather chairs and we watched the whole session on a flat screen TV on the wall. They put soothing music on and it was a very nice time. The ultrasound lady said she couldn't believe how much she was moving...she was going crazy, moving all over the place, so it was difficult to get her to stay still for pictures. However Iam happy with my results, I would be happy with just one picture. I love the first picture, I have framed that one and the second one in a nice frame and have put it on the shelf in her nursery. We then had a great meal at Boston Pizza...mmm so good!!

Anyways off the costco with Marge... TTYL!

So Excited!!!3D ultrasound 2day!

So Excited! Today is my 3D ultrasound. I hope all my water drinking has done good. The 3D ultrasound results are determined by the amount of amiotic fluids, so for best results they tell you to drink 4-8 glasses of water a day for 2 weeks prior to the appointment. And yes I have been drinking alot of water, and I hope it pays off!! I want to see Amelia's little face, I think it will just be unreal.

So Pam and Steph are coming over before to hang out for abit, we then are heading to the ultrasound. There are different packages you can get, I got the cheapest because I already had to convince Joe it was worth the money lol. I also wanted the basic package as the other expensive packages are a little much. I will recieve a 20 min DVD of Mia in the womb, and a CD of still images. Steph and Pam are so excited as well for this appointment, it should be a good time.

After we are going out for a late lunch...and then maybe some shopping. Should be a good day. I will show Joe the DVD and CD when he gets home from work. I did some what want him to come but it's not worth it for him to miss a day of work for a 30 min appointment...also it will be fun going with the girlies. I rather watch the DVD with Joe by ourselves when were at home. I'll post the 3D pics asap so you can all see!!

Here's my pregos belly as to date..

Finally...Our kitchen, before and After

The Kitchen - Before


Before the kitchen had one sink, the faucets came from the wall which isn't ideal and the backsplash and counter tops are a very weird material, it was like a plasic.

Keep in mind the cabinet doors were taken off in these pictures. They were painted a very dark green colour, which I called barf green. In this picture you can see the large microwave taking up most of our only counter space, and the portable dishwasher is pulled out because at the time we were running it.

Here you can see the one wall. Below the window is where the portable dishwasher is kept. It was a huge pain always moving it to the sink as the kitchen is small enough already.

This wall is used just for the stove. As you can see there are no cabinets which is a waste of space since there is tones of room for more storage.

Here is the other wall with all the cabinets. Again the doors are all off, but if you have seen the kitchen you know it was a very dark barf green and made the room look very dark and gloomy.

Here is the ugly dishwasher....such an eye soar. You can also see the flooring, it was a very old dirty flooring, not sure what kind of flooring you would call it but thank god its gone..lol.


Another picture of the flooring. The baseboards were also painted a dark green colour, again darkening up the whole space.

The Kitchen - After
Quite the difference eh..New counter tops, new double sink, new Moen faucet, all the cabinets have many fresh coats of paint ( they were very time consuming) new hardware on the cabinets, and we also built a shelf for the new stainless steal microwave. You can also notice we extended the cabinets so we could put the brand new stainless steal dishwaser in. We also have made much more counter space with the extention of the counters over the dishwasher.

Another view of the new kitchen. I love the colour I picked- I call it plum purple. I think it is a good contrast colour to the cabinet colour.

Here you can see the new flooring which we are very pleased with. Very inexpensive and easy to install. A huge improvement from before. You can see a better view of the dishwasher in this picture.
Lots of space in the kicthen because we no longer have to move that awful dishwasher around.

As you can see we no longer have the faucets coming from the wall. Joe installed a new sink, one big one and one half sized sink, I love it. The microwave shelf is amazing as we have much more counter space now!

Finally!...more storage. We added these cabinets and it's amazing how much more storage space we have. I also got that rod and wire storage compartments from Ikea- very handy because we are lacking on storage space for utensils.

The two best looking pups below,

My beautiful little Shiba, Zen

The legend, Sir Marley
Rattigans

Calm and passive Marley by the white fence

Glider Zenny

What a dog..

The real Zen...crazy litte rattigan

Having a nice play on the grass

Spring is here and it feels great. Lots of sun today and it looks like all week we will be getting spoiled with the beautiful sunshine. The dogs are doing great and they were loving getting there pictures taken...must be the nice weather lol. Above is a picture of myself growing bigger and bigger, enjoying a nice cold beverage of iced tea from Mc donalds.