Today the puppies got the opportunity to realize that there is a bigger world out there waiting for them!

First came t-shirt time to continue getting them desensitized to wearing things such as capes.  This exercise will hopefully help them from being cape shy and they won’t worry so much about what is on their back thinking it’s just a normal part of everyday life. They woke me up at 5 am this morning, so I had PLENTY of time to get them “dressed” before my REAL day began!  The consequences of waking me up should be weighed very carefully……. 🙂

I set up a totally new play area in our kitchen and they got to explore everything that they hadn’t seen yet.  It was really interesting because when they first got in there they didn’t know what to do and they started whining to get out.  Even though you think you are providing all of these incredible sensory, auditory and various other experiences, I realized quickly that moving around the house is equally as important to give them some experience in plain old “new space”.  Everything they were accustomed to changed, their potty location, the items in the play area, the lighting even-and once again I realized I would love to be a researcher that got to observe puppies and do experiments on sensory exploration.  I may have to interview a researcher or two just for kicks:) So,out came the other x-pens (because it is too hard to move the main room ones that are set up perfectly), the transfer of toys, potty pads and some comfy areas for them to sleep-and into the kitchen they went!  Interestingly, Sugar didn’t seem too fond of the change either as she kept a close eye on them for a good chunk of time.

Then, later in the evening they were going to have some more video taken of them for the documentary so they got to explore the living room as well!  It’s been a BIG day for these pups of purpose!  They were adorable as usual and the pictures and video seemed to be perfect for the holiday season!  Once again, a new “play area” had to be set up and this is exactly why I have SO MANY x-pens, because it’s really important for these puppies to get to see that there is a world outside of their play area and it’s nothing to be afraid of!

And this is how my day progresses-busy, fun, emotional, happy days!  But every now and then recently the realization that these puppies are only with me for another two weeks begins to sink in and I try to grab EVERY moment I can and store it in my memory, refusing to let the future reality steal my happiness of today. Puppies live entirely in the present, so why should I be any different??????  And happy is the only emotion that can exist around these 7 miracles of magic!