Newman's Before & After Pics!

     To say we've been tight on money since May is an understatement. One of the things we've cut back on is taking our two Cocker Spaniels to the groomers. This isn't so bad for Ollie because his fur doesn't grow too fast. Newman, on the other hand, is a totally different story. He grows facial hair faster than anyone I know!! I joke around that he tries to grow a mustache and beard! 

     This Mama has attempted to give him a hair cuts. Honestly, I have. I end of being able to trim every where except his face and that's the place he needs it the worst! Newman ends up looking worse than before I started!!

     I finally broke down and made made Newman a grooming appointment! ( a true Mama thing, because I made him one before I've made my hair appointment!)  =) 

I was so excited yesterday morning to go pick him up! I knew he was going to look so handsome. We have a local groomer named, Kathy, who is awesome!! Newman knows his little cage is on the bottom (probably because he's too heavy to lift!) and he will run straight to it and hop in it! I was amazed the first time I seen Newman jump in his cage, because this baby of ours has never ever been in a crate / pen before!

     Here's where Newman goes to the Groomer:

     Here's his before pic:

     Check out Newman's after pic:

     I love this little fella more than I ever knew I could love a doggie. He came into my life when I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue and was at my lowest point in my life. I felt horrible and was completely down in the dumps. My sister - Karen & Robin who are two of my bestest friends ever, went in together to buy me a cocker spaniel because I had been wanting one and they knew he would lift my spirits! That December 1st 2005, did change how I felt...Newman lifted my spirits and has given me unconditional love that I never knew existed. I told my hubby last night as Newman sat in my lap, "how will my life ever be the same when something happens to him?" I try not to think about it, but oh, I do. That's why I snap thousands of pics of my little sweet heart. :)

     This sums pretty much sums it up:

( I found this via Pinterest!)

(This was also found via Pinterest)

Our Oliver Better Known As "Ollie"

     Let's see....I've always loved doggies from the time I was a little girl and I still do some 41 years later! It helped that my Dad & Mom always had dogs when I was growing up. I can still remember my Dad coming home from work and I would go out back with him to play and feed our dogs.

     I remember when I was around 5 years old he had a black dog named Pepper. Pepper was kin to Run Tin Tin the famous German Shepherd from a long long time ago!! Any ways Pepper was part German Shepherd & maybe Lab. My parents had this pic hanging in their bedroom:

A pic of Pepper and I!!

I grew up seeing this pic in their bedroom and it made me feel special.  So began my love for doggies. :)

     Back to the title of this post. ;) Ollie was special way before he came to live with us. You see, he was my sisters Cocker Spaniel. Yes, Karen was his 1st Mommy. I remember the day she got Ollie. I remember the day she called me saying, "Amee, you'll never guess what Ollie did"...then proceeded to tell me how she arrived home from work to find Ollie on her bed (which just happened to have a brand new quilt on it) laying there with a dead baby rabbit!!!! He was oh so proud because he caught the intruder in his back yard!! Yes, Ollie caught and killed the rabbit & brought it in through the doggie door and took it to her bed!! Luckily only a little blood got on her comforter and it did come clean. Thank goodness!
     
     I also remember the day I officially feel deeply in love with Ollie. I went to my sisters house to have a girls sleep over. I finally was able to experience what it was like to be around Ollie for more than a couple of hours. I loved how he followed us every where we went in the house. I remember going to the bathroom and yes Ollie went with me. He wanted to be where we were. The moment that did it for me was when it got bed time. He ALWAYS slept with my sister. Every single night. That was the norm. Well when it was time to go to bed, Ollie realized he had a visitor: me. His auntie. :) He couldn't decide where to sleep: with his Mommy or with his Auntie!!! Poor little guy....he would go to Karen's room then back to the living room with me. He ended up sleeping in the love seat in the living room. I say he couldn't decide who to sleep with so he chose neither one of us..... He won my heart right then and there. He is the reason I knew I wanted a little boy Cocker Spaniel too. Little did I know that one day he would be mine.

Fast forward several years....to some unforseen happenings in life and my sister moved to a house in town which didn't allow pets. At this time she still had Ollie and even had a 2nd Cocker Spaniel named Sawyer. So my hubby, boys and & I took Ollie and my parents took Sawyer. :) He and Newman (our Cocker that we had had for 1 1/2 yrs.) were buddies from the day Ollie came home to us.

So Ollie had my heart even before my Newman did. Now I share my heart with both of my boys. :)

Here's a few of my favorite pics of both Newman & Ollie:

Newman and Ollie, Our Furry Boys

   
     Our furry boys are such a joy to all of us. We've had Newman since Dec. 2005 and Ollie came to us in July 2008. Newman was gift from my sister / Best Friend- Karen and my Best Friend- Robin.

Here's a little refresher: I had been dx with Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue the summer of 2005 after being off work for a month and numerous trips to different doctors apppointments. I was feeling down and out and extremely exhausted. December 2005, Karen & Robin got together and decided they would buy me a Cocker Spaniel! I had recently found an ad online for several that were for sale. They told me they would buy me one!!! I was so shocked to say the least! I called the number that was in the ad and sure enough they had three left..all little boys which is what I wanted because Karen had a little boy cocker named Ollie and I fell in love with him!

     At this time I was working for Robin's family and she told me that I was going to take the next day off which was on a Friday and we (Robin, Karen & I) would go look at the spaniels and see if they were what I was looking for. I was so excited! I had already picked out his name:  Newman. I got that name from a Nascar driver: Ryan Newman #12 Alltel driver at the time. He is an awesome driver and he & his wife Krissie love dogs. So I wore my Newman #12 sweatshirt the morning that we left to go look at the Cocker Spaniels.

     I was so excited as we drove to Dunnellon. We finally arrived to look at the Cocker Spaniels. When we walked inside the Mommy & Daddy to the puppies were there too! There were three little boys. It honestly didn't take me long to figure out which one I wanted! I had my dream come true...I was getting my very own Cocker Spaniel named Newman!!! It was like a dream....a dream come true from my two Best Friends!!  It is honestly the best gift I've ever received except for having Colby & Brandon.

     I still say to this day, that Newman was just waiting for his Mommy to come pick him up. He fit perfectly in my arms and even fell asleep on our way home!!!! It was meant to be, no doubt!

     Chuckie, Colby & Brandon new I was going to look at the them but they didn't know for sure if I would get one. So when it was time to pick Colby & Brandon up from school Karen drove me there and I had Newman in the car with us! Brandon was the first to arrive at the car and he was just thrilled that we had a new little puppy! I was in the back seat with Newman and that's were Brandon got too. Newman acted like he had been with us for months. He was so happy to meet Brandon! Then it was Colby's turn to get to the car and he was just as excited to meet Newman!

     I can't even describe how much Newman is loved. He makes us all smile, laugh and we all love to love on him. At that time in my life he sure helped me. It helped coming home from work and he would greet me at the gate & was just so excited to see me.

     It's amazing but he was potty trained within a week!!!! I would lay newspaper in the kitchen and he would stay in there while we were at work. I would then come home at lunch time & let him out. Then we would all be home that afternoon around 4:30. At night time  he would sleep with me in the crook of my arms and when he would start wiggling I would take him out! That's how he was potty trained. I think he may have had one accident..maybe. Definitely not more than one! Unbelievable!! He was and is the best gift ever. :)

Here's a few pictures of the day Newman came into our life:

On our way home with my little Newman!!!!!!

Sleeping in his Mommy's arms!

Robin and I with Newman...

I wuv him so much .....

My sister with Newman....

Newman wrapped in his baby blanket from his Auntie Karen. We were

were at school waiting for Colby & Brandon to get to the car.

Newman was thrilled to meet Brandon! 

Newman loves his Auntie Robin!

Newman at home with us. He was one tuckered little fella!

Newman taking a nap. It's wuff being a little puppy!

Newman with his favorite toy that his Auntie Karen bought him. 

   Part two tomorrow about our adoption of Ollie. :) Stay tuned.

Bath Time

     Our sweet babies are not thrilled when it's bath time.I learned my lesson by not saying, "come on boys, it's bath time" because they will run...away from me! I normally just walk up to Newman & pick him up and carry him to the tub. He doesn't like it and he will normally start shaking a little but he stands there so patiently. I talk so sweet to him, telling him "it's okay, Mommy just needs to wash you so you will be nice and clean." Do y'all do that too, talk to your furry children while bathing them?

     When Newman is finished with his bath then it's time to find Ollie. Ollie will be hiding in our bedroom or on the couch and he will be shaking too. I promise I've never mistreated them for the to not like their baths! I talk to sweet Ollie too...he just stands there and lets me bathe him.

     They both love it though after the fact. They love it when I finish drying them with a towel & say, "you can go." They tear off running through the house, rolling on the carpet & rubbing up against the couch. They are funny to watch.

      They both bring so much joy to our house and especially to me. I say that, but honestly they bring joy to each of us in there different ways. I love it when I sit at the couch recliner, Newman will jump up beside me and want to sit in my lap.

     Ollie is more like a lap doggie. He would sit with someone all the time if we would let him. He LOVES to lick but we've almost stopped that just by telling him no and turning our head. Every once in a while he gets a lick in. :)

     Here's a few pics of our boys after there bath:

We L.O.V.E. our furry children. I just hate to think of the day when they aren't with us. It makes me so sad to think of it. It crosses my mind at least once a week. :( I know, I know just enjoy our time with them!! I have thought this before: I know it will be so very hard to handle when we don't have them in our lives. My fear is when one of them passes away the other is going to be so lonely. They are like brothers...Newman is the youngest but the largest & he acts like Ollie is his brother. He will clean..I mean lick Ollie's eyes and Ollie lets him. It's just so sweet to see Newman taking care of Ollie, even though Ollie is the oldest!! I better quit typing before I start crying....

One of My Favorite Blogs to Read: DecorandtheDog

     I honestly can't say how I found this really cool inspirational blog: Decor and the Dog blog, but I'm so loving reading all of Michelle's post. I'm also totally digging their Beautiful furry child: Ike!!! He looks like such a fun, fun, fun furry child! He's really captivated me. I just look at him and do nothing but SMILE! This is so not like me. I am a devoted Cocker Spaniel lover. I mean we have two of our own & they are our children with fur! Ike has just captivated me so much that I just had to do a post so I could share what I've seen at Michelle's blog!
     I asked Michelle if she minding me posting pics of Ike and her only concern was Ike would get a bigger head than he already has! :) :) lol So here's a few pics of the cutie pie:

Isn't Ike the cutest thing ever?

Ike is very photogenic! 

Love this pose of Ike!!! He is just adorable!

So our sweet furry doesn't feel left out here's a cute pic of them:

Newman is on the left & Ollie is on the right. :) 

Pics

Here are few pictures of our sweet babies aka Newman & Ollie:

Above pic: This is Newman. He is my bestest friend! I woke up this morning

to him above my head on my pillow. He gave me several kisses before I totally woke up. I now

realize why... our alarm clock went off & I didn't get up when Chuckie called my name! I think

Newman was trying to get me up!! lol He is the best present I've ever gotten!

Above picture: Newman is on the left and Ollie is on the right. Ollie is such a

sweet boy! I trimmed Ollie last night with scissors and he just laid there for

me! He is so trusting & so sweet!

Here's my sweetie pie. He always looks so serious in pictures but he's really

not! He's a joy to be around.

This is Newman begging to has his belly scratched! He reminds me of a big

elephant sitting on his behind! lol  How cute is he?

I'm very thankful for our children with fur!

Our two furry children with fur are Newman and Ollie. I took these pictures last year and they are some of my favorite. It is amazing how sweet, attentive, loyal Cocker Spaniels are. I know other dogs are but there is just something about their personality which I think makes them different. Newman and Ollie want to be where ever we are. I honestly cannot leave the room without them following me. It really is amazing considering every foot step I take they are there. If I take a nap they are on the bed with me. I'm not sure what we would do with out them! Oh, yes I do: We will buy another Cocker Spaniel! I cannot imagaine our life without them.
Here's a few of my favorite pictures:

Pics of Brandon & His Furry Brother Newman!!!
I took some photos of Brandnon and his furry brother, Newman!! I had been wanting to do this for a while and it finally took place! Brandon loves Newman just as much as I do. Don't get me wrong Colby loves Newman too, but there is a special connection with Brandon and Newman.

Thanks for looking at our pictures!!

Here's our children with fur! They are so sweet and they are always here for us..

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Our Children With Fur!

We have two children with fur!! How lucky we are! We have Newman Eastman who is 3 years old. He is a buff cocker spaniel. He came into our lives when he was 3 months old. I had just been dx with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Fibromyalgai.This took place in Dec. '05. My sister Karen & Best Friend (really my other sister!!) Robin decided to go together and buy me a cocker spaniel!!! What a gift! (Karen already had a cocker named Ollie and I had fell in love with him back in March '05). Karen called me on a Thursday afternoon and told me what they were buying me!! I had found an advertisement online earlier in the day so Karen told me to call the phone number to see if there were any puppies left. I was so excited beyond words! I was going to get my own Cocker!!! Sure enough when I called there were two little boys left!! I wanteda boy so this was looking great! Robin and Karen picked me up the following morning to head to Dunnelon. Honestly when we arrived & went inside to see the puppies it didn't take but just a minute for me to pick between the two little boys! I knew which one I wanted!! I already had picked out a name...."Newman". He was being named after Brandon & my favorite Nascar Driver "Ryan Newman". At this time of being dx with CFS & Fibro I was exttremely tired and depressed. WEll this little guy just made me keep a smile on my face! I couldn't thank Karen & Robin enough for what they had done for me!!! I say to this day that little Newman was just waiting for his Mommy to come pick him up. He had waited for three L O N G months for me to get there for him! From the very first night he slept with me in the bed!!! That very first night he slept right by my side and when he started wiggling I knew he had to go potty! Honestly he was completely potty trained within a week or so!!! Now how easy was that??? We didn't crate train him. I just shut the kitchen off from the rest of the house and would come home on my lunch hour and take him out! He is such a smart little fellow!!