Spud Has a Home

Just a little note.....Spud will be going to live with the Cook Family in Camden SC when he is 8 weeks old! We are excited for Spud to find such a great home!

Little Spud

Here are some new photos of Little Spud. I took them today. He is too stinkin' cute!

16 States!

Well, I did it! I sat down last night and went through our dog records. We have puppies in 16 different states! I was surprised. I didn't think it would be that many. Here's the list of states in which we have puppies:

California

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Kentucky

North Carolina

New Hampshire

New York

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Virginia

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Pretty crazy huh???

One Puppy Left!

Of our litter of NINE BOYS, we now have just one left. Forster will be leaving on Saturday to live in West Virginia. So that just leaves Felix. He is a beautiful little boy and deserves a great home. He has such a sweet personality!

This litter not only broke our record for being the only litter of all boys....it's also the litter with puppies going to the most different states. From this litter, we have puppies in:

Ohio

Virginia

Florida

South Carolina

Pennsylvania

Georgia

Illinois

West Virginia

And last night we received 2 emails from families considering Felix. And they live in Michigan and Oregon! So these little guys have gone all over the place! Someday, I need to sit down and make a list of all the states where we have a puppy. I'd like to get a map and start marking the locations! It amazes me that our puppies from little ol' Pickens SC make their way around the country!!

Surprise Arrival!!!

Meet TATERHILL'S LITTLE SPUD!!! Our pygmy goat, Zoe, surprised us tonight with a little boy! When I fed the goats today at 2pm, Zoe seemed fine. I noticed that her udder had grown a little and when Bobby got home from work I told him that I thought Zoe was pregnant after all. He asked when I thought she was due. Since I never witnessed the mating, I said she seems fine so probably another week or so. He went down to the pasture after supper to water and found the little one walking around the pasture following mamma! What surprise! Mamma and Little Spud are settling in the barn for the night. Bobby says that Little Spud will be looking for a home since I can't keep them all! .....So far, I've kept every one that was born here and that wasn't the plan in the beginning! haha

Bobby's Surgery

Some of you know, while others may not, that Bobby had surgery on 2/19 to remove a cyst from his arm. While the surgery was successful, it certainly didn't go as we had planned. It was supposed to be a 30 minute operation....ended up being over an hour. He was supposed to have a 1/2 inch incision, ended up with a SEVERAL inch long incision. He was supposed to have a small bandaid, ended up with a partial cast from his fingers almost to his elbow! The doctor explained that when he began the operation, he found that Bobby had an extra blood vessel in his wrist that other people don't have. And the cyst was between these two blood vessel with a root that went down the arm. They were able to get it all though so that's a good thing. Here's a pic of Bobby recovering. He is still having some pain, but went back to work today.

Bunny Time!!

As Spring approaches, it's time for baby bunnies!!! We have a litter of Lionheads, a litter of Mini Lops, and a litter of Netherland Dwarfs. Yes, Netherland Dwarfs! Bobby "acquired" a pair of Netherlands at the last show we went to and we thought it would be fun to have some dwarf babies. Oh my goodness! They are the cutest little things!!! All of the baby bunnies will be ready at the end of March, in time for Easter. Our waiting list has started so if you or someone you know is interested in a baby bunny, contact us to be added to the list. We will allow people to begin choosing their bunnies within the next couple of weeks. I've already made my pick from the Mini Lop Litter (Fatboy's Olivia x Milkhouse's Samson). There is a solid chesnut in there that sticks out like a sore thumb! Huge head and wide body....let's hope she (I'm hoping it's a doe) continues to progress this way! Enjoy the baby bunny photos! I do not have a photo of the lionhead litter yet. But we do have a baby lionhead doe born 12/12 that is up for sale. Contact us for more info if interested!

Purebred Double Mane Doe, Black $65

Mini Lop Babies! Pets- $25

Netherland Dwarf Babies- $25

Updating Our Website

Well, I am finally learning how to update our website by myself and actually getting the hang of it. At least the easy stuff! Up until now, we hired someone to do it for us, but she has since gone out of the Website Maintenance business. So bare will me, but be sure to check it out. So far, I've changed the "News Flash" and the "Puppies" page. We desperately need to swap out some photos of the dogs on the "Our Dogs" page. But first we need to take the new photos!

www.taterhillkennel.com

The Crib!

Bobby worked hard in the nursery last night while I sat in my glider and watched! haha Here are some photos from last night's work! All of the furniture is now put together. Here's the crib. I will get more photos of the nursery later on.

Here's Bobby...actually reading the instructions!!!!

The crib with our barnyard bedding!!

And last but not least.....Gretta peaking in the nursery......We are teaching the dogs that they are not allowed in this room and they are doing great. Springers are so obedient! You gotta love them! Cheyenne and Gretta lay outside the door and just peak in at us.

30 Week Belly Photo and Update From Last Week's Ultrasound

Wow! I got a lot to write about, but will try not to make this too long! We had our unexpected ultrasound on Friday. They actually did two. The first one was to measure the baby and the second was to measure my cervix. Turns out....all is well. We are just having a big baby! They are not concerned about premature labor and all of my pain is from the baby being big and my body needing to adjust and stretch!!!

Connor should be weighing 2 and 1/2 pounds right now, but is already weighing 3 and 1/2 pounds!!! He should be in the 50th percentile but is already in the 75th percentile! The most amazing part of the ultrasound on Friday was when I asked how much room he is taking up. Well, his feet were in my ribs under my left breast and his head was down low on the right side of my bladder! BUT the real kicker is that the technician said he was like this and still curled up!!!! Most of the problem is because I'm so short and do not have a large torso.

So...what does this all mean???? Well, they are not changing my due date but will not be surprised if I go early or if he continues to grow may need to come early. I feel so much better knowing that the pain I'm having is not from something that's wrong but just a growing baby. And it dawned on me this morning....no, Connor is not "too big"....he's exactly the size that God wants him to be!!!! :)

Yesterday was an extremely productive day in the nursery! My sister-in-law, Tricia, came over in the afternoon and painted all of the boards we needed to do the fence and trim. It was gorgeous outside....a beautiful 72 degrees. So not only did she get to help us out, but she also got to soak up the sun while painting. And I got to watch while lounging around outside in my bare feet...it felt so good! Bobby was able to lay both the carpet and the hardwood floor, put up all of the fence, and finish most of the molding. Today after church, he put up the new light fixure and the "farm" light switch plate cover. Right now, he is taking the crib parts out of the box and organizing them. We are hoping to put the crib together after we get home from church tonight. This is what I've been waiting for!!!!!!

Above are photos of my 30 week belly and the fence on the wall. I will post more photos of the nursery as it progresses and I hope to get some "crib assembly" photos tonight too! Enjoy!

This Week's Doctor's Appointments

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Just wanted to give a little update on the pregnancy. I hope to have a new photo of my belly on Monday when I turn 30 weeks.

I had a regular doctor's appointment on Tuesday. It was uneventful except for the fact that when they measured me, I was measuring 3 weeks head of where I should be. So instead of 29 weeks, I was measuring as if I'm 32 weeks. The doc scheduled an ultrasound for my next appointment on March 3rd to see what's going on. It could be several things: Connor's position when she measured, Connor's a big baby, a lot of amniotic fluid, a wrong due date....or a SLIGHT chance of a hiding twin!!! (I don't think it's twins)

Yesterday, I was going about my normal business. I went grocery shopping and while shopping I started getting horrible pulling pains in my low abdomen down into my legs. I left the store and called my doctor from the parking lot. They told me to come in to get checked out.

When I got there, they put me on monitors and Connor was doing his usual thing...kicking and squirming like crazy! His heart rate was in the 150s and all was well. They didn't really have an explanation for the pains. They said the "stretching pains" should be over with unless he's a big baby. The doctor then examined me and said my cervix felt soft. It shouldn't be at this point if I am only 29 weeks. SOOO....she cancelled my March 3rd ultrasound and bumped it up to tomorrow. She also re-measured me and this time I was measuring at 2 and 1/2 weeks ahead of where I should be.

So tomorrow we go at 8am for the ultrasound and hopefully we will figure out what is going on!

Baby Shower Photos!

Well, I am back from PA and had a great baby shower!!! Just thought I'd share some photos! Here's what's going on in each photo: Of course the balloons and cake. In the photo with Maddie and I, she is wearing her baby carriage bow! :) In the next two photos, we are playing the wonderful game "Guess how much ribbon it will take to go around my belly"! haha The next photo is of Connor's new onesie that says "Daddy is My Hero." It was just too cute not to share. Daddy will be deployed again on homeland security when Connor is 2. And the last photo is just me digging through diaper bags full of goodies! We were definitely blessed with gifts, especially clothing. I'm convinced that he will be the best dressed kid around. There were around 20 people at the shower and from just 2 people, we got 22 outfits!!!!!! Craziness!

Unfortunately, after the shower, I came down with the flu. So far that I know of 11 people that are in my family or came to the shower got the flu. It was not fun. It was on the news that there is a flu outbreak in PA. I ended up in the hospital on Monday on IV fluids and meds to stop the vomitting. But I think it helped me to recover more quickly. I was back to visiting family and friends by Wednesday. So overall it was a great trip!!! Now we just need to get the nursery done as all of the baby stuff is stacked in our living room. Only 11 more weeks to go!!!!!!

Baby Shower Time!!!

Just a short note to let you all know that I will be traveling to PA tomorrow for my baby shower! I'm sooooo excited and I can't wait to see some old friends and my family! I most likely will not write any blog posts until I get back on 2/9. I plan to share "Shower Photos" in an upcoming post!