Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemum  

Chrysanthemum (yes, named after the Kevin Henkes character) turns 8 weeks old tomorrow. She's a miniature dachshund whose parents are also both minis (dad is apparently also part mountain goat, judging from his antics on the sofa during our visit). We haven't measured her, but without her tail she is just under the length of my size 12 loafers. No, the picture does not cut off ANY part of her body.

She has had one accident per day in the house (#1, as they say), her crying when we keep her in the kennel is heartbreaking, and I don't think either of us have slept for more than 3 hours in a row since we got her on Tuesday. However, she is learning to walk on the leash really well (she can get to our door without any guidance from just inside the hallway), the last two toileting problems were my fault, and she's so damn cute when she curls up inside the crook of your arm... Tonight, on our walk, she literally walked up my outstretched forearms to get off the cool grass and into my arms.

This has been a tough week, what with waking up every couple of hours, coordinating break schedules, and teaching leash skills. I also started teaching adult English class this week, so everyone give a hand to the 23 people who came on Tuesday and the 24 on Thursday. The even mix of Somali speakers and hispanohablantes make it tough to converse as a group, but there is a lot of smiling! So sorry for not getting a picture up sooner, and be sure to let us know when you're sick of them.

We've got some digital camera pictures of our new family member as well and I hope to post those quickly. Also, one of our new year's resolutions was to post more stuff to facebook...it hasn't gone that well since the airport, but then again, our lives are boring. More Chrysanthemum to come, and we can't wait for everyone to meet her.