And then there were four

After our experience with Popcorn back in July, we decided to wait until Miss B and Mr. C were done with their puppy shots before adding any new puppies to the family. We had hoped to get puppies that were 7 or 8 weeks old once they were weened  and old enough to be away from their mother. Enter one of life's twists and turns. The two American Bulldog puppies seen here with Mr. C were only 4 weeks old when their mother decided that she had had enough of nursing eight puppies with sharp teeth. So these two came home with us.
We tried putting them into this old car carrier so that they would be away from the bigger puppies, but before we could close the door, Mr. C darted in and snuggled up to them. As it turns out, Mr. C is a good mother. We didn't even think he could fit in that carrier!
Miss B didn't want to be left out of the fun and started trying to squeeze in there too. To avoid having the tiny puppies trampled, we got out one of the pop up crates.

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Mr. C sitting tall with his pack. Miss B checking out the cool new toys.

The two new puppies think Mr. C is their mother or at least a good brother. They tried to play with him and with Miss B, though they are still a little wobbly on their legs. They have healthy appetites and have been using the restroom quite often. They are still too young to really potty train, but we let them stay on newspaper until they have done their business before letting them explore under close supervision.
Miss B and Mr. C are both very concerned any time they make little noises and checked on them throughout the night.
By Saturday, they were starting to get a little steadier on their feet and were trying to play more. Miss S and Mr. M seem to like us quite a bit and stay really close when we take them outside, not trying to go more than a foot or two away.
In the house, Miss S gets cold really easily, so Mom made here a little jacket out of some fleece she had left over from one of her other projects. It keeps her nice and cozy. She made one for Mr. M too, but he doesn't seem to get cold as quickly and only wears it sometimes.

Miss S (left) and Mr. M (right)

Once she is on her back, Miss S has to roll several times to get back right side up again- like a turtle. Check out the size of Mr. M's head and the size of both of their paws.

Miss S modeling her cool fleece jacket, chewing on Mr. M's ear.

Napping after playtime. Mr. M says, "I don't need a jacket. I have a teddy bear to keep me warm."

On Saturday, Mr. C reprised his mother role, and volunteered to babysit under Dad's watchful eye while Mom cooked lunch. Well meaning puppies still get a little rowdy when they get excited, and even though Miss B and Mr. C look big, they are only 5 months old. So rowdiness is definitely in their skill set.

"What do you mean I can't be their mom?"

"Huh... Maybe I didn't think this whole motherhood thing through."

So far Miss B and Mr. C really like the puppies, and we have been making sure that they get plenty of attention too so that they don't feel like we are replacing them. Miss B even got to sit with Dad on the bed for a little while when Mr. C was busy checking on the puppies- something that she doesn't normally get to do.