The {Long-awaited} Guinea Pigs

Months ago, we promised Charlotte a guinea pig. But we said first she had to read 8 chapter books to earn the privilege... Then we said she had to wait until the flooring was done... Then until after the Thanksgiving holiday... Finally on Friday, it was time to follow through. We went to every PetSmart in the area, but none had the guinea pig.

Part of it was my fault -- I wanted a classic Beatrix Potter guinea pig: fluffy, with cowlicks. Finally, we found a PetSmart where they had 2 adoptable guinea pigs. They said they had one in the back with cowlicks, but that she was a little "tippy". (Apparently these two guniea pigs had had scurvy.) They brought out this little gal ("S'mores") and set her on the floor:


She was definitely a bit tippy, listing to one side. But that only made her more adorable, so we said we'd take her. Meanwhile, Sophie had fallen in love with this little one ("Oreo"):

Sophie wasn't supposed to be getting one, but since they were adoptable (i.e., free) and had been waiting for a home for quite some time, we decided to get them both.

It's taking awhile for them to settle in. They're gentle animals, but skittish in new surroundings.

S'mores is quite vocal, which is fun. We're still trying to figure out which are her happy sounds and which are the opposite.