Once upon a time, there was a Princess named Sophie and her Prince Lord Hiawatha. On October 14, 2009, they found out that they were expecting 7 puppies.

Here is the beautiful whelping box that Paul built.

Hiawatha is very protective of his Sophie.

They are very fond of each other.

Two days before whelping, an X-ray shows that 7 puppies are about to be born. It's very crowded in there.

The fist puppy was born at 11:35 on November 20, 2009. That puppy turned out to be our dog "Joey."

It took many hours for all the puppies to be born. The 7th puppy was born at 4:00AM on November 21, 2010.

When puppies are born they have very little coloring. Their noses, eyes, ears and pads are all pink. Their ears are sealed and their eyes are closed.

Using their sense of smell, they wiggle their way to their mother to nurse.

They like to stay very close for warmth.

You will often find the puppies in piles.

Hiawatha looks over his new brood. He is an experienced father and has sired many litters of puppies.

Sophie is always close to her puppies. She occasionally gets up for a short break and then comes right back to check on them.

You can see that some of the puppies are whiter and some are darker. Their faces are still pink.

The whelping box has a special shelf that protects the puppies from being accidently rolled on.

Kathryn Lee's book, "Goldendoodles" is proudly displayed while Sophie feeds her babies.

Here is Hiawatha with his amazing black feather ear.

The puppies nurse and....

then fall asleep.

We had a live Puppy Cam on 24 hours a day so that we could share our experience with everyone.

Sophie looks very proud of herself.

This is the first set of ribbons that we put on the dogs to tell them apart.

It was fun to watch the different patterns the puppies made as they wiggled into various positions.

The Kelly Green puppy who is now named Brady gives a big yawn. It's really neat to look into his mouth.

See how his nose and pads are starting to darken.

We would put the puppies into a laundry basket to keep them safe and warm while we were cleaning the whelping box.

Melinda was a wonderful helper with the puppies.

Here, Paul is carefully placing a puppy so that everyone had a spot to nurse.

You can guess that this picture was taken around Thanksgiving. The puppies are wearing "Rick Rack" ribbons.

We named them by the color of their ribbons.

This is "Pink." Her forever family named her Roxie.

This is "Orange." Her forever family named her Martha.

It was fun to take detailed close ups of the puppies paws.

Look how beautiful their faces are.

At about a week old, their ears are still sealed.

These are the three female puppies.

See how their features are developing color.

I can't believe they once fit in my palm.

Little "Orange" is getting her tummy rubbed.

They are always forming different patterns.

Here is the "Black" ribbon puppy who we kept and named Joey.

I think this is my favorite picture.

Look how "Orange's" tiny paw fits between my fingers at 7 days old.

We regularly weighed the puppies to track growth. Little "Orange" gets weighed on a postage scale -- 1 pound 7.4 ounces.

The puppies love to snuggle close together.

Sophie is always close by.

The puppies are getting rounder and their fur is getting longer.

Well... this is just too cute.

The "Blue" puppy's ear is already changing at 8 days old.

The "Blue" puppy was the biggest so we nicknamed him Moose. His forever family named him Frankie.

The puppies got lots of love and attention.

They are growing beautiful silky coats.

Joey is nursing next to his 3 sisters, "Red", "Pink" and "Orange". "Reds" forever family named her Woodstock.

The "Olive Green" ribbon puppy is using Joey as a pillow. His forever family named him Charlie.

The ear canal is starting to open at 2 weeks.

Another classic puppy pile.

More beautiful faces.

At 16 days old, they are getting plump. Sophie has done a great job taking care of them.

At 17 days, they are starting to walk on all fours. They can smell their mommy on the other side of the whelping box. Sometimes mommy just needs a break.

Here is Becca, the forever owner of "Kelly Green." She and Bruce named him Brady.

This is one of my favorite puppy piles. Joey is wearing a white ribbon because we temporarily ran out of black Rick Rack.

Every few days we had to change ribbons as the puppies grew.

Notice how the ear has opened even more at 19 days.

The puppies are getting their 1st taste of solid food made from ground puppy kibble mixed with warm goat's milk.

They are starting to look like real dogs. See how their eyes are opened at 19 days old.

Another puppy pile.

Too big for the Whelping box, by 22 days old, the puppies have moved to a larger space.

Paul and "Olive Green" are bonding.

In their exercise pen (ex-pen), they have lots of room to move around. They nurse and eat 3 solid-food meals a day. They drink water from the pail attached to the ex-pen. They also are beginning to play with toys.

Little "Orange" is looking very alert.

Big yawn from brother "Kelly Green."

By 24 days old, you can look down the ear canal.

The puppies eat from a "flying saucer" pan. They often explore their food by stepping in it.

You can see the puppy cam camera set up by the ex-pen so friends can share this wonderful experience.

At 30 days old, the puppies are getting big. Sophie now nurses standing up.

More eating.

Mom watches her puppies eating from outside the ex-pen. She would like to eat up the food mixed with warm goat's milk.

Growing up is hard work.

Our good friend Ellen brought the puppies new toys.

"Pink" is looking lovely.

"Orange" and "Red" rest in the comfy crate.

Now they are posing for the camera.

Joey is wrestling with his sister.

More eating.

They are getting bigger.

Mom is cleaning them after a meal.

"Blue" is enjoying his 1st Bully Stick.

More puppy piles.

Paul weighs the puppies. It is a challenge to get them to sit still in the bowl. The puppies are starting to become paper trained.

By 35 days old, it's a tight squeeze for mom and her 7 puppies to fit in the crate.

"Olive Green" gets some one-on-one attention.

Emily and Olive snuggle.

The puppies feel nice and secure in their crate.

The puppies enjoy playing with toys.

"Pink" gets some special time with her mom on the couch.

Our "Pink" puppy now lives in Philadelphia, PA.

Puppies take a catnap.

Melinda gets a snuggle.

On Thanksgiving weekend (2009), we took on the daunting task of posing for a family photograph with all of the puppies. It was challenging.

Melinda, Emily and Sophie pose with the puppies.

Zach poses before heading back to NYC.

As the puppies are getting bigger, it's harder and harder to keep the pens clean.

It won't be long till they need more space.

"Orange" gets to explore around the room.

Emily is starting to feel sad knowing the puppies will be leaving in a little over 2 weeks.

Emily shares some time with Sophie. We've grown very attached to the puppies.

More eating and more growing.

Sophie and all of her "mini-me's."

Our friend Ellen comes over to help trim the puppies nail's.

"Moose takes a nap with some of his friends.

The orange canister in the background is a crate-drier, a wonderful tool to have if you are a doodle owner.

Time out to nap.

Doodles are cuddly and floppy.

Their coat is just like their mom's.

Lee and Melinda take the puppies to the upstairs exercise pen.

What a pretty face.

Emily gives a puppy a tour of our house.

Happy New Year -- we barely fit in the crate while Emily is scrubbing down the pen.

Ah, nice and clean again, at least for a few minutes.

More kibble and goat's milk.

This is how the room looks with the puppy Cam set.

Some special time with Paul.

Sophie and two of her girls.

Looks like Sophie had a day at the spa. Her family is now living in a bigger space in the utility room.

They are either in constant motion or sleeping.

Looking for trouble.

Alex and Sophie sit on the top of the stairs. The puppies haven't figured out how to get up them yet.

Puppy pile in the new room.

Solid food followed by a snack.

They are looking huge. Sophie is very patient.

Waiting in the crate while the floor gets cleaned, again.

Here you can see how their coats vary.

Tired after play.

More sleeping puppies.

"Moose" thinks it's time to wakeup and play.

"Moose", now called Frankie, gets his very first touchdown on terra firma.

It's too cold for the puppies to stay out for more than a few minutes. "Black", aka Joey, snuggles in Emily's arms to stay warm.

Joey and Sophie sniff the ground together for the 1st time.

Paul and Joey staying warm together in the winter sun.

Melinda and Dana holding Joey and Frankie.

Tired after a workout.

Their 1st bath, in the kitchen sink.

Clean and fluffy.

Time for our portraits. "Olive Green", now called Charlie.

"Charlie."

"Blue", sometimes called "Moose", now called Frankie.

Frankie.

"Black", now called Joey

Joey.

"Red", now called Woodstock.

"Pink", now called Roxie.

Roxie.

"Kelly Green", now called Brady.

Brady.

"Orange", now called Martha.

Martha.

That was a long portrait session.

Puppies like to climb into the crate and sleep together.

Sophie keeping her distance. She needs to wean her puppies.

The three girls (Roxie, Martha and Woodstock), have a spa treatment.

All clean and fluffy.

Drying off on the bathroom floor.

Emily with the girls.

Sophie checks in on her family.

The puppies are looking bigger.

Off to the Vet's office for a wellness check.

Woodstock likes the tech's hair because it matches her ribbon.

This is our wonderful veterinarian, Dr. Lynn, weighing Joey.

She checks each puppy and listens to their heart.

Brady being examined.

Paul shows Frankie how to say "ah."

Everyone has had their 1st set of shots. Dr. Lynn says they are all in perfect health.

Melinda and Alex play with some puppies out of the utility room.

Just one more day before they go to their forever homes.

Rest up -- tomorrow is going to be a big day.

Hiawatha and Sophie say goodbye to Charlie. He's going home to live in Connecticut.

Hiawatha and Sophie check-in on the remaining puppies.

Roxie meets her forever family. She is going to a home in Rhodes Island.

A happy surprise -- Brady is going to our friends, Becca and Bruce. They live on the Cape.

Joey is lucky since he gets to live with his mom. She teaches him good manners and how to behave like a proper doodle.

She also watches over him while he explores the world. There is so much to learn.

Everything is a game, even chasing a leaf.

It's a little lonely without all of his brothers and sisters...

... but there is always companionship nearby.

Joey gets a chance to explore the whole house.

Snuggling under the living room chair, Joey looks like a Gund Teddy Bear.

We are excited to have a new family member.

We love him so much already.