Our New Friend ... Zippy the Guinea Pig!

Welcome to our family, little Zippy!

A few days ago, I got a new guinea pig. I wasn't planning on getting a new guinea pig this quickly, but I had talked to a former student's mother who owns a pet store about it when we got Katie Anne's little frog. I told her that I was interested in getting a sweet little swirly-haired guinea pig whenever her breeder had one available. She called me two days later and said - poof! - there's my new guinea pig, ready for pick up! So, the little guy came home with us.

I kept him at home over the weekend, but I told the kids about him the Friday before. They were so excited, and we voted on a new name ... tied were Zippy, Little, Buddy, and something else that I can't remember right now. When I got home, Saunders, Katie Anne, and I chose Zippy because this little guy is lightning fast!

He is very cute, very fluffy, very tiny (the tiniest baby guinea pig I've ever seen!), and very skittish. He's just a teeny little person! Literally, none of these pictures who how small this little tater is. I'll have to take a picture of me holding him so you can see how little he is in real life! He's still getting used to being held and all of that, so he's a little wild when you hold him and not too cuddly yet, but I think he's getting more and more used to being held and petted each day.

Katie Anne thinks Zippy is really cute, but she can't hold him because he can just zip-zip-zip away from her! Since he's so little, I'm afraid he'll get into a small corner and I won't be able to get him out. So, she'll have to wait and hold him when he's a little more calm.

He fits right into the wild world of kindergarten, though! He's moving right along at the super-fast speed of the five-year-olds, and they just think he's fabulous. He's a little video of Zippy in his playpen, showing off how he got his name!