Halloween: Life Imitating Life

Inspired by Billy, my niece Keeley (age 7) was a hedgehog for Halloween. When Billy needed a costume it seemed appropriate for Billy to be Keeley for Halloween if she was going to be Billy. One of these costumes worked better than the other. In short, hedgies don't like clothes. We tried to give her red curls like Kee and a plaid school dress. Nope. Wanted none of it.

The video of Keeley imitating Billy is worth a look.

Hedgie Gone Wild

Billy had her first field trip to the garden this weekend. She loved it! She ran around, found some worms we planted for her and ultimately lodged herself in a bush and couldn't get out.

Get scared. Quills go up. Can't move. Stuck in bush. I had to cut some bush away to get her out. A little too exciting, I guess.

Beginning of the run-in with the bush:



Chillin' in the yard:



Billy also received a new toy from her cousins K and A--a hedgehog family! Good times. They also gave her hedgehog folders and notebooks. If you didn't know, hedgies are "in" this season. We hope it doesn't go to Billy's head.

Hedgies in Pop Culture

My man is like a trillion times more technologically connected than I am. He told me about Numa Numa. This kid sang a song, filmed it and put it on the intertubes. He is now a hero of YouTube. Take 1 minute and check this out. Really, watch for a full minute. He rocks.



Then one hedgie parent with a little too much time on his hands shared the love.


And you thought WE were losing it! You can thank me later (like at midnight) when you can't get that song out of your head.

Little Billy is Getting Bigger

I had a cute overload moment last night after we gave Billy a bath/swimming lesson. When she got out she was chilly and very cuddly. In general, she is enjoying her summer and is getting bigger (lots of worms and running will do that) and a lot more outgoing. It seems she is getting the hang of the potty training experiment as well.

Here's 29 seconds of her just playing around. You can see how long she's getting.

Tubing is Fun ( No, really! )

So you saw that Billy loves the tubes, but you might have thought it was a passing fancy. Even in the slipperiest of places, tubing is still a whole bunch o' fun. (1 min 25 sec video post)

Billy Supports Biking Against the Odds

On August 23rd, Breast Cancer Fund will host its annual Bike Against the Odds (BAO) in Oakland, CA. If you own a bike and know how to ride it, you should really head to the East Bay for some awesome--and lovingly supported--rides. This past weekend we went on a little bike ride from Seattle, WA to Portland, OR and Billy helped me pack my BAO jersey. She didn't get to go on the big ride but she did get to visit with her first-ever hedgie-sitter, Connie. Big weekend for the little lady. (28 sec. video clip)

Firsts: First New Friend and Learning to Swim

Billy has a new friend. You will find this hard to believe but Billy's friend Beth found a pygmy albino hedgehog wind-up toy in a second-hand store one day (Now stop and re-read that sentence. Yes, it's true.). It happened to be within a few days of Billy's arrival in SF-crazy! On the right is Billy checkin' out her new friend. Below is a video of the little plastic wonder in action (20 sec. video clip). Brava Beth!



Billy is also learning to swim. Not so sure at first but getting used to it. Next week: backstroke. (6 sec. video clip)

Billy likes running and running shoes!

Last night Billy found a cozy little spot in Galen's running shoe. Not sure that would be my choice if I had a strong sense of smell like she does but she sure liked it. She actually liked it so much we had some trouble getting her out. As soon as she got excited, her spines went up and that didn't help things at all. Check it out (1 min. 23 sec. clip):

Latest Trick: Tubing

Billy spent her first weekend at home alone and didn't throw any parties as far as we can tell. She is enjoying her Hedgie Cozy/Hedgie Bjorn and is getting used to loud humans who move. I did yard chores with her on my chest this weekend. She thinks hoses are too noisy but other than that she was chillin'.

We took her to Dolores Park on Sunday and she rested in the grass (first grass ever, we think). We haven't figured out how fast she can run but we decided the Park, with the wild assortment of dogs and humans was not the place to find out.

Billy's latest crowd-pleasing trick is tubing. Check her out (45 sec. clip):

Don't Touch My Soft Underbelly

If you pick Billy up right now, she makes a sound like a locomotive to scare off "the predator." If you get your fingers to her soft underbelly first, she never curls up and all is right with the world. If you just pick her up with her washcloth ('cause she is prickly!!) she balls up and slowly sticks her head out to see what/who you are. Tonight, she was happy to share this cute little trick. (44 sec. video clip)



(Later, in private, she whispered that she's glad Tiger took the Open today but feels sad for Mediate.)

Worm Snatchin'

As I said, Billy has many cool tricks. Her worm-snatching is especially impressive. Then, when she gets a little scared, she jumps and furls her brow (kind of looks like she is trying to hide under her forehead). First watch the demise of yet another worm (yummmm!) and then her mini-freak out when she furls her brow. (38 second clip)

A New Home in San Francisco

Billy Idol the albino, pygmy hedgehog was delivered to us last week (by our friend, not a stork). We think she rocks and if only you could see her and hear about her tricks, you would too. So, here ya have it: Billy's Blog.

Why Billy Idol?
It was Uncle Derek's idea. And it's true!
Can't you see the resemblance?

How does she like SF? She's adjusting really well and quickly. She was totally freaked out at first but already she hangs out in the cozy we made her that we wear on our chests. She's also allowing us to watch her run on her wheel. We are setting up an odometer shortly, stay tuned. Hedgies can run around 6 miles a night!

What does she eat? Hedgie chow mainly but she LOVES worms. If you
drop one near her she slurps it up lightening fast.