As usual, the hedgehogs will feature prominently in the photos for this month.  I started off last night with Paisley, who was happy to model in exchange for some tasty roasted waxworms.

Chopper had Paisley with him during the movie and at the end, I decided that it was time again for a feeding frenzy of mealworms.  Mmm.  Paisley sort of fell off Chopper onto the down throw I’d been using and stayed curled in a ball.  I fed her some mealworms off a spoon (what, spoiled?) and then busted out the camera.

Tell me this isn’t stupendously cute.

More in her photo album on Flickr.

$8.50 was a bargain for the amount of entertainment Chopper and I have gotten out of the worms thus far, and we’ve only used maybe two dozen of them.  Mwahahahahahahaha.

We got video of the carnage for your amusement (more on Flickr).

For the weekend, we returned to Lynchburg, Tennessee for the Jack Daniel’s 2008 World Championship International Barbecue with Mom and Dad.  A good time was had by all.  Again, more photos on Flickr.

She follows in the pawprints of Tenzing, who was also featured on the site.

Dexter loves his ball, and once she gets the hang of things, we’ll probably have some simultaneous balling going on in the apartment.  Hee.

Her mom is Winnie, who is a sweet girl, too.

We didn’t get to meet her brother, but her sister Penelope was being picked up yesterday, too, so we spent a little time with her.

Paisley even went to sleep on my hand when we were getting ready to leave.

She slept the whole way back to Charleston, as best we could tell, and thankfully, she doesn’t seem to have any problems with car travel.  (We have known hedgehogs who got carsick from time to time.)

Once we got home, we spent a little time letting her sniff and explore us on the sofa.

She was quite curious about her cage, which we’ve set up with a wheel, some toys, and a pile of blankets in the corner for her to sleep in.  She immediately took to the wheel, although she seemed to be as interested in gnawing thoughtfully on the crossbars as running on it as first.

Unquestionably, the funniest part of the evening was when she encountered the little rubber duck that my mom gave Knarla some years back — I tossed it into the cage with a couple of other toys when I put everything together.  Paisley sniffed it within an inch of its ducky life and then, for some reason known only to her, decided that it might be tasty.

Dexter hasn’t met his new little sister yet, although I’m sure they’re aware of one another as their cages are in the same room.  (They will always live separately.)  They’ve got a joint vet appointment on Monday for a well-pet checkup.

I’ve uploaded the best of the Paisley photos to Flickr for your enjoyment.  More to come, of course.

I am in love with her already.  LOOK AT THAT FACE.  She looks very curious and calm, which is an excellent sign.

The red stuff on her back is nail polish, used to tell her apart from her littermates (another girl and a boy).  She can come live with us once she’s weaned and on her own, about six weeks old.

Dexter thus far has no opinion on the matter.  The two of them will live in separate cages and have minimal contact (other than being in the same room).