First Birthday Party

This past Saturday, we had family over for Max's first birthday party. Uncle John, Aunt Laurie, J.T., Jacob, Aunt Nicole, Nakia, Fred, (Great)Nana, (Great) Uncle Eddy, Memere, Jerry and Jan all made the trip here to celebrate with us. Max is still in his shy stage, so he stuck with Mommy and Daddy most of the day...until it was time to open presents, then he was happy playing on the floor with his new things! Luckily, we had Kira here to entertain the guests...she sang, she danced, she talked, she played. She's quite the party animal.
Uncle Ghee, enjoying the party!

He's ONE!!!!

From this...to this in one short year...

(please excuse the dirty face...he'd been eating a spoonful of frosting)

Well, it happened...Max turned ONE today. How it happened so quickly, I'm not sure...especially since there was an extra day thrown in there due to the leap year. We had a pretty great day today! Max(with more than a little help from Kira) opened one present in the morning...then he and Kira played with it before having breakfast and heading out to the Aquarium.

When we got home from our outing, we had a rare, but wonderful family nap. We all woke up well rested and ready to play...and open a few more presents. I also baked Max a birthday cake, which Kira was kind enough to help me decorate...

...and Max wasn't too sure what to do with the cake...so he mostly just squished it...

They're so cute...

The past year has been so wonderful, watching Max grow and learn. It's amazes me how much he's changed in such a short amount of time. He's crawling...cruising...standing on his own...knows a few words...bye, meow, ball...and bop! He loves his big sister(when she's not pushing him down)...loves to play peek a boo...is addicted to the boob...has a strange fondness for markers(with the caps on)...loves eating fruit(especially bananas)...pizza...and meatballs...and chocolate coins. He's a wonderful little boy...and I'm so lucky I get to be his Mommy and spend everyday with him. Happy 1st Birthday, Bugaboo...I love you!!!!

Birthday at the Aquarium

Keeping with our plan to take the kids somewhere fun on their birthdays...we headed out to the Aquarium this morning. They had such a great time checking out all of the sea life...Max especially loved the penguins this time! We took a look around, Kira touched some starfish...then headed up to lunch. After lunch, Kira had a complete meltdown...and Max was getting a bit crabby himself, so it was time for a quick trip to the gift shop...where Kira picked out a stuffed baby penguin and a puzzle...Max chose a stuffed turtle and a book...then it was time to head home. We were very glad we decided to leave when we did...the line waiting to get in was insane!!

And then there was one...

It all started 17 years ago...when I was given my first kitten...Domino. Shortly after, came Little Kitty...then Benjamin...then Simon...then Cuddles and Troubles. Yes, that's six in all...then one by one, five of them got sick and died. Now, it's just Little Kitty. She's 16 years old...and has outlived them all!! I'm hoping for at least 10 more good years with her and then she'll just quietly pass away in her sleep...no pain, no sickness, no drama.

Si The Cat

Yesterday was a sad day for our family. Our kitty Simon died. He had gotten very sick last week, so Dave took him to the vet(I just couldn't handle it....too many sick cats in my past) Tests were done...they showed some kidney failure and a high amount of phosphorus in his system from an unknown cause. Despite the large amount of water he was drinking, he was also dehydrated. So, he was given fluids and sent home with prescription food and a prescription for medicine that had to be compounded(and of course the pharmacy was closed for the weekend). When Si(Kira's name for him) got home, it seemed like he'd improved...he was walking better, and eating pretty well) but by Monday night he started to get a little worse, so I was brave and gave him some subcutaneous fluids to see if that would help. By Tuesday morning, he seemed a little better, but things went downhill fast. I called the vet...who told me to get the medicine into him, and do more fluids. Not wanting to attempt to do this alone with the kids running around(Dave's in Utah)...the vet said I could bring him in to them...and they'd force feed him and give him more fluids and the medicine. So, the kids and I, with Simon riding in his carrier on the passenger seat next to me, headed off to Beverly to pick up the medication...then to the vet. When we got to the animal hospital, we were told we could wait for him...and a few minutes later, we were sent into a little room to wait to talk to the vet...I knew that wasn't a good sign. When the vet came in, she said he'd declined significantly and that it was time for "aggressive treatment, or to make a very difficult decision" I did something I never thought I'd be able to, and told her I thought it was time to let him go. She brought him in to say goodbye to us, and I looked him in the eyes, and knew it was the right decision. Because I had the kids with me, I couldn't be there when they actually put him to sleep, though I wish I could have been there with him. I did my best to explain to Kira that we had to say goodbye to Simon, that his body wasn't working anymore and that he couldn't come home with us, that we wouldn't see him again. I was, of course crying though all this, and she gives me a hug...and says..."It's okay mama, it's okay to be sad" There I am...grown adult, being comforted by my two year old daughter. She's just amazing. She said her goodbyes to Simon, pet him one last time, and told him she loved him. I am so thankful she's too young to understand what was happening. She's asked about him a couple of times...and now all her stuffed animals are "sick" Hopefully, in time...she'll forget everything that happened yesterday. Anyway, that's the story of his death....here's the story of his life....or at least things we'll always remember about him. When Simon came to live with me, about 12 years ago...he was a stray who came up on my porch and bit my leg, so I let him in(I was the crazy cat lady...he was #4 in the 6 I somehow acquired). :) He used to be terrified of kids...and vacuums...but then he went deaf, and was afraid of nothing. He loved to sleep in the bathtub and also on a pile of pillows behind the couch, something he did quite a bit his last couple of days. He loved to sit under the table and wait for one of the kids to drop(throw) some food...and had the loudest meow when he was waiting for his meals...in fact, I think it was because of him that one of both of the kids first words was "meow"! The day we moved into this apartment, he took off out the open door...forcing my big pregnant self to search everywhere for him on a hot summer day to no avail...then just came casually strolling back in the door when Dave got home. One of my favorite things to do was give him an extra meal now and then...and I'd stick the can under his nose while he was sleeping and wait for him to smell it and wake up...it always cracked me up how he'd jump up and go running into the kitchen, speeding up as he turned the corner and saw the food in his bowl. Simon was very good to both the kids, despite the abuse they gave him...he never bit them, and only scratched Kira once...when she got ahold of his tail. I'm really going to miss seeing him sleeping under the Christmas tree. Finally, we think he knew he was dying...when he came home from the vet's on Saturday, he was acting odd. He was climbing on laps, hanging out on the couch, going into the bathroom while the kids had their bath, following me from room to room...like he was saying his goodbyes. Goodbye, Si the Cat, we love you.

Here he is during his last few days:

Back in December...getting into stuff with the kids

NO!!!!!

Well, it's official. Kira is definitely two. Her answer to EVERYTHING lately is "NO!" If you tell her something is blue..."NO!" Time to eat lunch...."NO!!!" Leave your little brother alone..."NO!!!" Sometimes...she adds to it a little, and it's "A pretty NO!!!" We're not quite sure what this means. As in..."Pretty please??" Or "It's pretty big!" There is one question that always gets a "yeah!!" or "pretty yeah!!"...."Kira, would you like some chocolate??" I wonder if her addiction(and Max's) has anything to do with the amount of chocolate I consumed during my pregnancies...