"Star's" New Home

We finally got an update on "Star," the little kitten we found near our home. The vet tech who took her sent some pictures and a note saying that she's doing great in her new home. As you can see from the pictures, she has even made a new friend! We were all very happy to see that she's doing so good and, as it would appear, is very happy being an indoor kitty.

A Good Day On The Trails

Not a very eventful weekend. Yesterday Macey and I woke up early to go to the Baby Bonanza at the hospital. Once again, I found TONS of fall/winter clothes for Lilly for under $20! I was lucky enough to again find a lady with all her size with just the cutest clothes ever. We usually don't find stuff big enough for Macey so I let her get a huge Carebear that we don't really need around here! Then when we got back from there, Mike headed for an all day cycle ride since he got rained out the previous Saturday. Unfortunately, he ended up having to go alone yesterday, but I guess he still managed to have fun since he didn't make it home until after 10 p.m.! He went up to the Ashland area and then checked out a brew pub for dinner and....of course, what else! Anyway, today I wanted to get the kids out of the house to enjoy this beautiful weather so we decided to go on one of the hiking trails near where we live. The one trail was 3 miles so we took that one, not knowing how far we'd actually get with Lilly. She did actually very well until Macey asked if the noise we heard could be a wolf! Then Lilly held up her arms to me and said "I scared!" So then Mike carried her on his shoulders for a while. The trail went super high up and was actually kind of scary for me, being afraid of heights and all, and I knew it was time to turn around when the trail narrowed and headed back down! No way was I about to have my kids go down that (well, I guess I must admit that I wouldn't go down it either!). Anyway, good day of hiking!

ABC's

Here is Lilly singing her ABC's...except she forgot a few in the middle!!!

Deer

We have had these visitors quite often lately. They come right up to our house so it's kind of fun to watch them out the window.

Kitty Update

As of today, no one has claimed the adorable little kitty that came wandering up near our house exactly two weeks ago. We decided that since the kids have been playing with her, we definitely needed to get her checked over at the vet, which we did this past Wednesday. She weighed in at only 1.2 pounds and was guessed to be only 5 weeks old! The vet tech fell in love with her and kept commenting how cute she was! Everything on exam looked great with her, but it was discovered that she has a few extra toes, which explains the wider than usual paws! Anyway, since everything checked out fine, we decided we'd keep her as an outside kitty, even though we were really worried about winter and what we'd do with her then since we have no place to keep her warm or safe. Around 6:30 Wed. night the phone rings and it's the vet tech calling me...telling me that she'd gladly take the kitty if we'd want her to have a home instead of having to be outside. Immediately I thought of Macey - how sad she'd be - but then I was also thinking of how much better it would be for the kitty to actually have a warm home in the winter and no worries of getting run over or eaten by another animal back here in the woods! Anyway, talked to Mike and we both decided it would be best to give the kitty away. So what a night it has been! I feel like the worst mother for doing this, seeing Macey's sad face and then her tears...and Lilly asking why "Star" was staying at the doctor :( We promised Macey that once our mean cat passes on, we will get a nice one, and also told her that possibly an older outside cat we could get - one that could take care of herself, unlike the kitten. Sure hope we made the right decision.

Lilly's 2-Year Checkup

Again, can't believe that two years have flown by, and our "baby" is 2 already! She had her doctor's appointment yesterday and her stats are: 24.6 lbs (22nd percentile) and 33 inches (27th percentile). She only had to get one shot, so that was good, only a few tears and she was fine. Doctor says she's doing great, but we need to try to get a little weight on her and give her some fatty foods along with her healthy foods. We're hoping she does better this winter so she can get off her steroid inhaler for good!

Lilly's Birthday Party

Here is Marlee, Lilly, baby Loftyn and Grandma.
The girls enjoying some yummy cake and ice cream!
Of course Lilly enjoyed some as well!
The birthday girl by her cake.
Our pretty little 2-year-old!

What a nice day it turned out to be for Lilly's birthday party! We had heard it might possibly rain, but turns out it was perfect weather. Present at Lilly's birthday were Uncle Doug, Aunt Jill and Cousin Loftyn; Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sara and Cousin Delaney; Grandma, Cousin Marlee and Cousin Mabel. Lilly got lots of fun presents, including a Dora bath doll, a dress-up outfit, a Dora blow-up tent with balls that go in it, a Little Mermaid movie that included an Ariel comb, brush and tiara, and a SpongeBob pillow and Barney blanket/pillow set. Lilly had lots of fun playing with her cousins! Thanks to everyone who was able to make it :)

A Visitor

The other night, the girls and I were outside playing, when all of a sudden Macey noticed something moving in the grass. Well, of course we checked it out and this is what we found....

The poor little thing looked like she was just lost and kept meowing so of course we were there to help it, being the cat lovers we are! Only problem is, we already have one vicious indoor cat and had to get rid of our other two nice cats that we had because of her and because of some respiratory issues Lilly gets every year, thinking we don't need THREE cats, so we knew she couldn't be ours to keep. Anyway, we fed her and gave her shelter for the night, which, by the way, happened to be a bird feeder Macey had made at church!, and figured it would be gone in the morning. WRONG! Poor little thing was still there, looking sadder and even more lost. We decided to talk to neighbors, but no one has claimed her as of yet. I have made up a poster to put at a nearby gas station, but I'm guessing she won't be claimed. In the meantime, we will care for her, and the girls will gladly play with her.

First Day of 3rd Grade

Well, summer has come to an end, and school resumed today. Macey was so excited and even cooperated with going to bed an hour earlier than she's used to in the summer! She absolutely LOVES her teacher this year and had a great day.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Lilly!

Here Lilly is loungin' on her new Dora couch/bed that she got for her b-day!
Another birthday present - a baby that can take a bath with her. She was very excited as she is getting really into babies lately.
Birthday breakfast - and yes, it's supposed to be a smiley face, but the bacon wasn't cooperating with me!
Fawn Doe Rosa...feeding the deer...and riding the pony!

Today is Lilly's 2nd birthday. Where does time go? It seems like just yesterday we were finally holding our little baby who we waited for for almost 3 1/2 years! We think she is a special girl, that's for sure! She's getting so big and learning so much each and every day. She's picking up on a few things we wish she hadn't, like says "Man!" when frustrated, which I think all of us say, and also now says "I didn't mean it!" when she knows she has done something wrong, which I'm pretty sure she got from her big sis, Macey! She's doing great with her ABC's and counting to 10 (of course hasn't mastered either quite yet). She also has been doing great with going potty. These past few days I have gotten her to pee 3 to 4 times, and she even tried #2 for Daddy, but it didn't happen.

To celebrate Miss Lilly's birthday we decided to take the girls to Fawn Doe Rosa this morning. It was very hot but worth it because both girls had a great time! Lilly squealed with excitement when we first got there seeing the ducks and deer. She wasn't afraid at all and even took a pony ride!

More to come next weekend which is when we are having a family birthday party for her!