Two more days

Make some noise!  Christmas is almost here!!!

Handy (Farm) Household Tip #1

If you are, *ahem,* "blessed" to have a cat who is a great mouser ...

... Be sure to take a good look at what's in said cat's mouth before picking her up to snuggle her. 

Don't ask me how I know.

P.S.  I totally cropped this picture.  No way did I get that close to that mouse.  Again. 

P.P.S  I just noticed the cat saliva on the little guy's fur.  Ha!  I almost feel sorry for him.  Almost ...

Birthday Cake

After a week of recuperating, our little man was finally back 100% this weekend, Praise God!   Which meant, he finally got to try BIRTHDAY CAKE!!!

 Here's the cake-eating progression:

 "I'm not quite sure what to do with this ..."

"I guess it won't hurt to try just a little ..."

"Hey!  This stuff is great!"

"Want some?"

One Year Old Baby Boy

Our Bruce turned one year old yesterday!  Thoughts on my first year of motherhood to come later. 

For now, I'm sitting with my little man in the hospital.  He came down with the stomach flu on Thursday night and we have been fighting to keep him hydrated ever since then.  Things had been going okay until this morning when little man stopped drinking fluids.  We went to the doctor who sent us to the hospital for and IV to get him rehydrated.  We should be able to go home later this evening.  Right now he's cuddled up with daddy in the hospital bed watching Sponge Bob Squarepants. 

Just a minor set back.  Bruce will be motoring around again soon, I am sure. 

Best cat EVER

You be the judge, but I'm pretty sure this is the best cat EVER.  After repeated maulings over the course of the weekend, Lucy was still just as happy as a clam!  You probably won't believe me, but she was purring through this whole ordeal.

Yes, Bruce is in fact, lifting the kitty up by the neck in this one. 

I swear this is an optical illusion.  I really did not let my son lick a cat's ear.  (He definitely tried, though!)

Gotta get some Koda lovin' in, too!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this boy!!

Fall Festival

Manyof you know that things have been awfully crazy for our family lately.  We recently switched daycares, resulting in a comute to Arkansas City for Bruce and I each day (luckily our new daycare has just moved to Winfield - yay!).  We have gone from a staff of three at the chamber down to just ONE (me!) in a matter of weeks.  Oh, and we've had an extra house guest for the past few months, as Leevi worked as the interim postmaster in Winfield.  Needless to say, all of these variables have made for little down time for our family.

So when a weekend like this past one comes along, it makes it all the more precious ... having long hours to just spend together.  Days like this weekend make me realize just how amazingly BLESSED we are, no matter how crazy our lives may be, at times.

On Saturday, we went to Udall for the Fall Festival.  Our Little Outdoor Boy LOVED the parade and getting to hang out outside! 

 Could that hair get any crazier???  :)

This week is the first since mid-July that Leevi will be back in Eureka.  We had SO hoped he would like the Winfield job enough to apply for the full-time position.  But apparently it wasn't all it cracked up to be.  I'm still holding out hope, though!  It would be SO nice to have Leevi, Joy and the boys close by!  We will miss having Leevi stay with us!

Grandma Didi, Aunt Joy, Brayton and Jonah ... all ready for the parade to begin! 

Clap! Clap!  Bring on the motorcycles!  Bruce LOVES to clap and wave! 

"Love my red football that I got at the parade!"

Close up of the crazy baby mohawk

"What's wrong with my hair?"

These pictures are from two weekends ago ... Bruce hung out outside while mommy and daddy got some yard work done.  What a good boy!

Could he BE any cuter? 

Not crawling yet, but starting to think about it!

Playing outdoors is FUN!



Sooooo tired after the trip home from Ark City at the end of the day!

New Addition

Okay, so I cracked.  When we had the opportunity to get a new little kitten, I couldn't resist.  We went and picked up this little girl last night from Leevi's in-laws.  Looks like she spent a cozy night sleeping on Roger's lawn mower on our porch.

We were a little concerned about how Dusty would react to his new little "friend".  Amazingly, it seems like he kind of likes her.  He wasn't agressive towards her at all, and even played with her a little bit. 

She is very small and snuggly!

She hasn't quite gotten used to Koda.  She thinks he is pretty scary.

Hopefully she will fare better than the last two pets we have added (the last one, a dog, didn't even make the blog, she was with us so short a time!)

Bruce, who LOVES his kitty Ralph, will love this new kitten, I'm sure! 

P.S.  I have a new blog for work - http://www.getwinfield.blogspot.com/.  Right now is the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield.  Check out this blog for pics!

Little Outdoor Boy