Two

Our dear big man Sam.  Our construction-lovin'- finicky-eater-always-running boy. 

Your favorite book is a 100 page full color pictures research book about giant dump trucks.  You could read it for hours. 

Your favorite song is the Jars of Clay rendition of "Drummer Boy".  You could dance to it in your Daddy's arms all day. 

Your favorite food is anything in the fruit family.  You could eat fruit until you explode, and sometimes that is exactly what happens. 

Your favorite phrases are, "Hey, Mom!  Watch this!" followed by some display of something I would prefer you didn't do, or "Thank you, Mom!" which is the sweetest thing, or "Love you too too Mom (or Dad)!" which is even sweeter.  

Your favorite thing to do it to copy your big bro and sis.  You follow the good, the bad and the hysterical.   

You love to be outside.  You STRONGLY dislike being told to come in. 

You can't get enough of our little cat "Dell".  Thankfully, he tolerates you carting him around - via arms or stroller. 

You call a slide a "Wee wee".  It's too cute to correct you. 

You sing "Jesus Loves Me" and "Happy Birthday" with gusto until someone notices you are singing, then you abruptly stop.

The other day as we sat down to dinner you said, "Me start" and you lead our family in our nightly prayer.  Your Daddy and I almost cried from cuteness.

We love you, Samuel. 

We love your snuggles and kisses as you greet Ella and Owen each morning with a loud, "Good morning!"

We love your kissable cheeks and wild curly hair. 

We love when you dance in your car seat with both fingers pointing up- rocking to the beat.

We just really love you. 

We know your strong opinions and determined personality will come in handy in the future.  So for now, we hope to not crush that spirit and to learn from you each day.

Happy Birthday to a big two-year-old.  

Cats Are Smart

We love our cats to the point that it is hard to imagine life without Sam walking around with his favorite cat in his arms.  Now we have a few more to carry around.
 

Although our goal in life is to not overpopulate the world with felines, we were hoping to have a litter of kittens prior to sending them off to the vet for a surgical procedure.  Our hope became a reality when Charlotte (our all black cat) had a litter of 4 all black kittens just over a week ago.  She had them at night and was walking around the farm the next morning - just looking a bit skinnier than usual.  What a quick rebound.  I sort of wish that we could have a 9 week gestation and be back to our pre-pregnant weight 2 minutes after birthing.  Oh well. 

Her sister, Peanut, (our sort of tabbyish cat...now I'm making up words) was looking round as well.  I had no idea when the kittens would arrive until I watched her get cozy in the same box that her sister (and 4 kittens) were residing.  At first I thought that her sister just needed a kitten sitter and wanted to get out of the garage.  But actually, Peanut was a genius.  She let those kittens nurse and stimulated the old oxytocin hormone.  Sure enough, her 3 kittens were born a few hours later, just 5 days after their cousins.  Charlotte stayed with her sister, cleaning off all the kittens and essentially acting as her doula.  Cats are so smart!  

Unfortunately, one of Peanuts kittens was born with multiple anomalies.  I knew it would not survive, but I am like Fern in Charlotte's Web - I could never sit by and watch a runt be killed and I am a horrible softy compared to my friends who are true farmers.  So, I kept an eye on this little one as it nursed like a champ.  Peanut would frequently be seen with her paw snuggling it, as I'm sure she knew that something wasn't right.  It lived for 2 days.  Poor little kitty. 

The biggest challenge?  Keeping the 6 kittens hidden from Samuel.   It will be the best day of his life when he realizes we have 6 more cats to play with.  They just need to be a bit sturdier than they are now....

These kittens are not picky. 

They'll nurse from either cat and be perfectly happy.  

One of Peanuts kittens - the only one that resembles her coloring. 

It is very hard to take pictures of kittens. 

They never stop moving and they never smile for the camera.