Katie Cat

On Friday, we got a cat. Katie came to us from a shelter in Muskegon called Heaven Can Wait. She was living with a foster family in Grand Haven Township, so it really wasn't a far drive to pick her up. Katie is 1-2 years old, and is a Russian Blue. If she isn't purebred, she's really close. She's very small...only about 6 1/2 pounds (about half the size of Aria!). And she is the sweetest thing! Her foster family had kids and dogs, so she can tolerate noise and chaos. When she gets tired of the boys, she walks away. I have yet to hear her hiss, see her swat at them, or even show her claws. She's very calm and patient.

She also seems to think she is a dog. She follows Bill and I around and if we call her name, she comes running. She is clearly lacking in cat attitude.

I had said all along that when we got a cat I wanted to name her Friday (because everyone loves Friday!). But her foster family had named her Katie when they got her a month ago, and Sam insisted that was her name. My heart is awfully tender when it comes to Sam, so Nolan and I sided with him. Bill and TJ finally caved in, so Katie it is.

Sam has a bad cold right now, and as usual, it went straight to his chest. He's on steroids and a stronger medication for his nebulizer. I do not think he is allergic to cats (no itchy eyes, no runny nose), but I also think it's smart to keep Katie out of his room, so there isn't any pet hair or dander for him to breathe in. Sam doesn't want Katie in there at night, so this is a good arrangement.

However, Sam isn't necessarily on board with keeping his possessions cat hair free. I came home last night and went in my closet to put my shoes away. Katie was sleeping in her favorite place by my shoes. With her was Sam's nightlight (turned on so that Katie wouldn't be afraid of the dark). She was sleeping on Sam's nice, clean Buddy. Oh brother. He's asleep now...with a different, clean Buddy.

Here's our sweet Katie:

Smart mouth

Mornings are busy times in the Baron household...especially the four mornings I work. Yesterday morning was no different. I was trying to get breakfast on the table, but TJ couldn't decide which type of cereal he wanted. So I left the cupboard door open and hurried down the hall to attend to Nolan. He woke up DRY and needed to go potty. Woo hoo! Then, I hurried back to the kitchen to finish breakfast.

As I went down the hall, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I was playing a game of Scrabble with my sister (I think), and it was my turn. I pulled my phone out and was looking at my options as I walked into the dining room. I completely forgot that I had left the cupboard door open. I'm almost short enough to walk right underneath it. Almost...but not quite. I cracked the top of my head on the door. It HURT! TJ was sitting on a bar stool and gasped quite loudly. Then he said in his wisest, most grown-up tone,

"Mommy, that's why you shouldn't text and walk."

I can laugh about it now, but at that moment, holding my head in agony, all I could do was correct him that I was NOT texting.

Ugh.

My Valentine

The first weekend in February, I went to The Shack (up near White Cloud) for a weekend of scrapbooking with some friends. I got over 40 pages done in my albums! TJ understood why I wanted to go, but he dislikes it when I am gone. He was tough, though, and soldiered through the weekend. When I got home, I found this on my dresser.


Allow me to translate... "Mom, Happy Valentine's". This was followed by a picture of the two of us:

And finally, this very sweet note:

Which says: "I really missed you. I hope that you had a good time. Love TJ"

This is the best Valentine I have ever received. I love my tender guy!

Potty update

Nolan has been potty training for about 2 1/2 weeks now. On Tuesday, I thought we had it conquered. He stayed dry ALL NIGHT! I have never pushed this with my boys, but have been blessed by the fact that they have picked up this skill quickly. Nolan made it all day on Tuesday with no accidents. I figured we were nearing the finish line.

Well, we had some set backs yesterday and today. He had a couple genuine accidents, and more than one episode where he showed defiance by wetting his pants instead of using the toilet. I'm not sure why he's doing this, but I am remaining calm and optimistic. My diaper laundry is down to almost nothing! I am so excited about this!

TJ has been Nolan's #1 cheerleader throughout this process. When Nolan goes potty, TJ cheers and compliments him. If Nolan says he has to go and there isn't an adult nearby, TJ has willingly helped Nolan with his pants and helped him sit down correctly on the potty.

Granted, TJ does have an ulterior motive. We have promised the boys a cat as soon as Nolan is fully potty-trained during the day. TJ is very excited about this, which is why he's being so supportive. But it's very sweet, and Nolan seems to enjoy his big brother's praise.

You distract me!

Bill loves to try and get a rise out of Sam. I'm not sure why. Probably it's because they are two of a kind.

Bill said something to Sam last night that irritated Sam. Sam snapped at him, "Dad, I am so distracted!" We are pretty sure Sam meant to say 'disgusted'.

This morning, Bill caught Sam jumping on the couch. We have ongoing problems with the boys using our furniture as gym equipment. Bill told Sam to climb down and Sam replied, "But Dad, when I'm up here, I'm 16 feet high!" Bill looked out the window, calculated the distance to the ground below and determined that Sam was exactly right.

See why I think they are two of a kind?

Another concept mastered

TJ now understands the concept of dates. We were on our way to a doctor's appointment today and out of the blue TJ said, "Hey, I got my camera in 2009." I had to think back, but he was exactly right. He got his camera in November 2009.

Another skill he has mastered is back-seat driving. He told me I missed my exit (he thought we were going to see the pediatrician, but we were going across town to see his ENT), he told me to pass a truck that was driving too slow, and he told me to drive faster. Lovely.

However, he still hasn't quite grasped "old" and "new". He looked at my Facebook profile picture tonight. It is currently the picture we used on our Christmas cards, so it's about two months old. He told me it was 'really old' and that I needed to put a new picture up. He said, "Gee, wasn't I five when you took that picture? I had more teeth then!" He's right about the teeth, but wrong about the age.

Maybe he can convince his brothers to hold still so I can take a new picture of the three of them. Since the one on Facebook is SO ancient....

Be afraid...be very, very afraid

Sam continues to amuse, amaze, and well, concern us. He is so bright, and so weird!

Yesterday, he went with Grandma to run some errands. As she pulled in the Meijer parking lot, Sam was looking at the sign. He asked her, "Grandma, why don't I hear the 'J' sound in the word Meijer?"

Sam is FOUR! Can you imagine what he's going to be like in a few years?

He had his Valentine's Day party today in preschool and he was proudly showing me his Valentines. He easily read all of his friends' names and could tell me who gave him each Valentine.

I told Bill about Sam's apparent new skill and Bill (despite the fact that Sam is just like him!) was still marveling over it a few hours later. We actually showed Sam the box of potatoes I was making with dinner and asked him to read the box. Frankly, I was relieved when he couldn't do it. No one taught him to read. I don't want him to be able to do everything before he starts kindergarten!

Being Seven...

I was at a scrapbooking retreat this weekend. Before I left, I was packing up and sorting through my pictures. I found this:


This picture was taken on my 7th birthday...back in September 1983. TJ happened to be in my bedroom while I was packing and I showed him the picture. I told him that I was the exact same age he is right now. I also told him the picture was taken 20 years before he was born. TJ latched on to that comment. I kept on talking about being seven, but he was clearly still thinking about me being pregnant. He suddenly commented, "Yep. I used to watch the food go by."

I stopped talking and looked at him for a minute. I then tried to think like a seven-year-old. He was picturing himself hanging out in my tummy, looking at what I was eating. I laughed. I tried to explain a little bit about pregnancies, and how the baby isn't actually in the mother's stomach. It is hard to explain that without going into WAY too much detail. TJ seemed somewhat satisfied (and bored) with my explanation. I was still chuckling over his comment.

Mind your Ps and Qs

Nolan is potty training. Unfortunately, it isn't the overnight process that Sam's was. Nolan will use the potty multiple times a day, but he isn't consistently keeping his underwear or Pull-up dry. Oh, well. We will keep working on it.

Nolan has picked up a bad habit. He uses rather crass words. I prefer that the boys go 'potty' (as opposed to 'pee') and that they use the term 'bottom'. Nolan is often saying 'pee', 'butt', 'fart', and thinks it's funny when I correct him. I find it a little frustrating, because I really don't want him sounding crass or rude.

I got some unexpected support from Sam the other night. Sam was standing in the bathroom doorway while I had Nolan on the toilet and was encouraging him to go potty. Nolan replied that he was going to 'go pee.' Before I could say anything, Sam commented, "P is a letter, not something you do."

I laughed and said he was exactly right. He then sang the alphabet song so that Nolan could see where "P" really belongs.

Drip

The other day, Nolan was having a bit of drama over something. He was crying pretty hard and we were trying to get the boys out the door. So, I picked him up and cuddled him while I carried him over to the back door. Nolan calmed down and straightened up. Then he looked at my cheek in surprise. I could feel that one of his tears was now resting on my check. Nolan took his Buddy, carefully wiped my face, and commented, "You have a drip."