The Cat Who Cried Wolf

Our cat Skippy came into our lives in an unusual way.  I was visiting Ty for the weekend and we decided to go garage saling Saturday morning.  As we approached one of the garage sales I heard meowing.  Ty then pointed out a cage right up by the curb.  Inside was a very scared grey and white cat.

For months Ty had been talking about getting a cat.  So much so that I bought him cat toys for his birthday.  He had a cat growing up and loved the scary little beast to pieces.  If you hear stories of his cat, you might wonder how anyone could be attached to such a creature.  She started out as a barn cat and was transitioned into their home.  Many qualities of the wild cat remained within her.

Back to the cat on the curb.  Of course I couldn't help but walk up to see the cat.  A man was standing at the cage, put his hand in, and the cat shied away.  I looked in at the cat and was immediately reminded of my childhood cat, Garfield.  He looked just like him except he was grey where Garfield was orange.  I reached in and the cat rubbed his face against my hand.  We looked around at the nick nacks for sale and left.

Garfield

As we continued on to other garage sales I couldn't get the cat off my mind.  I kept telling Ty he should get the cat but he didn't want to pay the deposit to his apartment complex.  Finally I called my mom and asked her if she thought I was crazy to want the cat.  She said no and that I should go back if I really wanted him.  After hanging up with her I immediately asked Ty to turn around.  I was so worried someone else had taken the cat while I was pondering what to do.

We returned to the garage sale and low and behold there he was still very scared and meowing at the curb.  We talked with his owners, took all the items they gave us along with him, and headed out with the cat we later named Skippyjon Jones.  What can I say, I'm obsessed with children's literature!

Skippy lived with me for a couple months before I moved to the same town as Ty and then he moved into Ty's apartment.  He very quickly became extremely attached to Ty.  I may have been the one to initially adopt Skippy, but there is no denying that he is Ty's cat.  He lays on Ty when we are sitting around, he sleeps with Ty, he generally just loves Ty to pieces.

Skippy with his favorite!

Last April all the sudden the tides had turned.  Skippy no longer laid on Ty when we were sitting on the couch.  He no longer slept with Ty on his side of the bed.  All of the sudden Skippy was all about me.  We couldn't explain it.  It was the strangest thing.  Then the positive pregnancy test came along and we wondered, could it be?  Did Skippy know about Carter weeks before we ever did? 

The entire pregnancy Skippy was always laying on me and sleeping on me.  I was having a hard enough time sleeping at night, add in a warm little kitty cat and things were getting rough.  Toward the end of our pregnancy I woke up one night to see Skippy perched on the highest spot in the bed, my belly, staring down at me.  The cat was relentless. He didn't care that Carter would kick him every chance he got.  It was hilarious to watch Skippy bounce while sitting on my belly as Carter waged a war to remove him.

Skippy cuddling my very pregnant belly!

The moment Carter was born and I was back to my normal self Skippy went straight back to Ty like he had never left him.  Skippy was again at Ty's side while sitting on the couch and sleeping in bed.  All was back to normal and I was quite relieved.

Then last weekend we were sitting on the couch and the strangest thing happened.  Skippy jumped up on the couch, walked around Ty, headed straight to me, nuzzled up and laid down for the first time since Carter was born.  Ty and I immediately looked at each other with frightened looks on our faces.

Neither of us said anything for a minute and then I finally spoke the words neither of us wanted to say out loud, "This is the first time Skippy's laid on me since Carter was born."  Ty gave me a knowing look and we let it drop.  When we went to bed that night I nervously waited to see where Skippy would settle down.  He came to my side of the bed and we both joked that was it.  We must be pregnant!

Skippy laying on me last weekend.

We joked about it the whole next day, but then I began to worry.  I know the likelihood of a breastfeeding mom getting  pregnant is pretty slim.  Add in my birth control and it should be pretty much impossible, right?  But who can argue with a cat, especially a cat who knew before the pregnancy test last time.  We decided to check just in case and were greeted by the words "not pregnant".  Thank goodness our cat isn't a foolproof way to test for pregnancy and at least this time he was just crying wolf!  Carter is too young to be expecting a sibling!  I will happily wait another year or more before Skippy cuddles up with me again!

Although very cute, we are not ready to add another baby to our family!

Father's Day

Sunday morning Ty decided he wanted to get up and go for a run.  I had gotten all my runs in during the week, so I told him I would just stay home with Carter while he ran.  It was the perfect cover!  Once he left Carter and I got right to work.  I pulled his presents out of the closet and we wrapped them together.

Such a good little helper!

Then I pulled the jumperoo into the kitchen and made breakfast while Carter played.  I had asked Ty how long he planned to run, so I figured out exactly what time to start cooking so I would finish right before he returned.  I made scrambled eggs and sausage, set the table, and waited.  I kept looking at the clock and wondering.  Ty called and it turned out he ended up walking part of the run because he felt really sick.  He'd been battling a respiratory infection and probably tried to run again too soon.  The food was cold by the time he got home, but we warmed it up.  He was surprised which was my goal anyway!

Carter helping daddy open his present.

Carter went down for a nap right before Ty got home.  We ate breakfast and talked while we waited on Carter to wake up so Ty could open his presents.  Ty loved the poem with footprints from Carter.  I'd have to say the footprints were the best Carter has done so far!

 

 

 

 

Ty's present from Carter

 

Ty loves to cook with Mas Guapo Seasoning because it is delicious!  I like it because it tastes so good but also because it comes with a fake mustache for the chef to wear!  We first got it as a Christmas present from one of my dad's cousins a few years ago and have been hooked ever since!  We were running low, so I ordered him some for Father's Day.

I'm sure Ty will appreciate this picture from a few years ago!

Ty had been complaining about sweat getting in his eyes as he was running.  Probably every runner's biggest complaint right after the heat during summer time!  He wanted to get a head band to keep the sweat out of his eyes, but was encountering difficulty due to his large noggin.  I went to google and searched sweat headbands for large heads and found Halo Headbands.  He hasn't used it yet, so we'll see how well it works.  He tried it on and it fit.  It has velcro to secure in the back and he had it adjusted to about as big as it gets...  Boy does he have brains!

When Ty was finished opening presents Carter grabbed the bubble wrap the Mas Guapo had been wrapped in and started playing with it.  Ty showed him how the bubbles popped and Carter just stared.  I'm not sure what he thought of the noise!

Playing with the bubble wrap.

After opening presents Ty sat down with Carter to relax and I started cleaning the walls to paint the hallway.  Carter and I had picked out a book at the library in honor of his Great Grandpa Cox called "Grandpa's Tractor".  Ty figured Father's Day was a great time to read it, so he pulled it out and Carter was all eyes and ears.  He's such a great listener!

Then Ty decided to Facetime his dad with Carter for Father's Day.  Carter has really started grabbing for anything in sight and especially loves phones because they light up.  Ty had a hard time calling because Carter kept trying to grab the phone.  Ty said Carter first tried to call his Uncle Paul and then this grampy before he was able to get the phone and make a call to his dad.

Making important phone calls.

When Carter got tired, Ty put him down for a nap and went into our master bathroom to work on it.  We started a bathroom remodel right after I got pregnant and it's still in the works.  He got quite a bit done and I got the entire hallway painted.  I am so excited with how it looks!  We had a very fun and productive day!

Carter's Father's Day card he sent to his grandpas and great grandpas

A Letter to Carter at 6 Months

 

It is so much fun to see your personality revealed a little bit more each month.  You are such a sweet and easy going boy and you are happy pretty much all the time.  I’m so glad I’ve gotten to spend most of this month at home with you for summer break.  We have had such a great time and I cherish every moment I get to hold you and play with you. 

Last month I knew you would get your feet soon and sure enough, you have found them!  You love to grab your feet and play with your toes.  It amazes me that you can put your feet in your mouth.  Talk about flexibility!  When you wake up and you aren’t hungry you very happily lie in your crib and play with your feet.  That’s something that has amazed me this month is your ability to play on your own and entertain yourself.

 

You have really started talking.  You love to just lay and make noise.  You talk to your blanket lovies Buddy the Bear and Big Al the Zebra.  Daddy named Big Al for a 125 year old tortoise we saw at the zoo.  Before you fall asleep you lay and talk to the wall and the monkeys on your mobile.  You aren’t making any sounds yet, but I’m sure it won’t be long.

When you’re on your tummy you like to pull your legs up under you and stick your booty up in the air.  You also push around on your activity gym.  You push with your legs and move yourself all over the mat and even off it onto the floor.

At the beginning of the month you started waking up 3-4 times at night again.  You would eat every time you woke up so I finally realized you must need to eat more solids.  You had only been eating solids once a day.  We started feeding you solids twice a day and now you only wake up once around 3 or 4 most nights.  

Your nap schedule has been a bit mixed up due to daycare, but we are starting to get it figured out.  Most days you wake up at 7 and stay awake until 8 and then take an hour nap.  Then you take another nap around 11 or 12.  Some days its 30 minutes others it’s an hour.  Your last nap of the day isn’t very consistent.  Sometimes you skip it, but it’s usually around 3 or 4.     

It is so cute that you now know I put you in your high chair to eat.  If I don’t have your food already ready and start feeding you right when you get in your high chair, you sure let me know it’s time to eat!  When you see the spoon you open your mouth, lean forward, and move your head side to side like you would when nursing.  It’s so adorable.  For lunch you normally eat rice cereal and for dinner you eat a fruit or vegetable.  So far you’ve had sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, peas, green beans, apples, bananas, avocados, rice cereal, pears, and peaches.  We have yet to find anything you don’t like.

I thought you didn’t like rice cereal for a while because you would fuss toward the end of the bowl.  I realized that you liked the thicker consistency.  After a while the cereal would thin out and become more liquidy.  If I made the rice cereal right as we were getting ready to eat and fed you quickly the cereal never had time to thin out.  Now you really enjoy it.

I started making your baby food and I love it!  We moved to only organic foods which limits where we can buy them.  The stores closest to us only carry organic apples and avocados.  We have been venturing out to Whole Foods for your fruits and vegetables.  I love that even though you aren’t nursing as much I am still getting to make what you eat!

We have lots of things we like to do together during the day.  You love to play in the mirror.  When I sit in front of the mirror to put my make-up on, you sit in my lap.  It takes me so much longer to do my make-up because we play boo with the mirror and sing the whole time.  Playing boo is by far your favorite game.  You also love it when I turn really quickly to look at you and say hey!  You giggle every time!  I lie you down on daddy and my bed while I get dressed in the morning.  You love to lie and look at the ceiling fan.  I’ll put a hand on either side of you to bounce you and you crack up.  You LOVE to bounce!  I like to lean down and kiss all over your cheeks which also gets you to laughing.  You think Harper is hilarious and you love to watch her.  You also love to grab a handful of her tail hair and pull.  Ouch!  But she doesn’t seem to mind too much.

Most nights you sleep on your tummy.  It’s your favorite way to sleep.  I was so worried at first and would go in to move you back onto your side or back, but I’ve stopped and just let you be.  When you are playing you like to alternate between your tummy and your back.  One of your favorite positions is on your tummy with your head lifted up to look around.   When you are soothing yourself to sleep you suck your thumb and you like to hold your blanket.  You either rub your blanket on your face, hold it in the crook of your arm, or suck on it along with your thumb.

You still love your jumperoo.  This month you really started going to town bouncing in it.  The first time you did it we had just gotten home from the zoo and you bounced up and down the whole time you were in it.  I couldn’t stop laughing.  You will bounce until you are exhausted and then you lay your head down on the side of your chair and fuss to let me know it’s time to get out.

We had some firsts this month.  You went to the zoo for the first time.  The animals you enjoyed watching the most were the parrots and hippos.  You also swam in a big pool for the first time.  You LOVED it, kicking around the entire time!  You also created your first finger painting.

You got more shots at your doctor’s appointment and you did awesome!  I held your hands and talked to you the whole time.  You cried when the needle initially went in, but looked at me as I talked to you and stopped crying.  I picked you up when she was finished and snuggled you and that was the end of the tears.  You are such a brave and pain-tolerant boy!  

You are up to 17 pounds, 5 ounces which is the 47^th percentile.  You’ve stayed steady around the 42-47^th percentile in weight since you were 3 months old.  You are now 27.8 inches long which is the 90^th percentile!  I guess that’s why I keep thinking you look really long in your pictures!  Your head circumference is 44 cm which is the 56^th percentile.  Your head has steadily grown, from 5^th percentile to 9^th percentile to 22^nd and now 56^th!  Maybe you will end up with a big head like your daddy!

You are still wearing size 2 diapers, but I think we are really stretching it.  You probably should be in size 3 diapers.  We just have quite a few size 2 diapers left, so we are trying to use them all.  I’ve been using cloth diapers all day long since I’ve been home, so we only use disposables at night time.  That’s why we’ve ended up with so many extra!

You now wear 6 month or 6-9 month clothes.  You can wear 9 month clothes too.  Our favorite outfit this month has been your overalls.  You look absolutely adorable in overalls!  I think you have really small feet because you just now fit into the booties your grammy and grampy bought you.  They are so precious and remind me of baby high tops.  I melt looking at your chubby legs with the booties on!

You definitely recognize your daddy and me.  When you are in a room with other people you prefer to look at one of us.  When I take you on errands with me people will stop to look at you and talk to you, but you won’t peel your eyes from me.  I love that you know who your daddy and I are!

We're still waiting on your teeth to come in.  You have been drooling and slobbery for over a month now, but have no teeth to show for it!  I keep thinking it will be soon.  I bet next month I'll be writing about your new teeth!

Now on to daddy:

6 months in and I am still amazed at how happy you always are, even when you are sick. That is right, middle of June, both you and I managed to get sick. But it never seems to faze you. 

This summer you and I have gotten to spend some time together alone, just daddy and Carter! More or less, everything always goes fine. I just never do things the same way as mommy! True, your hair doesn’t always get combed, your buttons on your jammies get mismatched, and I occasionally feed you after your jammies are on which results in a second pair of jammies, but things could be worse!

I have a blast watching you play on your activity mat and your jumperoo. You absolutely love both of them. Just the other night your mother and I were working out in the garage while you were on your activity mat going to town. You reached up and grabbed the owl and started yanking on it so hard it came off in your hands. You were very surprised!