Boxes

We tend to save boxes for awhile in our house.  Sometimes we set them aside and forget about them, and sometimes I think the box will be a good one to ship things to others.  More often than not, it is because of this:

Put out a box, catch a cat.  It makes her so happy the boxes usually end up sitting out until I just can't take it anymore and finally recycle them.  Of course by then a new one will take its place.

We always have a ton of boxes at the office.  We get deliveries reasonably often.  Ben likes stacking the boxes, and putting things in them.  Much like at home we tend to just hold on to them until someone can't take it anymore.  A few hang out for a while as toy boxes.  The other day I looked over and found this:

With friends, in the box

What?  It's comfy.

Once again Ben proves that toddlers and cats aren't all that different.  I think these boxes will stick around a little longer. :)

-Kim

Dagger's bad days

Dagger has had a rough couple of days here.  Monday morning I noticed she had a spot on her back that was missing some fur.  It looked a little irritated and was pealing a bit.  I don't like to mess around with Dagger's health so I decided to take her in to the vet to get it checked out.  I had assumed that we would go there, she would get a cream or something, and that would be the end of it.  That was not the case.

When we got to the vet we found our previous vet had sold his practice to a new lady.  Okay, no big deal, she was keeping all the patients that wanted to stay.  I was already there and we liked our old vet, so I stuck around.  This new vet looked at her skin and said she needed to shave it down and take care of it.  While we had Dagger at the vet, she gave her a once over and noticed that her teeth weren't looking good at all.  In fact she was worried that a couple might need to be pulled.  Well at this point I am kind of freaking out a bit.  I adore this kitty.  One might go so far as to say I am obsessed with her.  So I do not understand how she could have gotten to the point where she needs teeth removed without my noticing.  I take her in to the vet for routine check ups every six months.  I know cats are very good at hiding anything wrong with them, and I do not want to miss anything.  I made a promise to Dagger when I adopted her to always take care of her, and I felt terrible that I had failed her.

Instead of getting a cream and heading home, Dagger ended up spending the night with the vet to get blood work done and her procedures done the next day.  If the vet was going to put her under she wanted to get both the teeth and the skin taken care of at once.  I thought that was a good plan.  Tuesday I was able to pick her up and found out she had 4 teeth removed.  My poor baby!  Fortunately her blood work looked great, so the vet thinks maybe she just has bad teeth.  It happens in humans, it could be the same in cats.  Her skin looked okay, we think it is just allergies.  (I know, how does an indoor cat have allergies?  My only guess is that since we play outside with Ben more somehow we are bringing something inside.  New rule, we all wash our hands after playing outside and before playing with Dagger.)  But my poor girl has a sore mouth and a shaved back.  When we brought her home she jumped right up into her cat tree.  She was eating her treats by evening, and has been eating a bit today.  We think she is coming through like a champ.  Now that we know she has bad teeth, we can be more proactive in her care.  She'll be getting real dental checks.  I admit I am very frustrated with our previous vet.  I mean, I brought her in every six months.  I would see him look into her mouth.  How does he miss teeth getting that bad?  It has only been about 4 months since she last saw a vet and I was told she was perfectly healthy.  I don't want to speak badly about  him, but I just don't understand.  All we can do now though is move forward with our plan to keep my precious Dagger healthy!

If anyone reading this has a cat,  make sure they get their teeth checked when at the vet!  Cats are so good at hiding problems.  Dagger was eating normally, playing, sleeping, using her litter box.  We really did not notice anything wrong with her.  I feel terrible, but I don't know what else I was supposed to do.  Luckily it is now taken care of, we have a plan of action, and my sweet kitty will be be all better soon.  She is already acting pretty much like normal, and was just begging me for scraps of cheese.  I love Dagger so much.  She was my first baby, and is still so important to me.  I am so thankful for good vets that take care of the animals that mean so much to us.

Here is my poor girl with her shaved back.  She still looks beautiful to me.

I don't think she knows she looks a little silly, so nobody say anything to her. ;)  I am so happy to have her back home with us!

-Kim

Happy Birthday, Dagger!

Happy Birthday to my sweetest little kitty ever, Dagger!

Yesterday was Dagger's birthday.  We celebrated by singing to her, and giving her plenty of extra treats.  She got to spend her day napping and enjoying time with the family.  Okay true, that is how she spends pretty much every day, but nonetheless she had a good birthday.  She is the sweetest little girl, loving and gentle.  She is so patient and kind with Ben.  She cuddles and purrs and is full of warmth.  I think she is made of love and fluff.  We are so lucky to have such a wonderful cat to share our lives with.

Thank you for being such a wonderful friend, Dagger.  We love you so much!

-Kim

A boy and his cat

I know the cliche is a boy and his dog, but I have a boy who really loves his cat.  Ben adores Dagger.  He loves to look at her.  He loves to pet (well, grab) her.  Now that he is mobile he loves to crawl after her.  Ben can be happily playing, catch a glimpse of Dagger, and be off.  Giggling and crawling down the hall to get to her.  He adores everything about her.

Dagger, I have to say, handles Ben quite well.  It took her a little time to get used to him, but it was never a negative thing.  The first couple of weeks she came running up to us any time he cried.  Then she realized he was going to cry a lot, and there was nothing she could do about it.  So she started just leaving the room if he bothered her.  I was very pleased with this.  Really it was the best that could happen.  She's a typical cat and sleeps 90% of the time anyway, so it didn't matter that she left the room we were in.  Dagger has always loved all the stuff that comes with a baby.  We suddenly had all sorts of toys and play mats to lay on.  There were toys that dangle down just begging to be batted at.  So Ben wasn't all bad.

But Ben has gotten more and more interested in Dagger over time.  As I said, he can chase her down now.  Luckily for Dagger, Ben isn't super fast and can't climb up on the stairs yet.  I know it is just a matter of time.  Until then, we are letting Dagger figure out that she has to move herself out of his range if she doesn't want to be touched.  Don't get me wrong, we are trying very hard to teach Ben to be gentle and not grab and pull at her.  But at some point, Dagger does need to learn to get out of the way.  The thing is though, despite her meows of protest sometimes, I think she loves being loved by Ben.  She could very easily move or just go upstairs when he starts grabbing.  But she doesn't.  She might move a few inches to get out of his immediate grasp, but she doesn't take off running.  She lets him yank at her tail.  (Yes, we do try to prevent this.)  She lets him latch onto her fur.  She lets him give her big wet 'kisses' all over.

Dagger does sometimes go out of range.  She goes up on our big first step and watches Ben try to get her.  As soon as he appears to be moving on to something else though, she moves forward to regain his attention.  I think she likes her little brother.

I love how happy Ben looks to see Dagger.  He really does take delight in being around her.  It brings joy to my heart to see my baby and my fur baby playing together so well.

What Dagger sees coming for her...

Trying to get her to come play

Dagger is sneaky about her interest

Playing it cool...

Success!  Dagger can't resist her toy.

Baby-cat tug of war

Ben loves Dagger

 -Kim

Give a cat a bag...

... and this happens.  It's good to see Dagger enjoying the simple things in life.  I love this little girl.  She is adorable, especially when she has no idea how silly she looks.

Cat logic: See a bag, get in it.

My bag now.

It's like a fort. :)

Exit wrong and turn into SuperKitty!

She looks ready to save the day.

My sweet girl.

Don't worry, we don't leave the bags around for her to get stuck in.  They are a supervised play time only toy.  It is just so funny how she goes straight for a bag every time.  I know everyone knows it, but it bears repeating.  Cats is strange.  I think that is what makes them so lovable.
-Kim

Pat's Birthday and Father's Day Wrap-up

The beginning of June was a very busy time for celebrating Pat, as will be the case for some time now.  His birthday is June 10th, and Father's Day is right around then as well.  This year we also went to Arkansas, so while we didn't have a big celebration for Pat, we had a lot of little ones.

In Arkansas we did a cake, singing, and Pat got his cards from his parents.  Nothing major, but just getting to be with his family was a good present.  Back home his birthday was on a Tuesday.  Sadly since we are adults and had just gotten back from vacation, that meant Ben and I still had to go to work.  That night we got Chipotle, as per Pat's request.  We also sang again, and this time Pat chose to have cheesecake!  Yum!  We also did birthday presents.  Ben and Dagger pooled their limited resources and got some yummy candy for their Daddy.  All things he really enjoys.  I gave him my present and he got to open cards.  It was a quiet time with family, but an enjoyable one.

Father's Day was at a good time this year, World Cup time!  The plan was for me to get up with Ben, and go get McDonald's breakfast for Pat.  This is a real treat, especially since I have been cracking down hard on our fast food consumption.  Well, I didn't set my alarm because Ben always starts making at least some noise by about 6:30am.  Well, not this time!  He slept in until almost 7:30!  That was a treat for me!  But it meant a later start than planned, so Pat ended up coming with us to get his breakfast.  He still enjoyed it though.

We met up with Meo and Omi for lunch after Ben's nap.  Ben loves eating out.  He got to eat some of my spinach crepes, some peaches, and I think a little hash brown.  It was a quiet Father's Day, Ben and Pat hung out and watched soccer.  It was great for Pat to just get to relax and play with Ben.  And Pat loves to watch sports, especially when I encourage him to watch as much as he likes.  That was also a treat for him.  Pat then grilled us up some steaks for dinner, and we finished the night me getting us some ice cream.  Quiet, but very nice.

Oh, and Pat and Ben got to wear Pat's Father's Day present all afternoon.  Ben, like all babies, is a fan of not wearing pants.  Pat tells me this isn't just a baby thing; it is a guy thing to enjoy no pants time.  I found a t-shirt online that says "Home is Where the Pants Aren't."  Well, I had to order that for Pat.  I was able to get a onesie made with the same Thing for Ben.  Here are my silly boys rocking their shirts.

My boys!

Hey, you're wearing my shirt!

This is what Dagger thinks of their shenanigans.

Watching some soccer

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

-Kim

Living Room Camping

I have to say, I am not really one for camping.  Shocker, I know.  I have done it, and it can be fun.  Being outside can be great.  However in general, I prefer the indoors.  Ben has already shown a great appreciation for the outdoors.  Because of this I know that I will be spending more and more time outside.  I am excited about this and intend to fully embrace it.  But for now he is happy being inside with me.  As long as I have a say over where he is, I plan to show him just how much fun being inside can be.

This Saturday I decided to get a head start on showing Ben that inside is just as awesome as outside.  In fact, we can even camp inside!  Okay, it isn't quite the same.  But it is pretty close, right? ;)  Pat found a play tent for Ben and I decided to introduce him to the joys of climate controlled camping.

Ben seemed to really enjoy being in his little tent.  Dagger had to get in on the fun too.  I don't know of any babies or cats who don't enjoy having a living room fort.  I tried to join in, but sadly I am a little too big for this tent.  It didn't really stop me though.  I just had so much fun watching Ben and Dagger have a blast!

The tent was down for about 2 seconds before Dagger appeared.

Don't mind me, just checking out your tent.

My babies!

Dagger's out.

Look, I'm camping!

-Kim

Yeti Spotting

Okay, I didn't actually spot a Yeti.  That would be awesome though.  No, I saw something just as elusive though.  Fellow cat owners will know that you can spend as much money as you want on a cat bed, but the cat will never sleep there.  Dagger is no exception.  While I didn't spend a ton of money on her cat bed, I did get her a reasonably nice one.  (In full disclosure I think Meo and Omi actually bought Dagger's cat bed. I got her right after college and Meo and Omi pretty much funded her life for the first year.) So of course Dagger rarely sleeps in it.  She much prefers plastic bags, Ben's pack and play, or my face.  Those are obviously the more comfortable choices.

Yesterday, Ben and I got home and couldn't find Dagger.  I always look to see Dagger before I leave the house and when I get home.  I like to have visual confirmation that she isn't stuck in a room somewhere.  But Ben and I couldn't find her anywhere!  After calling and searching, I even tried shaking the bag of treats.  Then I heard a little bell.  I checked the last place I would ever think to look, her bed.  Sure enough, there was Dagger!  I snapped a picture as proof that she does occasionally sleep in her own bed.  I'm sure now we won't see it again for months.

Gotcha!

-Kim

Thankful Thursday: Health

This week's Thankful Thursday is for something I know I don't always appreciate enough until I no longer have it.  Health.  Don't worry, nothing is seriously wrong with anyone on Team Cartwright.  But this past week all three of us human teammates have had various illnesses.  Nothing big, Ben and Pat had colds, and I just had a little flu bug.  But it was enough to make me remember how lucky we are to be healthy.

Pat and I are fortunate to not get sick very often.  We are extremely fortunate that Ben has had very few illnesses in his short life.  This is just his second cold ever.  He handles it like a trooper.  I just feel so bad for the poor baby, he wants to play but is all congested.  Of course I am happy that he is at the age where one of the best cures is mommy's hugs.  

Again, this was just a normal little blip that every family goes through.  I know there are so many people who have to handle such heavy burdens with the health of themselves and their families.  But it never hurts to take the time to be grateful for the blessing of good health.  Today I am thankful for my health, and the health of my family.

Is it safe to come out yet?

-Kim