Grover and Kate

I was nervous about how Grover would react to a new baby in the house. A couple weeks before she was born he decided to start pooping and peeing on the carpet and in his play tunnel in the basement. We didn't know if something freaked him out in the laundry room (where is litter box is) or if he could tell something was about to change. Thankfully after moving his litter out of the laundry room he hasn't had anymore incidences.

But we still wondered how this cat, who thinks he owns the house, would handle another small creature.

He thinks he owns the house, and obviously the play space was to be his too

After delivering Kate, Adam took her hat home to let Grover sniff it and get used to the smell. Then when we brought her home, we left her in the carseat in the middle of the room and let Grover come up to her and sniff her.

For the first couple days he wanted nothing to do with her. He didn't act meanly or anything, he just avoided her. He spent most of the time sleeping on our bed, and I tried to keep Kate out of our bedroom so he wouldn't feel intimidated.

Within a couple more days Grover has 'loosened up' a bit. If I have Kate in bed, he has no problem sleeping at my feet or walking by her to look out the window.

I'm so happy he hasn't freaked out and think the slow transition and introduction helped him adjust well.

How did you introduce your pets to a new baby (or a new pet)?

It Worked

As we get ready for baby Stybs' arrival (in just over 3 weeks! eek!) I've been washing clothes and sheets,  scoping out my registry, and trying not to buy too much baby stuff.

The nursery has been pretty much set up since my shower and Grover has been checking it out and marking his territory ever since. I was pretty surprised that he hadn't been in the pack-n-play- no sign of cat hair or disturbed blanket- and thought he would leave it alone. Until a couple weeks ago. I was asking Adam if he had seen Grover in it and just as he said 'no' I noticed the blanket was askew. Then I looked in and saw the little orange hairs on the bassinet.

So obviously Grover has been smart enough to only go in the pack-n-play when we aren't home. But I didn't really know what to do.

Last weekend my friend Jen suggested putting foil in it. I thought Grover would like the crinkly sound and it would encourage him to play in there, but she said cat's don't like the feel of the foil. What the heck, why not? I lined the pack-n-play with foil that weekend.

I haven't noticed anything since then - no hairs, no paw prints- and thought maybe Grover was over it and wouldn't try to sleep in it again (I mean he has other beds, couches, and chairs to sleep in all over the house).
Then this morning as I'm lying in bed I hear the foil crinkle and then see (and hear) Grover sprint out of the nursery. The foil worked!

Grover flipped out when he jumped in the pack-n-play. Hopefully he won't be back.Thanks for the suggestion Jen!

Birthday Round-Up Part 3

It's here! The one thing I have been wanting for a few years is finally mine :) Meet my new camera, the Cannon Rebel.

Adam was very thoughtful and got it for me for my birthday.
Of course Grover was my first subject. Look how cute he is.

That's a face only a mother could love...

Now to play around with it, figure out all the settings, and find things to shoot. I am so excited!

I Finally Got It!

I was FINALLY able to catch this on camera.
Grover has a way of trying to escape the house through the front door (though I don't know what he would do if he got outside). I laugh every time.

 sorry the video is sideways, I don't know how to fix it.

I swear he will do this for 15 minutes. But each time I pick up my camera to catch it, he stops. I wonder if he actually thinks he will be able to get out through the window.

Down to 2

I got some feedback from Adam on the different shades of green for the guestroom. He was actually thinking something with more blue in it. He would prefer to leave the walls the off-white neutral color they already are, but I really want to paint. So we whittled it down to two colors that are taped up on the wall.

Very light. Very subtle. But in my opinion it would make a big difference in the small room.

While we were discussing the color options, Grover decided to crawl under the quilt on the bed.

Yes, from the floor, under the quilt, onto the bed. He has never done this before so I obviously had to take a picture. He's just too cute!

Spring is Coming

The weather warmed up on Sunday and it was so nice to be able to get the windows open and have some light and fresh air in the house.
Grover greatly appreciated the windows being opened too. He loves staring out at the birds are squirrels.

 Since hanging the blinds, Grover has missed out on sitting on his favorite spot on the back of the couch to stare out the window. He hasn't figured out how to get between the two blinds.. yet..
Speaking of having the blinds open, they look so much nicer open.

But I can't keep them open all the time, then we would have zero privacy. I'll just open them up when the weather is good.
I can't wait for spring to finally get here for good!

Ice Ice Baby

We had a 2 hr delay yesterday because of the layer of ice from the freezing rain overnight. The weather is looking a little iffy tomorrow too, we'll see what happens.

I think Grover liked the icy weather, I caught him staring out the office window in the morning.

 

I don't know what he was staring at, maybe a bird?

 

Hopefully the weather won't be too bad, I don't want any more snow days- we'd end up adding days to the end of the year! That would be horrible! 

Please Punxsutawney Phil, do not see your shadow today!!

Merry Christmas, Grover!

I was out shopping and happened to go into petsmart, hoping to find a little stocking stuffer for Grover. After being wooed by Lola, a grey kitten waiting to be adopted, I went to the cat towers. Adam and I had been talking about getting one for him to curb the scratching on our couches. We hadn't bought one yet because they can be so expensive. So when I saw the big one on sale for $30 off, I called Adam. The sale ended today, so we agreed to buy it. I am so glad Adam had taken my car down to Richmond this weekend, because there is no way this tower would fit in my car.

 He was very curious and began sniffing as soon as it came in the house.

Within 10 minutes he had killed the feather toy.

I guess he likes it!

Grover's favorite new hiding place:

 

 I bet he's thinking that if he can't see me, I can't see him. He is such a toddler.

We lost 2 black and 2 silver snowflake ornaments last year. Let's see how many he knocks down this Christmas.

Happy Halloween!

This is the first Halloween for us in our house (last year was the real first Halloween, but we were out of town for Jen & Jeff's wedding) and sadly we have no trick-or-treaters. There are children who live next door and a few houses down from us, but we haven't seen them at all tonight. :( But at least Grover gets to enjoy the sweet pumpkin pie candle tonight while Adam and I eat all of the candy we hoped to hand out.


Wait.. as I type this we have 1 little witch at the door :) Hopefully we get some more soon

August Already?

Yesterday was August 1. Meaning Summer is pretty much over.
I started the end of summer with my niece Madison's baptism.

Nathaly's parents are Madison's God parents. They had originally asked me, but since she was being baptized in the Catholic church, and I didn't receive holy communion, confirmation, or get married in the Church I couldn't be her God mother (hey, I was baptized Catholic, though).

The happy family

After a day of visiting with family, I was exhausted. But I remembered that Mondays are supposed to be weigh in days.
So I got on WiiFit this morning, to find that I had gained 1.1lbs! What? I know I haven't been exercising as regularly as I should, but I usually stay the same weight. I am having my monthly visitor right now, so that could account for bloating/ water weight, but I shouldn't make excuses. I just really need to crack down on this and make myself get into a routine. (I spent 35 mins on WiiFit this morning, but that probably won't happen everyday).
One goal I have made for myself is to drink more water. My sister can go through 2 or 3 large bottles of water everyday while I barely drink one glass with dinner. I am just never really thirsty. So I decided to drink one bottle of water every day.

I have had these bottles for about 2 years, but I never seem to drink the whole thing. So I am now going to drink all 24 oz in a day. I know this is only really 3 of the 8 or so glasses of water you are supposed to drink daily, but this is a lot for me.

One good thing that I found out today is my waist measurement. According to some expert on the Today show this morning, a woman's waist should be less than 35 inches (my mom told me 30, but lets just go with what the 'expert' said, ok?) and mine is 33.5. So that's one bright spot to the otherwise sad weight news of the week.

on the other hand, check out my little fatty:


Yup, down 1.3 lbs! I guess Adam's friends really gave him the workout playing with him all day Saturday. But, oh, to just eat, sleep, and attack a little mouse... life must be good.

Wii Fit... take 2

OK, so let's try this again. I got back from the store (BTW, Liz's birthday is tomorrow, not today) and went to see if my Wii Fit would work. Well, I don't know if the charger is working and actually charging the battery pack because it still wouldn't turn on. So I got out the rechargeable batteries (that I thankfully plugged in before I went to the store) and started up.
As it turns out, I am NOT at my highest weight, and I haven't changed that much in the past 245 days, but I am still overweight, and higher than I would like to be.


So I set my goal, of 2 lbs in 2 weeks. Attainable, as long as I actually keep doing these exercises and walking more. Oh yeah, and eating healthier too.

I think to help me reach the goals each week (I have decided Monday will be my weigh-in day) is to work out for 30mins each day. I am going to try for 30 mins on the Wii Fit each morning, but I know it might not happen each day so I will try to get some walking in during the week too.
I did make 31 minutes today though, and I sweated so I will definitely need to shower soon.


One of the things I like about Wii Fit Plus is that it lets you set up a profile for your pet. Grover has his own little kitty profile, and he was last weighed when I was last on (Did I mention that it was 254 days ago? ). He was weighed when he had a tape worm this winter. Keep in mind he is only 1 year old, as of late May. We aren't sure of his birthday, since they only said he was 3 months when we adopted him, not giving us a date. Well, I guess that tape worm was keeping him down- he gained almost 6 lbs! We have a big kitty here. Approaching 15 lbs at 1 year old...

So I will keep goals updated on Mondays. I'll keep weighing Grover, too.

Now- time to shower so I can walk Liz's present to her house.