Doesn't He Look Comfy!

Figaro

Introducing the Newest Family Member...Figaro

So we took the plunge and got a cat!!!! After moving into our house nearly 2 years ago Avery has been asking for a cat. She loves cats. My older sister has two cats. When she came down with the cats Avery would chase them everywhere. She learned how to say the cats names before she learned any of the families names. Even last time when Amanda came down and did not have the cats Avery was looking under the beds for them (that is where they like to hide). Avery still talks about Aunt Meana's cats and when we skype she wants to see them. So after 2 years of talking and asking for a cat we decided to let her get one. We discussed it with her and explained that this would be HER cat and that she would need to feed it, water it, play with it, take care of it, make sure it was safe, etc. Obviously she is only 3 so she cannot do everything (like changing the litter box), but she can definelty help and be incharge of overseeing the cat. We have a dog and so we have seen with her that Avery really does do well taking care of her and feeding her.
So yesterday we went and got ourselves a kitty. He is 7 weeks old and his name is Figaro. He is a very sweet kitten. He was very scared at first. Avery immediatly wanted to play and didn't understand why Figaro was running behind the washer and dryer. After a while though he got used to us. He began meowing for us and rubbing on our legs and purring. He seems to be a people cat. He likes to be with us and be pet. We introduced him to Chloe (the dog). We put Figaro on the patio table. Chloe could not reach him but would place her front legs on the side of the table and put her chin on the table and stretch as far as she could to see him. Chloe is a very sweet and loving dog. She thinks he is her new playmate. I am not worried about Chloe being mean to him, just over active. So yesterday was a day getting Figaro and us used to each other. He spent the night in a kennel with his litter box, towel, food and water outside in the garage. He meowed a lot. It was funny when I put the 2 girls to bed Avery was crying and the cat was crying. I joked with Chris and said "The only one not crying is Peyton and She's the BABY."
Today we played with him and Avery got more used to carrying him. She took him in her room and tried to make him sleep in one of her toy baby doll bathtubs. She would lay him in it and put a blanket on him. He would jump out and she would go back and get him and the process would repeat. He obviously did not care for it, but not once did he hiss or try to scratch her. I warned her though. She enjoyed playing with Figaro. Whether Figaro enjoyed playing with her or not is a different story. We went for a walk this evening and put Figaro in his kennel in the garage. He was not happy and he was definetly not happy when we walked away from him. He was so loud. Litteraly we were 4 houses down and could still hear him meowing/barking. It wasn't really a meow it was more like a bark type thing. He clawed to try to get out. I felt bad for him and of course Avery wanted him to come with us. When we got back we played with him some more. So far we are enjoying it and Avery is doing very well. Peyton just loves to watch him. We will see though.

Peyton in the Easter Basket

Miss Peyton

Miss Avery

My Two Girls

Big Smile

Already May

Wow I can't believe it is May! This year has been flying! I can't believe Peyton is almost 4 months old! Life is so fun with 2 and it makes the time go so fast. I really cannot believe how big Peyton is. She started rolling over from her back to her stomach on Thursday April 30 and from her stomach to her back on Saturday May 2. She really grabs for things now and moves things in her hands, of course they almost always end up in her mouth. She is very interested in our food. When I hold her and eat she just stars wided eyed at my food and then watches me bring the food to my mouth. I feel so bad for her, but I am no ready to start cereal and stuff yet. In a month or 2 she will be and then baby food then real food. They just grow up so fast. I just can't believe it. Peyton is also pushing up with her hands and even trying to get her knees under her. Avery started crawling at 4 1/2 months. I don't think Peyton will be that early, but probably not too far behind. She also is doing very well sitting up for a few seconds by herself. It just seems like here in the past couple of weeks she has really started doing a lot. She loves to watch Avery and I can tell she wants to be right there with her. She just smiles at Avery and laughs at her. Avery was playing on the bed the other day and she would fall down and as she was getting back up she would make this moaning sound. Peyton thought it was hilarious. She was just laughing. Peyton loves to hear sounds. She is very alert and very interested in the world around her, but she is also very content to just sit in Mommy's arms and watch and take it all in. She is a very content baby. She goes to sleep extremly easily. Most nights I read to her, rock her a little, put her in bed turn her mobile on and she falls asleep by herself and sleeps through the night maybe waking up once. Avery on the other hand still has trouble going to sleep sometimes. She wants to sleep with Mommy. So everynight after Peyton is in bed I lay with Avery for a "couple of minutes". That has seemed to help, but sometimes she still gets upset when I leave. We went to Mi Mi's house last week (without daddy) and I had 2 bed parnters. Avery slept between me and the wall and Peyton slept between me and the crib that I pushed up against the bed. Peyton did not want to sleep in the Pac N Play, everytime I put her in she would wake up. I hated to haver her sleep with me, but after several tries at getting her to sleep in her bed I gave up. That was a sleepless night for mommy. Avery is doing great most of the time. She did a great job picking up and told me she was a "big helper" which is what I had called her earlier. She also has been told that Swiper (from Dora) can come and get anything that has been left out after she has been asked to put it away. That has seemed to work. Avery is very strongwilled and when she decides to behave, she is great, but when she decides she doesn't then it is a battle of wills. We are trying to get her strong will guided in the right direction and to help her to see when and how to use it. She is also getting more curious about God and Jesus, which is Wonderful! She asked me today where Jesus lived. She also went on to tell me that Jesus made Chloe (our dog) and that Jesus likes dogs. Today is the first day that she has out of the blue asked about God or Jesus. This is very encouraging to me and makes me want to really make sure and surround her with the bible and scripter. She may not act like she gets it at the time, but she is obviously getting pieces of it. Avery also went to "sleep" in the closet (our pantry). While I was cleaning the kitchen she put her blanket and pillow in there and acted like she went to sleep. She also told me that Grandma and Grandpa were sleeping on the shelf above her. oh yes she also said out loud to me "Hey there are 3 old ladies" as three older women (and yes they were older) were getting up and leaving from the table across from us. I had to laugh. I have never heard her say that or even thought that I have said that, but she said it. I couldn't help laughing but told her that we should not call people old. The things she says and does are so funny. She is so smart and picks up on things so quickly. We really have to watch what we say and do around her. We are having a lot of fun right now. I am loving being a wife and mommy of 2.