Wednesday, July 29, 2015

A Second Birthday!


It's that time of year again! Our sweet boy is turning two! He's been warming up by singing Happy Birthday non-stop and practicing blowing out candles.

Will's first birthday was a disaster. It was scheduled, then cancelled due to an ear infection, rescheduled, and then recancelled due to hand, foot and mouth disease (which turned out to be it's own kind of party). As a result, his first birthday was kind of glossed over.

This year we are determined to make up for it. We are taking our little all-things-engine-powered enthusiast on a family picnic and one-hour ride on an antique steam engine at the Florida Railroad Museum in Parrish. We are super excited!




Before that, however, we want to celebrate with friends. So you are cordially invited to an old-fashioned cake and ice cream, no-frills birthday bash! 


Let me assure you, the cake will not be this elaborate.


     When:            Saturday, August 8th
     Time:              4:00 PM
     Where:           Kate Jackson Park in Hyde Park Village
     Address:        821 S Rome Ave, Tampa 33606
     What:             Birthday Cake and Ice Cream!
     Other:            ABSOLUTELY NO GIFTS! Don't bring a single thing, unless you
                           want to bring suits so the kids can go in the fountains.

We hope you'll stop by to help us celebrate two years of wonderful Will!



Saturday, July 25, 2015

Chimera

I don't know if any of you noticed from the last post but GiGi has some pretty interesting markings. So interesting that her veterinarian suspects what I had begun to: that she may be a chimera. A tetragametic chimera, to be more specific, where two unique zygotes merge very soon after fertilization and combine to form one organism with two unique sets of DNA. 

Her giveaway is that her markings on her left and right sides seem independent of each other. In fact, it almost looks like there is a line right down the middle of her body. 

It took me a long time to see it. The markings on her dorsal side aren't very defined and her color came in late. But it's pretty clear on her thorax and abdomen. And once you see it you can't unsee it.


It will be interesting to see what happens once her adult coat comes in and her markings are even more defined. I'll have to get some better photos. 

We always knew she was special! 

Monday, July 20, 2015

A Girl and Her Kitten, Study 1

Harper and GiGi like to spend their mornings together. 






They are two peas in a pod.




Friday, July 17, 2015

First Meetings

As you already know, we have a new kitten. Until now, Princess GiGi Kerfuffle VonKitten (aka GiGi) has been sequestered from the rest of the family (except from the dogs- who practically raised her). It was due to no fault of her own; we needed to make sure she was disease free-before she could be around Hemlock, our resident cat. And our exuberant nearly-two-year-old is convinced kittens are for smothering or holding by their tails, so it was mostly for her own protection.

This morning our sitter took the kids to the Florida Aquarium so I could get some work done, and I realized it was an ideal opportunity to introduce the cats. This is what happened:


In case you didn't catch that, Hemlock is probably the friendliest, most patient, gentle cat in the world. 

Now, it's true that he was raised around a lot of animals, but at nearly 11 years old I thought he may just ignore the kitten ans share space with her, which made me a little sad because what she really wanted was a playmate.

Thankfully, it looks like they will be happy together for many years to come.   

Monday, July 13, 2015

Besty Birthday Bash

Harper has two best friends: Zoe and Fiona. We met Fiona's family when Harper was 9 months old and we met Zoe's family when Harper was about 18 months old. That was all it took. Remember those days? If you spend any amount of time with another kid you became best friends. Oh, that life were always that simple!

Anyway, on Sunday Zoe celebrated her 5th birthday. Happy 5th birthday, Zoe! I can't believe how much our girls have grown. And I'm so glad they have each other to grow up with. Here are some highlights from the festivities... 


The birthday girl!

And a one, and a two...


So excited!

SO EXCITED!!!

Beautiful Fiona.

Nothing to see here people. Just move along.



The Slip-N-Slide directions were complicated...

... VERY complicated.

Scott was relieved when assembly time was over.

Will kept himself busy with a truck he found. That kid loves trucks.

I think this next sequence speaks for itself...






So Narelle showed them how it's done.

Take THAT, kids!

Eventually it was Slip-N-Slide time.









Much fun was had by all.

Even Brad got in on the water action.

My handsome boy.

My handsome man.

A boy and his balloon. 



Make a wish... 

... and blow out the candles! 


The candle was delicious. too.

That girl really knows how to party. 

Thank you for inviting us to share your special day, Zoe! We look forward to many more celebrations with you and your family!