Cat Birthdays

Yesterday was the Cat Birthdays. Emmy and Oscar are now 2 years old and the best kitties anyone could ever have. Kirk, who can now read the calendar, informed me that it was the cats' birthday and wouldn't it be nice if we had a cake? I hustled my fanny down to Safeway (we needed milk anyway) and got a little cake and some ice cream. Chocolate, of course, because the kitties are black.

I can't believe that people don't want black kitties, because they have great personalities. Oscar in particular is really good with Suzanne. He lets her pet him and tug on his ears and generally maul him around and he never scratches. He is so good natured and Suzanne loves him. She calls him "Kitty" or "Ok" and he comes to her when she pats her leg.

Yesterday is also the day that Suzanne decided to climb into the garden tub and turn on the hot water. As soon as the water went on I knew something was up and dashed into the room. There she was, happy as a clam at what she'd accomplished. And fortunately the tub is the farthest point from the hot water heater, so it is slow to get warm. She was only wet, but now I have something else in the house to secure. I feel like I live in a fortress sometimes--I can't keep anything where I'd like to, it all has to go up or in something or be tied down in some way. It's rather like being a prisoner in your own home. For example, we can't use Suzanne's dresser because she just tosses the clothes onto the floor and uses the drawers to climb to the top. The solution now is to keep her clothes in a laundry basket in the closet and tape her drawers shut with packing tape. The unexpected benefit is that now she can't get into her baby wipes and toss them around the room like snowflakes.

See what I mean? I'm just waiting for her to figure out a way around this latest fix.

I believe Suzanne is fairly high functioning. She is always thinking of something new and exciting to do, and I think it is more a thing of directing her into permitted activities. I will consider it a victory if she is potty trained by the time she enters preschool next fall. She doesn't have to be and many kids aren't, but I think it would be a good sign. I need all the good signs I can get.

In the meantime, I have two lovely cats who purr at me when I need a little time to calm down after one of Suzanne's antics. Emmy purrs louder, but Oscar will sit with me longer. Listening to the cats purr has become a form of much-needed meditation for me. All the more reason to get a cake and celebrate their birthdays!!