More Kittens and Silly Caleb

We are now the proud and exhausted new foster parents of 9 more kittens. Yes 9. There were 11, but I managed to talk someone else into taking 2 of them off my hands. The kittens are from two different litters as best as I can tell. Apparently they came from a barn and the mom was hit by a car. I think they are around 2 1/2 weeks for the little guys and maybe 3 1/2 weeks for the bigger ones. The big ones are way ahead of the last crew we had; they are already diving into the canned kitten food, which makes my job a little easier. They seem to be doing OK going 8 hours overnight, so I'm just bottle feeding every 4-5 hours or so during the day. They all have eye infections, so we're medicating that as well as cleaning and cuddling when we have the chance. Last night, Nathan and I had to set up an assembly line to get them all fed and cleaned without missing anyone, since they all look very similar.

On another note, Caleb fulfilled one of his little boy dreams today. He got to drive around in his big sister's prized car while she was in her room taking a nap. Click here to check out the pictures and a few short video clips on my photo site. He was eyeing the car and trying to pull up on it while I was playing with him on the floor this afternoon. I helped him into the driver's seat, shut the door, and let him go. His feet actually reached the floor and he managed a few little backward pushes. He loved the fine interior, sincerely appreciated the state of the art controls, and especially enjoyed pushing the horn to make the engine noises. I can't believe he fits in it already. Someone forgot to tell him that he's supposed to stay little. . .

Memorial Day

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. Josh spent the night on Saturday and went to church with us in the morning on Sunday. We picked up a small swimming pool for Libby on the way home and set it up for her on the back porch. She got to try it out after her nap. The water felt like it had just melted off an iceberg - COLD! Libby loved it anyway, and we had to literally drag her out of it at bed time.

Monday morning, we packed everyone up and drove to Grandma and Papa's house for the day. When we arrived, the pool was 83 degrees, so we lost no time getting in and going for a swim. Libby even got to try swimming without her life preserver. She did very well and didn't get too upset going underwater a few times. I think that she could be swimming on her own by the end of the summer, based on how well she did. Caleb preferred to look cool in his hat and sunglasses and only tested the water with his toes. Maybe next time he'll come in, too. Click on the photos link on the right to see more photos of our weekend together.

Nathan and Josh had fun wrestling and diving and just being goofy. Mandie got excited while they were dunking each other and jumped in to rescue Nathan. Of course, we then had to rescue her, since she was not sure where the stairs were to get back out. She had a good roll in the grass after her swim.

We had hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch and then more swimming while the kids were down for their naps. Later in the evening, Caleb enjoyed some snuggle time with Papa in the porch swing while Libby traipsed off on a walk around the block with Grandma. Nathan and I packed everyone back into the car and headed home. I fed the kids and got them ready for bed while Nathan mowed the lawn. Caleb wasn't feeling well and we forgot his little puppy dog in his crib at Grandma's, so he had a little difficulty going to sleep. Libby also stayed out of bed as long as possible with multiple potty trips, giggle fests, and spying missions on the neighbors out the window. Finally around 11 PM, Nathan turned out the lights on a very quiet house full of sleeping little people who had had a very long and enjoyable day.

Silly me neglected to use sunscreen until later in the afternoon and I got a little crispy. I feel like a Ritz Chip today. Nathan slathered on the Aloe gel, but I think the damage is done. When I looked in the mirror this morning, I realized that I bear a striking resemblance to my favorite food - the Maine lobster. Next time I'll use some sunscreen!