My Gentle Soul....

I just want to say what a blessing it is to have such a sweet daughter. As J says, she is truly a gentle soul. One of the earlier words she learned was "jop-oh" (aka "gentle"). She'll say it while softly stroking whatever happens to be nearby, whether the cat or herself, even J or me. I love it when I'm holding her in my arms, and she starts stroking me. She looks up into my eyes so innocently and says, "jop-oh", then lies her head on my chest in her snuggle position. Does it get any better than that?

Other than being a gentle soul, Zee is very much a social girl. Even when she was a little bitty baby, about six months or so, she would get so excited to see another child. Now that she's older, every time she sees another child, she yells out, "Bay-beeeee!" Over and over. And over. And if any stranger wants to hold her, she eagerly holds out her arms to be taken away. Even though it stings just a little, I'm so thankful that Zee is comfortable around others. And she's just such a charmer that people can't help but be charmed by her. I'm so charmed by her....

Stinky Baby Feet

A few months ago, Zee stuck her feet in my face while I was nursing her, and I jokingly told her she had stinky baby feet. Well, okay, they are pretty stinky for baby feet! But now it's her favorite game to play. It started out with her constantly sticking her pudgy little feet next to my nose while nursing, but now she'll keep at it until I take a deep sniff (no faking allowed!) and make the worst face and declare, "Eeeewwwww, STINKY baby feet!" Then she sticks her leg out to J and asks so sweetly, "Dada?" J then has to do the same. He's actually more emphatic than me. Then it moved on to Zee sticking her doll's feet in our faces and her own. Now she likes to stick our own feet in her face and ours. Of course, her feet remain her favorite. I don't particularly care to sniff my own feet, but I can handle Zee's. At least they only have the baby stink rather than the adult stink. I got a whiff of J's feet today, and whew, that was NOT pleasant. But in the end, I will always like to do "stinky baby feet" because it's something that Zee loves, and she certainly gets a kick out of it (even if that kick is foot odor).

I finally found our cat, Nuggie, who's been missing for the past few days. She's so loving and friendly that all of our neighbors love her. Some neighbors even tried to keep her, but then realized that she was our cat. So, being logical, I bought a collar for her, to let everyone know that she does indeed have a home. And of course, she somehow lost her pink collar a few weeks ago. And now that she's getting all of this loving from the neighbors (and some food, I suspect), she rarely comes home. I hadn't seen her in days until yesterday. While Zee was eating dinner, she started screeching and pointing, "NUGGIE! NUGGIE!" (which, by the way, is one of her favorite words). And sure enough, it was Nuggie in the neighbor's backyard. I immediately ran over to get and her brought her inside. J and I decided to keep her in for a week or so, so that she learns that this is where she belongs. She's such a wonderful cat, especially with Zee, and I don't want to lose her to the neighbors! Yes, I'm selfish, but when you find a good cat, you don't want to let her go.

Queen Zee

Zee really has her own great personality. J wanted a tomboy, but we got all girl. One of her favorite things is to dress up. She'll scavenge the house to find articles of clothing (and I use the term "clothing" loosely!), then bring them to us. She patiently insists that either J or I put the clothing on her as she wishes. So, a pair of pants is no longer a pair of pants. Instead, it's a beautiful hat worthy of any Pharaoh's head. But the best is the crown that J made for her. All he did was tear off the end of a 12-pack box of soda then place it on her head, but she loves it. It's her crowning glory, and when she's wearing it, she adopts the regal attitude of any queen worth her title. J and I are her adoring subjects.

Long live the Queen!

On a completely different note, why are cats so gross? I know it's Nuggie who keeps bringing in the dead animals, since Tango is probably too hefty to move quickly enough to catch a turtle, let alone a bird or mouse (of which I've found dead specimens awaiting me in my house recently). Maybe the cat door wasn't such a good idea after all.

Mother's Day Gift

Happy Mother's Day!

J and I have had a simple day, which suits me much more than a big celebration. The neatest thing happened too! I'll try to post a video of it, but I'm technologically challenged, so it may not work.

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

I think that'll work ;).

As I was cooking dinner, I asked J to take Zee outside to spread old bread for the birds (something my mother taught me to do). Since Zee loves being outdoors, I figured that this would give her a little one-on-one time with her daddy, as well as give me some uninterrupted time to cook. It was the sweetest thing to see the man I love playing with the child we made. As J was tossing the bread, Zee was tossing pebbles, which seems to be her favorite activity lately. After they were done, they came inside just in time to eat dinner. About ten minutes later, I happened to glance out the back window and saw a dog in our backyard. But a strange-looking dog...a fox! I was in awe that a fox was in our backyard. I pointed and told J to look, and he urged me to get the camera. The fox could sense that we were there, so he kept leaving and then returning, very cautious. Zee saw him return once, and she pointed out the window and said, "Oggie!" She was so excited to see him, too. He seemed to enjoy the old bread. I had meant it for the birds, but I'm so pleased that a fox enjoyed it as well! He was very brazen for a wild animal, so I suspect that he has been to our yard before, perhaps for Moose's food. I hope to see him again, though. It was as fine a gift as any for Mother's Day.

I've decided to start a blog, but I'm not sure how well it will go. I've never been able to keep a diary or journal, because I lose interest so quickly. Or maybe I just don't have an interesting enough life. But now that I have a Zee-baby and my sweet husband, plus our houseful of animals, a lot more is happening. Especially with how fast Zee is learning. It's so amazing to me. So, here's the start....