Happy Halloween Part I

Last night we started celebrating Halloween by going to "Boo at the Zoo." Joshua refused to wear his costume, but he had so much fun. He loved the dancing most of all...although the pic below is not that good, you can see the look of pure joy on his face.

This morning I convinced him to wear his costume to school for their Halloween party. "Curious George" was on TV and I used it as a motivational factor---"Joshua - do you want to be a monkey like George" - He said. "OK" - his word for yes. The sucker from his trick or treating last night helped as well. Yes, I know a sucker at 8:30 a.m. is not one of my best Mommy moments, but I didn't have the heart to rip it from his hands when he saw his bag from the night before. Lesson learned - hide the candy from the Halloween. :)

Tonight we join some friends for some neighborhood trick or treating....more to come...

Mr. Blue Eyes II & Pizza Man

This week Atticus opened his eyes. They are so sweet and blue :). He is doing really well...weighing 13 ounces and will turn three weeks old this week.

Joshua is still crazy...here are some pics depicting his unique way of eating pizza!

Mommy's Growing Boys

We are just having a silly night here at the house and I thought I would take some pics. Well its official...I have three boys now--Joshua, Zach, and Atticus. Zach really didn't want to play with us tonight, deciding instead to chase things outside. However, the two growing boys are more than happy to hang out with Mommy.

So a few updates...Joshua is doing much better in terms of eating. We have a pretty strict routine now and it has seemed to convince him to get the food while he can...that and Mommy stopped buying his favorite fruit snacks. Slim snack pickins and strict snack-time rules (no later than hour before dinner) makes for a hungrier toddler when it comes to dinnertime.

Joshua is also doing much better in terms of Atticus, who is now with us full time. He gets a bit jealous and all of sudden wants to nurse a lot, but he also loves to run in when say tell Atticus "Hi buddy (Joshua's name for the little guy).

Zach also seems to be doing well with Atticus. Not really caring much that he is around. I have introduced them now face to face several times...Zach sniffs and walks off.

Atticus - the man of the month - has doubled in weight since we got him...coming in at 8 ounces. His ears are starting to poke out, but his eyes are still shut. He seems to be doing well and I am very optimistic! He is a strong fella and is eating and sleeping like a champ. Enjoy the pics below...Joshua being goofy and Atticus being sweet and sleepy :)

UPDATE

Unfortunately, the Mommy cats were not willing let Atticus nurse. The woman we left Atticus with, although very well meaning, misrepresented her ability to take care of such a fragile guy...he not only needs to be fed every few hours (although he prefers to snack every hour...have to get him out of that habit), he also needs to be stimulated to poop and pee. She called us on sunday exclaiming that Atticus was just crying and crying and would not eat, I knew immediately that he needed to go to the bathroom...so I called Dan and we rushed out to pick him up. He is doing well...eating, pooping, peeing, and sleeping like a champ. Dan took him again last night, and I will have him tonight. Sadly, the more he is with us the less likely another cat will accept him as a foster kitty...and of course, the more and more we take care of him the more and more we get attached. Dan is already deeply in love...because I have done less of the care taking, I am more deeply infatuated...but its only a matter of time at this point :).

So keep your fingers crossed...he is such a sweet and strong kitty, we are hopeful...but need all the well wishes we can get.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Joshua came to us last night and said "potty" and FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, (for me) he sat on the potty and went potty. I was so excited that I picked him up and started celebrating, he quickly informed me "potty! potty!" - meaning "Mom, I am not done yet!" hee hee :). We will start potty training more consistently soon...this week we are trying to get his eating back in order (he refuses to eat dinner and snacks all evening). Plus with Atticus....I just thought three big changes was a bit much!

A baby Atticus after all...

For those of you who do not know, there was a time, while I was pregnant, that I wanted to name Joshua, "Atticus." No one liked the name but me, and Dan vetoed it completly.

Well today while driving, I found a baby kitten in the road. So very tiny...I didn't even know it was a kitten for awhile. I called Dan and we went to the vet, found out he is just days old (still has umbilical cord and eyes are still shut). He is strong, but needs a mommy. So we bought a bottle, some formula, and took down some phone numbers. We are still looking for his mommy, but if that doesn't pan out we have found a woman who has two nursing cats and is willing to let this one join the brood. He is staying with Dan over night (Joshua is a bit jealous) and he will leave us tomorrow...but until then, we agreed on calling this little guy Atticus :)

Riding Ponies at the zoo

Joshua and I went to the zoo today to enjoy the beautiful fall weather (actually it was 80 degrees or so, but at the humidity was gone). Joshua was more interested in the animals than he ever has been...and was very insistent that he get to "seat" on the horse. He rode it like a pro...well kind of...he actually started to slide toward the side (he was strapped in so no worries) and insisted that the he stay there.....He looked so grown up, it made me a little misty eyed :).

(the pics are from my phone, so they are a but blurry).