San Diego

A week ago I was on a plane with Evan heading to San Diego! Matt was there on a business trip all last week and on Thursday Matt and I flew out there to meet him. The flight went very well!! It was delayed 2 hours, so it was a long time to hang around the airport and I didn't try to put Evan down for a nap so he was very tired by the time we took off. I gave him a bottle at take off and he went to sleep for about 20-25 minutes. Then he woke up and stayed awake the rest of the 4 hour flight. It was fine though because we flew first class (it was less reward miles to fly first class than it was to fly coach!! 25,000 to fly first class and 30,000 to fly coach). Ummm...I think I'll fly first class!! lol It was my first time to be in first class and it was great! They served a meal which was a lifesaver because it kept Evan and I busy for about an hour. Then he ate lots of snacks and looked out the window a long time. I let him play on the floor by my feet for a little bit. I walked him around the first class aisle for a little while, but he wasn't sleepy. However, he did lay in my lap and play with some toys for awhile. All in all, it was great. Security at the airport was great too. There's a family line at the Charlotte airport and so I went through that and someone helped me put the stroller on the x-ray belt. I only carried one backpack with me - i packed VERY light which was also a lifesaver. It's not like Evan plays with toys a whole lot anyway.

The best "toys" for flying were: water bottles (I had 2), package of pretzels, Mum Mum wrapper, package of animal crackers, and the plastic wrapper off the the snack box (that we purchased in coach on the way home). Evan loves playing with trash and it's great because I don't have to carry it around with me, it's stuff I bought in the airport or received on the plane and I just left them there when we got off.

San Diego was GREAT!! It was beautiful weather there. We went from Charlotte temperatures of the high 90s to San Diego temps of 70-80 degrees! The warmest day there was 79* and that was hot to everyone who lived there!! We spent Thursday walking around the Convention Center and Seaport Village. Then Friday we went to the zoo. My favorite things there were the hippos, elephants, polar bears, and koalas. I had been there before, but I was like 12 at the time so I don't really remember it. Evan's favorite thing was the turtles in an aquarium, a monkey we saw just after we arrived, or the fish that were in the hippo tank. lol They weren't even an attraction! We came home that afternoon and swam in the hotel pool.

Saturday we went to Old Town and spent the afternoon walking around the historic attractions and the pretty park in the center. I had a great time seeing the pretty trees, cacti, and other plants. We ate Mexican for lunch and had ice cream later in the afternoon.

We went back to the hotel and swam. Then we napped the rest of the afternoon and went out to the Gaslamp quarter for dinner. On the way back to the hotel (we took the trolley) Evan fell asleep. I lifted him out of the stroller to get on the trolley and he stayed asleep the whole way home!! He doesn't fall asleep like that much anymore. I loved holding him while he slept. :-)

On Sunday we spent the afternoon lazing around and napping. Matt's friend who lives nearby came and picked us up (he even borrowed a car seat) and took us to Coronado. It's a beautiful island with a cute little town, beautiful houses, and a great beach. I've decided that someday I want to live there! Although I would be paying the same price as a 4 bedroom home with an acre of land in NC for a 1-2 bedroom house with almost no yard in Coronado!! lol We had lunch HERE and then walked across the island (through the awesome neighborhoods) to the beach. We walked up and down the beach for awhile and then Matt's friend drove us just outside the city to see the condo he bought (he didn't even have the keys yet!). It was amazing driving through the hills outside the city at sunset. SOOOO beautiful. I think a part of me was made to live in southern Cali. I just love love love the desert hills.

Monday we flew back to Charlotte. This time Matt flew with us and we were in coach. Evan slept about an hour and a half (he slept GREAT the whole time we were there, he was worn out from the time change and all of the things we did!) on my lap. He just sprawled out on his tummy and went to sleep. He's so heavy both of my legs fell asleep from his weight! He was a little fussier on the flight home, but after he woke up he was better.

So now we are back in Charlotte where the temperature highs are 99* and the humidity is up to 85%. :-P

Tag! photo

I was tagged by Sara to post the 8th photo in my 8th picture folder. Wonder what it'll be.........

Well, I wish I could say it was an adorable picture of my adorable son, but that's just not true. So here it is:

lol! Yeah, I took that picture when my odometer switched to 80,085 miles.

But here's the picture that was in the #7 slot. Much better!! Evan LOVES Matt's work ID tag and grabs it the second Matt picks him up after arriving home from work.

I tag anyone who wants to participate! I'm supposed to choose 8 people, but there's just no way for me to choose.

Swap

I participated in a blogger swap and received a package from Becky in Tasmania!! She and I have been friends for years now and it was awesome to switch packages! As a matter of fact, we've decided to do it more often. :-)

She sent an outfit for Evan, a stuffed Tasmanian devil toy, a board book about Tasmanian devils (LOVE!), 2 bars of her favorite candy (yum!), a picture frame (the glass broke, but I think it will be fine without it and I love the butterflies!), 2 book marks, a bracelet, a key chain, a book called "Mother Wisdom" (I haven't read it all yet, but the parts I have read are so precious), and a beautiful butterfly pin.

I feel like I'm forgetting something and I very well may be! lol I was so excited when the package came. Matt and I opened it up and started going through all of the stuff (and Matt immediately ate one of the candy bars), so it wasn't until a couple of days later that I remembered to take pictures. Now Matt wants a Tasmanian devil for a pet and I keep "chasing" Evan around with the Tasmanian devil toy. haha! Evan is going to know more about those animals than any other American boy!!!

I'm very excited and can't wait for Evan to be able to fit in his outfit (it's just a little too big right now, which is good because if it was 12m size he'd be growing out of it in a couple of weeks.

I was touched at how thoughtful Becky was. She remembered that I love butterflies and reading and it was really sweet of her to send stuff that Evan could enjoy too! Thanks, Becky!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July!!

Evan loved the fireworks last night! We sat farther away than we normally do, which worked out great. The weather was beautiful yesterday (much cooler than it's been the past couple of months with a high of 83*). We went to the parade in the morning, had a cookout with my family for lunch AND supper, and then went to see the fireworks. Matt ended up staying home and went with us. When the fireworks started Evan was grinning as he stared at them! He sat so still and quiet the entire time, completely fascinated. It was such a great experience, I'm glad I'll have these memories for the rest of my life.

10 months old

The day after Evan turned 10 months old it was like a switch was flipped in his head and he started crawling everywhere. He's been crawling for months, but staying in the living area. He started crawling down the hallway and sometimes into the office, but never ventured anywhere else and didn't crawl for long distances. However, all of a sudden he is all over the place! It was so weird how it happened...one day he was staying close by and the next day I couldn't keep him out of the kitchen, utility room, bathroom, office, and bedroom! Not that I necessarily want to keep him out of all those places, but I just have to watch him in those places. And if I ever do try to keep him in the living area....well...yeah right. lol He will try to go where he wants over and over and over no matter how many times I move him.

We're having a good time and I have to say, it's more entertaining now that he's on the move all the time. Sometimes it's hard, but for the most part I don't mind. He's also started trying to get into the kitchen cabinets and the bathroom drawers. I put a lock thing on the cabinet doors under our kitchen sink since I have some cleaners in there. I am planning on putting drawer locks on the drawers in the bathroom because they are very easy to pull out and he often hangs on them and then loses his balance and falls on the tile floor. Other than that I don't plan to baby proof any more than that except for putting a lock on the toilet lids.

He has 3 teeth (two bottom and one top), but he's been very cranky and clingy this week. Earlier in the week he only wanted me to hold him. Not my mom, not my sister, not Matt... just me. And he was whining constantly. This lasted a couple of days. I knew it was teething, but that fourth tooth still hasn't broke through (well, I haven't looked today, so maybe it has by now). His first tooth was rough. He was fine until the day after it broke through. Then it was 4 days of constant whining and fussiness. His second and third teeth were fine. He cried one night in NO with his second and then with his third there were a couple of nights I think it was bothering him, but nothing like before. And now this fourth one is rough too.

He is starting to walk around while holding things much more. He's been doing it for about 3-4 weeks now, but just since last week he's doing it more and more for longer periods of time. It's hard to get him to "walk" to me because he knows perfectly well the best way to get around is by crawling. So when I want him to come to me he sits down and crawls. lol

I'm trying to teach him to clap and do the "so big" motions when I ask how big Evan is. Some of his friends do that so of course I want Evan to do it. ;-) He has no desire to sit still long enough to do those things though! I try to sit and interact with him, but he wants to move!! However, he is more cuddly than he was a few months ago. He'll sit in my lap while I read books to him. Throughout the day he'll climb up into my lap just to give me a hug. LOVE LOVE LOVE that!!

He kissed Matt for the first time last week and then on Monday he kissed my sister for the first time. It was so sweet because he was going to kiss Melissa, but she didn't know what he was doing so she pulled away. I told her I was pretty sure he wanted to kiss her. So she held still and he went for her again. She moved towards him slightly and he slowly moved towards her and gave her the gentlest kiss! It was like he knew she didn't understand the first time and was trying to be slow and gentle for her. So far she's the only person he's kissed except Matt and I. He loves giving my mom hugs now too though.

He's saying more sounds now. He started babbling "dadadada" last week. I think soon he'll be saying "dada" meaning Matt since he babbled "mamama" before saying "mama" meaning me. He's also saying sounds like "ninini" and "nienienie" (that just started the past 2 days) and today he even said something that sounded like "okay."

So what are your 4th of July plans? The town Matt and I usually go to to watch fireworks is having their parade and fireworks on the 3rd this year since the 4th is on a Sunday and they don't want to interfere with church plans. However, Matt RSVPd to go to a wedding on the evening of the 3rd (ugg, I told him I didn't want him to go, but he insisted...and it isn't even for a friend of his, it's a co-worker and it's 3 hours away). So I'm just trying to decide if I'll go watch the fireworks with my family without Matt or if I should wait for him and go with just him and Evan on the 4th (when they have fireworks in downtown Charlotte). I just love the town's fireworks and I wanted to go with my family. But...I don't know how Evan will act the first time he sees fireworks. I'm afraid he might hate it and scream and cry.

How did your little one react to fireworks for the first time? How old were they?

crazy cats continued

Thanks for all of the honest and supportive comments on my last post! A lot of new things have come up on this subject....and I am still undecided on what to do.

We took Firefly to the vet last week because we suspected she had another bladder infection (she also had one in January). Matt took her and told the vet how aggressive she's become in the last year. She immediately said she thought Firefly should go on "kitty prozac" because of the sudden change in personality! She then asked if there's been any stress in her life. Matt told her we have a 9 month old son. He told her more details and she's pretty certain that Firefly just isn't adjusting to Evan and probably won't without some help -- in the form of "kitty prozac" that costs $20 a month (figures). It's also "convenient" that it comes in the form of a capsule pill that we have to give her EVERY DAY. The first 3 nights we gave it to her we spent about 30 minutes each night trying to force it down her throat (last night was the 4th and it only took 5 very painful stressful minutes). She then spends the entire night and most of the next day hiding under the bed pouting. One of Matt's co-workers summed it up nicely - "so you are forcing pills down her throat every day to make her like you more?" lol

It should take effect in about 3 weeks. The vet said we should notice a huge difference in her personality. She will have to be on the meds about 4 months before going to every other day, then another few months before weaning off them altogether. The vet said that if she reverts back to her aggressive behavior after that we should definitely find a new home for her for her health and Evan's safety. The stress of having Evan in the house is causing her aggression, causing her to stop grooming herself, and causing the recurring bladder infections. The doctor did a complete physical exam and a urine test just to make sure there wasn't bacteria or some other pain causing the problems and sure enough, it was all clear, meaning that it is stress causing these problems. The vet said she wouldn't be surprised if she lost some of the excess weight after being on the meds too. I'm not even going to say what all of this cost us (not including the monthly payments for the meds). Well...I'll just say it was over $300. Over $350. Over....nah, it wasn't over $400 thankfully!!!

So for her we're wondering should we keep her and hope that the meds work? For all we know in 7-8 months we might be back at square one. Plus if she can't handle Evan how is she going to handle a second baby addition and possibly a third in the future? How is she going to handle it when Evan is older and has friends over on a regular basis? How is she going to handle moving to a new house someday? I just feel like it would really be best for her to live with an older person/people who are established and not going to go through any big changes. I'm wondering how I'm going to continue her medicine when Matt is out of town. It's hard enough giving it to her with both of us working at it. And what are we going to do when we both go out of town next month?? It's way too hard to ask my sister or a friend to do that for us. But we'll see, we still haven't made any decisions.

Serenity....*sigh* She has become even worse with Evan. He has scratches all up and down his arms. One was especially nasty (bleeding) and he cried after she did it (he rarely cries when she scratches him). I've taken to locking her up the entire time he's awake. He knows that she'll hurt him now and ignores her until she continually positions herself to be right in front of him. She'll even go up and rub her head all over him until he grabs her fur (then she immediately hisses and scratches him). I have been especially vigilant with watching him lately. The other day she was in the room with us and I had to run to the next room to grab my brush. I started out and looked to see where Serenity was. She was following me. Great! I don't have to lock her up just to go grab something. I grab it and return to the room about 10 seconds later. She's laying next to him. Huh? She must have turned around and ran back in after I saw her following me. Oh well. Look at Evan's arm. New scratch. Wow. I can't even leave him alone for 10 seconds if she's on the loose.

Every time I see Evan's arms I make the decision to find a new home for her. But then at night or during nap time I think, "nooo, I can't get rid of her. She's my favorite." At this point I'm still undecided. We ordered Soft Paws for her and will try them out again. We tried them when she was a kitten and within 2 days half of them had fallen off. Another 2 days and they had all fallen off. But maybe now that she isn't as active they will stay on and will work.

To be honest, part of me wants to get rid of them just because of the messes they make. The hair, the cat food all over the living room, the pieces of cat litter all over the house. So with all of the real problems added to that, it makes me want to get rid of them. *sigh* Oh well....I just don't know what to do. Last night I had made the firm decision to go ahead and try to find a home for them (we'd probably have to separate them which I doubt will bother them at this point since they rarely hang out together). We don't have to give them up if we aren't comfortable with the home they would be going to. But now I'm not so sure... ahhhH!!!!!

crazy cats

These cats are seriously driving me insane. I know I haven't talked much about them since having Evan. They've been bothering me for a little over a year now for various reasons, but things seem to be getting worse now.

I'll start with Firefly. When we moved in 2 years ago she probably weighed about 9 pounds (and we thought she was big then!). She was beautiful and friendly and everyone who came over loved her and she loved them.

Serenity was the bad and shy cat. Weird combination, I know! She was a little demon in our apartment, constantly tearing things up (including 2 leather couches). However, she is scared of everyone who comes in the house (except my brother, oddly enough). She's always been high maintenance, but it's better the past year since she "grew up."

Now Firefly is a huge (she got up to 15.5 pounds), mean, grumpy cat who doesn't clean herself properly. Her fur is tangled and has clumps that we're always having to cut out. We took her to the vet back in January and the vet said she is too overweight which is why she can't reach several areas on her body to clean (including one area that you really want a cat to clean, especially an indoor cat...). We started giving both cats senior cat food which apparently has less calories or something and we restricted how much we give them. We took her back to the vet 2 weeks later and she had already lost 1 pound. To be honest I had no clue that she was unhealthily overweight. My parents have a HUGE cat (19 pounds) that I grew up with and so I just compare mine to theirs....Firefly didn't seem so big then. lol Anyway, I was excited about her losing weight. I thought maybe that's why she's become so aggressive and mean the past year and a half, because she isn't healthy and is uncomfortable. Unfortunately she hasn't lost any more weight (that I can tell) and she still isn't grooming herself properly and she's still mean. She will scratch anyone who touches her and has even gone out of her way to attack me when I was sitting down on the couch beside her.

The problem is that she comes and sits right next to you...but when you move she'll scratch you. I just wish that if she was going to be so mean she would stay out of our way. Also, we'll have visitors come by and she'll come right up to them and rub against them but if they pet her she'll scratch them and hiss. I now have to warn everyone not to touch her even though she seems friendly. For awhile I thought maybe she was in pain and that explained it, but the vet seemed to think everything was good except for her being overweight.

Serenity is too smart for her own good and always has been. She now knows that she can get away with anything since I can't yell at her or run after her while taking care of Evan. She waits until I'm rocking or feeding him or until just after I've put him in his crib and he is about to go to sleep. She'll start tearing up the couch or clothes hamper or something else she shouldn't be scratching. If I'm feeding Evan, giving him a bath, or rocking him I can't do anything. I can't run after her and if I yell it scares Evan and he starts to cry. She's too far away to spray with water and that doesn't work anyway (that actually encourages her to do bad things because it becomes a game).

Now that Evan is moving she will go and lay down right in front of him. He'll pull her fur or her tail and she'll hiss and swipe at him. If I'm around I'll make him stop and keep him away from her, but she gets into his gated play area with him. The reason I put that gate up was so that he can play and I don't have to constantly watch him. Well the other day she scratched him on the head....big time. You can see 4 scratch marks where all of her claws dug into him. It bled pretty badly too. She also got him on the other side of his head, but not as bad. Now what if she had scratched him 2 inches lower? She would have scratched his eye. It's bad enough having those marks on his head, but what if they were on his face? I was getting ready for church when it happened and I wasn't able to make it on time because I had to clean the cuts. Plus I didn't want him to go to church looking all beat up. I'm now trying to shut her up in the office when I am busy and put him in his play area. But that's hard to do when I'm in a hurry getting ready because I don't want to waste time chasing her around to put her in the room and I don't want to forget and leave her in there in my hurry to get out of the house.

*sigh* I know this is so long but I just don't know what to do about these cats. Part of me wants to try to find another home for them where they can't hurt Evan or another little baby. Firefly has never scratched him but that's because she doesn't follow him around and we don't let him near her. But I'm afraid one day I won't be watching and he'll get close to her. And obviously Serenity puts herself right in front of him and follows him everywhere he goes, but will still scratch him if he hurts or scares her.

And then another part thinks we should keep them. We took on a responsibility when we adopted them. They were like our children at one point. They helped me so much when I wanted a baby but couldn't have one. And when I couldn't find a job and was so depressed being in the apartment all day...they gave me something to do and kept me company. And it would be so hard for them to adjust to another place and other people.

So what would you do if you had a mean cat that could possibly do a lot of damage to your baby and a bad cat that tears up your furniture and scratches your baby on a daily basis??