When is a chore not really a chore?

When it's a fun, of course.  We've started including Calvin in several chores around the house:  aside from picking up his toys he also helps us load the dryer, carry dirty clothing to the laundry room, and unload the dishwasher, among other things.  We're not fooling ourselves here - we know this will only last until he realizes that these things are "chores," but we figured it couldn't hurt to introduce the idea of helping early.  His favorite chore, though, is one that he just picked up on his own - feeding the dogs.  At the mere mention of feeding time he dutifully picks up Moose's mini-dog dish, trots over to the garage door for one of us to fill it, then marches right back and plops it down, after which he invariably seems to get disappointed that the dog is eating his hard work.  We enjoy it every time.

Did you know....

that if you look hard enough you can find cats just about anywhere?

 

Strange friends

Yes, our cat and our son have a very strange relationship, and this video gives only a brief glimpse of it. And before start feeling sorry for the cat let us remind you that she clearly hangs around, even coming back for more. Besides, she has a room all to herself where she can get far away from his grabby little hands whenever she wants.

Saying goodbye.

Today we lost a beloved member of our family when we had to say goodbye to Diamond.  The past couple of weeks have been very difficult for us as we grappled with this decision, but in the end we know that it was the merciful and graceful thing to do;  her physical abilities had declined rapidly in the past few months, as we knew they would some day, and keeping her here with us any longer would have been selfish.
Diamond lived a very long and full life.  When she came into our lives the vets said she would not live more than a year, that her disabilities or our limitations would get in the way.  Since then she celebrated eight birthdays.  There is no way to sum up a life so richly lived, nor describe the courage with which she lived it.  Everything we gave her she gave us back a thousand fold in love.  No amount of time with her could have ever been enough, but we are thankful for the years we had, thankful that she met our son, and thankful for all the love she gave us.  
The vets nine years ago could not have been more wrong when they told us we would not have the strength to care for her special needs.  Keeping her alive was easy, it was letting her go that required all the strength we could carry.

If tears could build a stairway,
and memories were a lane,
I would walk right up to heaven
and bring you home again

 

Taking carrots from a baby

Calvin had carrots for the first time yesterday and they were a big hit, but there's more to the story.  Since Cortney makes Calvin's food there's quite a bit of prep work involved, so while she stood at the sink washing, peeling, and chopping whole, organic carrots, she gave Calvin one to play with.  It seemed like a good idea - it was too big to swallow, it was cold on his teeth, it was clean and organic, and it made Calvin pretty happy to explore the strange orange thing.  And while she stood at the sink peeling carrots she was not surprised to hear Moose trot into the room, because he is always checking on the baby.  And it was even less surprising that when she heard Moose trot out of the kitchen Calvin let out a little cry, because Calvin always gets frustrated when the animals get away from him.  But what was surprising was that Calvin didn't stop crying, and when she looked down his carrot was gone, and Moose was in the other room chewing happily on it under the piano.  The situation was quickly rectified - Calvin got a new carrot and Moose lost his, but it looks like both Calvin, the dogs, AND the parents have a new lesson to learn.