Our days as free cats are numbered

Well we are finally back. It's been a while since Sarah really gave us the reigns and let us write what we want, but she's given us a chance tonight. But we'll try to keep it somewhat short and sweet, because we have several pictures and even a couple of videos to share.
The little person is now 6 months old. Longest 6 months of our lives, but the grown up humans say it has flown by. Perhaps if they just had to sit around and sleep, eat, and bathe all day they would feel like life was a little slower paced. Parker had his 6 month check up today and we have to say that we dread the day he is able to catch us. The kid simply WILL NOT stop growing! Today he weighed in at 21 pounds, 8 ounces, and is 27 inches long. So, since he was born he has put on about 12 pounds and 6 inches. He still ranks in the 95th percentile for weight, and is now in about the 85th to 90th percentile for length. His head circumference is also in the 95th percentile, so the kid is pretty much in proportion. No monster melons on that one! He got 3 shots at the doctor's visit today, but thanks to a precautionary dose of Tylenol he is currently lying in his crib babbling himself to sleep. The grown ups are trying not to rock him to sleep every night anymore, as this could lead to awkwardness once he becomes a teenager. We are pretty sure that by that time he'll be so big that he can rock his mommy and daddy to sleep. Plus, if someone happens to come over one night and Ryan is rocking a 13 year old in the rocking chair...CPS may possibly be called.

Anyway, Parker is VERY CLOSE to being able to crawl, at which point we will no longer be so visible or accessible. Already he can only be lured into scooting by a couple of things....a remote control across the room, or a cat across the room. Put one of those things within view of that kid and LOOKOUT! He can move at break-neck speed to get to what he wants. Ok, so maybe he's not THAT fast, but he really can move! Here's a video to prove our point. In this video you can see that the lure is a remote control (Thanks Sarah for not holding us down so he could catch us.)

Here are some 6 month pictures of Parker with the infamous monkey. That monkey looks smaller and smaller everytime they take a new picture of him with it! And it's getting a little harder for them to get Parker to sit still to take the monkey pictures. We found this pretty entertaining, so we are including several pictures that they ended up with after the whole ordeal.

And finally, back by popular demand.....here's another installment of "Parker's storytime"!

Until next time,

Los Gatos

New Beginnings

Here he is!

LANDON REID MUESSE

Born Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 6:44 pm

Weighing in at 9 pounds, 10 ounces

20 inches long

and on a separate note....if anyone can translate the following clip, i will pay you! (minimum wage, minus social security and taxes...)

Swimmy Swim Swim

Well we're back. We let Sarah take the reigns of the blog last week, and she had to get all sentimental and sappy. We can guarantee you that you will NOT be hearing us being all sappy this week. Actually, we aim to keep it short and sweet this week, as we are spent following an earlier round of wrestling with each other on the bathroom rug. Here's what's been happening for the past week in our world....

We ate.

We slept.

We licked.

We pooped.

We fought.

We repeated it all.

Until next time.....

OH!!!!!!! YOU MEAN YOU WANT TO HEAR WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE HUMANS??? Ok, we can take just a few minutes to fill you in.

Sarah was gone most of the day Saturday, Saturday night, and most of the day Sunday. Apparently she was at a bachelorette party for her little sister. We aren't quite sure what a bachelorette or a party is, but we'll assume it was a good time. She didn't come back feeling terrible like she used to do back in her college days after parties. Maybe she's finally grown up.

Sunday was Father's Day, and we'd like to send a shout out to our papa, where ever he may be. Actually, we are fairly certain that we have different papas, since we look nothing alike. And our mama, Mabel, was no stranger to the tomcats. So here's to you daddies...much love.

It was Ryan's very first father's day. He got a brand new pair of shoes. Only Sarah bought the wrong size. Go figure. They should be like us and just not wear shoes. And you know, they should also have their toe nails surgically removed like we did....it's only fair. When Sarah got home from her night out of town the family went to the Weishuhn's house for a hamburger cookout and some swimming, since it was apparently a scorcher outside. (They don't let us venture out there, so we 're not sure if it was as hot as they are saying.) Sarah's sister Megan joined them and they had an entertaining evening as the mini one had his first dip ever in a swimming pool. Ryan and Sarah snapped some pictures of the occasion for us to share with you.

Ok, so we don't have 5 month monkey pictures...we haven't motivated the humans to take them. Since we're closer to 6 months than 5 months now, we will just wait and give you 6 month pictures in a couple of weeks.

And stay tuned next week for some pictures of Parker's new cousin Landon, who is scheduled to make his debut on Wednesday of next week!

Until then....

The Cats

Blessed

Hi there blog fans! I am giving the cats a break from the blog this week so I can share some of my personal feelings with my devoted readers. (all 7 or so of you!)

Several events have happened recently that have caused me to reflect on my current situation in life. All of this reflection has led me to a simple revelation...I AM BLESSED. Let me explain a bit...

Last week I called up my mom and I was just extremely exhausted from the responsibilities of being a wife, mother, employee, sister, friend and student. I complained to my mom at length about how I just needed a "baby break" and some time to myself just to relax. She wasn't her usual self. She didn't proceed to feel pity for me and offer to take Parker off of my hands for a bit. Instead, she explained to me what she had experienced in the prior 24 hours. It put my "problems" in a whole new perspective. First of all, my mom and John have some friends (I think they are actually relatives of John's) whose daughter is supposed to get married this weekend. The prospective groom found out very recently that he has a mass in his lung that the doctors are concerned about. So rather than celebrating with his new bride this weekend, he will be recovering from what is sure to be a terrifying and major surgical procedure that will be done sometime this week. The wedding is being postponed until the fall so that his medical issues can be taken care of immediately. This man is not even 30 years old (at least I don't think he is). To top it off, the bride-to-be's father is now having testing done to examine a possible spot in his lung. I can't even to begin to imagine the immense fear and uncertainty that this family must be experiencing right now. Actually, I can sort of imagine it. Last month my sister Laura had her appendix removed because her doctor found a tumor attached to it. The surgery was on Wednesday. We didn't get the biopsy results until the following Monday. Those 5 days were seemingly the longest of my life. I don't think God has ever heard from me quite as often as he did in those days. Thankfully, the biopsy came back showing favorable results - the mass was not cancer. Getting that news was almost more exciting for me than the day I found out I was pregnant with Parker. Our family has been touched by cancer numerous times, and to FINALLY hear that God had spared us this time was SUCH A RELIEF. Anyway, to continue with my mom's phone conversation with me...

The day after she heard this news about this family, she and John were out checking their cows when they found that one of the younger heifers, Bella, had delivered her calf. The calf was dead, and Bella was not doing well. John ended up having to put her down, which just broke our hearts. We had watched Bella grow up since she was a calf just a couple of years ago. To see one of God's creatures lose her life due to an attempt to bring a new life into the world was just heartbreaking. Yes, they are only a couple of cows. But the circle of life seemed chopped into pieces in that case.

Then today my sister Laura sends me a touching email and includes a link to a blog that she is a devoted reader of. This was my first time ever to hear of this blog. http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/ I found myself reading this family's story and just sitting in disbelief as I read about what seemed to be blow after blow that they were dealt. Yet, I was amazed and inspired. In spite of numerous losses in the family, the writer of the blog remains steadfast in her faith and surprisingly upbeat. And I thought to myself...."Here is a woman who has EVERY RIGHT to complain and to be mad at God. She has EVERY RIGHT to question God's very existence. She has EVERY RIGHT to be a non-believer and and to blame her misfortune on God, since there is seemingly no other way to explain her losses. Yet she remains steadfast in her faith and uses her experiences to minister to others." Unbelievable. And incredibly inspiring. I hope you'll take a minute to read her story if you have the time. I think you'll be inspired as well.

So today I have realized how incredibly blessed I am. I have my health. My family has their health. I have a husband who is an amazing companion to me and an even more amazing father to our son. I have 3 sisters who are incredible women and who are the best friends a girl could ask for. And I also have so many other friends who I know would be there for me at the drop of a hat if I needed them to be. And my parents...I can't even think of words to describe how blessed I am in this category. The guidance of my parents is my only explanation for how I have become the woman that I am. The weeks following the birth of my son convinced me that my mother must have superhuman powers, and that she is truly an angel sent to my family from God. I have the coolest in-laws around who are so willing to help out whenever we need them. I have a nice home, a stable job, and the 2 most awesome cats ever. But more importantly...I have Parker.

Parker is a miracle. Everytime I look at him I am completely amazed at how perfect he is. And yes, he does have his minor flaws (a potential third nipple, and seemingly a slight unibrow). But man that kid is amazing. Every single day he does something new to amuse me and to remind me just how incredible he is. He is my gift from God that I never knew how much I wanted. Everytime I look into those big brown eyes I completely melt and fall in love with him all over again. Even when he is fussing and screaming, I am completely amazed. God gave him this perfect little body, those perfect little lungs, his pefect, strong voice to express his feelings. God gave him those cute little cheeks and those chubby thighs. God gave him his bubbling personality that I get to watch develop every day. And God gave him to me. Of all people, He chose ME to be Parker's mommy. And I couldn't be more excited about that. I only hope and pray that someday my sisters will get to experience the joys and perils that being a mommy brings. (Heather is well on her way!)

Just a couple of pictures this week. I just took these earlier tonight. I often find myself going into Parker's room when he's asleep just to "check on him." More realistically, I'm just staring at him in awe of how beautiful he is and how incredible he is. And...he makes me laugh. His sleeping position is an interesting one that only gives me a smile everytime i see it.

Yep, that's his little butt hiked straight up in the air.

So the cats will be back next time with 5 month pictures of Parker and whatever other witty banter they come up with. Until then, count your blessings and give thanks for all you've been given!

Love,

Sarah

Losing their lunch

Yeah yeah....so it's been more than 2 weeks since we updated. But we have a very valid excuse. You see, we can only update when Sarah has time. Since we lack the opposable thumbs that are necessary for typing, we must wait until Sarah is available and then we dictate our blog and she types for us. And recently, there has been waaaay too much going on in our house to bother Sarah with typing our blog. Let us explain...

Humans are a sickly breed. If one gets sick, they all get sick. And this time, they all got sick. Very sick. Disgusting sick. It started with the man human. Last week he came home several days feeling icky and saying he had a fever (although...now that we think about it, we never once saw them put that thermometer in his nether-regions to take his temperature like they have to do to us and that small person). This overall feeling of grossness went on for a few days - it came and went in spurts. Then Saturday the mini-human threw up all over his Grammie. We mean BIG TIME threw up. Ok, so we weren't exactly there to see it, but we heard about it, and we are pretty sure it was massive. But after that the little guy was fine. Then, on Sunday evening, that man human had a fever of 103. That's pretty high for a person, so off to the emergency room the adults went. No, no...they didn't leave the small one with us. They took him to his Grammy's house while they were gone. An hour (and several tylenols and ibuprofens) later, the man human was diagnosed with a virus and was told it would run its course. And it sure did run its course. It practically ran all over the house and around the neighborhood and even seemingly throughout the town. Monday morning the lady human wasn't feeling so swell, and then came the explosions. The stomach bug hit her hard, and she spent the entire day hovering over the human litter box. We won't go into details here, but just let us say that it was not pretty, nor did it sound pretty. The mini-human was sent packing to stay with his Grammy so he wouldn't get sick. Monday night, the man human caught the bug. The adults were lying in their bed, each with a barf bucket conveniently located next to the bed, in case of emergency. (The human breed refuses to just spew on the floor....we don't have a problem with it). Tuesday was a little better, but both adults stayed home from work to try to recover. Tuesday night the mini-human came back home and the grown ups were so happy to see him! Wednesday Sarah was still feeling under the weather, so she stayed home another day. Parker had to go stay with his Grammie because his other Grammy had now caught the infamous virus! There was just a whole lotta puking going on!

So finally today things are back to normal. Everyone is back where they normally are - work, the sitter's house, or snoozing on the furniture (that's where we normally are). We have no pictures to share this week, because we figured you probably wouldn't be so excited about pictures of people laid up with a stomach virus. We will try to find some interesting things to take pictures of for next week's post.
Until next time...
-The cats

The Mess Hall is officially OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Our house is filthy. Yes, it is partly our fault (but can we really be blamed because nature causes us to shed ungodly amounts of hair in the spring?), but that little chunkers is really the one to blame. The Mr. and Mrs. started giving him food off a spoon this week, and boy is that child disapproving! He hasn't quite figured out yet what the heck he is supposed to do with a spoon, or if he is supposed to like the taste of the stuff that's on it. So instead of trying to swallow what is forced on him, he spits at least three quarters of it right back out onto himself and anything or anyone sitting within 12 inches of his face. And yes, we have the proof....here are some pictures of the first spoon feeding adventures.

"Are you guys kidding me?? This is NOT a funny joke!"

As of now they are only giving the little guy cereal mixed with formula or apple juice. Next week they may try to venture into Veggie Land. Oh, and they FINALLY took the 4 month pictures of the chunk. Here they are compared to the others.

In other news, Sarah's little sister Megan graduated from a place called Texas A&M University on Saturday. They had a party. We weren't invited. We are getting SICK AND TIRED of always being overlooked. Just you wait...one of these days we will puke on the carpet enough times that someone will FINALLY start taking us seriously....yeah, one of these days....

Until next time,

Los Gatos

Growing like a weed

Here we go again...being forced to take time out of our busy schedules to write about life in our house. Don't these people know that grooming, sleeping, and eating are MUCH more important than keeping everyone informed about what that little noise box is up to now??? For example, here is what we were doing when Sarah came and told us it was time to update the blog...can't she tell we are EXTREMELY busy??Anway....here's what's been going on lately. Parker turned 4 months old on Saturday. Who cares? We turned 6 years old last month and no one so much as gave us a little kitty treat, or perhaps even a little play mouse (you know, the kind with the real mouse fur...we love those things!) But like we say over and over again, we don't matter anymore. Can't you see the looks of desperation in our eyes in the picture up there?

Parker had his 4 month check up on Monday and that kid is just a monster. He is now tipping the scales at 19 pounds and is 26 1/4 inches long. The doctor said that he's in the 95th percentile for both weight and length, whatever that means. After a thorough inspection everything else with the kiddo was perfect. We hear that then it was shot time. We don't like shots, so we can only imagine that the mini-human wouldn't like them either. He fussed a little bit when they got him home, but for the most part he has just been his usual self. The doctor said that the grown up humans can start giving the baby human some "solid" foods now, we guess that means they are going to start giving him some of our cat food. Once again, we fall by the wayside. Look for pictures in upcoming posts of the first "spoon-feeding" encounters...

We know we promised Parker's 4 month monkey pictures, but the grown ups are procrastinators like we are, so they haven't exactly taken it yet. We will force them to do it so we can post it next week.

In the meantime, please enjoy some pictures of the 2 most glamourous creatures ever to walk the face of the earth...

Me in my "gimme some lovin" position.

Where's Lexi?.............................HERE I AM!!

The evil death glare....................and helping rock Parker to sleep.

Ok, so maybe not EVERYONE will think that we are the most glamourous creatures on the face of the earth, but those people are fools! Just to please our faithful readers, we will throw in a couple pictures of that little Chunker for good measure. We aim to please.

Parker with his new favorite - Barney............. Parker in his new seat.

Ok, enough for now. Stay tuned next week for adventures in spoon feeding...

-The cats