Today you are 3

Penelope Jane

Today you are 3.  Today you are smart- so smart. Today you love to sing and sing everything. Today you get hurt all the time. Today you love to cuddle.  Today you are sweet. Today you love to sleep and fake sleep. Today you know how to say your abcs and count to 20.  Today you are beautiful- show stopping. Today you love to hear stories. Today you love Daniel tiger's neighborhood. Today your favorite food is peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Today you love to dance and imagine. Today you love Frozen and walk around freezing everything. Today you can dress yourself, buckle yourself and go potty all by yourself. Today you are a little moody and either very happy or very sad. Today you only speak in full sentences. Today you love to play dress up. Today you love art. Today you always add your own flare to every outfit- I call it your "project runway touch" Today you are so sweet and always share. Today you still want a binky at night. Today you are such a hard worker and volunteer to help all the time. Today you are not a follower. Today you are wearing 2t and starting to wear 3t. Today you love to pray and always remember to bless Cavanaugh. Today you will say the same phrase on repaet until you are acknowledged. Today Callan picks on you and you are never mean back. Today you and your brother can almost share shoes. Today you have the cutest/saddest pouty face ever. Today you are a delight. Today Ellie, I love you more than I could ever say.

Goodbye Fuzzball. Hello Pepper the cat

So-- we have been having a mouse problem-- for 3 weeks- it started with one-- but then it got cold and within 24 hours- my life was ratatouille. No joke- like our grand total of little furries caught is 29-- I just threw up in my mouth.  Needless to say, I've been at the edge of loosing my mind- we have 3 handyman visits- 3 exterminator visits and counting.  We've using sticky strips mouse traps-- because I value my childrens' fingers-- and their sweet spirits (when a mouse is caught on the sticky paper Jason always goes outside to "let it go free to see it's family"...into the trash can-- shh don't tell them) anyways, we had done everything short of burning the house to ground and starting over in my mind -when Jason mentioned a cat.  And so, after searching Craigslist for over a week-- the lack of free cats in columbus is baffling-- except maybe everyone needs a mouser like we do. We found a cat.  I knew I couldn't handle Fuzzball and a cat (also by this point any form of rodent- or cousin rodent- even bunnies- makes my skin crawl) so we found someone on Craigslist who wanted a free guinea pig for her 9 and 12 yr old- one was even having a birthday the next day-and did a switch in an ihop parking lot-- at the same time- it was perfect.

But not as perfect as Pepper the cat-- we love him.

Emmy loves him most. As I expected. But Jason and I are close seconds- followed by Ellie- who enjoys him.  Callan brings up the rear of the fan club as they have a bit of a love/fear relationship at the moment-- on both sides.

He is soo pretty, soft and striped.

He is the perfect blend of wild and cuddley-- chasing the girls around the house and then sleeping with them in a blink. He doesn't meow but purrs a lot.

Best friends.

And because he really wants to fit in- he is as quirky as can be-- like he takes showers and baths with the kids -- promise- he just loves water-- making him a true Frederick. 

Callahan Fox 98.5% delight with a tiny dash cute adore rotten ;)

Callan has been busy lately-- and I feel like just as I am halfway through picking up one Callahan caused disaster - I turn around and he is making another

But also is the sweetest boy alive-- 

He is very tender and generally such a nice little guy

Unless he is around fuzzball-- this was the day we were saying goodbye-- I heard her squeak and looked up to find this patch of fur in his hand... Bless that little rodents heart.

Here he is smashing his face-- it's hilarious in real life and he loves to makes us laugh 

Oh-- this is the saddest thing- he was hugging Ellie and Emmy- going back and forth and I felt like I was in a happy commercial -- until the blood curdling scream... He bite Ellie- right on the chest/tummy -- mid hug! He managed to break skin through her shirt...awful.

All in all he is a DELIGHT with a dash of rotten-- meaning 98.5% delight and 1.5% rotten and he still is so dang cute- even during the rotten -- but here is a text I sent J while he was in night float the other night "ps Callan just had to be pulled out of the tub because he was hitting his sisters and throwing water fairies at their heads... He then peed all over the floor-- I put a diaper on him-- he ran back and jumped in the tub- soaking his new diaper- he played in the tub with the girls- I just got them all out and he peed on the floor again while I put a towel on Elles-- wow" 

Our life lately...

Daddy has been working nightfloat... So we have been bringing dinner to him on the nights he isn't overrun 

We spend far too much time at petsmart... Free fun-- the dog grooming station is a favorite past time.

We also spend too much time here- petland-- they let you play with their puppies and hold their rabbits-- the kids' version of heaven

Creating-- this is the stable and manger from the nativity  

We've been walking and exploring when daddy wakes up

And enjoying the nice weather outside ;) while daddy works-- here Ellie is singing to herself- Emmy is playing with her new bug "Stink" and Callan is making me laugh with his silliness 

This was a little after 10:00 one night-- and I felt like I should capture it-- 

Our life has also been filled with packages and fun! Booky sent us a v day package and here are the girls enjoying their spoils ;) 

OB appointment

I had my sugar test- so Emmy and Callan came with me and Ellie stayed home and slept with her daddy ;) 

Emmy decided that this was the perfect location for a photo shoot-- 

And let's face it, after an hour of waiting-- anything that entertains is brilliant.

Callan isn't in any of these- because he is ripping the sanitizing paper from the exam table ;) 

Snow day!!-- not the photo shoot ;)

The freezing rain

Daddy deicing his car before work

Enjoying the beginnings

Callan just kept eating it ;)

It started really coming coming down- and I got the kids inside by telling them that daddy would be so sad if they played in the snow without him ;)  bwagahahahahaha 

We ended the night with some hot cocoa to warm up ;) 

Here is a pic I sent to Jason-- 

We woke up to a winter wonderland!!! Elles liked the first 3 minutes-- and then just put up with it.

Emmy loved the whole thing-- until later that day when we played to long and she sobbingly declared that she hated snow and would never go out in winter again.

We used the top of a storage bin as a sled- didn't really work all that well-- later we used a laundry basket and that worked much better

Ellie did it once-- said "that was fun. I'm done" 

Heading home

That night we made snow ice cream and chocolate sandies- yum!