He's our baby

This week I thought about why people call their animals their babies.  Some people find it totally repulsive to refer to a furry critter as  one of their children or "baby."  But... I totally get it.  Harry is our "baby."  He is tiny like a baby.  You can cuddle him like a baby.  He is curious like a baby. He can be hilarious like a baby.  He has an innocence like a baby.  He can be ornery like a baby, or should I say toddler.  He can be moody like a baby.  He adoring like a baby. He needs us like a baby.  He sleeps a lot like a baby.  AND the best part is, he won't ever grow out of these things and he's not as much work as a real human baby.

I know if I still had children in infancy or toddler ages, Harry would just be my cat.  But since my girls have grown out of those stages and stepped into new roles in our family dynamic, the position of baby was open and he has gladly filled that spot in our lives.  The best part is, the girls are totally getting to enjoy the experience of having that "baby" in their lives as well.  They are very helpful with Harry and love on him and enjoy him every single day.  He makes us laugh a lot. I have had two other cats in my life, but Harry definitely tops the cake.  He is Mr. personality. He is definitely one of the Bilberry clan and we can't imagine life without him.

Watching a movie with the gang.

This is one of my favorite pictures.  That little ornery look of his. I think he wished I would have packed him up and taken him with us.  

Caught in the act of yawning.

The Bilberry penthouse, aka the top of of the kichen cabinets.  I would have to climb the counters to get him down, so I just let this one slide.

Curious cat.  Took a water bottle to finally convince him it wasn't a good idea after 3 tries.

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This cat lets the girls carry him around everywhere like a baby.

Doesn't this pic just give you warm fuzzies all over?

This is a common sight around our house.  He just lets it all hang out.

A sleeping cat is almost as cute as a sleeping baby.

Everyone needs a Harry baby in their lives.  Highly recommend it!

Happy 5th Birthday Brennan!

I'm late on this one, but better late than never.  B had her birthday on December 4th.  She took her healthy birthday treats to school the day of and opened one gift that evening.  We didn't do much on the actual day as Jeff couldn't even make it home to celebrate because of work.  I did decorate her door for her to find when she woke up the day of as I do every birthday for my girls.  We had a small party with cake and gifts later that weekend and braved the snowy slick roads Saturday to make a trip to the Fun Spot happen by request.  The fun spot is basically like a Chucky Cheese.

Brennan is pretty much meeting all my expectations for a 5 year old.  I'm trying hard to cherish her at this age because it seems like the last age of being little and innocent.  I love my kids getting older because it makes life much easier when they can take care of themselves and help out around the house.   However, I will miss being able to snuggle comfortably because of her size.  I will miss the funny innocent things she says.   I will miss having her pass out on my lap when we go to a show, and she just can't make it  through because it is too late. I will miss her wanting little kid things like stuffed animals, dolls, and dress up clothes.  I will miss little Bren.

Made this box look like a birthday cake...kind of.  To hold the birthday healthy treat eats.

Harry is always an active participant in all family activities.  Even watching B open her presents.

He never jumps up there, but his curiosity about B's new puppy game got the better of him.

Like I said, Harry and family activities go hand in hand.

I lost count how many blows it took her, it took awhile.

Healthy birthday butterfly eats!

Snow days

Thursday December 5th school was canceled for our first snow day.  It was a doozy.  Frozen rain and 10 inches of snow kept us out the next day.  Then we had the weekend and school was called off again on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Thursday we lucked out and got to go back.  It was short lived, because some more icy rain came in Friday and we missed Friday as well. Snow and ice on our hills is just too risky.  

My 1st grade concert has been rescheduled for the 4th time now.  I think this Monday it will finally be a go.  I'm so ready to get that puppy over with.  The kids are ready, we just need a decent day of weather to do it.  I'm not sure how many times I have it in me to sing Rudolph.  Then we have another 4 days of school and we are off for a 2 week Christmas vacation.  

I know all of our snow days built into the calendar are going to be used up at this point.  I'm a little worried they will start taking our Spring break if we have any more days off.  It's not even officially winter yet.  Gulp!  I've had this weird feeling since the beginning that this school year was going to see lots of snow.  So far I'm right.

BUT I'm not complaining really. I love, love, love snow days.  I'm still getting paid so money isn't an issue.  I will be making it up, so it's not like the school will suffer a loss in the end.  Even though I don't want to admit it, towards the end of all those days off, I knew I needed some sort of routine back again.  I have trouble getting motivated to do much of anything when I'm given freedom like that.  I only cleaned or cooked when I had too and I watched WAAAAYYYY too much TV.  Aw, but is was glorious.  Maybe it's pay back for all those days I had to run a daycare and didn't get much of a break.  There were never Christmas vacations, spring breaks, president days, summers off, snow days, etc. when you run a daycare.  So, I don't feel to bad about being a lazy bum on my snow days. I  deserve it. It's nice to have my life back ;)

So Monday is coming and we will be returning, finally.  I'm ready.  I'm relaxed, rested, and recharged.  Just what I need to be to pull off a rehearsal, assembly performance, and evening performance.  It'll be a long day, but I'm ready.  

The girls enjoyed their snow days only after the first two or three days of them passed.  It was as if they forgot how to get along and use their imaginations to play.  I think they got used to every minute of their day being planned out for them that they forgot how to be kids.  It took awhile for them to appreciate having no schedule and figure out how to pass the time with each other.  We watched a lot of movies together, made Christmas cookies, and played in the snow.  

Snow angel making

Snow wasn't slippery enough to sled.  Boo!

She got thirsty so she decided to eat it.

Tried snowballs and snowman making but it was just too dry of a snow

B's hat wouldn't stay on.

10 inches I'd say

Thanksgiving 2013

We got a snow day!  I think I may be one of many this year.  I have had a feeling that this is going to be a snowy school year.  So what better thing to do than catch up on blogging.

This year it was our turn to host Thanksgiving.  Last year  my sister did it.  Now that she is closer we may actually be able to make Thanksgiving a Koehn tradition again.  I'm not entirely sure, but I'm thinking Christmas may turn into the Bilberry side. So far, Jeff's little brother is committed to coming our way for Christmas.  Not sure about the inlaws yet.  They made it up last year.

Thanksgiving break for us started the Wednesday before.  My parents drove in Tuesday night after spending a couple nights in KC.  We were able to put up the tree with my mom.  Jeff went to a chamber of commerce lunch with my Dad, and we ended out day together hitting a great show called SIX here in Branson.  SIX is an amazing family of 6 men who do their entire show acapella. If you come down, you really ought to see them.  It is not the hill billy Branson shows you always think of when you think of Branson, which is why we are willing to go see them.

Thursday my sister drove in after lunch.  My mother, Jeff, and I took turns in the kitchen making traditional dishes for the big feast.  I was worried about having such a small kitchen and dining area and hosting, but I always worry about that.  Since we spread all the cooking out a little at a time throughout the day, it turned out to be perfect.  It's the way to go when you have limited space.

We spent the rest of the day visiting, playing a little wii, board games, and then watching a movie with the kids.  The kids were all low maintenance because they were off doing their own thing all thorughout the day. The cousins get along fabulously!

It was a blessed holiday!  Only wish I had been smart enough to take more pictures.