Picture fatigue

I go through spells with my picture taking.  Sometime I worry I am focusing too much on taking pictures and preserving the moment for the future and for others.  I don’t want to lose enjoying the moment for us NOW.  Plus it seems a bit indulgent.  And what to do with all the pics?  Also, we have all been a bit sicky.  Halloween I certainly normally take pics—I mean all kids look adorable dressed up—but I was really out of it.  Not a single pic exists from this years Halloween.  Did it really happen? ;-)  It did, some parts were fun, and luckly we have plents off dress up pics and memories since it is a daily occurance around here anyways. 

Anyways, here are a couple photos that have been hanging out on my camera:

J sleeping with Shu-shi (shoe-shee), his best bud in the entire world.  We decided to keep the last uncleamed of Margot’s kittens.  He is almost all black and such a doll.  Really, he has been dressed up and carried around and tucked into bed and put in all sorts of containers and much, much more.  For some reason he puts up with it all and then comes back for more.  And then cuddles J when he is sleeping.  The majority of J’s waking time at home is spent playing with little Shu-shi.

 

 

We LOVE visit Grandma and grandpa and their beautiful horses!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween weekend we spent all Saturday at the festivities in Middlebury to celebrate both Halloween and the opening of the new bridge.  This was lots of fun!

 

 

 

 

Pretty cattle in the sun (at West Street Dairy, where Bogie came from).

 

 

 

One of my very favorite memories this month: our first snow and snow day!  I was sent home from work, picked up J, and Brad even came home from work.  It looks kind of lame, but J convinced me to get out his sled, and he was right: we could actually get up some good speed going down the driveway.  It was great to celebrate the natural holiday with lots of play outside (in weather when almost everyone else did not venture out) and then with (homemade) hot cocoa after.  Our first snow tradition!

 

 

 

Second trip to the dentist.  He was great!

 

 

 

 

Walking across the new bridge and watching the river and train.

Only pictures from Thanksgiving.  They had fun making letters with their bodies as well as doing all sorts of other tricks.  We spent the morning at Grandma and Grandpa’s in Shoreham and then headed to Great-grams in Lincoln for the evening and a sleepover.  Lots of fun!! 

This morning at the library Joseph also got his very own library card.  We finished “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (his first chapter book) and felt this was a good way to celebrate.  So cute and exciting.  I am feeling extremely happy and thankful lately.  Life isn’t perfect, but it sure is good!

Introducing: Bogie!

This is our newest animal friend, Bogie.  He is about a month and a half old Angus/Holstein cross steer calf the we bought from my friends Alice and Ricky (look at that terminology I have figured out!  steer means castrated male).  We have actually had him since he was three weeks old, but I was a little hesitant to post because he ended up getting pretty sick right after arriving.  The weather was cold and rainy, we made a mistake putting to big a hole in the bottle, plus all the other changes combined to have him lying down and listless.  He still always ate at least, but I was out there at night covering him with blankets and praying he would pull through.  I ended up have to even take his temp and give him some shots!  He still is pretty skinny in my uninformed opinion, but I think he will be alright.  It has been quite an adventure.  Joseph has been pretty involved helping me give him a bottle and now a bucket of milk two or three times a day, cleaning out the barn, getting him hay, etc . . .  Of course Joseph has some funny ideas as well:  he does not believe that Bogie is going to be bigger then George (the goat) and he likes to make a big nest for them out of hay.  Joseph also came up with the name.  His full name is Bogis Bean after two of the characters in the book we are reading (Fantastic Mr. Fox).   

Oh yeah, let’s not forget why we have him: to eat!  I know that is disagreeable to some of you, but for our family we enjoy being close to our food sources. 

Yes George, we still love you.  You can always strike a pose!  And I think you too are going to be surprised when Bogie outgrows you!

Kitties!!

It has been really hard to photograph the kitties, but here they are!  Let me introduce you to, from left to right, Bixby (all black), Milo (funny asymmetrical white markings on face), Banjo (grey and by far the biggest), Adelaide (symmetrical white markings on her face), and Moxi (white nose and the bravest, she/he was the first to leave the nest and always the first to explore new places).  I have been having so much fun with my first kittens ever!  They were 5 weeks last weekend, which is apparently nearly grown in kitty terms.  They have a new bed/nest closer to the rest of the house (Margot had the babies in an extremely hidden out of the way place).  Mom often leaves the babies though and they even found there own little place (a basket of dishtowels).  They use their litter boxes (I have 4, 2 I made with short sides and 2 normal ones and I have to clean them CONSTANTLY).  They eat tons of wet food and now even eat moistened dry kitty food.  They are free to come and go throughout the house as the please.  Oh yeah, and I know their new homes will probably change the weirdo names I gave them, but it was fun ;-)

Some old pics from when they were just a week. 

And more recent pics:

 

My big question now is, should I keep one?  And if so which—either Moxi or Banjo?

Margot and her babies!

Here they are on the day they were born (2 days ago on Saturday).  Much more to come!!