29 and Counting

So... a lot has happened since my last post. I had my 29th birthday a week ago Saturday (2nd), which we celebrated at Mark and Julie's in Chicago. They were so kind and loving and generous to babysit the girls so we got to go out. We actually spent 7 HOURS together without kids!! I honestly can't remember the last time we did that. Oh wait, that was in June in Italy. So it hasn't been THAT long, but it was still a very special treat. We commented several times on how it felt special to just ride in the car together without kids in the back seat, and our most exciting plan for the evening (drum roll, please)... wait for it ... was, after going out to dinner, to pick up some Sudoku and go sit somewhere and race each other. Haha. Still makes me laugh. But we never get to just hang out, do next to nothing, with no interruptions, without feeling like we need to rush home to relieve a babysitter, without thinking "she's going to wake up any moment!" etc. We ended up going to one of David's college reunion events at Wheaton, which was great fun too. We ran into some of our old friends, reminisced a bit, and stayed out LATE (11:15 pm, haha). It was fantastic.
And ... David gave me the most romantic gift yet: A litter box! :) So... after five years of marriage, the moment has finally come. We can have a cat! I think this might have been the ultimate sacrifice on his part... laying down his life for his bride (*wink wink*). It was a complete surprise, I was NOT expecting that, and the sweetest thing ever. So within days I scouted out the animal shelters in the area and found the newest member of our family: Loxley.




So far, he has been amazing with the girls. He plays well with both of them, even though Rhea likes to chase him squealing loudly with her hands raised high, and when (or if) he lets her catch up with him, she gives him some rather solid pats. You'd think he was a dog. That's how patient he has been with both of them (but especially Rhea). He's about 4 months old or so, and his shelter name was Blue Moon. He and his siblings were all named after beers; there was a Heineken, Miller, and some other ones that had already been adopted. We decided to change his name to Loxley, after Sir Robin of Loxley (Robin Hood's estate before he was made an outlaw). (We're currently sort of addicted to Robin Hood, the British TV series that we can watch on Netflix Instant... hence the inspiration. :) ) Here are a few more pictures of the girls enjoying him, and we've both commented how fun it's been to hear Lucia laugh the past couple of days. He brings out a belly laugh in her that we rarely got to hear before. And today I realized that having him around has already given me more time to myself since they have someone else to play with. In the past, they would've been pestering each other or coming after me for entertainment, but now... there's Loxley! :) He has been using his litter box from the very first day, sleeps in the laundry room, and has even made friends with our neighbors' dog already. So far, I'm impressed. :)