Class Pet...

Bodie's preschool has a real live Zuzu pet! We took her home several weekends ago and the kids loved having her here. The funny thing was I kept calling her Isabelle the whole weekend. And then when it was time to take her back to the school Rowdy asked why the side of her cage said Annabelle??? Exactly why I was never a straight A student!!!

The kids really want to bring her home over Christmas break...I'm still thinking about it. Her little heart shaped nose is enough to earn her a stay during Christmas but I'm still not sure! Avery adored her of course!

Two Hundred and Ninety Seven...

This is Smokey. I know I have introduced him before. But he is quickly becoming one of my favorite little friends. Our cats are outside cats but a couple times a day we bring this little one inside and say hi! I have had cats on and off all my life and I have never seen or felt a softer kitty. When I pick him up and snuggle with him, he just snuggles right in and likes to watch the kids from that point of view. We love him to peices. His name, like the other pets around here, has evolved and we mostly call him Moke for short...or Floke, Mokerton, Mokie or any variation of these! I'm sure we will think of more as he grows up.

Two Hundred and Sixty Nine...

I don't think I official introduced our two new cats.


This is smokey or "Moke" for short. He has the softest fur. It sort of has two layers and he is really petite and so fun to snuggle with.

This is Oreo or just "Or" for short. He is really super snuggly and likes to give chin rubs.

Two Hundred and Fifty Two...

Can I just say, my son is a little stud muffin! Hey, they all can't be like the first one.
I love when I go outside and Ron has brought home a "new" truck.

Bodie and I were having a good time up to this point. Then something happened that hasn't happened before. Bodie, being 2, very clearly in his very limited vocabulary told me....

"No! -ma!!!!" (translation: No, camera!)

The bonus about a two year old is that their moods shift quickly. After I let him sit on the tailgate and throw rocks, he was fine. And when I introduce, Smoke, our newest little kitty, he was in heaven.

Two Hundred and twenty five...

I am learning to love the light in my barn...

...and I love the fact that he feeds the dog. All by himself.

And he even calls the dog to come and eat!

One hundred and ninety-eight...

Rowdy is learning about the behavior of little kittens. He is very concerned about Oreo. We have taken our time getting Oreo used to our property. We kept him in a pet carrier in the barn for a few days and would only take him out with supervision. We slowly gave him more and more freedom to explore. As Oreo has become a little more familiar with his surroundings we eventually stopped putting him in the carrier. Well, poor little Rowdy was very concerned about Oreo and that he was going to get lost. We have had to do tons of explaining about how cats behave and that Oreo will be fine.

Oreo likes to climb the trees...naturally. Rowdy came to me one day crying because "Or" was in the tree. I reassured him that the little guy would find his way down. And just as I was explaining it, he made his way down. Whew!

Kittens like to bite and that is something that Rowdy wasn't sure of at first. One day Rowdy got a little frustrated with Oreo and he said to me with tears in his eyes "Mom, I kind of got mad at Oreo, and I set him down kind of hard, but I love him so much, but I was mad at him because he bit me." Gee, that sounds like all the frustrating moments that I have had as a parent being explained right back at me by my seven year old.

Every time I tell Rowdy to go feed Oreo his is very willing to do it (so far). Oreo is a very cuddly cat too. I showed the kids how if you lay down on your back, Oreo will come up to you and rub up against you and purr like crazy....they loved it!

Now that Oreo is super familiar with our yard and the house...he is at the back door a lot wanting to come in....

One hundred and seventy-seven...

What a pair!

One hundred and seventy-five...

Go ahead and try to reach into your computer monitor and pet him. This is Oreo. We got him from Uncle Joe (Ron's brother). See that little bowl next to him that is a little cup that applesauce comes in...just so you know how small he is. We love him and he is really starting to warm up to us. I love when his little motor boat gets going and you wonder how such a loud purr can come out of such a small little fella.

Eleven

This is our cat, CJ, and our dog, Cooter. Cooter is named after, well Cooter the car mechanic, from the Dukes of Hazzard. Man, that is embarrassing. Two Dukes references in the first week of my blog everyday about the Shinkle household. CJ stands for Cooter Junior. I know, how original. However, over time he has been called all sorts of other things. For example, Chicken, Chickers, Bic, Bicker, Silly lil Bicker, Son of a Bicker (sorry but I want this to be complete), Flea Flicker, Flick, Flea and Niner (he had an accident with one of his toes when he was a kitten).

Now that the introductions are done. The cat and dog sometimes like to cuddle. I drove up the driveway one day and there they were. I had my camera handy in the car and snapped these shots. Chickers obviously, wanted nothing to do with it and got out of there. Leaving...

...Cooter. He has also been called Cooter-bear, Doggie, Iggy, Furry Bear, The Furriest Bear That Ever Was Furry and Flippity Flop (that's what his ears do when he runs).