Simple Things Sunday: Tire Swing

Nothing can make a little kid's day brighter like a big old tire swing and a few big pushes from Dad.

Quarterly Top 5 Photos : Quarter 3

 I can't believe it's almost October! Not too hard to pick 5 this time, though. Mr. No is now in his 2nd year of preschool. :( He's changed so much over the summer.  He's gotten so brave.  He's been trying things he never would have done before such as climbing the ladders in the apple orchard to pick apples from the very top.  He's still sweet, snuggly, crazy and sassmouthed, though.


1.  Mr. No the Cute.  Love how it shows how sweet our little man is.

2. Because it shows him trying new things.  We used to have to beg and plead for him to try  anything new.  Now, as long as it seems safe enough to him, he'll give most things a whirl.

3.  I chose this one because he's so proud of himself riding a big boy bike (with training wheels).  I love those rare moments when he realizes that he can do anything as long as he tries.

        
 4.  I love my silly little helper.  He loves loves loves melon balls and now can even make them for himself!  And anyone who's scooped out a cantaloupe knows how long that takes.

 5.  This one is actually my favorite because it is just me and Mr. No snuggling together.  He's such a cuddly bear and I dread the day that is going to end.

WW: Goodbye Sweet Friend

Typically, I stick to the Wordless Wednesdays but this week is definitely not so wordless.  One of our cats, Braden, was hit by a car and killed this weekend.  He was supposed to be an inside cat only but started sneaking out so we just gave in. Our cats are family, not merely pets, so this Wednesday is all about our sweet, happy, handsome, fresh, cuddly, mitten pawed, completely loved and adored snuggle cat.   I apologize for the sad topic but Braden LOVED attention from everyone and we want everyone to see what a wonderful little love bug he was.

H actually brought Braden home with his brother, Owen, as a surprise 8 years ago (well, next month).  They were litter mates and inseparable little cuties and the person who had them wanted them find a home together.  They were so adorable when they snuggled!  They still snuggled to the end.  Owen makes me the saddest because he has no idea what happened to his brother and sits by the screen door and the window looking for Braden. :(
(please excuse my terrible and quickly thrown together collages)

Braden had these adorable big ears and mitten paws and looked so sweet and innocent. He was so smiley.  Little did we know what we were in for!

Braden quickly earned the name Fresh Fresh.  We called him Fresh so often that he learned to respond to that rather than his actual name.  He started by attacking toes under the blanket at night with his little dagger claws and moved on from there.  Part of it was that he was a super smart and curious cat.  The rest of it was just that he was born mischievous. He loved drains and was fascinated by how they worked.  Any time we would drain the tub, the sink would gurgle and he'd run back and forth staring down the drains. It was that curiosity about drains that led him to fall into the toilet.  He didn't mind because he actually liked water.  He also got himself trapped in the (empty) washer, trapped up in the wall, and stuck in the Christmas Tree.  There are so many more things but I can't remember anything right now.

Braden decided to be a Christmas ornament

He also had the infuriating habit of sitting on tables.  He loved to sit that he edge and drape his paws or head over the side.  This was one habit he never broke.  He grew out of a lot of his freshness...attacking everything that moved, attacking feet, climbing everything in sight but never that.

One thing he always was was a lovebug.  He loved to snuggle and be hugged.  He loved to ride on your back and either snuggle your face or sit his butt right on your head, unfortunately.  Sweetest cat ever, though!  He'd run to you with a cute kitty smile any time you called his name.  He loved to play with any toy with us but especially feathers on a stick.  He could chase that thing forever with paws flailing.  Mostly he just loved to be around us.  Cuddling, playing, napping and purring his super loud motor purr.

happily sleeping with H

top: me & fresh, H and fresh napping, H and Fresh snuggling.  bottom: back ride!, attacking the screen, Mr. No cuddles

He adored Mr. No from the second we brought No home.  He'd lay on the blanket during tummy time, snuggle up for naps, play with him.  Braden loved his Mr. No and Mr. No loved him.  Poor No really doesn't understand what has happened to his friend.  He thinks we can fix him or magically bring him back.  Breaks my heart every time.

See how much he loved his Mr. No!

There are so many more things I could say about how sweet and fun and lovable he was and how his wonderfully sweet but fresh ways captured our hearts.  But all I really need to say is: Goodbye Sweet Friend. We will always love you, miss you so so much and will never, ever forget you. 

RIP Orange and Welcome Home Cactus!

We had a tragedy this past weekend.  One of Mr. No's crabby crab, Orange, died.  He got himself stuck in a large shell that they usually hide in.  And anyone who has hermit crabs knows that it's not unusual for them to disappear for a week or 2 at a time since they bury themselves to molt.  We just thought that Poor Orange was buried and molting until the time came for me to do a habitat clean out.  I felt his shell crammed up in the large shell and hoped so hard that he was still alive.  When Uncle finally cracked the big shell in a way that wouldn't have hurt Orange, we found out that he hadn't been alive for a few days anyway.  Mr. No was devastated.  He'd never had anything die before.  Except for Nana's anorexic fish. It broke my heart.  Especially when he said to me, "You can put him back together, right Momma?  You can fix anything."  I almost cried.  So the first part of this post is to say goodbye to a wonderful, friendly little crab. 

Rest In Peace Orange.  You are missed!

Mr. No went back and forth over getting a new crab. He was so afraid that he would forget about Orange but he really wanted another one because it made him sad to pass the tank and only see 2 crabby crabs.  So he finally decided that he did indeed want one and our newest buddy, Cactus, joined our family a few days later.  He hasn't met Noah and Crazy Man yet.  (yes Mr. No names all his crabs by himself) They'll meet tomorrow when his quarantine is over.  Mr. No loves him, even though he's the only crabby crab to ever pinch him.  Guess he lives up to his name.

New buddy, Cactus

Since the crabs are supposed to live for like 15 years, I thought we'd have some time before this happened.  He's coping well and I think I miss the little guy as much as Mr. No does. Well, now we have a new buddy to hang out with.  Hopefully he ends up being as sweet as Orange or I have a feeling that we'll be a 4 crab family soon enough.

Simple Things Sunday: New Playset

Mr. No's Auntie and Uncle just bought him a brand new wooden playset/swingset.  I didn't get a photo of the playset itself but Mr. No loves it!  He especially loves the 2 clubhouses.  He could spend all day out there just playing with his dinosaurs and gormitis.

The Paper Mama “Toys” Photo Challenge

We have so many photos of Mr. No playing but this one is truly one of my favorites.  He's "working" on his toy laptop looking up ideas for monster traps.  We were monster hunters and none of our traps were working on a particularly tricky monster.  He did finally find one that worked.

Wordless Wednesday: 1st day of Preschool (year 2)

Back for his 2nd year of preschool with the same teachers (yay!) and even a friend from last year!