Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours...

We have a lot to be thankful for this year. I am pretty thankful that I don't have to make a turkey this year. Not that I have ever had to, but still something I am thankful for. We have enjoyed a quiet morning playing, putting up Christmas decorations and baking. We are getting ready to go to Aunt Kristen and Uncle David's cottage for a cozy Thanksgiving with our family.

Here are a few "firsts" that have occurred in our house over the last few days:

Kate's First Hair Cut (goodbye mullet)

Before...

After...

First Snow of the Year

Two very happy girls...

One not so happy. It might be a very loooong winter. She would much prefer no clothes to this get up-even in the cold!

First Cuddle Truce for Rudy and Lucy

This has now happened several times and isn't an uncommon sight anymore. It only took about three weeks for Rudy to be converted to a Catdog. About the same amount of time it took Mulligan to like Rudy. It must be some kind of unspoken animal rule. They can now be heard playing together around the house. When the people are away...the cat and dog will play!

Enjoying a quiet morning on mom and dad's bed.

You know who couldn't be left out of the action. Kate loving on Lu after she learned how to get up on our bed all by herself.

Cat-ch up!!!

These are the pics from Lucy's homecoming day. In daddy's car. The first glimpse of what the big surprise was for the girls. Oh boy were they excited.

That first night she felt a little more comfortable in the tub, where she couldn't be reached.

The next morning she made herself at home. Rudy still can't figure out why Lucy can go places that she can't go or isn't allowed to go.

A true picture of Rudy's feelings. Does this look like she has her feelings hurt or like she wants to kill and eat the cat who is laying to the left by my feet.

Ok, here are some recent pics from our house. This week on Veteran's Day we got to celebrate my mom's birthday. I won't tell you which one is was but she is still in the middle of her life and not old, yet! We made her a nice little dinner and the best part was the spice cake we made for dessert. Spice or Carrot are her favorites for this year so we even put cinnamon in the cream cheese frosting. Very yummy.

On the side of the cake is a leaf, cement bird bath that we got for my mom.

Opening her bird bath.

I don't know who was more excited but I am pretty sure it was the girls who were going to get to eat cake and ice cream.

Almost our whole household has been teething. Kate has been working on #3 and 4 on the bottom and her "I" teeth on top. Miserable. Hannah has cut 1.5 of her two year molars and Meg is not too far behind.

Looking at the picture, you can see the large new molar on the left side of the picture.

Kate has been working on stairs these days and we are finally comfortable with her on her own, although we still keep pretty close tabs on her. But she has the "tummy descent" down pretty well. You have to, to keep up with the big dogs!

This weekend is fall clean up around here. I am SO ready for snow now!!

Our Newest Addition...

Well, we have a new family member as of Wednesday. Charlie surprised his girls with a sweet little furry kitten that we have named Lucy. Hannah tried her best to rename her Bob or Bobbi but we didn't think Grandpa Bob would appreciate the cat being named after him. My dad, also a Bob, would have probably gotten a kick out of the girls naming a cat after him. But I have now won Hannah over and convinced her that the kitten's name is Lucy. She is a loud motor box who loves the attention of the girls and her new surroundings. Rudy however, would still like to pounce on her and probably kill her but we aren't really sure what is going on in Rudy's head. We always check to make sure the cat is still alive after we walk in the door from being away. Lucy seems clueless as to Rudy's stalking but will hiss every once in a while.

As for me, I needed one more mouth to feed, bottom to clean and creature to watch but it is a whole lot easier then a dog. She fits in perfectly and is always up for a quick snuggle from Kate. Tonight as I read the girls their bedtime stories, she curled up on Meg's chest and settled in as Meg wrapped her arms around her little purring body. Priceless.

Pics to follow