Most Difficult Week

This year hasn't gotten off to a great start.  Last week was just plain awful.  It started with a phone call on a Friday night at 11:30pm from my father-in-law.  We immediately knew it was bad news.  Steven's brother passed away unexpectedly.  That was just plain shocking and horrifying.  Then things got stressful, as people wanted different things for the funeral, and my husband and his siblings had to help mediate. 

Next, Alex got his 4-month vaccinations at his check-up.  (He's now 14 lbs. 7 oz. and 25.5 inches long.)  He broke out in hives, which completely freaked me out.  He spent the next 4 days lethargic, feverish, and cranky.  Miserable for all of us, especially as he started waking up again in the middle of the night during that time.

And to top it all off, Doogie was diagnosed with cancer.  On top of his kidney disease.  I cried for hours after I got off the phone with the vet. 

Sometimes life really does give us lemons. 

But Alex is better now.  Doogie stills runs around and gets into slap fights with Ninja.  He's really not aware that he's sick, so we're hopeful that we'll have a decent amount of time left with him. 

And through it all, God is faithful.  If nothing else, we prayed more last week than usual, and that's never a bad thing.  

Alex's Uncle Keith loved Batman.  We expect Alex will, too. 

Doogie and Ninja love to wrestle and fight

The Toxic Zone

It's not news that our cats don't like the baby.  They think he's loud and unpredictable, which are two qualities that cats detest.  But I've been getting a laugh out of what we're now calling the Toxic Zone.  Here it is:

It's nothing more than a quilt on the floor, but if you look to the upper left, you'll see a basket.  We keep blankets in there, and Doogie likes to sleep in it.  If he's in his basket, and I put Alex down on his quilt for tummy time, Doogie will hop out and run off.  Every single time.  Makes me laugh as I'm apologizing to the cat.

But what was even funnier was when I tossed a toy for Ninja (his beloved tab off a jug of milk).  He was all excited and poised to race after it... until it landed on Alex's quilt.  Ninja just sat there and stared.  He wouldn't touch it!  I picked it back up, tossed it further away, and Ninja took chase.  That quilt is now associated 100% with That Screaming Thing, as we're pretty sure the cats think of him.  They want nothing to do with it. 

This doesn't bode well for future baby/kitty relations.