he came named

In 2003, I worked at a horse farm; I did everything—you name it—including mucking out every one of the 30+ stalls every day. I often had a little friend with me, a black and white kitty that was full of vim and vigor. He would ride on the “prow” of my wheelbarrow and occasionally jump up on my back for a rest.  He would try to stop the flow of water when the hose dripped in the barn, batting at it with his perpetually-bright-white paws. It was so cute that it would dribble past him, and he’d back up and scramble to put a “stop” to the “creature”. His history was tragic; his little siblings were killed in a car engine when they crawled into the engine block for warmth. Lucky, however, was found in time and hence the name: Suerte. He didn’t keep the cultured form of his name, though, due to a stereotyping boss. So, we have Lucky—he came named.

When I left the farm for another job, we left him there for a while. He was happy, running around like any good barn cat, and we ended up just “stealing” him in April 2005. I remember bringing him home {to 1246 Cedar Street} and forcing him to get a bath to get rid of the barn stink. He was wide-eyed and panicky, and he hid for days under our bed before he decided he wanted to socialize. He did, eventually, and by July he had the run of the neighborhood. We brought him a little companion, and she promptly stole all his food. We had to separate them when we would feed them, and he often got left in the pantry because we forgot to let him back out.  They would climb to the top of the cabinets in the kitchen to watch from their lofty positions the goings-ons in the house.

They were a fun little team, but when we got orders to Japan, we knew the little girl wouldn’t be very happy to go, so we gave her to a family nearby. Lucky, however, made it. The whole 40+ hour trip he slept, except for a brief crying spell in the line for Customs. We had to keep him upstairs and inside all the time in our new apartment in Japan, though, and he was not happy with the situation. He came home with me to Pennsylvania in 2007, and he stayed there when I went back to Japan. He lived it up in his favorite place yet: Woolrich. He had the run of the neighborhood again, and he loved it. He also put the older cat AND dog in their places, and was often found sleeping in the dog’s oversized bed, in the middle, by himself, while the dog looked on wistfully. He continued his decimation of the small rodent population in PA and brought prizes back for the family to applaud him for. When we moved back to America, he stayed with the family until we found a place to live, and he joined us in Tuckerton in March 2009. Again, he had the rule of the street, and he liked this town since he was near the water and there were plenty of small animals to stalk. We moved to another few apartments in the interim between moving into our house, and he went back to Woolrich for a while. He loved being back; you could tell because he wouldn’t even give you the time of day until he was ready to come sleep on your lap.

We moved into 306 Ash in August 2010, and Lucky moved in, too. He was greeted 6 weeks later with a small, loud thing, who he knew as the “smallest one”. For his part, Lucky ignored Raegan until she was bigger; only on the rarest of occasions would we find him sleeping in her room—on her chair—while she napped in her crib. He was keeping an eye on her, you know. As Rae got bigger, she became more and more aware of him, and her very first squeal of the day was often directed at him. He was her favorite! She knew he was the “kitty” and that his hair tickled her. She got into a habit, not that long ago, of putting her face on soft things, and I would find her holding his side and putting her face on him. He really was the softest kitty, ever, and very tolerant of rae, especially if there would be chicken treats involved. He was present for everything, every meal, every party, every nighttime tv show would find him underfoot or on a lap. He was at Rae’s party hanging out with the kids the night before he went missing. And his legend lives on, we don’t know for sure, but it seems most likely that he was hit on our road.

However, I want to leave this note, just saying that I found two—not one, but two—four-leafed, lucky clovers yesterday. In succession, and inexplicably. I have to think it was a “sign,” and that my little buddy, my soupie-soup, had a good run, a full life. I’m going to miss you, little bud. 

Endnote: sorry for the photo dump, but I had to post this today, so I can finally stop crying every time I work on this draft. Losing a pet stinks :(

rae's first birthday

and she's one! we had such a great day with our little rae of light, inviting friends and all kinds of littles over for an afternoon of desserts. we ate lunch/dinner together and enjoyed a dessert table with an owl theme, just because rae's best trick is the owl: hoo hoo. we loved every minute and are so glad to celebrate one year of blessed life with our raegan.
*rae, you are the sun in our sky, we are so blessed and proud to be your parents. we can't wait to see who you grow up to be, because we're sure you're going to be incredible. you are the most amazing baby and we drink up every second we're together. love you.

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for no better reason

 

this made me laugh today. note that the expression on both the japanese doll's face and rae's are the same.

we're preparing for a hurricane this weekend, not our first, and probably not our last. we'll be fine. imagine cosy us inside while the storm blows outside and that's what we're believing for. xoxo.

ten months

Our favorite things at 10 months:
1. Crossed ankles {everywhere, including in the high chair and stroller}
2. Curling hair {at the nape of your neck and over your ears}
3. Your noises {gully-gully, liel-liel-liel} and your tongue-in-and-out all the time and your singing {you sing whenever you hear music and always in the stroller}
4. Crawling {you just started last week and now you’re getting smoother and more confident every minute}
5. Tootsie roll legs {daddy says that they look like the rolls you get when you shmoosh a tootsie roll together}
6. Fast and slow speeds at walking {depending on whether someone is chasing you}
7. Reaching for us when you’re scared or tired or upset
8. Funny dancer – leaning back and forth to the music
9. Insatiable appetite {you make us proud}
10. Belly laugh and quick grin {you smile at everyone, and love to give us sugar, but you love your own picture and mirrors and other little people the best}

we heart you.
I took some pictures of you with 10 blueberries, because it's what you love at the moment.
You ate them before I could take the picture.

auntie kylee

 

we have the incredible pleasure of my sister's company for the rest of the summer, and we're so excited!! rae gets two days a week just hangin with auntie ky, and they are having the time of their lives. rae was introduced to cody, auntie kylee's ages-old life-sized (or very nearly) stuffed horse, they go on walks, they play with rae's fun toys, read, and watch the wonder pets. could life get any better? when rae goes to sleep, i get auntie ky as kylee, my beautiful, fun sister. we're having a blast looking at weddings, because we're obsessed and crazy. we watched the bbc's sherlock and of course, our girl movies. we've introduced each other to new things: pinterest, blogs, flag cakes, and belgian pancakes {via elliot}. sprinkle the above picture with epic reads and you can see the enjoyment we're getting out of having kylee here in new jersey with us. it's a privilege and an honor to have her watching our baby and living under our roof. don't hold it against me that i also got her a job working for the crazy lady of '09. ky's tough. cheek kiss, cheek kiss. :)

mother's day, the first

We woke up to glorious sunshine streaming in the bedroom windows, and I was surprised with a trio of gifts from my favorite people on a mommy’s most favorite day of the year. Phil bought me a 20 pound iron skillet, something I’ve asked for and wanted to get for a long time. He also got my knives in order with a sharpener and also bought a new candle. He and Rae were very proud of their offerings, and I was super excited by [their] thoughtfulness. We went in to Ocean City for church and came home.
I love our second story bedroom. It’s got this vibe, this calm oasis feeling, even amid the undecorated walls, the lack of “master bed” and the “trophy” of a bathroom we’re hanging on to {we have to save something so people know what the house was like before we moved in}. Still, the master bedroom has double doors that open up onto a romeo balcony, and has a high, lofted ceiling. The feeling just calls to me—and makes me feel as if I’m in a tree house, safe, and princess-like. My mother’s day activity of choice was a family nap in said princess room. Raegan, bless her heart, will only sleep in her crib, so it was mostly a mommy-daddy nap in the big room, but we all napped simultaneously.
Then, we went to our handy-dandy Italian joint down the street for dinner, where I had eggplant on a bed of spinach {delicious!} even if it’s not Giada de Laurentiis.
I love this job, being a mom. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done, and it doesn’t get old or bothersome. I often thought, pre-baby, that it might become a drag day-after-day to take care of a small person and meet their every need, but so far, so good. I like to say that my joy meter fills up overnight while Rae sleeps, and all day we just enjoy our time together. By the time I would need a “break”, its nigh-nigh time, and she gives us a breather to be adults for a few minutes. Then the cycle starts again, and it’s all sunshine and rainbows. She completes me; she completes Phil and I both. But it’s not Father’s Day yet, so let’s just say that this Mother’s Day was everything I wanted it to be, more than I expected, and more than I deserve.

And here's some random photos, just because.

 

 

I had to: