Kitty at My Foot and I Wanna Touch It

So hear me out.

I grew up with many types of animals in my childhood, from fish, hamsters, guinea pigs, dogs and don't forget the countless tadpoles I'd collect during my summers at the lake cabin.

But.... I've never had a cat and especially no experience with a 13 week old kitten.

Mom's allergic and I'd taken care of older cats when their owners were on vacation, but they never wanted to interact with me.

At first I thought these cats were judging my cold 18-21 year old soul, but then realized that cats are happy to contemplate life on their own while batting away at feathers and catnip-laced mice.

Well that Holly girl of ours, she's a different animal.

Now that we've had her cute little face around for three weeks, how's she adapting?

1. She's Crazy

The most common noise we hear in the house is "th-thump-tha-thump-th-thump-thump". The pitter patter of her little paws is music against our hardwood floors and creates so much distraction from the everyday stresses.

2. She's Cuddly

Kitten, she is - so there's plenty of playtime going on in this house, but when she's tired she has no hesitation to come up to Dan and me to snuggle, and will even roll herself into a blanket to get an extra heater running with that motor-purr of hers.

3. She's Pensive

This girl, she's a damn philosopher. Look at her so casually looking out the window. Then you see the left corner of the image and she's really just watching me and that big scary camera of mine and wondering why it's been following her around.

4. She's Jams

A perfect photo followed by a perfect edit job by my brother and Holly is a legend.

Strapless Hello Kitty guitar while learning how to play Kitty like a boss.

5. As if it were any surprise.... She's going to be spoiled, hard!

Sleeping in Dan's lap with those big beautiful eyes, he gets all of the ladies to fall for him doesn't he?

I love this new addition to the family and I can't wait to watch my furry daughter grow up into a strong, independent, mysterious, curious and impenetrable goddess, just like her mother.

Happy Weekend!

Throwback Thursday: Puppy Love

It's been so fun to hear from all of you who have golden retrievers, have a special place in your heart for goldens or just love seeing the happy faces of goldens!

I'm about to support that love and share some puppy photos from way back (18 months ago) when Bailey was just a young pup.

It's been very weird for our family to compare photos of Bailey to the size that Bella is now and then to think of how quickly Bailey became full grown. Looking back into my camera roll I see the transformation from baby to young adult and feel like time was lost with how it happened so suddenly. This time around I want to make sure that I don't miss Bella's journey from puppy to adult. I have a fancy camera so I might as well get some quality shots this spring while I watch her double in size month after month. Lucky for you guys, you get to follow along with me this time!

I then think about how hard it must be for my brother to only interact with our sisters once every 4-6 months for short amounts of time. This weekend will be very important for all of us to enjoy how sweet and little Bella is before she no longer needs assistance to hop up on the couch but watching her try is the BEST!

This Throwback Thursday is brought to you by adorable puppies and how cute they are as they grow up!

And just like that, our sweet Bailey is full grown (but still 100% puppy). Don't miss out while Bella goes from pup to princess!

<3 JE