adventures with kittens: commemoration, y'all

HAPPY ONE YEAR OF BEING OURS TO WEE LITTLE PENNYCAT!

We don't actually know Penny's real birthday, since she was born to be wi-i-ild in the wild in New Hampshire, but we estimate it is sometime in June based on what the vet told us. But we did kind of a shitty job celebrating then, so instead we are celebrating the day Penny came home to us.

Yes, one year ago today Brian drove back from NH with the tiniest little fluffbucket in the seat next to him. She was so scared and shy and I just wanted to LOVE HER OKAY. But eventually she decided we weren't so bad and now she pretty much runs things around here.

Here's a little retrospective of phone pictures:

These were the first pictures I ever saw of tiny Penny, when Brian was asking which kitten he should bring home. Look how pathetic she looks! I knew I had to have that tiny fuzzy being.

And here is the first time she was home and being sweet, as opposed to being home and hiding/trembling.

 Looking back on these, she is SO TINY.

 She fit in the windowsill!

Always resourceful, Penny figured out quickly how to keep warm when it got chilly.

 Sleeping, boozing, sleeping – Penny also quickly discovered the secret to the perfect life.

 Playing, napping.

Helping me study. 

And this is about the time Penny considered a career as a professional model. 

 ...But she quickly decided TV and naps were more important than worldwide fame.

Plus, quitting modeling gave her more time to get into (and onto) shit around the house. 

And here is Penny's first trip outside of Boston - we took her home to Mississippi for Christmas!

We also got her spayed while in the South, which led to some hilarious moments while she was super high on kitty anesthesia – she wanted to jump onto my bed but couldn't make it so she kept jumping and falling and giving me heart attacks because I was afraid she was going to tear her stitches. So I put her on the bed and she immediately wanted to jump off, and then fell over drunk as soon as she landed. I should have videoed it. It would have been bigger than David After Dentist. 

 She also discovered stairs for the first time and LOVED them.

Back in Boston, there was snow! And Penny watched it from the window for hours. Look how much bigger here than the first picture in the window!

I've never had a cat that loves to be upside down as much as Penny. She often sleeps upside down, and then when she wakes up and jumps off the bed she can usually only make it a few steps before she decides she is too sleepy to make it any further, falls over and rolls onto her back. Then she looks at us and demands to be loved.

 Sleepy, sleepy, face, put your hands up.

 

She also loves to get in boxes/bags/suitcases whenever they are available to her.

And although she doesn't fit into the windowsill quite like when she was a kitten, she still loves it.

Brian is probably going to kill me for including this picture but it cracks me up so much. Penny really has us wrapped around her little paw, to the point where I woke up one day to see her literally asleep on Brian's head.

All in a day's work.

And here she is, in her full fluff glory these days. We love you Pennycat. I'm so glad you're ours.

Happy 100! And also 23!

My blog is 100 posts old today! And I am 23! (Years, not posts). Both of these things are very exciting. And I didn't plan it this way. I actually tried to blog several times this week but had intense writer's block (see yesterday's post).

Anyway, twenty-three is one of my lucky numbers, so I feel like this upcoming year is going to be awesome. In honor of these momentous occasions, I present: A Very Special (and Awkward) Birthday Retrospective.

1st birthday: The year I didn't understand how cupcakes worked and I tried to eat the paper lining. 

3rd birthday: I'm pretty sure this is where I peaked in cuteness. It was all downhill after this. Also, that is one sweet windsuit. 

4th birthday: The beginning of a life of not knowing what to do with my hands.

5th birthday: Blowing candles is intense work, y'all. (Please keep the jokes I know are forming to yourself and remember this is a five year old here!)

6th birthday: The good thing about this picture is, had I been arrested at age 6, I would have already had a mug shot ready to go. 

11th birthday: Cat cake. Princess Leia hair.

12th birthday: This is the one picture I seriously debated putting up. Twelve was clearly the fugliest year of my existence. Y'all please hurry on to the next one. 

16th birthday: This is my "Okay, I'm posing with my cupcake. Happy now, Mom?" face 

18th birthday: My "surprise" (the girl in charge of keeping me busy and getting me there was really bad at hiding the secret) party in a randomly empty house. Ahh high school.

19th birthday: Kyle (wearing the sailor hat) handed me that wet floor sign and told me it was my birthday present. The other picture is just for Walt's singing face. 

21st birthday: "I'm 21 now so I'm going to take a picture with all this alcohol paraphernalia!!" (Don't worry, those cups are courtesy of the whole table, not just me. I didn't die that night.)

22nd birthday: My birthday fell during the post-comprehensive exams, pre-graduation period of senior year, which was one of the best times of college. Hence the good hair day. 

EDIT: 

I wish I had videoed Brian reading this so I could share his reaction. Basically he just laughed harder and harder with each one until the 12 year old picture, where he died laughing and took the time to point out each terrible part, particularly "What is that hair?!!?" 

He also wanted me to add this:

And he inquired why my mother chose to "take one of those things [doilies] that people put on side tables under lamps and cut a hole in in and put it over your head." A question, indeed.