Rocket jam and cat cam

I love my new glow-in-the-dark rocket pajamas. Thanks Grandma and Papa!

The only way for the cats to be (nearly) in contact without a growling, brawling, hissing, swatting cat fight:
I won't say that no progress has been made in their relationship but it's been extremely slow going.

I've got some pictures to post from an outing in Seattle last week. Till then, cheers!

Action shot

Protect the camera lense, cause it's about to be targeted.

In this shot, taken last weekend, Sobin sits calmly in the deck. The cat is slowly adjusting to the new house and is starting to spend more time outside, rather than moping around on the couch all day. There are more dogs and other cats in the neighborhood, and he's a fan of neither. Still, he seems to be claiming his territory and is actually acting more affectionate with his human companions than he has been in a long time.

My goal is to update more on what we are doing in the house, at some point soon. The house is a work-in-progress and although we've already accomplished quite a bit, we still have a lot more to do. It will take time...

A wee fashion adjustment

The cat: still more tolerant of Silas than he is of the rest of the world.
I have been wanting to cut Silas' bangs for a long time, but was always outvoted when I brought up the suggestion: Drew wanted to grow them out to match the rest of his hair and Silas simply wanted to be resistant. So I relented. Let them grow. Fine.

Imagine my surprise when I came home from work a few days ago and discovered that Drew had cut them himself that morning. Tired of hair hanging in his eyes all of the time, Drew had convinced Silas to sit still long enough to make the cut, something I had failed repeatedly to do. I am a fan of the bangs, I must say. They are the only part of his hair that we have ever cut, so, other than the bangs, that's how nearly three years of growth looks on him.

I still find myself reflexively reaching across his forehead to brush the hair out of his eyes, even though this is no longer necessary. And, with three paragraphs devoted to my son's hair, I think it's time to wrap up this post.

A Sobin-Only Post

I'm really too pretty for the likes of this blog. --Sobin the cat.

Sobin said that if I didn't devote an entire blog posting to him (no Silas allowed!), he'd stop waking us up at 1:30 every morning complaining to go outside. He also threatened to stop leaving dead rodents on the front lawn, right in the path we walk on, and he even mentioned ceasing to leave muddy paw prints all over every surface of our house.

Well, here you go cat. Please, don't stop being the lovable nuisance that you've worked so hard on becoming.

Parents, music, and sneezes

I assure you, nothing has happened to Silas' left arm. It's somewhere behind the Tibetan singing bowl he's carrying in this picture.

Right then, on to some of the other language things I've wanted to mention on the blog.

First up: mom and dad. These are two separate signs, obviously, but not in Silas' world. He uses the same sign (pointing to his forehead) for both of us, and for Patrick as well. For lack of a better word, we'll just call it his "parent" sign. What we've noticed him doing lately, however, is combine two different signs to differentiate between his mom and dad. He'll sign "parent" and "music" to indicate Drew, and "parent" and "milk" (go figure) to indicate me. He by no means does this all the time, but every now and then he will.

Another combo: Now that he's learned the sign for computer, he will sometime say "computer music" to indicate that he wants us to play music through the computer. And while we're on the subject of music, for a while now, he's signed music when he sees a violin or guitar or another instrument, but that's not surprising. What is, however, is that he's figured out that a musical score is also related to music, and so he will use this sign when he sees notes or musical notation as well. Huh. I don't think we taught him this, but he figured it out somehow.

One last thing for this post: He thinks it's the funniest thing when we sneeze and will try to copy the sound. Usually, it will come out sounding like "aaii-yaah" or "aa-taah." If we sneeze again, he'll just laugh.

And, your Saturday afternoon bonus shot: best buddies.

Future Spinner?

Yep, he's discovered my spinning wheel. In this video, Silas goes back and forth between spinning the wheel and pushing the buttons on our answering machine. There aren't any messages but every time he pushes the message button, it beeps 3 times, so naturally, he can't get enough of it. The video then end with me trying to get him interested in the cat, who is outside the kitchen door. But he's pretty much absorbed already.

Coming soon...I'm trying to put together a video showing the words that Silas can sign--we're up to about 5 now.

Leap Day Update

A splendid Leap Day to all of you!

Just wanted to let you know that we had a GREAT night last night. Everyone slept well for the first time in quite a while. Everyone, that is, except for the poor unfortunate country mouse that found its way inside our house only to play out Wild Kingdom-Living Room Edition with our very able cat Sobin. The mouse is currently camped out below the stairs, and Sobin has been taking him out and playing with him every now and then. Poor mouse. Just a few minutes ago, Sobin tried to give the mouse (still alive) to Silas. Supposedly, in times of plenty, cats will help each other out by hunting for the weakest member of the group. Judging by the number of dead things our cat has brought us over the years, we can determine that he thinks we're not quite up-to-par, hunting-wise. That's what he gets for taking up residence with vegetarians.

Anyways, we all seem to be on the mend, FINALLY!

Plays with Toys

Silas is a lucky boy. He's got lots of great wooden toys to play with. Here he is, crawling around and playing with blocks, a xylophone, a cat, a pull toy, etc.

Sobin Speaks: "The boy-child is tolerable"

I recently had a chance to sit down with Sobin, the family cat, to get his take on how life has changed since Silas was born. Here's what he had to say:

Amber: It's an honor to speak with you, Sobin. What were your first impressions of Silas?

Sobin: At first, I was mildly annoyed. He smelled funny and made weird noises. I decided to avoid him as much as possible. That was before my "realization." Since then, I've come to believe that the boy-child is tolerable, perhaps even more than tolerable.

A: Tell me more about this "realization" as you call it; what do you mean by that?

S: Well, I was staring at the boy-child one day, and he looked back at me and laughed. That's when it hit me. I own this child. Just like I own his parents.

A: Really. How did you draw that conclusion?

S: It's obvious, isn't it? The boy-child thinks I'm here for his own amusement, as do his mother and father. While it's clear that they are delusional, this false thinking actually works in my favor. They are charmed by me and therefore, they do my bidding. This boy-child will be even better then his parents because I can raise him and train him just the way I want.

A: What do you intend to do, when you say "train him?"

S: Well, right now, he is too young to walk or open doors, or the drawer to where my food is stored, for instance. But it's only a matter of time. He is growing stronger every day. He already follows the movements of my other servants when they fill my bowl and open the door to let me out. But unlike the adults, this child won't pretend to "control" me by locking my door at night or restricting my treat intake. All I'll have to do is endure his clumsy petting for five seconds,
and he will give me anything I desire.

A: Speaking of "giving," I heard that Silas has already given you something that used to be his. Is that true?

S: I believe you are speaking of the car seat? That was mine to begin with, actually. I let him borrow it as part of my master plan to make him think I really care about his well being. Yes, now that he's grown out of it, I've taken it back.

A: So, am I to believe you really care nothing for the baby, or for us, for that matter? Why do we keep feeding you, and putting up with your constant whining, then?

S: Purr, purr, purr. I love you so much. Purr, purr. Watch me grab this ball of yarn and play with it. I'm just like a kitten. Purr, purr, purr.

A: Awww, that's so cute. You are the best cat Ever!

S: (barely audible) fool.

A: Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk with me. I really appreciate it.

S: Scratch my ears or leave my presence at once.