Hey everyone! Wow. I've been so busy this holiday season that I didn't even sit down to write about all the things going on. I was even too busy to blog about my one year smoke free anniversary! I can't believe I've made it an entire year already. The odd thing is, I've been having a worse time of it ever since I got pregnant. You'd think being pregnant would give me an extra boost, because it'd be like a whole other reason not to smoke, but not even. I think it's that even if I want to cheat and smoke a cig, I know I can't. Period. And that definitity makes the urge to smoke so much more powerful. But oh well ... being pregnant is no time to pick the habit back up! Not that I would anyway. One year, whoot!
New Family Additions
On Thanksgiving day I brought home two new family members. I remember talking about one of the rabbits, but I don't recall if I talked about the second rabbit. I wound up bringing two home, both females from the same litter. The black and white one is Alexia's and the orange and black one is Amber's. They are 3 months old and absolutely adorable. Within a week they were litter trained to pee only in their box. They live inside the house, in a cage, and are let out to play at least a couple times a day. They are extremely tame and have no objections to the kids carrying them all around the house.
Starlight (Alexia's bunny)
Angel (Amber's Bunny)
You might recall Bonnie, the parakeet that we took in last March. She was not quite a good fit for our household (kids & cat were a bit too much for her), so I finally did the inevitable and found her a new (and very good) home to better suit her personality. I then got to do what I've been wanting from the very beginning -- get a hand raised baby bird, one that was tame and trusting of humans, one that could be raised as a true part of the family.
I finally found a highly respected place that had healthy, not overbred, hand raised babies. I drove the 45 miles to get there, all excited, only to be told that they didn't really have anything left. All the babies had been taken for Christmas. The lady then mentioned that they had a few Lovebirds in a cage that were weaned and ready. I stepped over, seeing only yellow lovebirds, when I caught sight of a little green one with blue tail feathers. But still, I was under the impression that lovebirds needed to be kept in pairs, and I wanted a bird to bond with me, not another bird, but when I asked the saleslady she said that you only need two if you don't have the time to interact and bond with the bird. She said if you buy the one, and spend the time with it, it will bond to you, like it would a mate. Well that sounded about perfect. She let the birdie out of the cage and I carried it around the store. It only took a few minutes for me to know that this bird was the perfect one. So I took him home.
Lovebirds are parrots. Although most don't ever talk, they are still very intellegent birds. I've had Yoshi only 4 days, and already I've taught him how to shake hands and turn around. He was a bit skittish at first, but now welcomes my attention and sits readily in my hand, and allows me to pet him.
Yoshi the Lovebird (3 months)
And Finally, It's A ...
I am now 22 weeks pregnant and getting quite large. Two weeks ago I had my ultrasound -- the big ultrasound. It was there that we learned I am most definitely having a BOY. I honestly don't know what to think -- my husband really could care less either way, he has no inclination towards a boy, and I wanted another girl. So at the moment I'm not quite sure how I'll handle a boy. Don't get me wrong, I'm quite sure I'll do fine and I'll love him to pieces, just like my other two. It's just quite a big change, and hard to picture me & Alex raising a little boy, since all we know are girls. But anyways -- we will do fine, it's just going to take some getting used to the thought!
Okay, you know the deal. It will take me a while to catch up on everyone's blogs, but I will get there. In the meantime, I will plan on writing back soon.
