Zoo Visits Spring 2015

We feel so fortunate to be members at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo.  It's wonderful to be able to visit whenever the mood strikes, even if it's just for an hour or two.  Kate is at the age where she's starting to enjoy looking at the animals, and Tess is all about learning animal and zoo facts.  We've had a couple of wonderful visits there this spring, and we've loved taking a picnic lunch to enjoy.  Over Spring Break, Tess attended "Cubby Camp" for half a day and totally loved it.  What a fantastic family resource right in our backyard!    

Zoo Trip!

One of the best things about this Summer has been the opportunity to spend entire days together as a family.  We managed to get in this little zoo trip on a day that wasn't too hot.  We have been enjoying using our Chaffee Zoo membership even more now that Tess is old enough to be entertained by the animals. 

If you hadn't notice, this girl is ALL ABOUT DADDY!

Here are some pics and video from our trip...enjoy!

Halloween!

We didn't do much to celebrate Halloween this year, but Tess DID have an adorable little elephant costume (in keeping with the theme from her birthday party). She did a little trick-or-treating at Chad's Aunt's house in Hollister and also at daycare in preparation for the main event. So on "the big day" we took her to 3 or 4 houses in her Grandma's neighborhood so that she could have the real experience.

I just have to say, it was ADORABLE. Below is a little video clip I took of her walking around in the elephant costume, tail swishing side-to-side. This was a good "trial run" and I think next year she will really have a blast. One funny thing: she assumed that when people opened the doors, it meant she could just walk right into their house. We did a lot of chasing her from people's homes!

Tess's First Trip To The Zoo!

Enjoying the flowers in front of the zoo.

We had so much fun on Saturday when we took Tess for her first trip to Fresno's Chaffee Zoo.  Chad's mom bought us tickets to an event called "Breakfast With The Animals," which got us coffee, pancakes and sausage, and our admission into the park.  We were joined by my dear friend Kim, her sister-in-law, and her two adorable boys, Kolbe and Kaden. 

It was cooooolllllddd so we kept our little girl bundled up much of the time, and she napped in the stroller for a little bit.  Soon enough she woke up and we had the fun experience of watching to see which animals she'd respond to.  Her clear favorite were the elephants -- they got lots of smiles from Tess!  She also watched the tiger pretty intently as he paced back and forth in his cage. 

One of the highlights of the day was seeing Jean Chaffee at the zoo, and introducing Tess to her.  Among her many accomplishments, Jean is the author of several children's books related to the Chaffee Zoo, and it was while I was reading to Tess about "Nosey's Big Adventure" that she gave us her first smile back in October.  Jean autographed a book for Tess and they got a picture together.  Tess also got a "My First Visit To The Zoo" t-shirt. 

We're grateful that Tess's Grandma and Grandpa (Barbara and Paul) are long-time zoo members -- I anticipate we'll be spending a lot of time there in the next several years!

See below for more pics from our fun day.

Burnie's Life Lessons #1

"Don't Neglect Your Rest" (or, "When All Else Fails, Take A Nap!")

Isn't this the sweetest sleepy face?

Oh how life has changed for The Haydens since we added Burnie to the mix last December.  We can't remember what it was like in the house without her cute, furry self and that precious face with the big, curious eyes.  As it turns out, not only was getting Burnie a great way to prepare for parenthood, she's been a fantastic reminder of some of life's most important lessons. 

I have been meaning to blog about this for a while, and spending these last few days at home with her, while also 39 weeks pregnant with very little energy, has me thinking about the first lesson from Burnie that I'd like to share....on the importance of sleep!  A quick Google search on "the importance of sleep" returns countless articles like this one.  They say that cats sleep something like 16+ hours per day, and Burnie is no exception.  There are lots of theories about why felines get so much shut-eye, and this one is by far the most thought-provoking for me: "Predators that have few natural enemies can afford to sleep for longer periods of time."

Well isn't that interesting?  I could easily consider myself a predator, tackling my daily life and to-do lists with serious stealth and tenacity, and what is my biggest natural enemy?  Stress.  Rest is required to keep my body and mind stress-free and thus ready for the "kill," whether I'm knocking out small prey at home or at work.  And when life really gets the best of me, I find there is nothing like sleeping it off.  When you wake up after a good night's sleep or even a solid nap, your perspective is refreshed and things seem manageable again.  

I may not look as cute as Burnie while I'm catching my Z's (especially with this giant belly), and I may not be able to perch myself on a dining room chair or on the back of the couch, but she sets a good example for all of us.  Excuse me while I go take a nap!

"You cannot look at a sleeping cat and feel tense."

"Who among us hasn't envied a cat's ability to ignore the cares of daily life and to relax completely?" 

Easter In Dallas

This year for Spring Break and Easter we ventured to Dallas, TX -- which really feels like our second home after visiting the Sullivans there for 7 years! We were glad to be back in "The Colony" after their year in Austin, and it meant we got to spend lots of time with the kids and the family. We had a great time visiting the zoo, exploring downtown, coloring Easter eggs, and enjoying the holiday with the family. As usual, it was wonderful to spend time with our dearest friends Randy and Lindsey.

She's An Exceptional Cat

It was quite the impromptu adventure when Burnie arrived in our lives -- not to mention the gender snafu! In 3 very busy months, she has become the center of our household and such a source of entertainment, joy, and companionship. We can't imagine having stumbled upon a cuter (look at that pink nose and those delicate paws!), more well-adjusted cat than our "Burnie Bear" (her name, Burnadette, means "little bear"). It has felt like a real gift from God, and the timing was interesting too -- we brought her home just 2 days after finding out we were expecting a baby. In many ways, Burnie has been part of our "preparation" for parenthood.

The most surprising, heart-melting, and scary part of adopting our little fur-baby has been the issue of her health. When we first got her, we couldn't imagine why anyone would literally "dump off" such a beautiful and sweet cat. Within a few weeks we discovered the possible reason -- it seems Burnie has, at the very least, a seizure disorder (feline epilepsy) and, at the worst, a more serious health issue that we haven't discovered yet.

So far she's had 3 middle-of-the night seizures, and we think she had one while we were gone during the day. Talk about traumatic: being awakened at 2 or 3 am to your cat convulsing on your bed, and there is nothing you can do but wait it out. After the second seizure, when we discovered it wasn't just a "one-time thing," we took her to the vet and began the semi-expensive process of testing her for any other type of health problem that could be causing the seizures. So far we have ruled out everything from a liver malfunction to feline leukemia and feline AIDS. Short of doing extremely expensive "cat" scans (ha!) and MRIs, we are left with the diagnosis that makes Burnie a truly exceptional cat -- she is one of the .5% of felines who suffer from epilepsy. There is no cure, only a lifetime supply of daily phenobarbital in Burnie's future.

Last week I took her back to the vet (her third trip in as many months) because I had discovered a lump on her side, next to her spine. I had suspected this was evidence (finally) of some underlying cause for her seizures, and anticipated more tests, possible surgery (yike$!), and a more devastating diagnosis. Our vet, bless his heart, seems to have little regard for Burnie's aesthetics -- he shaved a 3x2 inch patch of fur from her side so that he could examine her more closely and try to retrieve any fluid from the lump. As it turns out, he couldn't get anything out of it and says it's most likely a "hematoma" -- like a bruise under the skin, possibly from some kind of trauma (hmm, like maybe trying to jump into our armoire with the doors halfway closed?). So, we are to watch it to see if it gets any bigger, and in the meantime I'm hoping her fur grows back quickly.

Whatever Burnie's future holds, I'm so grateful she's part of our growing family. I know this sounds extremely mushy, but, it's pretty amazing what loving on a cat can do to calm you down and help you focus on the here and now. Burnie is helping me remember what's most important in life, at a time when I need it most!

What A Difference Some Clippers Make...

We took Milo to the vet last week to get a basic "checkup" and vaccinations. Kitty was NOT a fan of the process, as you can tell from the pic below. Another important reason for our visit was to find out just how old he is. Because of the petite paws and facial features, I was sure Milo was a "teenager," maybe 1-2 years old.

Well, the vet looked at Milo's teeth and concluded he is about 4 years old. And then the vet told me he thought Milo might be a GIRL. I had never explored this issue for myself, because I didn't want to upset kitty, and also because he has one furry belly. I figured that the people we got him from, who have 6 pets and 6 children, were pretty confident they were giving us a "neutered male." However, upon close inspection and a little fur trim, it became undoubtedly clear that Milo truly IS a female.

Wow, what a shock! It took me a few days to comprehend this news, adjust my pronouns, and figure out whether Milo deserved a new name. In the end, I decided I just couldn't call her Milo because it felt like her identity had completely changed. So, she was renamed Burnadette Bijou Hayden. Bernadette is the middle name of a dear friend of ours, who is also a cat lover, and means "little bear." I spell it with a "U" because she loves to lay up against the heater until her fur is too hot to touch. Bijou is French for "jewel" or "pretty little trinket."

Once the new name was decided upon, we quickly fell in love with the idea of a girl kitty. And I also know that "Burnie" joining our family was meant to be -- had I known that she was a girl, I probably wouldn't have agreed to take her, because for some odd reason I had it in my head that I needed a male cat. But Burnie is so sweet and playful and well-behaved, and brings us a lot of joy. Meow!

Our Christmas Kitty

After many years, much deliberation, and some divine timing, we have finally added to our family. Introducing.... Milo Montgomery Hayden! We welcomed him to our little home last Friday, just in time for Christmas, and we were immediately smitten.

Some friends of ours saw this precious kitty get booted from a car on Locan Avenue (basically, out in the country) and stopped to rescue him. Because they already have six pets....AND six children....they couldn't keep him. Thanks to Facebook, a love connection was made! He is fixed, declawed, and house trained. We're guessing he's 1-2 years old, and we hope to verify that with a visit to the vet soon.

Here's a snapshot of Milo's adventures so far, since he came to live with us:

--He loves to follow us around the house, to sit and watch whatever is going on.

--He loves to straddle the arm of the couch and fall asleep that way.

--He LOVES playing with his "Mr. Mouse" cat toy.

--He's fascinated with the shower, and sits on the edge of the tub between the shower curtain and liner while the shower is going, so he can bat at the water hitting the liner.

--He doesn't meow much but has an adorable little "Mmrrrpphh?" that sounds like he's asking for something.

--When he wants affection he puts his paw on your hand or arm, like saying "I want you to use this to pet me, please!"

--He loves sleeping at the foot of the bed at night, and it's wonderful to wake up to a sweet kitty in the morning!

--He has yet to get into anything, knock anything over, or miss using the cat box.

--He's looking forward to his first Christmas and has a few treats under the tree!

Stay tuned for more updates on Milo as he continues to integrate into our home and family. We're having so much fun with him already!

"Time spent with cats is never wasted." ~ Sigmund Freud

I Had To Laugh...

After a long and arduous week, I stopped to get gas and pulled up next to this: