Our baby prison/ crib

Chris and I have had a milestone in our relationship, we purchased a crib....for a baby. 

 

Chris was very prepared for this crib with lots of tools...however we only needed a Phillips head screwdriver. 

 

So we opened the box and found lots of parts. 

 

I thought they were actually parts to a prison not parts to something for my baby.

 

But there were pretty parts. 

 

And instructions. Who reads these? Me. Me! My husband, not so much. So I secretly read them while he was moving the boxes out of the way. 

 

Miraculously, we got the crib together in no time!

 

I definitely helped, but I actually hated it. I was so stressed that we would do something wrong and the entire thing would break. 

 

Can you see the stress? This was not a difficult process, but I couldn't stand the thought of everything crumbling down. I love the finish on this crib, and I was terrified we (I) would screw something wrong and mess it all up.

 

Grace loved that we were hanging out on the floor with her, and she had to lay her love all over me. Not quite helpful but loving. 

 

And then all of a sudden there was a crib. For a baby! However, I made Chris go get our watermelon and put it in the crib. Watermelon is almost a baby...right? 

 

And then there was Porter. He actually tried to jump in the crib on the springs, but I realized he could break a paw on those. We put the cardboard insert back in the crib so Porter could get in it and to cover the springs. 

 

He was pretty happy to investigate the crib. 

 

So happy that he decided to stretch out.

 

And lay out. 

 

And get real comfortable. 

 

Chris and I are pretty happy with the crib, and we can't wait to get the bedding, wall decal and BABY to complete the room. But, until then, Porter reigns the crib. 

Room at the inn

I got the best present when I returned home from the market Saturday, an empty room!!

Chris worked all morning to clean out our man cave so it can become Baby Everett's room. Yay!!

But where did all that stuff go? Well, in here. What used to be our guest bedroom.

It's not as bad as it looks, people. Most of this stuff just needs to be organized and moved around....in theory. 

But wait, do you see something? 

Yes, there's a cat in that chair!

Saturday night, we closed the door to the now-filled-room to keep Porter from getting in and getting hurt. If you have ever had a cat, you know that cats hate closed doors. More than they hate anything else in the entire world. 

Today, Porter finally managed to get the door open, and when we realized it, we found him here. 

No one with a cat is really surprised. 

Meanwhile, Grace is pretty sure this newly cleaned room is for her. 

But we told her it's for Everett! Sweet Everett already has a few things in his closet (which was also full of stuff).
My friend Laura has outfitted him with a few outfits already.

And,  my BFF Kathy got him his first book and toy.

And even some little shoes!

We've now made a little more room in our inn. 

Porter seems just fine with it...as long as we leave that chair on top of the dresser.

My woodworker and my new screened door

Look! I've got a screened door!

Pretty stain and hardware. 

Chris built it from scratch....well from pieces of wood. We're currently using it all the time because we know any day now it will be too hot. 

This is the view from inside the house. 

It never fails that Grace wants inside and Porter wants outside. 

Chris knew that Porter would take any opportunity he could find to explore the outdoors, and Chris installed this nice lock to keep Porter in. 

Our animals each in deep thought about their lots in life. 

I even helped with the staining part, i.e. the easy part. 

Here's to spring and a new door!

Anticipation Animal Style

Something very exciting is about to happen...

BOOM!

As you were...

Porter goes screwy and Grace sleeps

I've been trying to get this on a video for some time now. Chris and I find the tops to our sink plungers all over the house. They make a fun noise as they slide across the hardwood floors, according to Porter. I knew no one would believe me if I didn't have proof on video, but Porter unscrews these tops. Unscrews them, I tell you!

   

 And what does Grace do while Porter is working his magic on the sinks? She dreams of a better life.

 

Trimming my first real tree and taking bets on my cat

Say hello to my first live Christmas tree. It's in the midst of being lit. 

It's a real tree!

With tree stems, seed looking things and everything.

Grace doesn't seem to think much about it. She sniffed it a bit while it was drying out in the garage, but she seems kind of over it. 

But what about this guy? 

What's he looking at? Is he eyeing the tree? Does he have a plot to take it over and climb to its very top? 

We're not sure either. So the tree will sit, lit and waiting, two days before an ornament touches its branches. If the tree survives two days, surely Porter will no longer care. Surely. 

So what's your vote? Will the tree survive a cat's curiosity? Leave me a comment and tell me your vote. Happy holidays!

A Foggy Monday

This morning I woke up to fog, and it really felt like fall was here! I love fall!

Yesterday, we participated in a very fall event here in Memphis, the River Arts Fest. 

We went with the Jenny and Darrin. 

We saw some art. 

Lots of people turned out after the morning rain was gone. 

There were some delicious looking food vendors, but we were strong and refrained. 

The neat thing about the festival is there are lots of different types of artists: glass blowers, painters, photographers and jewelers.

The sun seemed to be at eye level, but that didn't stop Darrin from photo bombing our picture!

We took a little rest from walking around and found a patio. 

I walked past this life-sized poster of a Grizzly's basketball player, and I had to have my photo taken with it. That dude is huge...and I am short. 

In other news, Chris and I came home to find this

I had left a bottle of dry mustard out, and apparently Porter thought he needed it. You can see that the cap has been popped open and there is a hole in it. Thankfully, the bottle wasn't very full, and no dry mustard spilled out that I could tell. He was just curled up with it in his bed. So strange, little kitten!

**Thanks to Chris for taking all these photos!**