Goodbye, dear Toodles.

Toodles had to be put to sleep on Wednesday due to an undiagnosed blood clot disorder. It was extremely unexpected, and very heartbreaking for Andy and I. So unexected, in fact, that only a week ago I took this picture of Toodles after he jumped onto our kitchen shelf just a foot shy of the ceiling. He was so proud of himself after this- he was purring up a storm up there! I guess we'll never know how he managed to get up there now...it will be one of the unexplained mysteries of the amazing Toodle-boy.

For those of you who never got the chance to meet him, check out the video we posted a few weeks ago of Toodles and Andy playing with a laundry basket.

Toodles was such a silly, silly kitty, and I am a better person for having had the privilege of his companionship these last ten years.

Elsie at 6 weeks

Dad has discovered that Elsie is very helpful when he wants to carry a snack downstairs.



Elsie likes spending time playing on her mat, especially when she rolls from her belly to her back.





Elsie loves when Grandma RJ visits. She gets lots of hugs and kisses, gets rocked to sleep for every nap, and gets to go on long walks. She especially has fun making silly faces with Grandma RJ.

Elsie at one month

At one month, Elsie weighs just over nine pounds and wears size NB or 0-3 clothes. She has given her dad one "social" smile- a big goofy grin when he came home from work one day. She holds her head up for minutes at a time when being held, and for 30-60 seconds when having "tummy time" on her play mat. She loves bouncing on the yoga ball when she feels colicky, preferably in the guest bathroom with the vent on. She generally has one 4-hour stretch of sleep a night, but sleeps for less than 45 minutes at a time during the day. She prefers to be held 24 hours a day, and protests loudly (or wakes up) when laid in her crib. She adores being outside, but only likes walks in her carrier, not her stroller and car seat.

For comparison, Elsie at one week.

Elsie likes flowers.

Elsie snoozing in the sun while Mom works in the garden.

Toodles is keeping us in line

So even with the new baby Toodles still gets some attention. Here he is being entertained.

Workin' Hard

Working on a "Project" - this went on for ~2 minutes or so.

A valuable skill is learned

A friend visited and Elsie did nucks _with_ explosion on the very first try! She is quite advanced.