Jasper & Merlin are NINE YEARS OLD today!
I can’t believe my first babies are almost a decade old!
It seems like yesterday we were bringing them home. (We had to wait until they were big enough to bring them home. You can read all about that here!) Look how TINY they are!!
October 2001 - Merlin & Jasper
Happy Birthday, guys!
Merlin & Jasper wait (im)patiently for their birthday treats.
Merlin and Jasper turn 8-years old today! It seems like yesterday we were bringing them home. (We had to wait until they were big enough to bring them home. You can read all about that here!) They were so tiny!
October 2001
According to a chart online, they are the equivalent of 48-years old. Does this mean, they’ll start looking for younger kitties to date and want to ride motorcycles? I guess it’s a good thing we never let them outside. 
One night, Claire was pretending to give the kitties treats. She was handing them invisible morsels. They were a bit confused but didn’t seem to mind playing along with the charade. Claire informed us that she’d created her very own concoctions: Merlin was being treated to mashed potato treats, and Jasper got to have pepperoni ones.
Daddy was focused on the laptop on the kitchen table, not really giving his full attention to what was unfolding in the kitchen.
“Here, Daddy!” she says, as she hands him what he thinks is an invisible treat. He pops it into his mouth.
“Mmmmm,” he says. “Is this one mashed potatoes or pepperoni?” proving he had been paying attention to some of the details, but what he’d failed to realize was that we’d switched gears, and she’d handed him Baby Piggy.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah! Daddy! That’s Baby Piggy!” Claire screamed, obviously distraught. “We don’t eat Baby Piggy!”
Without missing a beat, Daddy opened his mouth and Baby Piggy plopped out onto the palm of his hand.
“It’s okay, Claire,” he said, pretending to wipe the slobbers off of the poor unsuspecting imaginary little creature. “Baby Piggy is fine. She just went for a ride in my mouth!”
“That’s not a good idea, Daddy! That’s not a good idea!” she screams, grabbing Baby Piggy and holding her close to her chest.
“Claire,” I said, trying not to lose my composure. “It’s probably best if you don’t hand Daddy anything around dinner-time…especially if he’s hungry and not really paying attention.”
One of our friends forwarded us a funny email. This makes me laugh, so I decided to share!
Honestly, I haven’t fielded many complaints about our pets, but if we ever have to, here is a handy list. 
To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:1. They live here. You don’t.
2. If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That’s why they call it ‘fur’niture..)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons who are
short, hairy, walk on all fours and don’t speak clearly.
Click to enlarge.
Clicking a second time will show more detail.
Squiddy Gwiddy Itty Bitty Bitty Bitty Ball
Squiddy Gwiddy Itty Bitty Bitty Bitty Ball
This fluffy little blue ball is Squiddy Gwiddy Itty Bitty Bitty Bitty Ball. She came home on an art project on Monday from Claire’s Young Preschoolers Class.
That night, Merlin took a liking to Squiddy Gwiddy Itty Bitty Bitty Bitty Ball and rescued her from the paper pumpkin where she was adorned and batted her into Claire’s room.
That’s where Claire found her.
And named her.
And, she didn’t get a short, easy-to-type name. Noooooo…that would be too easy.
And, if you don’t get her full name said correctly the first time, you will be corrected by Claire. Needless to say, I’ve got it memorized.
Squiddy Gwiddy Itty Bitty Bitty Bitty Ball is just lucky Merlin didn’t bat her under the fridge, which is where most everything goes…eventually.
So, even though we’ve only had Squiddy Gwiddy Itty Bitty Bitty Bitty Ball in our charge for a few days, Claire is totally smitten. She goes everywhere with us. She’s a little harder to contain than Baby Piggy, but I’m trying my best.
Thankfully, my jeans have a special pocket designed just for her.
A special pocket just for her
All this time, I thought that little pocket was for coins or something. But, come to think of it, I’ve never used that little pocket until now.
Squiddy Gwiddy Itty Bitty Bitty Bitty Ball went with us yesterday on a playdate, and she peeked out a couple times and even met some of Claire’s friends.
She also went to vote with us. She didn’t get a sticker. It was bigger than she is!
In fact, life is pretty interesting when you have a name bigger than you are.
Claire still takes a nap in the afternoon, some days more willingly than others. On the days that we’re really active, her nap is not only necessary, but usually comes easily. Yesterday was no exception. We’d had a really busy morning, which involved an hour-long-session at the local gymnastics place. For an hour, the kids can run around with parental supervision, playing on the bouncy floor, climbing all over these really cool foam-like shapes, walking on the balance beams, swinging from a rope, and hanging like monkeys on the uneven bars. It’s awesome. It’s $2 for the hour. (Every time I see the price, that quote from one of my favorite movies pops into my head. “I want my two dollars!” Bonus points to the people who actually get that reference.)
Then, we got to go to the Emissions Testing place to get Momma’s car tested! It’s hard to believe that my car has reached that milestone. (Out here, new cars are exempt until their fifth year, and then you have to do it every two years…my car is a 2004, so it’s time!) Thankfully, it passed with flying colors, and Claire was really good during the entire process. They have it set up so that those waiting can watch the corresponding graphs for each car being tested on the computer monitors, which, I have to say, is really cool.
After lunch, I had to do some things in my office. Claire and Merlin were playing in her room. Now, keep in mind, her naptime was coming up, but I wanted to wrap up one last thing before going to battle. Then, I realized that it was very quiet in her room. That usually is cause for alarm. (You would think that loud and rowdy would be cause for alarm, but quiet is often worse. Plots thicken in the quietness. Covert operations are conducted in the quietness. Schemes thrive in the quietness.) So, I peeked in her room.
Click photos to enlarge.
Clicking a second time will show more detail.
Dastardly plans weren’t being enacted. In fact, both Claire and Merlin were napping! Had I requested she take a nap, and had I wanted Merlin to sit still with her, I’m sure I would have been met with resistance. But, if it’s their idea? We all win.
And for the record, as you can see, only one of them is really napping…
My babies are SEVEN years old today! According to Dr. Google, that is 44 years old in human years. (They are now ten years older than me…and that’s old!)
Last year, in honor of their birthday, I wrote all about their story and how they came to live with us.
Happy Birthday, Guys!!
Love,
Momma
So, they’re supposed to be back today. I think. Jasper keeps track of all the details around here. I’m not sure if Momma will have a chance to post today or not…so I’ll post for her. See? I can be an overachiever. Jasper’s not the only one.
Or maybe she told me to post on Monday, and I just don’t remember? We won’t tell her that part. Let’s just stay with the “Merlin can be an overachiever, too” part.
That being said, I’m not sure what else there is to say. A picture would make this post an official post, so I’ll be sure to add one…and then my guest blogger duties are fulfilled.
Now I think I’ll go back to looking out the window with Jasper. (I’m the cute black one on the left with the long monkey tail.)
Anyway, I gotta run. It’s been fun!
Meow,
Merlin
Okay, so, this posting thing doesn’t seem to be too difficult. It does take a lot of concentra…
Oops. I did it again. You don’t understand. That neighbor-cat comes on the deck and tries to taunt us. We must maintain our dignity and Jasper needed my assistance at the glass door in the kitchen.
Anyway, I’m back. Where was I?
Oh, yes. This posting thing doesn’t seem to be too difficult. Still, typing takes so much energy, so I’ll stick to photos.
Well, here are some photos that Momma hasn’t shown you. (Be sure to click on each one to enlarge. Clicking again will show more detail.) I figure now is as good a time as any to prove to you that Claire is a real child. Some of you may be thinking that she’s just this cute little figment of someone’s imagination. She’s so photogenic and always perfectly posed.
That is not the Claire we know and love. I mean, it is, but there’s another side to her.
The one we know used to cry.
Granted, she doesn’t cry as much as she used to, and we were told she didn’t cry as much as some babies do…but still. Cry she did.
And, then there’s the cute photos Momma posts, but she doesn’t show the whole story.
Some of you may remember this photo:
But, I bet you didn’t get to see this one:
Momma claims that she was taking the picture as Claire fell…but you be the judge. By the way, Claire wasn’t hurt in the filming of that documentary.
And, then? Last year, there was this huge commotion, all kinds of ruckus, and then our house was full of firefighters. Something about Claire’s head bleeding all over the place. Afterwards, Momma insisted on taking photos of Claire’s wound, but after a while, Claire had had enough.
Even I can tell that Claire is done with the photos, yes? Silly Momma. Hasn’t poor Claire been through enough?
But, I realize it can be hard to tell when someone doesn’t want her picture taken versus when that someone is just being coy:
So much has happened since Momma took that picture of Claire in February 2006! Isn’t she a cutie? I’m glad she lives here.
Anyway, I gotta run. Until tomorrow…
Meow,
Merlin
Momma, Daddy and Claire have gone to the mountains. Claire’s uncle went with them, and I hope they have a great time. I’m sure they will…they always seem to.
I begged and begged Momma to let me do a guest post for her while she was gone. Jasper got to do it last time, so I thought it was my turn.
She thinks I’m unfocused and not capable of…
OH! I’ll be right back! Something really cool is happening in the other room!!
Hmmm…where was I? Oh, right. Maybe this is why she told me just to find some pictures to post and not worry about typing a whole lot.
So, I’ll keep this short.
Momma told me to remind you to click on the photos to enlarge and clicking a second time will show more detail. I’m not sure what that means or why it’s important, but I’m glad I remembered to tell you.
Here is a picture of Claire when she was just six months old. (She is two-and-a-half, but it just seems like we took this picture yesterday!) She and I used to hang out all the time, and we still do, actually. It was easier to hang out with her when she wasn’t very mobile…but I’ve adjusted.
I swear, I had nothing to do with this! Momma and I turned our backs for just a moment, and look what we found! Jasper says he knew this would happen, but he’s just a little Know-It-All-Kitty, if you ask me.
Anyway, I gotta run. Until tomorrow…
Meow,
Merlin
sent to your Email