How big can a termite smile?

THIS BIG!!!

He is making his little personality come out, and is starting to tell us what he wants (and what he doesn't!) He's still entralled with the kitties, but has started trying to explore further than the little mat I have set out for him to play on. Now I'm spending more and more of my day making sure he's not getting underneath the desk or trying to pull on the trash can. It's amazing how fast he can move when it's still not technically "crawling." He can kind of push off and leap around like a tiny frog. Totally amusing, but getting into a lot more stuff.

Therefore, it's time to Termite-proof the house. I got gates for the stairways yesterday, and will probably spend a few hours tomorrow or the next day installing them and making sure everything gets up off the floor.

The rest of tomorrow will be spent taking care of the bigger baby. Michael finally has insurance and even more finally, his ID cards have arrived. So, he went in today for some preliminary work on some conditions that have been bothering him-wrist (tourettes' tic that got out of control, and he punched a door), knee (car accident) , and head (probably another occurence of skin cancer, which he didn't have checked the first time around.) He's going back tomorrow to have the skin leision biopsied and have his blood checked for all of the normal stuff. They told him that they'd give him anesthetic for the biopsy, and he shouldn't drive himself home, so we're dropping Termite at Auntie A's house and heading to the doctor.

Hopefully after that the rest of the day will be calm so we all can recouperate from being off our normal schedule. I am looking forward to Michael's physical problems being addressed, because it's been quite a bone of contention between us to get him to have himself checked out. Now that it's going to be done, he'll feel better physically and we'll have less arguments! A win-win situation!

Funny kitties

Just a quick check-in.

I've been alone with the Termite for the last few days while Daddy's out of town at a certification workshop and to see the Olympic trials.

In this time, the boy has discovered the cats in a big way. If they come close to him, he starts laughing hysterically. Which, in turn, makes me laugh. He also tries as best he can to pet the kitties. I am usually right there, holding his hand and coaching him to be gentle. The kitties are good sports and mostly tolerate it much further than I would've expected.

And then comes that inevitable moment when kitty purposely moves out of reach. Baby then gets upset! Whining for the kitty! Ah, my boy's an animal lover already.

I guess it's only fair that they put up with his petting...they do consistently tease and badger him by flicking their tails within grabbing range and then proudly sauntering away, just slowly enough that he starts to believe he can catch them. But they know better, for now.

What they don't know is that it's just a short matter of time before he starts really crawling. Then, you'd better look out, kitties!