HERE kitty kitty.

The very good news is that it seems my stepfather will be released from the hospital on Saturday and taken to LifeQuest for a week of rehabilitation. And if all goes well he should soon return to his couch, TV and yippy dog. This is quite remarkable considering that last week it didn't look like he was going to pull through - but thankfully it seems he has borrowed a little more time. Mark, Noah and I will head to my mom's place on Saturday to keep her company for a couple of days.

As Mark and I are only 2/5 of the inhabitants of our home, it is time to discuss how the other three are interacting. Noah LOVES the cats. The cats however still aren't too sure about Noah.

To truly understand the dynamic between our infant son and our cats - you must first understand the personality of the cats. Spy is a large black cat who on size alone could take down a small dog. However he is about the most skittish cat alive. He tends to stay away from Noah because of his dolphin shrieking and sudden movements. Parker is a flabby tabby and possibly the most love hungry docile cat on the planet. You could pick up Parker, squeeze him into a tiny ball and hold him for a long period of time and all you would get is some pitiful whining to be let go - in addition to his purring. He doesn't scratch and he doesn't bite - he just loves. Parker stays close by Noah because he likes to be close by us. He attempts to sit just outside of Noah's grasp so as not to have his fur pulled or his eyes poked - but I usually move Noah closer. This might seem cruel but Noah is SO delighted by the cats. He will often stop what he is doing to just stare at them walk around the room. And then he will suddenly shriek with delight and kick his feet. He thinks they're pure magic. And well, though Parker doesn't really love to be poked at, he does enjoy attention.

When I was pregnant Mark's 93-year-old Grandmother took me aside one afternoon and said she had something important to discuss. In that moment I expected her to talk about something very serious like illness or death. But what she told me was that it was not safe to have cats around my child and that I needed to make plans on how to keep them separated. She was very serious and very concerned so like a good granddaughter in-law, rather than argue with her I just said okay. So if you see Laima let her know that the cats now have their own apartment and are very happy together.