Pictures & Paragraphs: July 2016

As Facebook so kindly reminded Shawn and I this morning, today marks three years since the day we brought Lloyd home with us! I'm pretty sure everyone says this, but it feels like he has been here so much longer than that. He has been with us through three different apartments, so that probably has something to do with it. The little guy is a pro at moving by now, for sure!

I miss the initial days when it was just the three of us, and Lloyd would hear my alarm go off each morning and come barreling through the bedroom door to pounce on our bellies until we got out of bed... but I'm also super grateful that he and Sylvester hit it off as well as they have - we really couldn't have asked for a better pair! He still loves to cuddle with me (he is such a mama's boy!), just not in the mornings anymore. Lately he has been sneakily following me around... I'll be at my desk and turn around and there he is! Or he'll join me on the pillow sometimes for my morning meditation. Right now he's watching me from the doorway as I type this. Laying all ridiculous, of course. (And now as I finish writing this, he has taken residence on my desk, in hopes that I will give him all the love.)

If you want to take a trip down memory lane like we did the other day, this post is a good starting point. Shawn and I can't believe how small he used to be! We didn't believe the vet when he said he was only about 1-2 years old, but looking at him now, it is definitely plausible that Lloyd was only just over a year old when he came home with us. I also can't believe someone would just let such a tiny guy loose in the streets... but hey, if they hadn't, Kaylah never would have found him and he wouldn't be here with us today. Things happen for a reason, I suppose. We are so grateful to have him as part of the family.

Happy birthday, Lloyd!!!

Pssst! I don't think I've shown you guys this before, but two years ago I commissioned a drawing of Lloyd and I by Mel Stringer. It's hanging above my desk and I love it! I think she captured Lloyd perfectly!

I am a horrible cat mom... this is the second year in a row that I have forgotten Sylvester's adoption birthday! It was all the way back in June... June 16th, 2014 to be exact! So he has been part of the family for over two years now, though it feels like so much longer. The month of June was total madness here, so somehow his birthday slipped our minds. I'll make up for it with plenty of cuddles!

Sly's a big guy with a big personality. It's funny, everyone who comes over always starts off by gushing about how cute Lloyd is, but then Sylvester settles into their lap and eventually when it's time for them to go home, they want to take him with them. He's a lover who wants nothing more than to rest his head on your arm while you pet him with your other hand. He gets so jealous of all the attention Lloyd gets, that he wants all the cuddles all the time. Especially from Shawn - Sly is such a daddy's boy! He follows Shawn around the apartment and lays on him wherever he settles down. When Shawn comes home from work, Sly runs down the hallway to greet him. I don't get that kind of attention! He looks cute and innocent, but don't let that fool you - he loves doing alllll the things he's not supposed to... like using the couch as a scratching post, or jumping up onto the dining table, or getting up in our faces to steal chips when we're snacking on the couch. (He loves chips!)

We wish we knew how old he is, but because he was a stray we can't do much more than guess. Our estimate is that he's anywhere from 5-6 years old. Even though he was adopted after Lloyd and we call him the younger brother, he's probably at least a year older than Lloyd, if not more. Lloyd grew a ton after we adopted him, but Sly has been the same size since we've had him... so he's definitely older.