Hey Sista, Sol Sista!

Luna and Sol had their first real interactions with each other today. We put 2 baby gates up, one on top of the other. This was so Luna didn't jump over and do something she'd later regret.

I'm very proud of Luna. There was minimal hissing, and she initiated a lot of the play. Sol doesn't quite understand why Luna does not want to be her friend, but we're well on our way to having 2 very happy sisters.

Here's how silly the doorway looked. Luna could still crawl over it, so we are sure we're there when the door is open.

Crouching kitty, hidden ...

and the play begins!

They touched and did not exchange hisses! 

We're starting to really get them together more so we can soon move to letting Sol run free in our house. The vet wants us to contain her for a while longer yet because of "potty" issues. She's so little, so she could get stranded on one end of the house and forget how to get to her litter box.

Simon says, "Hi Sol!"

We took a trip to Willow Hill to wish Cher a happy mother's day. We brought along Sol to play with her brother Simon. There was some hissing and some growling, but they played hard the entire time we were there! We stopped to say happy mother's day to Grandma Jayne, and Sol fell fast asleep on Grandpa Bob's lap. She slept the whole way home!

Thanks Simon for the fun play date!

The initial smelling. "I think I remember that scent..." Sol is the one in the green collar.

Beanbag play time!

A shot with Cher.

Some more Sol!

Our little Sol has become quite the fun kitty since she came home with us last Tuesday. She purrs the second you start petting her and she can snuggle for days! I took her to the vet yesterday morning, and they said she looks perfect! Luna is still a little unsure. We've never let them be together because Luna will still hiss at her smell from time to time. We're slowly introducing the new sisters....

I captured some more pictures/video this morning:

Sol loves to come in our bedroom and play on our big bed. The beautiful quilt that Cher made us is so warm and snuggly. She curls right up in it!

Tony made Luna a new bigger scratch pole, so Sol inherited the older smaller one. She loves to climb around on it!

I brought up some toys that Luna doesn't play with anymore. Sol had a BLAST with them!

Whenever I come out of the room that Sol is confined to, Luna is sitting like this somewhere in the house with both eyes on the room. She'll sometimes be right outside the door too listening and watching. We're seeing a lot of progress with her though! We give her more loving then we did before so she knows we're not replacing her. 

Here's our little girl in action!

Sol's big arrival!

Over a week ago, I traveled to Luna's mom's house to look at kitties with Cher. She had decided that it was time for a new kitty around Willow Hill. I decided that it was time for a sister for Luna.

So, last night Cher and I went and picked up our new kitties! Cher has Simon, and we have Sol. We have been reading and reading on how to positively bring another kitty into Luna's life. It might be a long process, but it will be worth it. We fell in love with Sol at first sight! (although she is making this blog post rather difficult by attacking my fingers as I type!)

Luna has been unhappy with us, but she will still snuggle after she calms down. I think we're on the right track. Sol has a very different temperament than Luna at that age. Sol likes to snuggle on our laps. She did not seem scared at all when we brought her into our house. She immediately began to play and eat like it was nothing new. It took Luna almost a week to get used to us.

Now, what you've all been waiting for....pictures!

Sing it out!

Tonight Natalie's preschool, Creation Kids, put on quite a show, and Natalie had quite the cheering section in attendance: Grandpa Bob, Grandma Jayne, Grandpa Alan, Grandma Cher, Laur, Jill, Tony, Jon, Mindy, Harvey and me! She did a great job singing out and doing the actions.

Here's our girl in action!

They're being pigs in this shot. 

Natalie took us to her classroom and showed us a book of her artwork. She's explaining it to Grandma Jayne and Grandpa Bob. 

After we looked around Natalie's classroom, we went to the fellowship hall and had some delicious snacks. Harvey chose Oreos. 

Natalie chose a brownie and this cupcake.

 Then we each took a turn having a picture with the star of the show!

One door closes...

This weekend marked the closing of another door in my brother Will's life. He is now a Winona State University alumni.

Family traveled from near and far to support him in his accomplishments. Mom and Dad threw a fiesta party for him Saturday night. We even had some of my dad's family come that we see VERY rarely! It was such a great night.

Here are some memories we made...

Here's our family---minus Tony. He was working, but he was there in spirit.

The aunts in attendance--Amy and MB

Jake gets the "drive the farthest" award! What great family to make the trek for Will!

 Fiesta cousins!

Tony made an appearance at the party briefly before he went to The Rep. 

The cute couple at the Fiesta!

All Grown Up!

After 4 years, 3 colleges, 2 cars and  1 associates degree later, Will is graduating from college with his Bachelors in Accounting!

Today is the day my little brother will walk across the stage at Winona State University and receive his diploma! He's one of the few college grads who already has a great job lined up for him! Will's next step = IBM!

Congrats little brother! I'm so proud of you!