Midnight....our newest family member

We certainly did not MEAN to get a cat!! But, he came to us....TWICE and we could not say no.

He first showed up in our neighborhood about three weeks ago. One young man said he thought he might have been left behind by a family who moved away. We don't know that for sure, but he seems awfully friendly and well cared for. We saw him on the street just south of ours, going into our friends' garages, using their cats' food and water bowls and even using litter boxes if available. He then made his way to our street and made himself at home in our next door neighbor's cat's food/water bowl, but wandered over here and meow-ed like he was starving. Me, being such a sucker for strays, fed him tuna. And, he returned the next evening, and I fed him again. So, Bruce said, if he was indeed a stray, we could at least feed him. As soon as he said the words, Abigail was thrilled, but alas, Midnight seemed to vanish.

Almost a week passed, and we saw no sign of him. We kept his bowl out with dried food and water for him and had a collar for him should he return to us. Later we learned he 'lived' at three other houses one street north of us before coming back. At the third house, the people carried him in arms and started walking around until they got here. He jumped from their arms and ran to Abigail who happened to be in the front yard, then ran to his bowl. We put on his collar and brought him inside. Until he has his shots and is fixed, he'll definitely be an inside cat. Once he's grown, we may let him go out some if he likes....we'll see.

He's probably about 4 months old (my guess, but the vet will probably have a better guess when he sees him on Tuesday). He's friendly, curious and well behaved. He already knows how to use a litter box and seems to be healthy and have a good temperament. He is very scared of dogs...but loves to be held and petted. His purr is quite loud and he meows a lot.....he loves to "talk." He makes us laugh...just watching him explore his 'world' is funny.

...exploring the laundry room....
..exploring Princess's kennel where she sleeps each night....
..just looking at me as I take his photo....

...being held by Abigail which he does not mind one bit.....

..and last but not least....game night...

The last of our ten birthday events was to choose ten games (she only chose one...a new game she got for her birthday called "Trouble") and we'd play as many as we could. I remember having this game and playing it as a kid. Grandma also has it at her house and Abigail plays it with her cousins there, so she requested it for her birthday. We had a lot of fun :) Abigail asked me to hold up my game piece since I eventually won. (which is a story in and of itself since it took me between 10 and 15 tries to even leave the starting block--LOL!)

the ninth part of the birthday special...opening 10 gifts....

We thought it would be neat, if Abigail could open ten gifts. Now, we don't 'spoil' her, so keep in mind, some of the gifts were very inexpensive like a little journal to write in or a deluxe box of crayons she had asked for. Each item was wrapped separately. I think the total spent on gifts was about $100 or maybe a bit less, which is a typical budget...but it seemed like more to her because she opened ten gifts :)

..the eighth treat of the birthday...a special dinner

For our special dinner, we used our fine china and crystal (which never gets used) and had a candle light dinner. Abigail got to choose the menu which had to work around the fact that Bruce could not grill out (he was only a couple of days past surgery) and our oven was not working (only had a toaster oven, microwave, crock pot or stove top to use). This is the menu she chose: ham slices, cheesy broccoli casserole, sourdough bread, green peas, mashed potatoes and oreo dessert (a boxed mix). She filled her plate twice I think :) We had sparkling apple cider to drink...and she thought that was funny. We had a nice and special dinner....the set table....
...daddy and Abigail enjoying the meal...

..Abigail is READY to eat.....