Dexterous Dexter!

My little munchkin...being so cute! Thanks to Uncle Rob for the excellent pictures!

Introducing...the now not-nameless kitten!!

And the final decision is....DEXTER!!!

It's been a tough decision, and despite the advice from good friend David that the little thing would be known throughout the kitten community as 'Dork-Kitten', the name has to be Dexter. He just looks like a Dexter to me!

We just got back from the vet, and he weighs a whopping 1 pound, 9 ounces (which is why I say picking him up is liking picking up air -- so teeny!). He's pretty healthy, and was a very good boy at the vet, making everyone love him.

I just bought him a scratching post, and we're going to practice using it today, so that my arms are no longer his favourite toy.

A poem for my daughter...

I saw this poem written by an adoptive father and wanted to cyber-send it to my Jordyn. Even though my 'referral' date is a long time away, I still imagine it, and wish for it to come.

DAYDREAMING

I stepped into her room today
Knowing she’s not there
This waiting for referral
Is more than one can bear

But taking in the moment
I sit down on the floor
And dream of her here with me
When waiting is no more.

A little giggle fills the air
As I rub her feet
I place my hand upon her heart
To feel its every beat.

A song is sung so very soft
Her eyes begin to close
She’s meeting me in dream land
A place where love still grows.

My vision now is very blurred
The tears stream down my cheeks
I’ve dreamed of her quite often
Throughout these past few weeks.

Suddenly a sound is heard
The phone rings in the hall
Waking up I quickly pray
Please let it be “The Call”.

Tom Fisher

Still nameless, but oh, so cute!

Little kitten is adjusting nicely to his new surroundings. He's absolutely fearless, and will jump, climb and bat at everything. So far, no major structural damage to the apartment.

Yesterday was an adventure, as we went to visit our friends, Mario and David. Kitten explored their house freely, and ate his first meal of tuna. He hadn't yet eaten anything at my place, and I was getting worried. Thank goodness that Italian Uncle Mario is such a great chef, and created the fabulous "tuna on a plate", which kitten devoured.

Since coming home last night, I'm happy to report that he's now eaten some kitten food and successfully used his litter box (I'm such a proud mom).

Now...for the challenge -- I'm including a list of possible names for the little critter (I'd name him Critter, but that's the name of the magical dragon in my classroom!) I'm taking a general poll - -what do you think of these names?

Kitten Names:

Dexter (dexterous, skillful)
Quinlan (strong, well-formed, athletic)
Jack
Jasper
Nicky (sort of St. Nicholas – got him 2 days before Christmas)
Cola (a form of Nicholas)
Dunstan (name of a character from a book I like)
Findlay
Kalen (mighty warrior)
Montgomery
Remington

I'm having trouble posting more pictures today, but I'll try again later.

To my friends celebrating Christmas today, Merry Christmas! To those not celebrating, have a great day off!

Introducing....the namless kitten!!!

So....here's the new little guy!


I adopted him this morning (if only baby adoption were as easy...) from the local animal services centre -- he's the cutest thing!!



About 2 months old, and currently nameless. He follows me around everywhere, and has climbed up my back to land on my shoulder. So far, he's all boy -- plays hard and sleeps like a rock. What a cutie!

All name suggestions are welcome -- just send your ideas!

Hoping for Jordyn

Now that the laws are changing in China, I'm starting to worry about my adoption. I know I've been 'approved' by the Ontario government, but who knows what will happen across the world?
I miss my little Jordyn (even though she's not born yet) and want her to come home.

Let's keep hoping for good things, and for my little one to be waiting for her Mummy to come and get her before too long.

Could this month get any more depressing????

Ok....first I have to put my cat to sleep, and then I get really sick, and haven't yet recovered. All I want to do is sleep. Then, I speak to the people at my adoption agency and they tell me that I'm now looking at an 18-24 month wait from LID (which is likely some point in October, although I don't have an exact date yet). This is starting to feel like it will never happen. The timelines are getting longer and longer, and life is getting more and more depressing waiting for this to happen.

I think I'm going to get a kitten. The house is too quiet and lonely since Tyler's been gone, and I need something little to take care of. While I wait for my Jordyn, that little something might as well be cute and furry.

If I end up getting a 'new addition', I'll post some pics next week.

Farewell to my precious Tyler...

Hi all -- I haven't posted in a long time. Firstly, I had no new adoption news to share, and I still don't. Hoping to have an LID soon.

On November 22, 2006, I had to put my beloved cat, Tyler, to sleep. I adopted her from the Toronto Humane Society on November 3, 1991, at the age of 7 weeks and I've had her ever since. She had started to get really sick, and had lost lots of weight - at the end she was only 6 pounds, and really teeny. She was suffering from severe anemia (probably as a result of an undiagnosed cancer) and kidney failure.

I always knew when the time came that I'd put her to sleep. I know that animals don't ponder their own death, and that Tyler wouldn't be wondering if this visit to the vet would be 'the one', but it was still an incredibly painful and difficult decision. I stayed with her, and I'm very glad I did. She went very quickly and peacefully. The vet made a 'paw print' out of clay, and I was able to pick this up last week. I'll put it in a frame with a picture of her.

I've been so grateful to my many supportive friends and family during this really difficult time. I had a friend come to the final appointment with me, and then spend the day with me, nicely diverting my mind from the trauma (Thanks, Mar), and other friends who have been with me during some pretty major emotional crises (thanks Mikey, Rob, Mario, Andy, Ro, Cat, Marce, Sherrie -- actually, too many people to mention here, but if you're in my life, I'm pretty grateful to you right now!!!)Funny how during such a difficult time one can feel so lucky about other things.

I've been missing her so much. I'm so used to coming home and finding her running to meet me at the door, sleeping with me (on me!) at night, being generally noisy and making her presence known. (she was a pretty noisy girl!) I miss her watching me getting ready for work in the morning, mewing for her breakfast (and snacks) and getting a drink of water from the bathroom sink. It's absoluetly no fun coming home any more.


Here are some pictures of Tyler - -most of them taken during the last weekend of her life. My absolute favourite was taken about 5 years ago, when I had a pet photographer come to the house. It's the one with her sticking her tongue out -- hilarious!