Kitty Time-Out

Lately Pancake has been very naughty. He has taken to crying non-stop at the front door...he wants desperately to go outside and play in the snow. Any time we let him outside to play, his crying just gets worse the next time. And did I mention that we live in Michigan and it is cold outside? It is not very fun to watch him when you are freezing your butt off. Also, his crying is so piercing, you would think we were sticking hot coals under his toenails. I'm afraid the neighbors are going to call the ASPCA and turn us in for kitty torture. Really, his crying is soooo high pitched and very annoying...especially when you are trying to talk on the phone or concentrate in any way. So, in an effort to put a stop to this behavior, we have started giving him kitty time-outs. We simply lock him in the dining room for a few minutes. So far it works....for a little while. When he starts crying again, we simply put him back in the room.

The poor little prisoner.

Being in time-out is especially hard when your brother comes over to taunt you.

And then it gets even harder when your brother decides to show off his freedom.

And then someone keeps taking your picture to further humiliate you.

Don't worry, we let him out after a few minutes....hardly kitty torture....please don't call the ASPCA...we really do take good care of him, I promise!

I'm Dreamin' of a White Christmas

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas...we sure did! We enjoyed a beautiful white Christmas....complete with a few feet of snow. My mom arrived (after one flight cancellation, a six hour delay, and one lost piece of luggage) to tons and tons of snow. She loved it. I, however, was already sick of it.

Beautiful

Mom really enjoyed shoveling the snow.

I'm not kidding...she volunteered to do it and had a blast. Notice her sassy leopard print gloves.

This little guy loved the snow too.

On Christmas Eve, Jon's parents, Jon and Connie, and sister, Erin, came over for a sleep over! Jon Sr. dressed up as Santa...and just about gave Henry a heart attack.

Oh and we saw a deer from our window!

Make that two deer! They were hungry, so my mom and I put some apples outside for them to snack on.

Jon and Connie cutting the meat on Christmas day.

My man helping out.

My beautiful table! Finally an excuse to use our pretty dishes.

Erin and I had a little too much fun with the Santa beards...yes, Jon Sr. brought two.

Even the Cake had to get in on the Santa action.

Merry Christmas! Love, Jon, Julie, Henry, and Pancake.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Today I woke up to this outside our condo.

I am a total wimp when it comes to snow storms...but even for Michiganders, this was bad. We had white-out conditions, where it is very difficult to see.

I got dressed for work and tried to make it to my car...but the snow almost went up to my knee...no joke. I made it as far as the dumpster before turning back around and heading inside. I do NOT like to drive in bad weather. Luckily when I called in to work they said "don't come in" so I was excited...snow day!

Wait, what is this?

A little kitty snuck out to join me...he waits by the door for any chance to run outside.

Usually he is not a big fan of the snow, but today he wanted to try it out!

Pancake, Henry, and I are enjoying our snow day...be safe everyone...especially those of you in California who have 3 inches of rain...wimps.

Sorry Donna...

I just came across this photo from the wedding that I had forgotten about...possibly on purpose. Anyway, E, my Maid of Honor, captured this moment between Danny, the Best Man, and my Aunt on the dance floor. Don't you just LOVE me right now?

The Christmas Kitty

Pancake has earned a new nickname...the Christmas Kitty. He loves everything involving Christmas, specifically: wrapping paper, tissue paper, gift bags, jingle bells, and laying under the Christmas tree.

The Christmas Kitty in action.

Another shot of our tree. And look, there are pictures in the frame now!

Here is a close up of one of Jon's ornaments, "the Mistletoad"

"Scary Santa Elf"

"Santa Winnie the Pooh"

And my favorite...little boy Jon.

Our First Christmas Tree!

On Sunday Jon and I braved the snow storm and got our first Christmas tree! We were both really excited to pick out the perfect tree for our first Christmas as a married couple. Jon grew up with mostly fake trees and insisted that we get a real one. I, of course, was totally down with that plan. Much to Jon's surprise, I told him that when I was little my mom and I would go to the Christmas tree farm to select our tree. Jon couldn't believe we actually went to a farm...or that Christmas tree farms even existed in California! He thought we just went to Target and picked one out. Ha! Leave it to the California girl to out-do the Michigan boy.

So we googled Christmas tree farms in Grand Rapids...and basically found nothing. I called a few places but the phone numbers didn't work/they were closed. Since it was really snowing outside, we decided to forget our farm plan and just go to Flowerland to get our tree. Not quite the experience we had in mind, but we still found a great tree! Next year, we are chopping it down ourselves....maybe.

This is what it looked like the day we got our tree. Perfect day for Christmas decorations!

Our car with the tree on top!

Pancake was a little curious about the new tree. I was a little nervous that the kitties would try to climb it.

Mostly Henry just wanted to bite the tree.

There it is all decorated! Please ignore the empty photo frame in the background...it is a work in progress.

We played Christmas music and drank mimosas...it was perfect. Last year after Christmas my mom and I went to Target to buy a ton of ornaments at 50% off in preparation for this year. It was so fun to finally get to use them! We also had a box of Jon's childhood ornaments that his parents gave us...some of them were pretty funny! Pancake and Henry knocked a few ornaments off to play with, but overall have been really good...so far.

And look, we already have one present under the tree!