Ten years of change

　　
　　

　　What a mile marker to reach in life! Ten whole days old. Yes, our kittens are growing up, and a couple of them are blinking a little bit, so they’re probably going to open their eyes soon. What adventures they will have! In the meantime, we try to prevent any early “adventures”, by keeping the little girls from causing them accidental harm. Oh, and before you call me out on my bad addition, the previous write-up’s pictures were taken when the kittens were four days old. So, I really do know how to count to ten.
As of today, the older girls and the grownups have all held the kittens, numerous times, but the little girls, only once. I don’t know how many times I’ve had the two of them repeat back to me what the rules are concerning the kittens. One that I’ve been drilling them on, especially, is that they aren’t allowed in their parents’ room without a grownup or a big sister. So, sure enough, last night, when their dad was in there, doing something else, one of the girls went in, and made a beeline for the cupboard.

Now, I had told them, also, that they could ONLY touch or hold the kittens if there was a grownup there, but somehow, this was misinterpreted, and Mrs. B found Emmie (5) “showing” Sadie (3) how to hold the kittens. Another talk followed. Being a year or two older than your sister does not a grownup make.
Today, the older girls were asked to let the kittens have a breather, as they’d been picking them up quite a bit, as well as their visiting friends, and taking them up on the bed. In the process of explaining something to their mom about it, I heard my name, and promptly went to hear what I’d been accused of. Apparently, I told them the kittens needed to be cuddled. Yesterday, while I was holding a kitten, I held her close against me, so she would feel warm and protected, not like she was hanging in open air. I explained to the kids that all babies like to be held close, and that’s probably why mine had stopped squeaking. Because they were all used to being “squashed”, before they were born, and they were still comfortable with that.
After explaining what I’d said, again, I pointed out that the kittens got plenty of cuddle and snuggle time with their pile of siblings, as well as with their mom. If they aren’t snuggling up against their mother, when they’re eating, I sure don’t know what they’re doing. Maybe Dusty doesn’t feel very snuggly, while having five babies feeding, but they definitely all feel safe and protected, when she’s there.