Did none of you think to inform me that I had labelled an entry "October 32, 2004"!!! When I went to start today's entry I noticed what I had done and have now changed them to the correct dates. Well it's another horrid day outside today but it didn't stop Snugglepot & Cuddlepie from venturing into the cat run briefly this morning. Mind you, it was very brief and lasted no more than 5 minutes but at least I know that they aren't afraid of getting their paws wet. I really had to laugh at Snugglepot last night as he was brave enough (or stupid enough) to try his luck with both Sambuca and Cacao. I left the bedroom to go and say goodnight to Mo and stopped to pat the babies when Sambuca came running over, followed by Drambuie. Snugglepot stood on his back legs, put both front paws around Sami's head and bit her on the ear! Within 5 seconds flat, she had rolled him over onto his back, pinned him down and smacked him. But being who he is, this didn't deter him so he waited until Drambuie came over and then did exactly the same thing to him. Buie didn't pin him to the ground though, she just smacked him really hard which made him try his luck again with Sami. I really had to laugh and am always amazed when the older cats discipline the babies, especially when it's the Ugly Stepsisters doing the chastising. Cuddlepie then thought she would join in so she lay on the radiator bed, hanging her head and paw over the edge and when Drambuie walked under it, she quickly grabbed Buie's tail with her paw and then started biting it. Banksia was the only one who was much more interested in cuddles and purrs than annoying the Ugly Stepsisters.

Every time I have gone upstairs today the Gumnuts have either been sleeping or have had their heads stuck in the dry food bow. Mind you, we have the central heating on for the cats and as it's such a cold day I'm not surprised that they are up there sleeping in the warmth. I really can't believe that my babies are leaving me this weekend (all except for Cuddlepie who will be remaining with us for another week). The time with them has flown by so very quickly and I really don't know what I will do with myself once they've all gone. I had the pleasure of Banksia's company this afternoon as she was in a very cuddly mood and spent an hour sitting on my lap while I was at the pc. I made a start on the Gumnuts' paperwork this morning as I had been putting it off and managed to get most of it sorted out however, we still don't have the registration papers back yet for the babies so I'm just hoping they will be back this week in time for the new kitten families. And here's a message for each of you new families:
Saul & Monika - Graham is still upset about Banksia going and is trying to convince me to keep her so you'd better get over here asap before he kidnaps her!
Sam & Dean - Be very, very careful when going up and down the stairs because Cuddlepie waits until you're on the stairs and she then lies down on the stair in front of you, hoping that she can trip you up. She's very dangerous.
Carol - Please wear lots of big jumpers because when you are sitting down, Snugglepot loves to climb inside your jumper (via the neck) and then snuggle up, purring away where he can't be seen.

Our little ones were in a very loving mood this morning so I had some wonderful cuddles with after breakfast. Then about twenty minutes later they all turned into nutters and began their mad games with each other. Snugglepot is not our daughter's most popular baby today because when she was having breakfast, he wouldn't leave her alone so she picked him up to put him in another room and as she did so, he dug his claws in (not trying to scratch her but trying to hold on to her so she couldn't put him down) and left a couple of rather nasty marks on her hand. One thing I've noticed lately about the Gumnuts is that they no longer feel this need to rely on each other so much and it's now not uncommon to walk around and find them in entirely different parts of the house. Even when they are sleeping, they no longer always sleep together. I do think this is really good because when they go to their new homes, they won't have each other there so I'm pleased that they are becoming independent of each other.

Not much of an entry today as we're only here for half the day and will be at footy this afternoon. It was funny when I came downstairs this morning as all 3 little Gumnuts were sitting on the small coffee table outside the kitchen door, all lined up in a row just waiting for me to feed them their breakfast. I'm always amazed at how quickly the little ones learn their daily routine. I haven't had the heart to tell them yet that their routine is going to all change next weekend when they leave here. The babies actually went out in the cat run today and had lots of fun playing chase with Sami & Buie.

My poor little Gumnuts are feeling rather sorry for themselves as this morning they had their 2nd set of vaccinations. As usual though, I was very proud of them because each baby behaved beautifully and was not phased at all by the jab. Within 20 minutes of being back at home, they all ran straight upstairs to their favourite corner to sleep. I tried really hard, (well sort of hard) today to get some better photos but to no avail. All I managed was 3 semi decent ones. After lunch today, I had the pleasure of Banksia on my lap for ages and ages and Snugglepot climbed into my jumper where he promptly slept purring away which was really lovely. Cuddlepie was more interested in sleeping upstairs with mum and Aunty Sami. I've been monitoring the little ones fairly closely today since their vaccines and am pleased to report that everything is going along perfectly normally and I'm really relieved.

I must start off this entry by saying that Snugglepot is now over the 1 kilogram mark and it's possible he is going to be a big boy like his dad. Cuddlepie is still our smallest girl and weighs about 30 grams less than Banksia. All 3 Gumnuts had quite a lot of exercise this morning playing chase with Sambuca throughout the house, upstairs and then back downstairs and it went on for a good hour. It's no wonder that they had all gone back to sleep by 9:30am. I don't know what Sami is going to do once her miniature playmates have gone. I'm afraid that Carol will not be pleased with today's photos as Snugglepot flat out refused to look at the camera :( I spent ages following him around and every time I pressed the button he turned the other way.

Our little Gumnuts are 12 weeks old today and the time is simply flying past at a rapid rate. It will be very different once they have gone as we will be kittenless for the first time since December of last year. (hopefully not for too long though). We're almost at the end of our bedroom decorating and will be totally finished by the end of the day which means that hopefully tomorrow, things can get back to normal. The Gumnuts had fun and games on the dining table today wrestling each other and trying to catch mummy's tail (much to Amaretto's dismay). They managed to knock over their bowl of dry food and the table rug ended up on the floor. Don't ask me how but I am secretly thinking that Snugglepot is to blame.